I've been doing my research on getting an Acura TL and i've seen that quite a few people are having transmission problems. Is this a very big issue? I'm about to buy a used 1999 Acura with 86,000 miles on it and i don't want the tranny going bad on me. I've read about some people replacing it at 15k and 30k so if it did would it have gotten it changed earlier right? I could also buy an extended warranty, but still...I don't want to go through the hastle of a bad transmission. Any insight on this issue?

 

Do some searching in this forum, I am not sure if the 99s have the OK 4 speed from the accord or the junk 5 speed auto...

See if the car shifts oddly, and take it to 50 mph and mash the gas and see how well it downshifts...my car is all hwy miles and it took till 70K before I felt it was bad enough to take into the dealer. But it ALWAYS seemed to have a mind of its own since I bought it. Run a CarFax on it, those prove to be worth the money...

Mark

 

Without seeming too off base, it is a 4 year old car with more than 80k miles. Tranmissions would be at risk in any used car where you have no idea what has gone on with it for that amount of time/mileage. That would be true whether it was an Acura, a Ford, Nissan, blah blah blah...

 

I personally would go for a Lexus ES300 w/ similar mileage for a little more money

 

I bought a 2000 with 83k on it for 12,500. The car is immaculate and I had the tranny replaced under warranty. Any car with this kind of mileage is at tranny risk and at least you have a warranty for another 20K miles. It seems that the 99 and 2000 TL-P's are not having as many problems as the newer S types possibly due to the lower HP or the fact that people who buy the TL-S tend to be harder on their cars. Who knows. I love my car.

 

so i would assume the '04 with it's 270hp will have simular problems but more often?

 

Unless they actually finally figured out what the problem was and will not continue to try and get away with bandaids.

 

The 04 is a new designed auto trans. New tranny could equal new problems however....

 

The problem with trannys are as follows:

'99 TL is a 4-spd automatic, tranny problem is weak bearings.

'00 and up have the 5-spd automatic, tranny problem is 3rd gear clutch pack.

Most of the tranny problems occuring to date is the 5-spd. Tranny problems occur regardless whether you drive like a maniac or drive like a grandma. If the tranny is gonna go, it's gonna go (nothing you can do about it).