I bought a used 2003 TL-S with 85,000 miles, hoping to get at least 200K before having to get another car.

After reading all of the problems many people are having with their tranny, one would think just about every TL will eventually have a tranny problem before it reaches 100K miles. I gotta beleive this is the exception and not the norm, why else would Consumer Reports recomend the TL as a reliable used car to buy? (although it did list the transmission as a problem area).

So I ask all Acura TL drivers with high millages - How many miles have you gotten out of your TL. Was that with or without tranmission problems.


Thanks!

 

i have about 103k miles right now. the only problem i ever had was the tranny at around 45k miles. you will EASILY get 200k miles out of these cars if you take care of them. also, the current revision of the TL tranny that is being used for replacements appears to be properly engineered. i don't think there have been any confirmed failures from the common issue most of us experienced.

 

fsttyms1 has well over 200k on his 2000. I have 145k on my 99 and it runs great, just had the original tranny rebuilt at 143k.

 

Of course it's important to note that the 1999 TL uses a 4-speed transmission that has been more reliable than the 5-speed transmission used in the 2000-2003 TL models.

With that caveat in mind, the original transmission on my 1999 TL made it to 173,000 miles. The car is now at ~189,000 miles and it's been running great.

jgirardi,

Is your 2003 TL-S in the group that is covered by the extended transmission warranty? (Not all 2003 TLs are covered.) If so, you'll have coverage to 109,000 miles.

And, as mentioned above, there is some degree of hope that the transmission revisions made in February of 2005 have resolved the reliability problems.

As it is, I think Consumer Reports recommends the second generation TLs in spite of the transmission problems. The 2000-2003 TL transmissions were given a "much worse than average" reliabilty score and that's the lowest rating they give out. The 1999 TL received a "worse than average" score. So there are definitely transmission issues.

Bob

 

The motor and the car will EASILY surpass the 200k mark (probably even the 400k with out a issue). The trans will not.

 

i currently have 208K on my motor and its still a beast.....like fsttyms said the tranny blows though.......but do expect little shit to go wrong once you get around that mark things start getting old if they were not replaced and start to act up but overall the motor still has its power and still runs like a champ

 

To Answer Bob_F. yes - I looked at the recall infomation on the owners link, and it appears this was affected by the transmission issue.

Overall, I guess I am hearing that it is probably worth having the tranmission re-built or replaced since the engine is reliable and will get a lot of miles assuming the car is properly cared for. That's good to know.