newbie

I think my tranny is finally going to go on me. I have about 118K on my 03 TLs, and just yesterday the CEL/VSA lights came on. At that time I thought one of two things. 1. The smoke from the So. Cal fires is throwing off the ECU and making the CEL light come on. 2. The tranny is going.

This morning as I was driving to work, the CEL was still on but no VSA. Unfortunately, 30+ minutes into the drive the VSA lights came on again, and I notice my car was not shifting normally (it shifts at higher revs than usual, and when it does shift it doesn't feel snappy). Eventually when I pulled into the parking structure and start climbing up the structure, I opened my windows so I can hear my car better, I notice a couple of things. 1. It feels that the clutch is gone, because the engine is reving high but the car was not moving as much as it should. 2. I can smell what I think a burning clutch would smell like.

So now... I need to get it fixed. I am thinking of taking it into the Stealership. But I also poked around the old posts, and some suggested Ammco. The Ammco suggestion was a bit strange to me because I remember a while back when I researched on the tranny problem, Ammco was NOT recommended. Yes? No?

What should I do? Any other suggestions? Any specific to So Cal (around either LAX or Irvine)?

Thanks!

TLGOD84

I would go to a local acura dealership and because your car is past the warranty mileage you probably work out a deal with them on the tranny. Ive read some people getting the tranny replace and only playing for the labor or vice versa. Acura is fully aware that there is a problem with the tranny and they should be able to help you.

fsttyms1

Its a no brainer. Go to the dealer first. See if they can or will offer a replacement. You never know it may be free, or at a discounted price.

SodaLuvr

Dealer first. If not, read my out of warranty transmission replacement thread.

I think they'll cover at least half even with your mileage. It's all about your communication skills at this point...

fsttyms1

Dont go in being an ass. Be polite.

newbie

thank you guys for the reply. i dropped off my car at the dealership earlier today (had to have it towed there, since the car won't even run any more).

the service rep quoted me ~$4400 (parts + labor) and said that there is a $1200 core charge in that, so I should be able to get that back assuming that my current tranny checks out okay (meaning they can still use it to rebuild). he also suggests that he thinks my chances of getting anything from acura is slim given my miles (since my vin didn't get the extended warranty). but he will try to give them a call tomorrow (since it was getting late today) to see what they can do.

i have been very polite, but what else can i do to better my chances of having them try to get acura to cover some of the cost? i have only brought my car in to acura dealership for regular oil change (bringing my own mobile one oil and filter), so from their perspective i am probably not their "ideal" customer.

01tl4tl

dont worry- you got the standard service writer total bs- (I used to be one)
They get commission- so of course they want to bend you over,
core charge is not about rebuildable condition- they expect them to be fried- that gets credited back as soon as it reaches the rebuilder

In the morning that writer should talk to the Service MANAGER who calls acura and ask what they can do
May start offer at 2500 or may be nice and say 4 hours labor- $500 and acura will pay for the trans itself
with that they offer a 3/36 warranty for $300- buy it
Dont listen to the naysayers or the service writers
the MANAGER is who you talk to.
If you get more bs in the morning. ask to speak to the SM, and tell them what the writer has been doing
They are not supposed to throw out a $4000 guesstimate without any diagnosis, thats totally out of line--

You are in their computer as a customer- which is something acura will ask the manager. Yes he comes in for oil changes.
There isnt much else to do on a TL- so thats all the business they can expect!

Be positive in your approach, you love your acura and belong to acurazine- the worlds largest internet tech forum for all acura's

pnthr30

As a basis of comparison........I got a new tranny (Acura remanufactured) installed from the dealership on my 03TLS about 6 months ago with 111K on car for free. Good luck!

01tl4tl

as you should have
the extended warranty goes to 109, and certain vin range got a court case saying odometer reads fast, which extends warranty to 114.5 indicated miles

SodaLuvr

See what the service manager comes back with. If they don't cover at least 75%, call Acura corporate yourself and explain the situation. Being firm and polite, explaining the common occurrence of this problem, as well as establishing your loyalty to the brand will help significantly.

Eboniman2

I am a first time poster.

I wanted to thank you guys for the invaluable info that you have posted on these boards. I just had my tranny go at 106,000 miles. It died on the highway going up a hill at 2am. Got it towed by AAA to the dealership which was of course closed. It is out of the warranty and yes I did check the vin info for the recal. My 03TLS has had an oil kit put in it (from previous owner).

The night this happend I went right to Acurazine and read posts for 2 hours straight. As per the advice on the boards I was going to speak face to face with the service manager. He has been out sick the last 2 days. In any event I spoke with the service advisor (whom spoke with the manager). He told me that Acura will pick up 75% of the $5300 and include a 36 month warranty. He also explained that Acura is usually pretty good about taking care of its loyal customers.

Again I thank the many of you that post advice and experiences on these boards. Without the knowledge and education we are helpless. I wanted to let you know of my experience so maybe someone else will be empowered as well.

Thanks again!

TimL

wow the TL's Tranny dies out at 107k?? that is pretty low for a Honda. Like before I bought my TL I had a 1997 Lexus SC300 5speed and i went to 290k before it died out. I would think a TL would do the same O.o now I'm scared cause my TL has 80k

newbie

thanks for the words of wisdom and encouragement.

this morning i spoke to the service manager and he said that the corporate is willing to cover 25% of the cost. So I am looking at about $2500 which will also include the 3yr/36K warranty. I have told them to go ahead with the repair since it seem reasonable to me at the time and i really want to get my car back.

i have then ask him for the contact to honda corporate to see if i can try to get the corporate to do a bit more like what people have suggested here, but he has been unwilling to give any sort of contact. i will try to ask again to get the contact and some sort of reference number. but is there any number you guys know about that i can just call? do i need any sort of reference information?

01tl4tl

1-800-382-2238 x5 thats acura care, extension 5 gets a human
ask them to take a report on the situation- you are unhappy with the low support amount from acura, and would like to have a manager call you back!
the phone person knows nothing- dont even ask
When you talk to the manager explain you are on acurazine and everyone in similar situations is paying 25% and corp picks up 75%
or paying 500 install trans labor, and acura picks up entire trans cost
With the 3/36 available for $300- thats a deal!

Dealer is trying to make a big profit on you- on what should be a warranty deal

the Corp person you talk with will make some calls and get you a better deal for your effort
Persistance is good~
be nice- express brand loyalty, you love your TL, other family members own acura...attend acura car club meets...

Dont need a referance number since dealer has your name on file with car info,
it helps when you call to have the VIN to give them, and the dealers invoice/work order number helps too
Good luck

TimL

I'm gonna save 01tl4tl's respond on a note pad haha so when my tranny dies i'll know what to do thanks man ^^

01tl4tl

TimL
the TL trans- if a unit is going to fail- typically goes out after 60-70k miles
And some make it all the way to 110-115!!!

Yes its low for a honda, but thats what happens when you dont have enough room inside the trans for enough clutches,,, and low fluid flow....

Bob_F

While Honda/Acura cars are typically very reliable, the transmissions in the 2nd gen TLs have had terrible reliability. Consumer reports owner surveys have resulted in a "much worse than average" reliability rating for the transmission. That corrresponds to a "black dot" and it's the lowest rating that they hand out.

Some forum members have gone through several transmissions before reaching 100,000 miles.

newbie

So after working with the acura case manager, the "final" offer from acura to me is that i pay a little under $2K. I'll try to summarize the last conversion I had with him.

Acura: I thought that you had already accepted the $2K amount presented to you by the dealership. (note, this is after they first quoted me with approx 2500, with out me going to the customer care).

Me: NO! They told me that offer, I told them ok because there is no point in talking to them since they can't make the decision. I was still waiting for YOU to call me back like promised (which he never did. I had to call him numerous times).

Acura: So you are not happy with that amount?

Me: I had try to explain to you that I see from acurazine that acura will cover 75% to 100%, and that was my expectation.

Acura: We look at every case one by one, and the ones with 75%~100% is different. They probably don't have the same situation like you.

Me: I am certain they do.

Acura: Well, we look at everything. I am sure the specifics are different.

Me: Can you tell me what the specifics are?

Acura: For example, they probably had previous tranny failures.

Me: I am certain that their failure is the first, just like my.

Acura: We think it's fair because you already have the full like out of your tranny with ~118K miles.

Me: You probably know better than me, but the tranny problem is the the 2nd and 3rd gear, so if I am cruising most of the time on the freeway, I am going to get more miles from the tranny than others.

Acura: The automatic tranny is a wear and tare component, and it is supposed to go out.

Me: I am confused. You are telling me that most of the automatically transmission cars out there are supposed to have their tranny die at as little as 50K or in my case about 100K miles?

Acura: The BBB has it that a tranny should last 120K.

Me: So I am 2K below that!

Acura: You are talking just a couple of thousand of miles.

Me: (By this time the exchange is already a little heated) I am not here to argue with you. I understand that you are only limited by what corporate let you do. I am just very disappointed that HONDA, known for it's reliability would not take care of their customer. I don't think they need a negative PR like this.

Acura: So you are telling me that, Acura, going out of they way to cover some of the cost of your beyond warranty has not made you any happier.

Me: I will be lying if I said that it didn't make a difference, but it still does not meet my expectation.

Acura: Not all the 2nd Gen TL get the extended 100K warranty. For you, you are already about 70K beyond the warranty.

Me: I don't want to argue with you. Thank you. Bye.

newbie

Now, the question is... should I try to escalate it (try to see if I can talk to the case manager's supervisor)? Has anyone have to do this?

newbie

so i did trying to escalate it by calling acura care again, but end up being routed back to the same manager that was handling my case. so needless to say, it didn't really get anywhere. in fact, there was a simi-threat (at least in my opinion) where the manager basically said the following, "okay, what we can do is this. i can resubmit your case to the district service manager, and have him reevaluate the case. he can come back with 75% support, the same support, or NO support!"

anyways, there some more exchanges after that, but nothing major. the end result is the same. i ended up paying $2077 out of pocket, with a 3yr/36k warranty. Though the warranty is nice, i doubt with my commute style it will help (since majority of my commute is cruising on the freeway and not working the problem 2/3 gear area). sigh....

thank you guys so much (again) for all the information, encouragement! this place is awesome.

01tl4tl

Now that the car is back in your hands- you can go to acuras upper levels -via writing to corp- and ask for a refund of 1000$ to bring your settlement in line with others you read about every day on acurazine.com the internets largest acura owner tech forum!

Tell them the case manager was unable to provide specifics of why cases differ- what made your car different than them?
and all you are asking is what hundreds, if not thousands, of other owners are getting!!
they KNOW the prob was NOT fixed on a certain vin- that was only to settle a court case

I like to remind them-- a Happy customer tells 2 friends~
an UNhappy customer USED to tell 11 people- now they go online and tell millions

but on the other hand you do have to realize- they are going beyond what the law/warranty requires- something no other car makers with similar tranmission are doing for their customers with failures just past 50k miles!!!~

If it wasnt for the court case- you would have got nothing at all