Hi All,


What a find! My daughter has been looking for a car for several weeks, and we came across an extremely clean 2003 Acura TL S-Series with crazy low mileage (53K)!!! It seems to have been a little old lady’s car that was garaged most days of the week and driven to church on Sundays.



During a pre-purchase inspection by an ASE mechanic, which was very thorough, he came across a pending/history code: P1740, which is some kind of transmission/torque converter code. There are no warning lights on anywhere. This is the only thing that the mechanic has found as an issue with this car. Super duper squeaky clean.



It’s no longer covered under the Acura warranty. We are planning on purchasing an extended warranty.


Do I walk away? Do I buy the car and pray that the extended warranty will cover it if the tranny fails?



More importantly, has anybody been able to get Acura to do good faith repairs beyond the warranty period since this seems to be a well-known problem?



Help!!! I need advice! My daughter is going to have a nervous breakdown if we have to walk away from this car, but she definitely doesn’t have the money to pay for a repair like this either.



TIA,
Karen

 

First off, welcome. But I must say, emotions + big purchase = bad news bears. Don't be afraid to walk away.

The code might mean that the car has had the transmission replaced or rebuilt in the past. Familiarize yourself with the 99-03 CL/TL transmission recall. There is an extensive thread about it.

Now we shall wait until 01tl4tl chimes in

 

No, I'm not afraid to walk away...just wondering if I should.

I am somewhat familiar with the CL/TL transmission recall. This car was serviced by the dealer for that recall, but I'm not sure what the extent of the repairs were.

If they did transmission work @ the time that the recall service was done, would these codes still be displaying?

We test drove it, and I didn't detect any transmission shifting issues.

 

Read the fine print of any extended warranty, I looked at one that CarFax recommended for my car and it claims it covers and engine and drivetrain (transmission), but then says that if the failure is caused by things like solenoid, etc, that they will not cover the repair. Since our transmissions are notorious for plugged solenoids from clutch material I would be worried that they would then deny any claims, so I opted to not go for one for now.

Just always read the fine print on any extended warranty.

I would think if the transmission was replaced by a decent shop they would have cleared any codes.

Check the bolts holding the transmission to the engine, see if the bolts are painted blue, that will tell you if the transmission was replaced under warranty.

BTC

 

the recall was ONLY to install an oil sprayer into the regular atf filler hole-
directing a cooling flow of atf to the 2nd gear shaft,,
so it doesnt overheat and snap in half at freeway speed~

no code would be present AFTER the trans was replaced/repaired = rebuilt
its a current code which most likely mean trans death is around the corner
the clutches come apart and clog the seleniods and torque convertor
Its right on the mileage for that to occur

IF the extended warranty totally covers a complete trans rebuilding- and not some hatchet job for cheap to the insurance company--
##thats an important point,,those warranties are administered by insurance companies,,who MAY try to hose you,, as is their job to save their company money on payouts

IF it specifies a dealer replacement unit from acura--then 1000$ would be a good investment
a rebuild will cost you $2500 at local shop- 4000+ at acura

next issue is: the car is due for the `105 service` regardless of miles- its over 7 years and it sits a lot-= which it actually bad for the car!
looking an easy 1200-1500$ for that job. timing belt water pump etc
2 grand if you do it right and replace all the 8 year old fluids that are due every 3 years or less

(sidenote- some 02 or 03 get a free timing belt job under recall for out of alignment pulley)

Contact acura care 1 800 382 2238 x5 with the cars VIN number- the 17 digit thing
tell them you are doing a pre buy inspection of history
ask if any OPEN RECALLS, that means not done yet--there is a new one on airbag inflator for some cars too
ask if part of the timing belt pulley recall--that can save you big money if not done yet

Operating cost- the TL requires 91 octane -or higher- gas,,if they sell 94 in your area thats what it gets , not the 87-89
the car gets poor city mileage but decent freeway/distance mpg-
many average 300-350 miles to refill- 14-15 gallons to refill when low level light comes on = $50-65 to fill tank

Speed- the TL is very quick- if you dont use the cruise control whenever possible, suddenly its going 85 100 111 and doh! the blue light disco party appears in the mirrors!!
even 52 in a 35 is done without noticing,,thats $251 in my town

If she is a student or limited income or newer driver,,a regular honda is a safer cheaper car to own, plenty of style on several models- uses 87 octane gas

PLEASE for her own safety: whatever you get- spend the 150-250$ to attend a `track day/high performance driving school` at local racetracks everywhere, search online

You can both attend- a pro race driver sitting in the right seat, coaching how and when to brake- turn in - exit- apply throttle etc
in the safety of a closed course with no oncoming traffic
You dont have to go as fast as the car will- its a step by step process- smooth is first- fast comes with smooth
What it really teaches is car awareness and control- so you learn what not to do- and what to do
Everyone should attend a few or several--it can be addictive, but no speeding tickets on the track!

 

if your test drive was less than 30 minutes it wont show trans problems
unless the tech knows how to ck for slipping, and cks the condition and smell of the fluid, they may not notice any problems

When its been driven a bit thru town and on the freeway- the loose crud/clutch material thats been brought to the torque convertor by the flow of oil-
gets flung out and onto the screens for the outlet flow lines that makes the trans shift

plugged screens can cause you to pull off the road and wait 15-30 minutes for the material to settle back down- then get another 20 minutes from it,, to safe parking

 

acura has been known to help good customers after warranty with a partial pay program,,
500 to 2500 dollars ffrom you for a trans!!
those with a long history of buying cars there or bringing in the car for service would be candidates.. in general,,there are exceptions

but just got the car,, and its 8 years old,,,dont even count on them for any help!
the court case forced them to extend the original 50kmiles/4 years to 109kmiles/7 years+9 months from date first sold ,,whichever occurs first miles or age is the limit for that car
not all the 03s were covered by that, and the cut off VIN has no relation to an actual fix of the problem

Please have your daughter read all these post and see its not a great decision at this point in time