jojobean39

I did a search and I found several threads talking about transmissions, but none that quite seemed to fit my problem.

I have a 2001 Acura TL with about 140k miles. I noticed a couple of weeks ago when I was speeding up to get on to the highway, at about 40mpg it slipped. It was just a delay and a slight jerk. Since that point, I have noticed that it has been shifting rough here and there. Nothing severe, just a slight delay. It's not all the time either. Sometimes it shifts smoothly and other times it jerks. I've never had any lights come on or anything like that. Just a slightly delayed shift. And this occurs twice usually, at around 30ish mph and 45ish mph. Once it's running at highway speeds, I have no problem. It also doesn't downshift very rough either.

I'm seriously hoping this is not an issue of having a transmission replaced. I've been reading some of the posts and their seems to have been a lot of people with this problem, and the outlook is not so good.

Any help, advice or consolation provided would be nice.

01tl4tl

smell the trans fluid for burnt sugary smell
do you notice the jerk and delay is shifting into 2nd and 3rd gear?
does it do it only hard on gas or gentle too?

Was the transmission oil jet kit installed under recall?
if not sure// call acura 1 800 382 2238x5 with cars VIN and ask

you describe the right symptoms to be thinking about a rebuild-2 grand or so

Was the water pump and timing belt done at 105kmiles- you have 140 now and if not done you are running on borrowed time!!- thats another grand+

if the timing belt breaks or one of its pullies fails and it jumps a gear- thats replace engine with junkyard (auto recycler) motor

This is when many TL's get put on the market--right before the important parts die but the car overall is sound and worth fixing to keep- rather than car payments

01tl4tl

pay attention for slipping on accelleration- same feeling as manual trans clutch disc when worn out,,rpm shoots to 5000 and car doesnt launch forward

I have an 01 and the head tech at acura gave me this test for trans- specific speeds are for the 01- other years will vary slightly
while gently cruising down the empty safe road in D5 at 25 mph with light throttle- give it instant full throttle- stand on it and stay there!!
It should do a few positive downshifts into 2nd and launch forward.
repeat at 35 mph- stand on the gas and ck for slipping of clutches for the lower gears

ever change the trans fluid?

jojobean39

The transmission fluid could probably stand be changed. I have changed it before, but I don't know how long. The timing belt was replaced at about 115k miles.

The RPMs never go way up. It's about a 1 second slip. It's never felt like it was a danger or anything. It's more of a small jolt. It does it mostly when I am speeding up quicker. It lightly does it other times.

Thanks for the info. I'll try the xmission test you 01t104t told me.

piggylover1985

It'll only get worse, sounds like your 3rd gear is started to have problem. Drive it easy, sometimes clean the 3rd clutch pressure switch may help a little bit, it could get clogged up with debris from trans but not setting a code yet.

fsttyms1

^ Agree

TLboss

mine shifts very hard from 1st to 2nd when the car is not warmed up, after about 5min it shifts smoothly, it hasn't done that before. the first 3-4 shifts into 2nd are very abrupt. should i change my tranny fluid? it looked clean when i checked it today, no smell

piggylover1985

You could try to clean the solenoids and change the fluid.

01tl4tl

ck the diy section for those how to's

piggylover1985

If cleaning the solenoids, drain and fill didn't help then either drive it until it breaks, or bring to the tranny shop and get their opinion, might need a rebuild. Don't feel bad i have 3 TL in the AAMCO(All Acura Must Come Out, j/k )shop for rebuild today, an 01 and an 03 with around 110k miles.

TLboss

How do you clean the solenoids? i coudn't find anything on that, i did buy 5qts of honda atf fluid and im gonna do drain and fill tomorrow

my.daily'tl'

What year is your TL?

TLboss

Its a 02 TL S. I changed the atf fluid today, it shifts better. I only took out the bottom solenoid out to clean since the other ones were impossible to get out. for some reason after i finished the cel came on, what could it be?

acutee

How did the solenoid look, anything suspicious? You may as well replace the external atf filter, easy to do.

TLboss

No the solenoid was fine i think its the connectors that i took off, i had the ignition on the whole time to play the radio, and ill consider changing the external filter, where did you get yours?

acutee

I got it at hondapartsnow, part# 25450-P7W-003

TLboss

it says it fits honda pilot and odyssey, you sure it will fit 02 tl-s?

piggylover1985

All the Honda/Acura 5sp auto filter should be the same.

piggylover1985

You can get every one of them out. The single lockup/linear solenoid screen right below the filler tube can get very dirty, just four 10mm bolts hold it in.
http://yfrog.com/jwphoto0387nj

TLboss

The ones on the top are hard to get at, i cant get a wrench on them. Also when i started the car today it went all the way up to 5000rpm in first gear before shifting into 2nd, kinda rough, i was barely on the gas. it did it maybe 2 more times and once it warmed up it was smooth. Can it be the solenoids causing those delayed 1 to 2 shifts?

piggylover1985

Was the 1-2 shift that late before ? Something isn't right here.

TLboss

No it was maybe at 2000-3000. now it just revs up in 1st and i have to let off the gas completely so it can shift into 2nd, but still takes a long time. After about 5min its normal though.

piggylover1985

Did you check the fluid after you changed it make sure that it is full ?

TLboss

yea a little over 3.5qts came out and i put about 4qts in. Today when i drove it wouldn't go into 2nd for a little while then it shifted REALLY hard and as soon as it did the D5 started flashing the cel came on and the VSA light came on. So i pulled over and shut the engine off, then restarted and all lights went away. It drove ok after that, its just the first 5min when the car is cold its acting up. Im hoping its nothing mechanical just some sensors or something of that sort, because it shifts smooth and drives perfect once warmed up.

piggylover1985

What happen if you let the car warm up a few monute before you drive it ? I assume that it will work better maybe ?

TLboss

even when the car is warm the tranny still does that, it has to go through a couple of shift before it starts working normally. i made a vid today im gonna upload it so you can see what its doing, as soon as the 1st to 2nd shift happened the cel went on along with VSA light and D5 flashing

piggylover1985

Do you have a scan tool or can you get it scan for code when it happening ?

TLboss

yea im going to get the codes read tomorrow. It wasn't as bad today but still very noticeable