LarryLynx

I took my TLS (June, 2001) in for a simple oil and filter change on Saturday. I take it to a local quick-change shop in between dealer trips. The owner has a silver TLS, so I trust him. They do good work.

I had my transmission flushed and refilled at 15,000 miles and then again at 32,500. My odo was at 40,012 miles when I rolled into the shop. The owner showed me that my transmission oil was discolored. I agreed to let them flush it and refill, for $90, using Honda ATF. After removing the drain plug, he showed me that it was all sludged up. I was starting to get that "what the hell..." sinking feeling.

I had noticed that the transition from 2nd to 3rd gears was getting a bit "sticky" before the change. Now, with the fresh oil in the system, I get what I would call pronounced "clutch chatter" with occaisional slippage between 2nd and 3rd. Of course, it's much more pronounced when I get the RPM's up at or above the vtech range.

Is this a common indicator of the failures that you all have seen?

Gilgamesh

I haven't seen a failure, but I think that is a good excuse to have your dealer look at it.

vperkins2

Just wonderin'... does your "chatter" occur while using SS or are you talking about good ol' D4 usage?

V.

By the way, with 40,0000 miles (400,000?) on your car it's no wonder you are starting to see some changes!

LarryLynx

Yes, I do expect to see changes after 40,000 miles, but this change was very sudden, and was accompanied by a look at some very disturbing sludge in my transmission.

Have you ever had a manual tranny that, when you let out the clutch, instead of smooth transition you get multiple "bumps" through the clutch pedal? That's what I get in D3, D4 or D5, when the gears transition from 2nd to 3rd. It is very pronounced at 4000 RPM or higher, and is accompanied by a brief rise in RPM, as if the clutch is slipping, before 3rd gear finally engages. At lower RPM, around town, the transition is just noticeably slower.

I did not try the manual shift from 2nd to 3rd in SS. I stopped in Fairfield on the way into the Bay Area today, and the dealer advised that I not drive it anymore until they could have a look. So the dealler has the car now, and I have a pathetic Chevy Cavalier.

power3dfx

something i noticed before mine went out:
the tranny was really smooth right before its 3 day craziness.
also, i noticed that right before shifts, it would go almost 200 rpms to help move the shift. i know most cars do use engine power to shift better, but it shouldnt be this noticeable.
then i had only 2 day of "minor" slipping between 2-3 gear. Not even 10 miles later, it was dead. A flatbed with my baby was on its way....

randomwalk101

man becareful if you get into freeways and all that..cuz the sudden slam from 5th -> 2nd with some car (or 18 wheelers) behind you can be your last...

BJSTLS

LarryLynx - I have an '03 TLS that I picked up in April of 2002. At around 21000 miles, I noticed the same thing you are describing. When shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear, their was slight "slippage". It rapidly progressed. I drive with my radio loud, so I did not hear what was happening. From 2nd to 3rd, the car did not accelerate and then all of a sudden felt a horrible lung forward, when 3rd gear kicked in. As a few days went on (an my appointment with Acura made for that Friday), my transmission slipped from 2nd to 3rd everytime. On the Friday of my appointment, I was getting on the Garden State Parkway, 30 miles from my dealership. I was doing about 55 - 60mph accelerating onto the parkway (I was now in 5th gear) when all of a sudden the D5 light started blinking and all my dummy lights were on (at 22500 miles). I did not get the dangerous jolt from 5th to 2nd like some people describe. My car just got stuck in 5th gear. When I approached stops and had to hit the gas, the car was still in 5th, so I had a very dangerously decreased acceleration, but I was able to limp in...................Just wanted to share my tranny failure info, since it sounds like you have the same symptoms I started out with. I now have 31k miles on my car and the new tranny is going strong. (yeah, 31k miles in less than a year!)

copland007

werd, keep it under 55 until your dealer checks it out. i'm pretty sure your tranny is toast, sorry man

LarryLynx

Thanks for all the responses and for the good wishes. I am aware that there could be a "catastrophic" failure and I'm very reluctant to let this problem pass without very good proof from them that the transmission is not failing. Fortunately, this dealer seems to want to err on the safe side themselves.

Just for an update, I left the car at a dealer in Fairfield on Monday and got a call yesterday. They said that they could not reproduce the problem "as I described it". He did admit, however, that my description of burnt ATF and sludge on the drain plug was a very good indicator of what they've seen with these failures. I'm going in today to drive it with them, just to see how they missed my point.

I have driven the car mostly on the highway (thus the 40,000 miles) and have hit vtech, and above, my share of times. But I have not abused it in any way. I think the fact that my original tires probably have another 10,000 miles on them speaks volumes for the kind of driving that I've done.

All in all, I have been very happy with the car. It has been pretty much flawless. And, if I can be guaranteed that the transmission is A-OK, I'll keep it and probably mod the suspension with the new tires, when I get them. If not, and if my transmission is replaced, then I'm going to quickly move away from Acura/Honda, and hopefully get a decent trade-into from a dealer that has not heard about these problems.

oblio98

Heck, if they replace the tranny, you would be better off than if they did not. At least you would be fairly sure that you would have a "fixed" tranny that would be good to go.

I doubt at this point they are putting in questionable trannys.

fla-tls

We can only hope...

LarryLynx

I didn't think that I would be that unlucky. Not even once. Now that it's happened, I'm wondering if it might be "inevitable" with this transmission. The longer you hold on to it, the higher the probability that it'll happen to you. I don't want it to happen to me, again, at 120,000 miles.

I just left the dealer. Based on what I told him about the dirty and burnt oil, they are in the process of replacing my tranny. They happened to have one in stock (don't ask me how), and they tell me it will be finished maybe as early as tomorrow.

I have to say that the fact that they trusted me about the oil (sight unseen), and could not replicate my symptoms, almost seems to be an admission that it's not at all unlikely that these transmissions will have problems.

I also have to say, I don't think anyone here has had such quick service in getting theirs replaced.

LarryLynx

I took the car in on Tuesday and just picked it up (Friday) with a new (not reconditioned) transmission and ECU. It has a definite new feeling. Very smooth and barely noticeable shift at low RPM. I'm very happy right now. I'm not sure if I want to keep it very much longer, however.

copland007

I would be surprised if new, they have all been remanufactured as far as I knew.

Good luck with it.

RedLined

That sounds pretty much the same as the problems I had when my trannies went out.