New Orleans Lady

I have a 2000 TL and had the transmission replaced at 93,000 miles. I am in outside sales so I do put a lot of highway miles; however, it has been well serviced and maintained.

My problem here is that my replaced trans just crapped out again on me at 153,000 miles. I mean come on.. I'm not stupid, a transmission should NOT fail after only 60k miles. The dealership is now offering to replace this one for $2000 (labor) but I think it's pretty crappy that ACURA claims to have fixed the problem when it's clear that they only put a Band-Aid on the problem since there are so many replaced transmissions that are failing.

I called ACURA Cust Care and asked about Goodwill assistance and the guy asked questions but said there was nothing more he could do. I was extremely polite and very friendly with him and he basically told me that he couldn't even transfer me to his supervisor when I asked if someone else could help me (since he said he couldn't).

I am a single mom and there is no way I can come up with the $2000 so I'm praying someone here may have advice.

(I've read the transmission thread and my VIN was also within the range of numbers)

niju321

Sorry to hear about this...but if you've already gone the goodwill way you might be stuck. When was your last transmission replacement? The new design was released sometime in 2005, so if you had yours done close to that time you may have gotten an old version....

On the other hand, it looks like they've already halved the cost of the replacement...

New Orleans Lady

It was replaced in Oct 06.

I was afraid someone would say that I may not have any options at this point. I am seriously frustrated b/c this was not a "fix" IMO, not if replaced transmissions are failing again so quickly...

Bob_F

Well it could very well be that Acura did significantly improve the overall reliablity of the transmission after February of 2005. And my general impression from reading this forum is that the updated transmissions are more reliable.

But that doesn't mean that any particular transmission is immune to failure. Even the best designed mechanical items will have some non-zero failure rate. In other words maybe you were just unlucky. (I know that won't make you feel any better.)

On the replacement cost, did you ask to speak to the Service Manager? He (or she) can sometimes offer a better deal that a Service Advisor.

Another option is to call Acura's national Customer Care group. (There's a 1-800 number for that floating around.) Sometimes they can step in and help out.

Also spend some time reading the Tranny Failure thread. that's full of out of warranty repair stories. Some have gotten full coverage although it a hit or miss thing.

Here's the link to that thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-problems-fixes-117/tranny-failure-thread-566833/

The thread is pretty massive so I'd start at the end and work backwards.

Good luck!

Bob

New Orleans Lady

Hey Bob.. check out my OP. I did all of that...

But thanks anyway!

Bob_F

Roger that. I went right to your second post and I missed those details in your original post.

And, to be clear, did you speak to the Service Manager at the dealership?

You might want to find some specific examples in the Tranny Failure thread where similar out-of-warranty TLs were offered better coverage. I'm not sure that I've seen better coverage with such a high mileage TL but it's worth a look.

Then call the Customer Care folks again and mention that others have been treated better and politely ask if they could take another look at your case. Just getting a different customer service representative might make a difference.

If none of that works, you might want to write a letter to Acura's national headquarters detailing your situation and your disappointment with your Tl ownership experience. Mention how this will affect your purchase decisions in the future. Sometimes a letter has more imapct than a phone call.

Having written all of that, $2,000 is actually a pretty good deal for an out-of-warranty car.

Again, good luck!

Bob

Gfaze

You might also want to mention your single mother status and the fact that it would be impossible for you to come up with $2000. They might give you a little more, who knows?

niju321

I think that's what helped me (though my mileage was much lower)--they asked how much I thought was fair, and I didn't give a direct answer, but instead told them that I appreciated whatever they were doing, but that I was a poor college student, so if the cost was any more than $0 I'd have no choice but to take my chances. next day...100% goodwill. but as you've already had one transmission replacement, i'm not sure how charitable they will be in your case

New Orleans Lady

Begin that they wouldn't budge, I'm now on my way back there in the loaner to discuss trading it in as is for an MDX.

Figures, the very month I pay my car off this happens to me. Didn't even get to enjoy ONE month without a freaking car note!!!!!!!

*sigh*

Bob_F

Does the "they" in "they won't budge" include the Service Manager?

Forum member 01tl4tl suggests in the Tranny Failure thread that the Service Manager can often offer better deals than a Service Advisor.

I'd also roll the dice on another call to Acura Customer Care. Mention your financial situation and that your car is needed for your job. Maybe you'll get a different CSR that is more helpful. Ask that they assign you a case number. If they still can't help, request a transfer to a supervisor. If that CSR also refuses to transfer you, include that information in a letter to Acura.

Before you decide to go with the MDX or anything else, be sure to lay out all the costs associated with trading in your TL for something else. The trade in value on a TL with a failed transmission is probably very, very low. It might be that paying $2,000 for a new transmission is your lowest cost option. In fact, even if you trade it in or sell it, getting it repaired make be the best move from a cost standpoint.

Good luck and let us know how everything turns out.