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Before you remove the upper solenoid, order a gasket.
It would be wise to have a gasket and o rings ready for the upper ”dual” solenoid. These gaskets and o rings are special order from the dealer (usually available next day if they have them local. The o rings are not easy to find, they’re very specific to this part.
I have an 03 Type S and I don’t think anyone has ever cleaned this solenoid or even removed this part. The gasket was completely unusable. Luckily pep boys has a gasket making kit...but this gasket is so complex it took almost 3 hours cutting it to spec.
So, if you’re unsure when the last time this part was removed, I highly recommend you order the gasket and o rings before you attempt to remove it. Save yourself 3 hours of precision cutting and order this gasket. It’s a $15 part. You need 3 O-rings that go in the openings that the 3 circles in the center go around.
Last edited by SaucyM; 04-23-2020 at 02:15 AM.
Reason: Typos
Thanks to Incinerary for his helpful video and post.
My 2005 TL has ~186K miles on it and tranny has been acting up.
I just replaced the tranny filter (boy was it filthy) and the screen filters in the upper and lower solenoid. One was completely clogged, another had some clear deposits on it restricting flow.
Too early to tell if this completely fixed my tranny issues but the $400 spent was much easier than $4000 for a rebuilt tranny and worth a shot. I will report back to the group once I have 10K+ miles since the rebuild.
Thanks again!
Sanjiv
Update: A year later I am at 197K and the car is doing great. I would highly recommend this $400 tranny service if you are considering a new transmission.
So glad we came across this thread. Heavy shifting, wouldn’t accelerate, felt that slipping feeling...in our 2002 Acura TL. The engine light also came in. The code read p0730.
First we did a 4x4 transmission fluid change and added a transmission treatment fluid recommended by Advance Auto. The trans fluid was absolutely brown. We changed the transmission filter as well. These steps didn’t solve the slipping shifting problem. Next we looked at the transmission solenoids.
Took the advice on this thread and bought both gaskets from the dealer ahead of time as they needed to be ordered and it took about a day to arrive. The paper gasket was total trash when we took off the solenoid, had to scrape it away. The triple screens were totally clean. The O rings didn’t need replacing. The rubber gasket in the other solenoid Didn’t need replacing but we replaced it anyway because we had already bought it. The single screen in that solenoid was completely blocked with caked on debris. The New rubber gasket comes with a new screen.
Got it all back together. Took a drive, the engine light turned off, and the transmission ran great. What a relief!
The trans fluid is still pretty dark so we will so a few more rounds of fresh fluid to try and clean it up. Cleaning the solenoid screens seemed to have solved the problem. Planning to maintain fluid by putting in fresh every 15k miles or so and checking those solenoid screens again in the near future to see what’s up. I’ll try to remember to post back in the future with an update. Fingers crossed! Many thanks to the folks on this thread and the OP for this great information.
Update: four days later the issues started again...hard and struggling shifts, but not as hard. The ATF was still pretty dark and the bolt had a lot of metal debris on the magnet although less each time. We did another ATF And filter change This time with the recommended Honda fluid. Got better for a day then shifting issues started again. We have done the fluid change with the proper Honda stuff 3 times now. The bolt still has a metal collection but it has decreased. Each fluid change gets it better for a day or so then it starts again. No codes tho, and we had it checked to see if the code was there but there isn’t one. We have cleaned the solenoid screens 3 times. The triple screen solenoid is always clean. The single screen solenoid was caked the first time and a little dirty the second and third time. I wonder if the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches need to be changed. I’m going to start a thread with that question.
Hi all,
I'm trying to clean my 2004 MDX lower solenoid since it is not getting in to gears or not shifting above 2nd gear.
I removed the battery and there is a long plastic thats blocking the bolts on the lower solenoid.
Seems like a covering for wires but it won't budge and I can't put my socket in. Does anyone know how to remove this thing?
Update: four days later the issues started again...hard and struggling shifts, but not as hard. The ATF was still pretty dark and the bolt had a lot of metal debris on the magnet although less each time. We did another ATF And filter change This time with the recommended Honda fluid. Got better for a day then shifting issues started again. We have done the fluid change with the proper Honda stuff 3 times now. The bolt still has a metal collection but it has decreased. Each fluid change gets it better for a day or so then it starts again. No codes tho, and we had it checked to see if the code was there but there isn’t one. We have cleaned the solenoid screens 3 times. The triple screen solenoid is always clean. The single screen solenoid was caked the first time and a little dirty the second and third time. I wonder if the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches need to be changed. I’m going to start a thread with that question.
any updates regarding this?? would it be possible that the Solenoid Unit need to be replace?
Today after getting off from the highway, was having a hard time moving from after a red light. Would rev really high 4000rpm and can barely move. Then at the next light the car wouldn't even engage at all, was stuck middle of a turn. Had to shut off the car, wait a minute or two then restart and car was working fine again...... i really hope it isn't anything major.... no check engine light. nothing flashing. 2000 Acura TL with only 120K..... any ideas??
Last edited by AcuraGuy2000; 01-17-2021 at 12:39 AM.
^^^ I have same problem. https://acurazine.com/forums/second-...-while-991193/ . Did cleaning of lower solenoid and will do cleaning of upper in spring. I'm thinking of buying bluetooth code rider with real time capability for next winter if upper solenoid cleaning do not fix problem. Computer in car can not throw code because it is on off work.
any updates regarding this?? would it be possible that the Solenoid Unit need to be replace?
Today after getting off from the highway, was having a hard time moving from after a red light. Would rev really high 4000rpm and can barely move. Then at the next light the car wouldn't even engage at all, was stuck middle of a turn. Had to shut off the car, wait a minute or two then restart and car was working fine again...... i really hope it isn't anything major.... no check engine light. nothing flashing. 2000 Acura TL with only 120K..... any ideas??
i believe at that time, screen filters of some solenoid got stuck because of debris, so the fluid couldn't go through the screen filters. So, you just take out the solenoid A and B, and solenoid valve C, clean them up. Then everything will get back to normal.
Huge help for me was, by advice of Whitetiger5 member here. to drive manually till tranny warm up. Changing filter helped somewhat but driving manually 1<>2, D3 solved problem for me. Will replace linear solenoid somewhere in fall and will see from there but as is right now I can drive around in coldest weather without problem.
The problem here is, I checked somewhat, winter is coming, that OM dual linear solenoid is 250$ or so and obviously per comments at Amazon aftermarkets do not work properly. Will bring some from U-pull but even they want 35$..
Worst is computer do not throw code. In my case it is because it, whatsoever is it, does not work properly in cold weather till it warms up several minutes after it starts.
Holly cow. https://www.sonnax.com/parts/2615-so...djustment-tool
1. Place pentagon-shaped tip of solenoid adjustment tool into adjuster screw recess of clutch pressure control solenoid “A” or “B.”
2. Turn adjuster screw 1⁄8 to 1⁄4 turn clockwise to increase pressure for solenoid "A", and counterclockwise to increase pressure for solenoid "B". CAUTION: Exceeding 1/4 turn can result in a downshift clunk.
Adjusting ratios will not compensate for severe unit wear or a defective solenoid.
Hello Everybody! I've been following Acurazine for a couple years now and recently decided to make an account! And to start things off, I made a video on how to clean your Transmission Solenoid Screen Filters.
I have a 2002 Acura TL-S with 209,000 miles, with original transmission and engine. I had started having transmission problems when it got really cold outside. It would sometimes slip or be really slow to change gears. Later on, I then got the CEL code P0740 (Code of Death as you guys call it). From there it continued to get worse. Started slipping more, sometimes it just wouldn't want to go into gear at all, and if it did, it was shifting was extremely aggressive. I had done a single 3 quarts transmission drain and fill as well as change the exterior transmission filter, but that didn't seem to help any. So I started driving our backup vehicle.
Being sooooo close to giving up and wanting to do the AV6 swap, I came across a forum page that talked about cleaning the solenoid filters on the 1999 TL and people were claiming that cleaning these tiny filters were fixing these transmission problems people were having. So I went ahead and cleaned mine out, in which one of them was very dirty and clogged up, and now my transmission is working like a charm!! I've put on 150 miles since cleaning the filters and so far the check engine light has NOT come back on, no more slipping, and no more slow or aggressive shifts! So I'm really hoping that this was the problem and that it continues working!
From what I understand, the 1999 transmission is different than the other 2nd Gen TL's and I saw a lot of people were asking about it. So I made a detailed step by step video showing where everything is and what to do. I hope this helps!!!
I will post updates on how the transmission is doing every couple hundred miles.
Did you test the solenoids when you removed them? I removed my solenoid and trying to determine how to test for ohms and the 12v test to hear the clicking sound to know it's functioning.
04-23-2020, 02:10 AM
