I have read the sticky and read much of the problem thread. I know the 99's were never recalled for the transmission problem but is this a real risk? at now 9 years old with 72,000miles, is investing in a 99 TL a bad idea? How real is the risk? I mean it was a completely different transmission, 4 speed right?

Thanks

 

They seem to be a hit or miss. Those units are definitely more reliable than the 5-speed auto found in the 00-03, but they aren't great by any means. Their reliability is equivalent to the transmissions in the 98-02 Accords, if you are familiar with those.

A rebuild for the unit runs less than $3k parts and labor, if you need it, so it isn't too bad.

 

The 4 speed transmission used in the 1999 TL is more reliable than the 5 speed originally installed in the 2000-2003 TLs. But it still has reliability issues.

Consumer Reports subscriber-based reliability surveys give the 1999 transmission "worse than average" reliability. The 2000-2003 TL gets "much worse than average", which is the lowest rating they list.

For what it's worth, the original transmission in my 1999 TL made it to 173,000 miles.

 

original tranny at 136k here
oil cooler added at 125k

 

original tranny 109XXX

 

my 99 tl went 149,XXX with original tranny b4 it started taking 1-2 seconds to shift into next gear with minimal gear grinding. then i pushed her to 163,XXX lucky it lasted me that long. but she just got towed today to get a new tranny. wonder how much itll run me

 

^^turns out my power converter went KLABOOM and i need new motor mounts