When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a 2002 3.2TL i bought 4 years ago and everything was fine up until about 9 months ago. The recall issue was fixed by the previous owner back when it was available. The transmission will slip out of gear as if in Neutral after driving for around 15 miles. The strange thing is that i can turn off the engine and wait a few seconds then it works fine for about another 15 miles. I've had the car checked for codes and had a PCM error code, incorrect gear ratio, and clutch failure. Since then I've replaced the PCM and had it programmed, cleaned all 3 of the solenoid screens (they weren't clogged but i cleaned them anyway) and checked them to make sure they were working, changed the filter, and tried various "reset" methods. The codes are cleared and the problem hasn't changed at all. I though it may be a heat issue at first but it corrects itself after restarting the car after a few seconds. No way near time enough for it to cool down. Any ideas or has anyone had this happen? The car drives perfect up until around the 15 mile mark. It's confusingly consistent.
The 2nd Gen TL has a notoriously bad transmission that is prone for failure. It seems your transmission is on its deathbed, look into potentially replacing it following the FAQ above.
Thoiboi has been answering these questions for a very long time so i am not going to disagree. Read the link he posted.
I am curious it drives fine in D5 (?) for 15 miles then no engagement, you stop and restart the car and you can immediately drive for another 15 miles? Does this continue on and on? After you replaced the PCM are there error codes or not? I am not sure from your description. This sounds a bit different than the normal "my transmission is dying" post. Like to hear more.
Have you performed a 3X3 ATF replacement, while also replacing the external filter? perhaps some particulates got into the system when you did all that work.
It doesn't sound like a worn out clutch, if any clutches were worn out than the transmission would always fail when shifting into that particular gear once things got warmed up, progressively getting worse and worse each time.
how about your torque converter, is it making any noises that would indicate it's not generating the needed pressure to operate? the worn out torque converter sound is very subtle so it can creep up on you, but if you've ever heard a worn TC on a honda before; it's very identifiable.
also, check your grounds; there are two; one near the external filter, the other attached to the thermostat housing.
All of your questions are answered in my original post. It drives perfect until around the 15 mile mark. No noises, no weird shifting. Then it's like i just put it in Neutral. It will also do that it if sit at a traffic stop with it in gear for too long, which i forgot to mention in my original post. The codes are cleared and no check engine light. And i pull over and shut it off, wait a few seconds (least i've waited was about 5 seconds), start it back up and it drives fine again until around 15 miles. This is my second "later model" car. Had a 1975 Dart Sport that was much easier to work on and figure out
Not sure about the Torque converter. Like i said the trans was serviced for the recall issue but I'm sure it hasn't had anything else replaced aside from what i've done. So it's the original TC for sure. I've mostly dealt with older 70's cars so I'm not familiar with a worn Honda TC sound. I figured it wasn't worn clutches because it works fine up until a point. The car has 167k miles and was working fine until about 9 months ago.
It may not be a transmission problem. It could be a fuel filter/fuel pump issue. I had a somewhat similar situation a while back. I had a bad fuel filter and the car would stall out, then it would work later. https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-p...-ideas-991328/ There were no codes at the time. If you have a partial blockage or contamination in the fuel tank you can have the car running but with no power. When you are driving and the it feels like it is in neutral what happens to the RPM's, does it fluctuate? When it happens have you tried going into manual drive? When it happens and you pull over can you rev the engine and do the RPM's max out at some number (2-3k)?
Jon M: The RPM's seem to be acting normally. Just as if i was sitting giving it gas with it not in gear. It doesn't fluctuate or at least it hasn't been. It will rev up as high as normal for the amount of gas i give it in park or neutral. Just doesn't move. I haven't been driving the car except around the neighborhood once a week just so it isn't sitting. I've tried the manual drive shifts and tried just stopping and putting it in park for a while with it running. The only thing that helps is to shut it down and restart. These Acura's wouldn't happen to be built by Microsoft huh?
Ok. Sounds as if the fuel system is good as you have control of the RPMs. To me it sounds as if your torque converter is disengaging. This can happen if some of the solenoids are worn. I would replace the Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid set and the A/T clutch pressure Control Solenoid valve C.
The Torque Converter clutch solenoids are located on the top of the torque converter housing under the water hoses. The A/T Clutch pressure control solenoid Valve C is located forward facing on the transmission housing.
I would highly recommend that you try replacing the torque converter solenoid first before buying the much more expensive A/T clutch solenoid.
Clutch solenoids are Items 10 and 11. A/T Solenoid is item number 7
Thanks for all the info. It doesn't happen at a stop unless the car sits for a while in gear, like maybe 2 or 3 minutes. An example would be a really long light or stopped traffic (or a drive-thru, which was an issue). I haven't had it just stop engaging as quick as in the video with the stop sign. When i first get in it and leave it takes around 15 miles before the problem starts. So far it's never done it sooner. Also it's not making that noise in the vid from what i can hear. Of course it could not just be as bad as the one in the video yet. I'll try changing the TC solenoid first as Jon M suggested and see what happens. Probably in the next week. I will post the result one way or another. Of curse any more suggestions are welcome and much appreciated. Trying not to get to the last resort of a swap.
If money is an issue RockAuto has SMP parts for the two solenoids (10&11) they are ~$35 and $39. Otherwise the OEMs are about $67 each. One will have a black connector and will one be brown. Make sure you put them in the correct spot or bad things will happen. Also, see the picture below, the set you want to replace is at the top of the TC housing. There is another set below the starter DON'T replace those. The reason I would try these first is the car runs fine for 15 minutes then after a restart it moves again. I don't see that as being a worn out Torque Converter. I suppose it could be but my experiences is when they start to slip they keep doing it. Also, this is much cheaper than a new TC.
TC solenoids under throttle body and coolant hoses.
Thanks! I just ordered the two solenoids from Rock Auto. Should be here later in the week. I'll update when i get them in and test it out. Hopefully that's the issue.
Out of curiosity do you have and OBDII reader? There should be a temperature reading for the transmission. You might take a reading when you start and when it loses power take another reading (drive with it plugged in and check before you turn off the car). Just wondering if the temp sensor is throwing bad data to the computer.
