I wonder if anyone can summarize what is known about the transmission problem. I have read that there is a problem in the third speed clutch assembly with inadequate lubrication and that heat buildup damages gears esp. second gear. I read that there is an updated third clutch that solves the problem. Does anyone know for sure and where do I get the upgraded parts?

It looks like removing the end cover and replacing the third clutch isn't that hard.

Also the manual shows an external filter. Is that replaceable with the trans in the car?

Other than that I plan to do a 3X fluid change at regular intervals and hope for the best.

 

The 2nd gear is fixed with the oiljet kit. the 3rd gear is fixed with the latest rebuild parts version 02/05 date. You will need to get your transmission rebuild and have the parts from acura.

 

You need to do a little more reading. Every thing is explained in the trans treads, and hondas letters.

There is A LOT more to it than just pulling the end cover off and replacing it. You have to disassemble the WHOLE trans. hondas parts list includes the updated parts, NOT the case.

 

an 02 is still covereed on the special court orderd warranty extension for us-
7 years PLUS 9 months from date first sold OR 109,000 miles, whichever comes first
Full coverage warranty replacement- value $4000

If you have any problems- slipping- delay into gear- etc- get to the dealer right away!
offer not valid on salvage title cars~

 

It's my daughter's car which she purchased used from a private party.

It has > 105K miles and the trans fluid looked old, so I doubt it has been rebuilt recently.

I guess first we should inquire what has been done to the transmission in the past.

 

But if the tranny in your daughter's car is not acting up, Acura WILL NOT replace the tranny under the extended warranty campaign.

 

that is correct- there must be a failure for them to replace- its not a courtesy gesture.
We dont rebuild anything on them- most dont change the fluid before it fails ~
If the fluid is old and the car is confirmed trans warranty covered- go ahead and change the fluid- that usually kills the trans within a week- no kidding
THEN acura will give you a new trans
Go drive it and check for slippage or thunks into gear- see the `tranny failure` threads early pages for acuras list of known symptoms

 

I have a replaced tranny and did the tranny fluid change and 2 months after the change it still runs fine, it didn't get killed.

 

just wait longer and see if you get any symptoms, if you don't, you might be one of the lucky ones

 

guyen- we are talking about a car with original trans and 105k miles- no fluid change ever done- fluid looks nasty. Those TEND to have failure after the crud holding the clutches together is removed.

You are talking about your replacement-- which has how many miles on it?

Those who have been here a while know what happens when you change hi miles oil.
If you stay on a yearly change schedule or whatever you choose- thats a different story and will hopefully keep your trans safe forever

 

Since you have an updated tranny and very likely also a reprogrammed PCM, it wouldn't be as that easy to kill that tranny as the original unmodified ones. Keep in mind that even though rebuilt trannies do fail, the failure rate is much, much lower than the original ones.

 

I was intending to mean that trans with 100,000 miles and never had a fluid change, is likely going to have problems- based on the many experiences of ziners posted here.
A replacement trans from acura should not have any issue with a fluid change every 30k miles- every 15k miles if you really want to.
My ~opinion~ is to do a full 9 qt fluid change- whenever you decide to do it- on the replaced trans units.

 

There are no problems with the transmission at present. I changed it once a few weeks ago and there appear to be no problems. I guess I'll change it 2X more this weekend,

The fluid I drained out was no longer red, sort of light brown, and there was a small amount of powdered metal on the magnetic drain plug, but no more than I've seen on other transmissions with 100K or so miles.

My reasoning is that if the fluid is getting overheated, keeping fresh fluid in it is good.

I doubt we will have problems within the warranty period. After that I would just get it rebuilt by a local shop using all the upgraded parts.

 

Fluid getting over heated isnt the problem, its the lack of fluid in the 3rd gear to over heat them that is the problem

 

Changing the fluid will not accelerate failure. Fluid discoloration is normal and does not indicate the fluid's condition.

The 2nd gear problem was corrected with the external oil jet it, on later models this modification is internal. The 3rd clutch problem, well, the supplier of remanufactured transmissions to Honda told me that they install a larger snap ring for improved durability.

 

Change the fluid (3 x 3) it's due.

Then make sure the recall work has been done. Recall is inspection of 2nd gear for discoloration from heat. If present, tranny is replaced. If not present, oil jet cooler is installed.

IF the tranny fails or shows signs of failure before it hit's 109k, get it to the dealer to get warranty coverage.

I don't understand why you'd want to do work on *this* tranny before the warranty expires. It's 4,000 miles. Certainly you can have Acura do the work (recall-wise) and wait it out for a few months. If anything happens, you get a new tranny no charge. Why pay a 3rd party now?

 

LOL I'm one of the lucky ones...165k original tranny.

 

Also, even after the warranty extension, Acura usually picks up a portion of the bill, so it'll still make sense to have them replace the unit.

 

Thanks for the information. I plan to find out whether the upgrades have been done. My daughter bought this car from a coworker who has taken good care of it. He must know what has been done to the transmission. If it's had the upgrades I think we'll just keep clean fluid in it and hope we're lucky.

I appreciate the information on what is wrong with the transmissions. My son in law used to work in a transmission shop that rebuilds racing transmissions, so between us, with the shop manual, I'm sure we could rebuild the transmission if need be. I would feel a lot better about it having actually seen all the internal parts. I think a lot of the work at car dealerships is sloppy.

 

A; the dealer does not rebuild the trans- acura has a shop that does all of them for them and then a warehouse sends out the rebuilt units to dealers- on order for a particular car.
Its a straight R&R trans assembly job for the tech

B: Call acura NOW at 1-800-382-2238 x5- with the cars VIN
register it with you or daughter as the new owner of record (for recall and warranty extension notifications)
Ask- would they look up the recall history and make sure the `2nd gear oil jet kit` was installed- recall issued in 2004- to install external oiler, and are there any other recalls or extended warrantioes in effect- like seatbelts or SRS airbag system

you can register here too-- which has recall history of the car
http://owners.acura.com/registration...erstepone.aspx

As for fluid change- if going to do it- do it right- 3 qts of 7.3 is not much for changing the old dead fluid. The 3x3 method is the way to go `In my Opinion`- to fully change out the fluid.
You dont drive it more than 5 minutes between each draining- not trying to mix but rather push fluid along the lines to the drain area
The fluid doesnt change color that much- not a real indicator of condition- smell it and know more!

It has been proven that Acura TL cars that never got any fluid service, and now have 100k miles-
MAY and often often DO- experience the sludge that was holding the clutch plates together gets removed and the friction coefficient with it~
That leads to failure not long after.

 

The transmissions are not rebuilt at the dealership. They are remanufactured at a specialized facility. The dealership only installs the complete unit.

This is one of Honda's suppliers, and they describe the remanufacturing process on their website. It's much more thorough than a backyard rebuild:

http://www.hnatrans.com/

 

My daughter says the transmission was replaced at 70K miles, so I presume it had the required upgrades.

Thanks for all the input.

 

If your going to waste your time taking the trans out and inspecting the inside you might as well rebuild it. It would be pointless to take every thing apart just to look at it. Its not like doing a brake job.

And the dealer does NOT rebuild the trans. They arent allowed to open them up (for the warranty extension/recall) all trans are sent to a re builder honda has.

 

if the trans was replaced at 70k - it was probably done after mid 2005, those units have a much better life span than earlier rebuilds
You still need to do those registrations with acura- and ask acura 800# what the install date was on the trans, so you know for sure.

Since it does have low miles- you can change the fluid without any concerns- and the new thing from acura is to do it more often- every 30k miles or 15 if you are commute drive would be a general guess on my part, and my stated opinion of 3x3 being a proper fluid changeout is known to all