Any advice on how to save the tranny on my 99 TL w/193K? Bought the dealer-serviced car with 98K a few years ago but didn't change the tranny fluid until about 190K since it was shifting harshly out of park-my previous camry never had it changed and never a trans problem. I think the dealer only did a basic drain/refill and said to change it again in 5k miles since it was very dirty. Never mentioned that you're supposed to flush it 3 times. Two months later, the tranny started slipping and instead of taking off, the rpms just shot higher-no downshift. Took it home, used the forums to find out how to change it myself (didn't realize how easy it was) and did it twice. Now it's a little better-can get up to highway speeds but i have to play grandpa and my 0-70 times are probably about 15-20 seconds. It does seem to be zippy around town going between 0 and 40. The biggest problem for me is that although it will downshift at lower speeds, at higher speeds and emergency situations when you need to punch it, the rpms just increase instead of downshifting right away. It will eventually get to the speed I want and do it at normal rpms but it doesn't like to shift right away.

Thought I might try changing the fluid a few more times and also another dealer recommended that, as an alternative to repair/replace, I add a bottle of the Lucas transmission fix-50/50 chance. I bought one but didn't use it yet since I'm suspicious that these additives really work(the placebo effect) and don't want to do more harm esp. since acura requires special fluids & maybe I need to drain/refill a few more times.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

There is nothing you can do. Its time to start looking into having it rebuilt.

 

I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. It does seem to be getting a little better as the fluid works in. I think I might try changing the fluid another time or two since it's been giving me some hope-at least tonight around town it started shifting a little better. Maybe there's sludge that's slowly getting dislodged. Old fluid was almost black when I changed it last weekend. Probably didn't help that when the Acura dealer changed it 2 months ago, they didn't put the dipstick in all the way-was almost out and covered with crud-not sure if anything got into the fluid but I'm sure it didn't help matters.

BTW, I'm using Castrol Import multi-vehicle transmission fluid, which is compatible with Honda/Acura. Only $3.99/qt at pep boys, though 2 in my area seem to be out of stock-don't even see a space for it even though I bought some 1 1/2 weeks ago. Given that you don't even have to jack the car to drain it, very easy to DIY. Only $12 for 3 quarts vs. $90 at Acura dealer-from the color of the fluid after just 2 months, I'd say they didn't give it a full flush-just drain/refill once for that.

Anybody have any luck with the Lucas transmission fluid? A guy at Advanced Auto Parts raved about it as well as their oil, but I don't think he used it on Acuras. I might try it as a last resort if changing the fluid again doesn't restore full performance. At the moment, the trans isn't so bad that it needs immediate replacement, though I'm keeping my eye out for used ones-lots of wrecks in New Jersey.

 

I wouldnt use any thing but honda fluid. With the amount of miles you have on that trans your very lucky. Id honestly start thinking about having it rebuilt. These trans are known to fail, they all have issues (99s have less but still have problems). The new fluid will help for a bit but the damage/wear inside is already there and it wont last.

Flushes are NOT recommended by honda. they simply want drain fills. You can buy the honda fluid at the honda dealer and do it yourself for under 20 bucks for a 3 qt drain fill.

 

To add any new fluid is throwing money away
Do as suggested and get either a local place, Aamco or somilar to rebuild for you
Driving it like it is CAN result in sudden stoppage of forward movement on the freeway
exciting for you- terrifying for the car tailgating you!!!!

 

 

For the benefit of anybody else that has a P0420 code and has shifting problems, I had my code on for about a year-sometimes it would go off but then back on. Car worked fine-no emissions inspection needed until next year. Then one day after getting my transmission fluid changed 2 months prior- I went to punch it and it was a no-go. Would still shift but no power to pass, and it seemed seemed to be ok around town as long as I wasn't going uphill. Thought my tranny was shot (I have a 1999 4-speed, not the more trouble-prone 2000+ 5 speed). It would often delay shifting gears and sometimes I couldn't get it into 4th gear on the highway. Engine had started to overheat and I'd go through coolant so much that I just started using mostly water. Going up onramps on highways was fine as long as I did it slow and steady, but going on a slight incline was slow. A steep hill from a standing start was terrible since I couldn't pick up enough speed and the car felt like it was going to break.

I took my car to a Cottman for their free 21 point inspection and told them about the shifting problem-they used their code reader and still couldn't find anything. I told them that the car had been overheating, and after I put a new radiator cap (old one had broken internally)- it started overheating again after a day.

They said their tear-down guy wasn't there and nobody actually drove the car, but said the solenoids were ok since no error codes but that my delayed shifting must be due to bad hydraulics and they would need to take it apart. After first quoting me $1700+parts (total to be around $3K) just a week before, they lowered the charge for opening it up to $375 to take it apart and said that yes they would put it together for that if I decided that it wasn't worth fixing. Sounded a little shady that the diagostic rip apart/put together price would change so much. However, my dad spoke with another guy that used to be a Cottman dealer in Shrewsbury, NJ (had a reputation for being honest) echoed the comments that I got from an "online chat" guy from Cottman, and that was that for these cars you need to CLEAR ALL ENGINE CODES before ripping apart a tranny since so many systems are interdependent. BTW, Aamco online chat guy is useless-just refers you to a shop.

In the meantime, I ordered a new cat online ($147) after an online chat guy from a catalytic converter place said that it would be that, even though I didn't hear any rattling inside the converter. Had a local guy install it for me for $50 and now all of my shifting and acceleration problems went away. Car runs like new-shifts quick as a button! Never knew that a clogged cat could affect the shifting quality of the car so much. Hope this helps somebody else diagnose their problem and avoid an expensive tranny rebuild.

 

You are in denial. Your tranny is dying. Trust us, we know. ALL of us have had rebuilt tranny's. If you're looking for advice and knowledge on this subject you've found the right place and our advice is that your need a new tranny soon. I know it sucks, but it IS the truth.

 

Really, if you have nothing productive to say, then PLEASE, do not say it. All of my symptoms were of an increasingly clogged cat and after my mechanic swapped out the cat, it runs like new. So leave your useless comments somewhere else. Acura doesn't make the best trannies, but mine turned out not to be bad

 

no reason to get pissed off man. My comments weren't meant to be taken as a bash against you at all, just a strong opinion that your tranny is on its way out. The clogged cat would help your car feel more responsive and smoother now that you've had it replaced, but the symptoms you stated in your original post are symptoms of a failing tranny. I have a 99 also and my original tranny made it to 143k. some days it drove good, but others got me nervous. If you are/were experiencing very slow shifts and rpm's shooting up but your car wasn't really going anywhere. You also mentioned it was slipping. If your tranny was actually slipping then nothing is going to stop it from slipping in the future and sooner or later it will totally fail on you.