My 2002 TL-P has about 30k miles now. I noticed over the past 2 weeks that the tranny shift between 2nd and 3rd seems a little "odd" to the extent that the RPMs go up by about 200-300 rpm in between the shift. Its really something you dont feel in the shift itself, but the engine overreving between gears doesnt seem right. It also does not do that in between any of the other gear shifts. I am bringing it in to Acura next week to have it checked but i was wondering in the mean time from all of you that had the tranny go whether this is an early symptom of the tranny failure? For some of you out their that had the tranny fail, it seems like it was an instantaneous failure. So my question is aimed more at those who had time to notice it dying a slow death.
For the record, my dealership in NY confirmed that they are replacing an average of 2 transmissions a week, that the early replacements were failing a second time because Acura really didnt know what the problem was, and that the current rebuilds have had the problem corrected. The failure is in fact the 3rd gear clutch pack as has been the speculation circulating about it. At least I appreciate the dealer's honesty about it.

 

This is *exactly* what mine did. Mine never completely "failed" where the VSA and check engine lights come on and D5 blinks, but the 2->3 upshift "flair" was the first signs of failure. Towards the end, I could faithfully reproduce the flair in SS mode. I bet it gets worse in a short matter of time....

Good luck.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have a week to go before my car goes to them and fortunately most all my driving is on the highway, so the tranny only has to go past the 2nd to 3rd shift maybe a few dozen times between now and then.
I guess its true that most every TL on the road is due for a tranny replacement and that its only a matter of time for each car.

 

This is still tricky, if mine has not been replaced by 100k, then I am selling the car for sure, if it has, I still may sell that car, just because I don't want to run the risk of it failing and me having to pay to fix it to sell the car. I bet dealers told some of the people on the 2nd tranny when they first got them replaced that "the problem was fixed" That is what they told me the first time I went in for the sunroof (big difference I know, but the principle is there)