Serious question here,

I have a 3G, & a friend is looking for a cheap used car, and was looking at 2G TL

I told him no way stay away, but clearly some of you are still driving them,

How do you drive knowing it may die any day? Just curious, should he just buy one ? or. .

 

I drove my 1999 very very gently (shifts at 2200 rpm) and still had to replace the transmission. i was very fortunate that acura goodwilled 100% of the replacement cost. But I wouldn't buy a 2G without the ability to pay for a rebuilt acura transmission (~$4000). I bought the car with that possibility in mind, so while the failure was disappointing, I was prepared for it. While the purchase price may be lower than, say, an ES of similar vintage due to the transmission problems and such, the cost of running it will be for a $30,000 car, so make sure your friend keeps that in mind. 1999s with the 4spd seem to be a little more reliable than the later 5spds--even the early 3Gs were affected.


and of course, if he/she joins AZ, lots of money will be lost to the mod bug

 

Well, I have a 99' which I bought with 88,000 miles. I would say get a 99' IF your not looking for much troubles down the line. Anything else, well, it seems like the tranny will have to be changed at least one time. I havent had any major problems with my 99' for over 4 years. Just clean the EGR port. Knock on wood.

My car now has 138,000 miles.

 

mines at a hundred and 5 and doing fine

 

Your tranny is the same is ours, up to the 06 they had that design, or i'm wrong?
i know at least two 05 with dead transmission

 

If your friend finds a 2G in good condition, he should be fine. As far as trannies...you never know.

 

just bought a 2002 type s with 40 thousand on it in mint condition..the guy that had it before me changed the transmission at 13000 under waranty...I got a hell of a deal..if it's a good deal go for it...i was just told leave the steptronic or tiptronic whatever it's called manual shift option alone and everything should be fine...do you guys think the dealer ship would good will a tranny up to 100 thousand miles on a 02 tls.. because I know they only gave 7 years. Just wondering......O yea oem lip kit and 2 inch drop coming soon.

 

what a stupid question.

 

as the economy sucks it would be harder to get goodwill, but you may be ok, who knows. (i got goodwill on my 99 in feb 08) i don't think the "Sequential SportShift" (actual name) has anything to do with transmission life, except that many people use it to drive the crap out of their cars. if you use it to shift at 3000rpm under light throttle it won't cause any additional damage IMHO.

 

I try not to downshift hard. Also, when I'm in LA traffic I leave it in 2nd gear so it won't keep shifting from 1 to 2 to 1 to 2 to 1 and so on... I try to treat the tranny as if the clutch packs are made of glass but I'm guilty of WOT at times

 

hahahahah so right

 

i have a 115k mile and counting, and to answer your question, i treat it like there's no tomorrow just like life.....now that you mentioned it i just got the code p1704 last week

 

"Because it can die any day", so can any other car on the road....Just because the transmission is weak doesn't mean the whole car is a lemon....
Cars are just a bunch of moving parts, which happen to die out at some point or another....I mean the 99's are 11 years old already, so...I have to agree, this is a stupid question.

 

i drive mine like i stole it , cause i want the god damn f***ing 6-speed already





nah..., i don't drive it like that , but i am proably harder on mine then some people, but it is fine for the time being, and as said before, i bought my car knowing that one day, the tranny was going to crap out, and it was going to have to be replaced, so when it does crap out, i will be pissed, but not surprised, and just know it has to then be fixed then or converted to a manual

so really it is just a matter of knowing what to expect from the tranny, but other then that, no really major problems with the 2g's, and a great car

 

167,xxx miles on original tranny and still tickin, 6spd swap is in works though

 

My tranny was replaced mid 2007, so hopefully it's got the issues all worked out (or so I've read...lol) But I push my car hard only sometimes. Open road, passing on highway, etc.

 

seems like downshifting first, then flooring it would be easier on the transmission, that way your shift (when i would presume the actual stress on the clutch packs occurs) is done under whatever power you need to go 45 mph or whatever speed you're going, not full power shift

 

I have a 2001 TL that has 235,000 miles on it. The trans was replaced once under warranty. This car is my daily driver, and is driven about 1000 miles per week. It has never stranded me, and is the most reliable car I have ever owned. I have owned Infinitis, Mercedes, and BMW's which were not nearly as reliable as the Acura product.
You must do the regular maintenance, and take care of them like any other vehicle. Regular oil changes are a must.

I will always own an Acura product!

When I drive my TL everyday, the thought never enters my mind as to when it will die. Someday it will die, but that day could be tomorrow or a long time down the road. You will drive yourself crazy thinking this way!

 

acura more reliable then bmw or benz easily hands down; more reliable then infiniti, yes, but not by much, just that working on a infiniti, there can be some strange ways of having to do certian things, which takes additional time to do


everyone:

shit breaks (on any car) just expect it, and drive it and enjoy it while you can, and stop worrying of it letting you down possiblely, it is not the end of the world, and it can be fixed

 

whether you drive aggressive or conservative the tranny will eventually go

 

i drive til i hit vtec...den im good the rest of the day..lol....my damn block is a half a mile long one way..n i live in the corner where it starts.... every first role it takes it hits vtec...i luv my intake...

neighbors like dayum u hav turbo in that..sounds nice..no knowledge that some ppl are sounding alot better..lol...

 

fixed

 

Why do you do what you do knowing you can die at any time is the real question.

 

im at a 166,000. Ive been driving for 3 years now the rest was with my mom. We had our tranny replaced at around 95,000. And so far this second is holding alright. I say alright cause i think my tranny is getting confused with 4th and 5th gears, i hear a grinding noise sometimes. But my solution is to drive d4 in the city and d5 on the highway and i have rarely heard it grind its gears now that i do that. Other than that i have no other problems. I drive it pretty hard once in a while. Getting it to shift at around redline. I think with this car its either you get one thats gonna be a problem or you get one thats not. Other than normal wear one tranny and a/c went out. Thats it for me

 

157,xxx here... orignal tranny. Car runs perfectly.

I completely agreee with some of the other posts regarding "any car could die at anytime" even a 3G TL!

 

My 99 is 11 and 1/2 years old now. Was built in Nov. 98. 124,000 on the original tranny. Shifts perfectly. I change the tranny fluid every 10,000 miles. $24.00 each time. I paid 11k for the car with 38,000 miles on it 4 and 1/2 years ago. If the tranny goes / it GOES! I never worry about it. No jack rabbit starts and keep the RPM's low. In other words I baby it. It's been a great car so far. Everyone that rides in it=Wants it!

 

I don't really see how a car can really die. If it breaks then fix it... Any "cheap" car will eventually break.

If the tranny breaks > Get 6 spd.
That's what a lot of us do.

 

any "expensive" carwill eventually break also, some will even due it while they are still under warranty, just think of how many people had there tranny replaced before 50k, when are cars were still worth above $25,000

 

<-----

 

I got the CEL and VSA light last night after some spirited driving

 

You could always be more positive then negative and look at it as a good thing cause once it craps out you can do a 6 spd swap. Also a CL owner with the auto swapped in the 07 TL tranny or you can use the odyssey tranny and get one cheap from a junkyard. I look at this as an opportunity to get a car for cheap because of this issue and then have a good shop do one of these swaps for you. Besides the auto tranny these cars are rock solid. Some cl owners have sold their 01's for 3 grand. I cant think of a better car for that money myself.

 

I have 140,000 on my 2003 TL Type-S. everything is perfect....minus the Tranny problems. I'm on my third :/

 

this is 3rd acura and i dont think i would buy anything else. my 1st Ac was a 89 legend and it had 302k when i sold it and the bought a 94 legend ls and it had 257k when i sold it. they also hold their value very well.although, i'm having some trouble w/ my 99tl they are great cars, and when the last time you saw a ford or chevy w/ 300K on it and still runnin'

 

this thread is stupid, the tranny is not going to just die all of a sudden. IT will give you plenty of warning signs before it takes a crap.

 

not always, but yes most of the time it will give plenty of warning, and yes allot of people don't actually notice how it is shifting and such, so they never see the warning signs

 

your right about that, because most of your average car owners only fixes things when its too late. i figure most people on this site are not like that. my tranny was slipping for 30k+ miles before i got it replaced, yet i still could have prob driven another 10k before it showed serious signs of failure. i made sure i got in on the goodwill replacement warranty before its gone, which it is now. glad i got mine replaced. hope it holds up.

 

I do...170,000 miles on a 02 type s...but it's still a wonderful cruiser!!

 

I wish I hadn't bought my 2nd TL. I knew better but loved them and bought it anyway. Yeah it shifted funny awhile back after a long road trip; then it was ok. I guess I was buying time too long since I was paying it off when my income tax check came in. Plus since I bought it at the dealer where I used to work, I figured they'd help me out. I'm fighting with them on a goodwill now. Hell, even if they do help me out and fix it, it's not like I want to keep driving a car with a bad tranny that could fail again. It started to get worse last week, so I was going to trade it in, then the next day or 2 it was alot worse, then on day 3 that was it.

Fixing it is cheaper than a new car but another car at least provides some peace of mind I don't get with this car. I've been driving a Gen 2 TL for 6 years, so I'm kinda ready to move on. I was thinking about fixing it, then selling it and buy an 04 RL; but if Acura gives me a go to hell attitude about my car, I don't want to buy another one. I'm looking at an 05 Lexus ES 330.

I have a house now and really need a truck but I'm not the truck type of guy. Not sure what I'm going to do. Right now I'm going to ride Acuras ass for awhile until I get something out of them. In the meantime I'm driving my project toy--the ol' 90 Taurus SHO which has the ORIGINAL tranny in it.

I think I will dell the district manager that my 20 year old Ford Taurus has it's original transmission but that my 9 yr old Acura with only 72k has a bad one.

 

^ its going to be hard to get anything out the goodwill coverage anymore, the time has pasted and they are not obligated to owe us anything anymore. but still dont give up, fight it as much as possible, they might give in a little bit. hope everything works out for you. an 04 RL would be a nice replacement.

 

190,000 and running well, I'm changing my rear main seal next week. on my third tranny, and all I've paid out of my pocket is $500 in both ordeals!!!!. They put me in a brand new TL for a week each time and paid for a $200 tow. Acura is tops in customer satisfaction and I wont hesitate to drive my car. Idk why it would even come up in question. At work i see 2009 cars come in on flatbeds dead . You don't know what can happen to any car. True, 2g's have their share of tranny problems but if you have the tranny problem fixed under goodwill just take care of it or do the 6 speed swap. Also it will give you signs if it is going to give out. just my