Hey,

My 2000 TL with 220,000 miles has begun to give me issues for the first time since I got it at 120,000 miles from the 1st owner who had 0 issues apart from the warrantied transmission replacement at 80,000 miles.

Its the typical 2nd to 3rd gear slipping, but its not bad enough where D5 comes on or anything, although the TCS light has come on a few times. Anyway I did the 3x3 transmission fluid change I learned about on here and was thinking about the solenoid cleaning.

I'd like to keep the TL almost just to see how far the engine will run since the rest of the car is fine. But at the same time I'm considering selling it for whatever I can get for it ($2,000 privately maybe?) and goin for a newer honda accord. The only issue is that I've saved up my money for graduate tuition and would prefer not to blow my meager life savings on a car.

Before I do anything though does anyone know of any other common issues for the TL at 200,000+ miles? The car has always had 93 octane fuel and regular oil changes, had the timing belt done a few thousand miles ago for cheap, etc

 

I have 247k miles on my 02 TL-S and I have the same skip from 2nd to 3rd gear. Last week my CEL came on, and had it looked at and they said its the 2nd to 3rd gear slipping etc...However that has been there for sometime now, and I know I was well past being due for a tranny flush. So for now, I had them flush the tranny, and i'm going to keep driving it.

At this point its not worth spending the money on a rebuild etc..with the amount of mileage etc...Just hoping to drive it for a little longer before I have to buy a new car.

 

oh no, the dreaded tranny `flush`!!! how was this done a machine- at acura- and what fluid used? critical thing here!

ace: same thing, what fluid used- actual 9 or 12 qts used 3x3 method? DIY?
ckd fluid level 15 minutes warm as between the dots?
level will affect shifting and it drains more than 3,,
more like 3.4 so 3 as refill isnt going to cut it

Get it to a parts store for free code ck on the CEL - that will help us

On your timing belt done cheap= were tensioners replaced? or still original, or from last belt change? that can create `loss of engine` conditions if tensioner fails = same as breaking the belt
Im saying to look over the car at suspension and steering parts- see whats worn out and then think a honda may be smart at this point
You can always earn more money for school, but not being able to get there and the car with dead trans is worth near nothing....
get out while you can to a ziner or someone at the dealer service dept- who will rebuild the trans at home and resell the car!

 

for Both: one of our trans rebuilding gurus says use SS mode to help shift now as trans is going out
it has different line pressure than D5 mode and will help force a shift

 

i drain and filled it with the 3x3 method. the first round i had a little over 3 quarts come out, the next two rounds not quite 3 full quarts came out each time. i filled it back up with 3 quarts each time. i used advance auto parts store bought z1 atf, cant remember the brand name but it looked like a castrol bottle (dont know if they make z1).

the fluid level was between the dots about 2-3 mins after warmed up, will have to check again to see after 15 mins.

the timing belt was changed with the water pump, and i cant exactly remember, i think i did actually have the tensioners replaced too. if it wasnt replaced this time around it was definently done at the 105k service interval.

i got my rear struts replaced today (the eibachs didnt last long surprisingly), would prefer to stick with the TL for another year or two if do-able. my work is only like 5 miles from my house and the transmission seems to be ok for now after the flush. basically i wont be driving the car too frequently from here on out.

how about the redline racing atf? is it worth doing a few more drain/fills with that atf?

 

forgot to include, will driving in D4 help the 2nd to 3rd slip?

 

Mine was brought to a reputable transmission shop, and it was flushed by a machine. Mine sputters a little from 2nd to 3rd, that is the only noticeable issue right now. Hopefully the tranny flush helps, as it seems it did because CEL hasn't come back on. Sputter from 2nd to 3rd, has been there for some time so I don't think the CEL light came on for that. And I was also due for a tranny flush.

 

machine flushes are deadly to the TL!!!!
must know what fluid they used too..can make things worse!

use of SS will help the 2-3 shift if it gets really bad

the 5 mile trips isnt long enough to clog the TC outflow screens with loose clutch material,,so you should be ok there for a while...
on freeway,,,expect it to quit at some point
if it does, pull off for 15-30 mintes with engine off..allowing crud to free itself from the screens and you get some trans action again

 

the level at 15 minutes freeway drive time- with minimal stop and go traffic getting to freeway---thats when you measure it

BETWEEN the 2 dots is desired at that fluid temp
in park - engine off

 

tranny flushes by machine for the tl are not recomended. honda and acura suggest doing with hand pump to remove the fluid