10th?

 

 

Does anyone have any advice for negotiating with the dealer (and/or Acura Corporate) when seeking a "good will transmission replacement" for a 2000TL with 146,000 miles?

 

Be nice and good luck. 146 is acceptable mileage for a auto tranny to last. one member got acura to cover his at like 160k, he just had to pay labor

 

bump

 

Bump? What was the point? haha

 

Hey guys, i hear people say that it happens to some people..and i hear that it happens to most people....does the Tranny problem happen to everybody? Is there a possiblility of a tranny not failing at all? I bought the car used at 67k miles...and i havnt seen any problems yet..

 

Call Acura with your VIN and find out if it has already been replaced.

 

2000 TL


I just bought mine used and I have about 84k Miles on the tranny. It seems to shift perfectly fine. The original owner kept great records and didnt see anything on the recall or replacement. Should I have the recall for the Jet done to it? Some people stated they didnt have failure until right after the jet install.. so i am somewhat hesitant.


Thanks

 

I'm looking at buying a 2002 Acura 3.2 TL with only 32,000 km.

I'm from Canada and was wondering where I can check the VIN to see if the tranny needs replacing. This car is very low km' for a 2002, but don't want to have troubles so soon. I know that the powertrain warr. is for 5 yrs/100,000 km will this fall under that?

Please let me know where I can check the VIN of the car I am looking to buy. I have read most of the posts so far and most of the cars are from the US, and there haven't been any mentions of Canadian TL owners.

PLEASE HELP before I go pick up my new car.

I have the VIN if someone can do a VIN check and a Carfax for me.

VIN# 19UUA566X2A804778
Thanks

 

You can't check the VIN to see if the transmission has been replaced. You can call Acura Canada and find out if it has already been replaced. Otherwise, just drive it and when it needs replacing, Acura will replace it.

 

Myth. it has nothing to do with it. i had 2 fail with out it and the 2 that failed with it failed well over 30k after


You cant check a vin to see if it needs replacing. If the tranny is bad thats how you get it replaced. If nothing is wrong with it they wont replace it.

 

Have any Acura dealer check the VIN. They should be able to give you a history of whats been done via Acura. If not call Honda Canada.

 

My local dealership quoted me the following deal:

Warranty replacement of transmission for $2500.00 + Labor $700 = $3200.00

Acura offered to split the bill 50/50, so my "out of pocket" cost is $1600

Keeping in mind that I am a first time Acura owner, and that my car has 146.000 miles - is this a fair deal, or should I escalate it to Honda/Acura Corporate? I don't want to piss off my local dealership and have them retract the deal that's on the table....(full retail cost of replacement would be $4000+)

your thoughts, fsttyms1?

 

call an acura dealer with the VIN# and they will give you all the information that you need, whether or not there's a recall on it or if it has been replaced already

 

2002 3.2 TL Type-S

1st transmission failed in August 2005, at around 70000 km
Dealer replaced it, and gave me an EL as a rental.

Now I'm on my 2nd transmission, and this week (November 2005, 74000km) I noticed similar symptoms. It takes a few seconds to get into reverse or first gear. I am going to take it in today to Acura North Toronto.

This whole transmission issue is so frustrating.

I'm just wondering, for you guys that have had so many transmission replacements, is there any possibility for you to claim the car as a lemon??

 

Turns out there was a leak in the transmission oil/fluid or something, which caused the check engine light and other problems.
They fixed it for free. Lets hope that the transmission will be ok for now.

 

1st busted tranny at 38,500 miles, time to sell this car its under warrenty but i have lost all faith in this car. 38,500 is not worthy of what this car should be, hey ACURA offer the 6 speed as a free replacement, or lose me.

 

Anyone expecting anything from Acura as compensation for these trannys at this point will be waiting forever. It ain't happenin'.

I seem to recall one or two members getting new cars back when this first started happening, but folks, that was a L-O-N-G time ago, when this was acuratl dot com.

Those "snookeroo" days are GONE.

 

So, not able to read all messages in this topic in one lifetime, but a few things arise;

1/ Officially, 3% of all transmissions fail. (Mine did at 30K miles.) Actual percentage may be higher. (Is it?)
2/ Replacement transmissions may have several improvements over original, but still not guaranteed to be long-lasting.
3/ So, replacements may also fail, presumably at some rate similar to original, which explains why the occasional owner sees recurring failures - but is that the rare exception?
4/ One poster somewhere said that transmission lasts better if driven hard - contradicts many other posters. Which is correct? Why?

Thanks to all.

 

This may get long, but is a good read...
I am a US service member stationed in Turkey. I bought a 2000 TL about a year ago with 60,000m on it. I took a trip (about 600 miles) on Dec. 23rd from one end of Turkey to the other for my Christmas vacation. The day after arriving, I got my first gear slip (my transmission cherry was popped). I took the car to my bro-in-laws friends garage. He pulled the tranny plug out and the shavings attached to the magnet looked like one of those toys we played with as kids where you use the magnet pen to put hair on that guys face, remember? Anyways, I called Acura Customer Services that night (10 hour time difference). They told me to take the car to a Honda dealership (Acura does not exsist in Europe, only US and Canada). The Honda dealership can do the work, then send the bill to Acura and they will think about whether or not they will reimberse me and how much. I asked if there was any other options. NOPE! So I took my car to the dealer. First, these guys have never seen a TL or a Honda 3.2L engine. They told me they didnt want to take the tranny off, because they didnt know if they could put it back on. They also told me a new tranny would cost $7,500.00. I finally got to the General Manager (Roberto) who took control of the situation and started his guys moving on this. They told me they would contact Honda-Turkey HQ in Istanbul for advice and they would call me the next day. I went back to my mom-in-laws and called Acura to update them on my situation. Only after the third call that night did I get a Case manager on the phone. I told the guy the price estimate and asked what Acura was going to do. He said, since I took my car out of the US, my warranty is void. They do not have to give me a thing. My car is five years old with 75,000 on it. That extended tranny warranty is not extended to me. The case manager told me IF Acura was going to give me a "Good Will" gesture, as he called it, it would only be what it would cost to do it the states. So If Acura was going to give me anything, I'm still going to bite atleast $3,000. Not to mention the $200 in international phone calls. The Case manager told me I dont have to use a dealership since the car is not under warranty. He told me to go to any mechanic and do what ever work. Send in the maintanace report and they will think about it. So I go to the dealership today to get my car. Roberto, the Gen Manager tells me Honda-Turkey will cover the cost of a new tranny if mine is damaged and at a minimum install the new jet kit that was on the recall "ALL UNDER WARRANTY".

So Honda-Turkey was willing to honor my warranty when Acura was not. The car was shipped here by the military, not imported by Honda-Turkey. They have nothing to do with me or my car, but are giving me unbelievably awsome support and service beyond my wildest expectations while Acura-US is running from me like I've got the plauge.

So today Roberto and his head mechanic jumped in the Ac with me for a test drive. The mechanic ran the hell out of the tranny for ten minutes by driving 100mph in 3rd gear. Once it was nice and hot, he put it to SS and ran the gears. 2nd-3rd, the tach went from 4000-6000rpm before slamming into gear so hard I thought the tranny was left on the highway behind us. The guy was nuts but wanted to get proof I was right. So Honda-Turkey is going to inform me tomorrow of how and when my new tranny will arrive. Probably 2-3 months if it comes by boat.

So for all you guys whinning about waiting 1 week, it could be worse. I'll update any new developments.

 

WOW. well congrats on them installing/covering it for you

 

Roberto knows how to run a good business, that would make me buy a car from that dealership, and perhaps live in Turkey for the rest of my life...

 

well, since my CL got stolen, im in the market for a used car. I was considering a TL but am now kinda freaked out about getting one after reading about the tranny situation. Im kinda confused though...............Are most of the problems in the 2000-2003 tl and not the 1999? Are the tranny's different? thanks guys.

 

I searched on the net and saw that only the 2000-2003 Tl had recalls for trannys.

 

hey everyone..im new this this forum. I was just wondering how many transmission u all gone thru. me, im on my 6th one. 2 of them were change within 2 months and its really starting to piss me off and my last 2 times, my transmission overheated and melted the shift cable. i bought the car with 5 miles on it and now its just about 70000. have this happen to u guys? having the tranny overheated?

 

I've been reading this forum when it was still called acura tl com. I rarely post but just came back to see what has happened to the transmission problems since then.

I bought my '02 TLS w/navi back in Oct 2001 with 12 miles on it. It was my first brand new car and I paid $34K of hard earned cash for it.

I loved the car since day one. Besides the squeeks and rattles everywhere, my car hasn't had any major problems so far. *KNOCK ON WOOD!* Now that it's over 4 yrs old, I've just learned to live with the rattles. Mind you, the rattles were there within a few months after getting it.

I'm now at 49,000 miles and still on the first tranny. I feel so bad for those of you who have had 3+ trannies replaced. And I remember there was one member who had 10 replaced . Dear god, WTF - that is just so wrong. I can't imaging how the dealer can even look at that member in the face and still put another transmission in knowing it was a POS!

What sucks is that I bought the Type S model because of the advertised 260HP, Sport Shift, upgraded suspension, etc because I wanted to drive it the way it was meant to be driven. Now I'm so paranoid of having the transmission break I'm driving worse than a granny.

I've lost all my faith in Honda/Acura and will probably never buy from them again. Sad since my whole family is Honda faithfuls, but that was back in the days when they still made very realiable cars.

I think the only way for Acura to fess up and take resposibility is when someone gets killed or there are a ton of major accidents cause of the tranny failures. Otherwise they'll just sweep it under the rug.

The Civic just won car of the year and the Ridgeline won truck of the year with Motor Trend magazine so Honda/Acura can care less whether or not we buy from them again.

Sorry for the ranting, just want to provide my thoughts.

 

Maybe I am lucky, but I've an 2003 TL Type-S with almost 80,000 miles on it, and so far nothing yet. I have to think GOD for that...and for those who have been having problem with they transmission,..hope things will work out for the best

 

A true thought is a good thing. It is great you came back and gave us your thought. Like any other business, honda/acura is in business to make money and they will not admit to any problem of their vehicles to not making more money. They will make up any excuse to avoid paying for their mistake. In fact, we consumers are paying for their mistake. The vin# ranges are just their games, because they know there are people like myself or yourself or real granny will drive like granny in hope to avoid the problem. Second gen are all bad, period. I am sure you would believe people like you should be granted for a new tranny whenever it went out by the tranny flaw design, but in fact you are making them more money. Why? Because after 7 years, considering if you were within the vin range, your tranny will not be covered and you will have to pay them 5k or so to have it replaced eventhough your mileage is just 80k or so. It is too bad...what can you do about it? Not to mention, selling your car would be close to dirt. Don't tell me other companies don't do that and other companies don't do this. We are in acura forum and we drive acura. honda/acura open your eyes, clean up your ears, step up and fix the problems. You got loyal consumers that you are not treating them right. Or, Honda/Acura why don't you post on every new vehicles your MTBF for tranny is 100k? or is that not a good thing for your marketing?

 

Find any other car company that not forced by the NTHSA to recall the car, to extend the warranty like honda did! Honda has been trying to fix the problem. They have tried different parts. Its not as simple as here ya go here is a new tranny all fixed. there is alot more at stake and by admitting they have a problem and offering a warranty extension they are saving grace with the majority of the customers and getting them as return customers. While its not the answer you may like its what they did. Plus the problem is alot worse on a forum that does nothing but complain about it like its the end of the world

 

A few years back there were full of threads by "original" owners who were talking about their bad trannys.

They probably sold and bought different cars and all the newer threads I see now are from the 2nd or 3rd owners of those same cars saying "I just bought the car used and .... tranny is ***$%%!

It's like, here we go again. Acura is never gonna fix the problem. Sure they extended the warranty but so what. They'll just keep putting in the same faulty, since the beginning, transmission over and over again until:

#1 Your 7 years are up or
#2 You've passed 100,000 miles

Then you're SOL.

 

Thats just it, NOW they arent putting the same tranny in, they finally redesigned some parts to allow better cooling and less friction

 

The repeated failure rate for replacement trannies has been much reduced compared to the original ones. If an used TL/CL is still on the original tranny, that's the one to watch out for.

 

My 99TL (I bought it new) just turned over 100K. No problems so far except for heater control motor and brake rotors. Compared to Ford, GM etc. I will take Acura/Honda anyday. At least Acura stands behind product. I also have a 87 Honda Accord I bought new. It now has 182K and no major problems.

 

If that's true and they are indeed putting in "upgraded" trannys or at least ones that can withstand the power better, then it seems that I must somehow
"break" my tranny before the extended warranty is up to get the new one put in.

So for all those who still have their original trannys or those who still have the bad replacement trannys, we'll need to "break" our trannys intentionally to get Acura to put in the new "upgraded" one.

Man what a way for this whole fiasco to end up.

 

it's the Kill That Tranny gameshow again.

 

sign me up for that show bought my car used at 30k with a replaced tranny
now at 42k the D5 light flashed and the check engine light came on ladies and gents its official these trannies suck
i hope its something simple like my fluids low

 

Have anyone experience power reduction on their TLS after new/replacement tranny installed? I have a 2002 TLS, 73K miles and is on my 3rd tranny. The local dealer told me this 3rd tranny (installed in November 2005) suppose be the latest revision with all the "fixes".

After 1 week, I got my car back, begin to notice the car is not as aggressive as before when step gas peddle all the way down. I suspect the originial transmission is not design to handle HP output on these TLS so when they replace the tranny, they also detuned engine output to make new tranny will last longer. I have not got opportunity to put the car on dyno to prove my suspicion. It would not be good if this is true as we the consumer pay for 260HP and have to sacrifice HP to make up for defective tranny design to get it last longer.

Just want to share my experience and gather other's comment and experience on this.

 

Okay this has been discussed a lot, and I sympathize with you but they didn't actually "detune" the engine. What they did was replace the PCM and alter the shift points a little. My TL, after transmission replacement, no longer shits aggressively like it did before. The shifts are much softer... I agree that it doesn't feel as sporty as it once did. It is not actually slower... it just feels different.

 

I have a 1999 TL. Just brought it in for a transmission flush, brake flush and power steering flush. The dealership in Chesapeake, Va found a broken rear engine/transmission mount. I have now had 3 mounts replaced. I am the 2nd owner and have had few problems. The transmission has been fine. Current millage is 96500. Brake rotors have been an issue but not that bad. Stick to acura parts for the best results. I tried after market rotors and pads from carquest and went through 2 sets before switching back to oem parts. The key to keeping your rotors from warping is to make sure the wheel lug nuts are torqued evenly at around 70 lbs. A lot of tire places just use an air wrench to tighten them. This should minimize the rotor issue. Also, acura recomends draining and filling the transmission for regular maintenence. I have found that flushing the fluid is much better. Unfortunatly is is more expensive but you will have a better shifting trans and all of the dirty fluid will be removed as opposed to only a small portion of it with and drain and fill. Every 2 years is a good time frame for this. Good luck with your tranny you will probably be fine if you keep up with the flushes. I have noticed that there are few postings of 1999 transmission problems. If anyone has had a issue with theirs please let us lucky 1999 owners know. The 100,000 mile warenty is about to run out for me.