MattyICE

Hi guys, new to the forum. I have a 2000 3.2 with about 200500 miles. I bought the car from my father in law 2 weeks ago. His aunt was the original owner and the car has been meticulously maintained by Acura. As far as I know the transmission was not repaired or replaced due to any recalls. The car has been a dependable ride since day one. The last 4 years my father in law had it, it ran great. Did water pump and serpentine belt a year ago.
Last week I was driving on the highway going about 75. I noticed a slight burning smell but thought it was a truck that was ahead of me. A few miles go by and it's getting stronger and I then notice smoke in my mirrors. I was about half mile from the next exit so I slowed down and proceeded to get off the ramp. My check engine light came on. That last half mile on the highway the rpms were jumping from 2 to 4k and shuddering a bit. I got off exit and stopped at light. As I proceeded to accelerate the car disnt want to move. I got up to 5k rpm and barely was crawling. I shifted into first and was able to get off road and into a lot. When I parked, the car was smoking and there was tranny fluid everywhere and on the ground. Looked like a hose burst.
I had to wait about 3 hours for a tow. While waiting I decided to start car and see if she would drive. I was able to circle around the lot and go in reverse with no issues at all. Had the car towed to a trusted mechanic and the next day they advised me there is nothing visable or mechanically wrong that they could see. They test drove 3 separate times, filled the ATF and said there is NO leaks or issues. Only thing was the P0730 code. He cleared code and said only recommendation would be to see if it happens again and bring to a tranny shop.
I have been driving the car for the last 3 days with no issue except the CEL and TCS lights coming on. I will clear the CEL and once I drive on the highway it comes back. The TCS is touch and go, sometimes it's on, sometimes not. The weirdest thing of all is that the car DRIVES AND SHIFTS GREAT! except for the breakdown there is absolutely no issues at all. The car is running great and shifting great. I'll clear the code and it comes back on. I dont know where to even begin with this! I'm afraid to drive more than an hour or so because the mechanic did say it looked like the transmission overheated and that caused the spill. Any ideas!?!?!

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

That's bizarre. If there are no leaks then I'm dumbfounded as to why the fluid would spill out. The only way I'd guess it could exit would be the dipstick tube.

On that note, if it happens again don't try to continue driving it. Although it's shifting fine now, trying to drive with no or low fluid is bad. As for the code, that's a common one with transmission problems but it's odd that you're not feeling any symptoms. I guess I'd keep an eye on it and see if it starts doing it again

MattyICE

thanks for that info and I didnt think about the dipstick tube as the exit point for the fluid. That makes perfect sense too because the smoke was. Coming from and seemed to originate right from that area. The car is old and high miles but runs strong. The other mechanic at the shop also said it may be kind of breaking in to my driving style....I dont k ot how much of that is true but I will say the previous drivers were 65mph top speeders and never really 'drove it' lol. Not saying I beat on it at all but I do drive harder and alot longer than my father In law. And it may be worth noting that the day of the breakdown, I had a morning full of errands and drove about 200+ miles in very hot and humid temps.