lawyerboy

I am the 3rd owner of a 2003 TL Type S that I bought in May of 2009. It has approximately 110,000 miles on it. I am well aware of the transmission recall that was issued on the 3G TL, but I don't think that's what's going on with my car. I have been surfing through the forums for a topic that addresses the problem I'm having and haven't seen one, so any help would be appreciated.

The owner before me didn't have the transmission replaced; said he had no problems with it. I don't know what the original owner ever did with it. The transmission may have been replaced under recall by him or not. I just don't know. Either way, the common warning signs for the transmission recall are not what I'm experiencing. From what I gather, that recall dealt mostly with issues between 2nd & 3rd and sometimes 3rd & 4th gear. My issue actually is with 5th gear. For about the past week, I've noticed that under light acceleration in 5th gear, the car hesitates slightly. It still accelerates, but it's noticable from the driver's seat that something is wrong. It only happens in 5th gear, and it only happens under light acceleration. If I hit the gas hard enough to drop down a gear or two...no hesitation. Pulling off from a stop...no hesitation. Only in 5th.

Truthfully, I'm not even sure if it's a tranny problem. My previous car was a 2001 Camaro, and I had problems with hesitation in it too, but it was in all gears, not just one, and it turned out to be something else, not the transmission.

Some of the possible problems I've brainstormed:
- Air filter is clogged (I haven't checked it yet, but I don't see why this would only affect 5th gear, so I doubt if this is it).
- Timing belt needs to be replaced (I've never had this problem before, so I don't know what it feels like when it goes out).
- Last weekend, my wife drove the car and put cheap 83 octane gas in it; I usually use Premium 93 octane (Again, why would this only affect 5th gear).
- Transmission fluid needs to be changed (I've owned the car for about 10 months now, and it would be the first fluid change on the transmission I've done; I don't know when the last change was done by the previous owner).

That's pretty much all I have come up with. I feel pretty confident that this is not the same recall issue that a lot of people had to deal with, but I could use some feedback other than what's in my own head. I was planning on getting the transmission fluid changed this weekend either way, just because I don't know how long it's been since it's been done. If there are any other questions you all think I should pose to the service dept. @ the dealer please let me know.

Other than this, I haven't had any problems out of this car and actually love it. Here's hoping I don't have to use my tax refund to pay for a major fix.

lawyerboy

Sorry. I meant to say I'm aware of the recall that was issued on the 2G TL.

fsttyms1

The hesitation in 5th is it low rpm like 45mph or is it like 60-70mph? 5th is a really tall gear on the TL

lawyerboy

I only notice it when slowly accelerating from around 55 up to about 75. Even at these speeds, the rpm is relatively low (around 2,000 or 2,200 rpm).

rcb2000

I would venture to say that it is the loc up torque converter engaging and dis-engaging is what your feeling and nothing to worry about.

fsttyms1

What does your trans fluid look like?