Bob_F

I don't think fsttyms1 meant that the revised transmission was immune to failure. Only that Acura appears to have corrected, or at least minimized, the problem that was causing the bulk of the failures.

Hopefully that is the case!

Bob

alphason'sac

Oh no, I didn't mean it that way. I understood where he was coming from. I just didn;t want anyonme to think that I was going on a "Honda is Horrible" rant. I know that the new tranny's are performing better and more reliably. I agree that Honda must have done something right because the number of people posting failures has dropped dramatically..I think that fsttyms1 said that he had what 6 tranny's before the swap? (correct me if I am wrong) So, I KNOW that he can attest to the difference. I am with you Bob in hoping that these trannies continue to do better.

Bob_F

I understand.

And, FWIW, I didn't feel that you were on a "Honda is Horrible" rant". Although I must say that I was shocked at all the transmission problems when I started looking into the purchase of a 2nd gen TL. I'm not used to seeing "black dots" on the Consumer Reports reliability charts.

I still ended up buying a TL and it's been an awesome car. But this forum helped me make an informed purchase. I bought a 1999 TL with the somewhat more reliable 4-speed transmission that had just been completely rebuilt. And a two year warranty on the transmission helped seal the deal.

Bob

alphason'sac

Whew! Thanks Bob!

farmdevil

Anybody?

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Thats actually a really good question and I do remember some saying something about it awhile ago but I forgot who it was.

Bob_F

Regarding the Feb 05 revisions and if there's anyway to tell if a replacement tranny has them, fsttyms1/Kris posted the following back in December:

The things we do know that have been posted alot are, There were revisions made to the inside and some of the parts inside.(different shaft, different plates for the clutch packs were the major revision) Thats the difference. There is no way that i know of to tell the difference. (as i have not seen a trans installed from acura after that date to see if there is a physical difference)

That was from Page 2 of this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...9&page=2&pp=25

I don't know if anyone posted any additional details since then.

Bob

antaresgal

Just wanted to let you all know that the Acura Corporate manager got back with us on our 2000 TL 112,000 transmission failure. Rather than going into an extensive conversation with him, we wrote a five-page letter detailing the issues we encountered at the dealership (and this was the same dealership we purchased from) and faxed it to him. He promptly contacted us again and said we had been given some "bad information" by both the dealer and the Client Services rep.

The corporate case manager also called and talked to the service manager we had dealt with. The result of that conversation, according to the corporate guy, was that "more education" was needed for dealerships in negotiating with customers on the transmission failures, even if the transmissions are 3,000 miles out of warranty.

We told the corporate manager that because we had originally been turned away by both the dealership and Acura Client Care (after multiple conversations), we took the car to an independent specialist for evaluation. The specialist promptly contacted us back after driving the car, and said that the current problem was, without question, related to the recall defects. He then encouraged us to pursue it more with Acura.

We are still waiting to hear what Acura's offer will be on a replacement tranny. At this point, we are not expecting anything, but at least we finally found someone who was willing to acknowledge that we've not been treated well as loyal Acura customers.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Well it sounds like you should at least get a discount so they arent going to totally leave you in the dark.

payyourtoll

99 TL, 138k miles.

transmission is going out. out of the 109k extended '99 warranty, so I am assuming my only option is to find another transmission, out of pocket?

phiberoptik

My 2003 TL-S just hit 67000 miles and the transmission went out. Acura said my car did not fit in the VIN group that extends the warranty to 109k/7yr. I have NEVER heard of this anywhere but Acura claims they will give me a transmission but I have to pay $500 for labor.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Bob_F

Yes, the exclusion of the "later-year" 2003 Acura TLs is often discussed and well known on this forum. Acura apparently thought they fixed the major transmission reliability issues during the 2003 production run. The general consensus on this forum is that they did not correct the problem. And there is hope that changes made in February of 2005 may finally have resulted in a more reliable transmission.

The $500 labor deal is pretty reasonable but some "out-of warranty" 2003 TL owners have had the entire cost covered. You could appeal to Acura's national Customer Care group to see if they could help get you a better deal.

Also, what warranty, if any, is the dealer offering on the replacement transmission?

Bob

alphason'sac

Good advice. I would definitely call Client Services to see what they can do to help. Other than that, the $500.00 deal sounds fairly reasonable. There have been other guys that had to pay half to get it replaced.

Good Luck!

fsttyms1

Take the deal. If your car is one of the excluded vin range cars and they are offering only 500 out of pocket thats a good deal.

fsttyms1

Actually i think you should be able to tell by it not having an external oiljet. The new ones are built internally.

hamproof

Ok.. I tried to read through all 40+ pages, but couldn't. I manage about 20 or so, beginning and end.

We have an 00 TL. It is definitely less than 100k but pretty close. As far as if it exceeds 7 years 9 months, I'm not sure since we bought this CPO in 02. But it is cutting it close. Probably under/over by a couple of months.

I remember getting the recall letter, but didn't act on it. I don't recall if it says to bring it in for a free inspection. I thought it said if your trans fail and you paid for it, you can get reimburement or something like that. Well, it's a moot point now since I don't have the letter anymore.

Anyway, reading through the threads, I read some owners did bring it in prior to it failing and have either gotten a replacement trans OR an oil kit put in it. Now is this up to the dealership? I mean not the replacement part or fix, but rather if I bring the car in, can they refuse to look at it (for free) since it hasn't fail? Or will they have to look at it coz' of this extended warranty thing and determine if a new trans or oil kit is in order?

Bigger question is if they look at it, do I have to pay if they deem no repair necessary since this is out of the CPO warranty already?

We have experienced the trans shudder (I'm guessing 2-3 shifts). Not too bad but definitely annoying. And we plan to keep the car till at least 180k. Was going to bring it in for the 110k timing belt, water pump etc. service soon (despite it being about 99k now).

TIA..


Not related but I just noticed I joined in 2003 but this is my first post exactly 4 years later in June! Amazing I still remember my password, but then again, I usually use the same username and password for public forums

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Since you have not had the recall done I think they might have to look at it. They will never competely refuse to look at it they might just charge you. I say bring it in ASAP before you get more miles and more over the time limit if you want a new tranny. The sooner the better.

fla-tls

Well mine failed again for the third time (95k miles) a few weeks ago. The folks at Fountain Acura took good care of me and gave me a 2007 TL loaner. The new tranny is working fine. Hopefully this is the last one I'll need. It better be, I'm near the end of the warranty!

Unfortunately, my rear main oil seal went out the week after, so I had to replace that. The dealership had one in stock and delivered it by 10:00 that morning. We had it changed out by 3:00 the same day. Good thing I own a tranny shop!

Schlotkins

I'm not sure if I'm starting to have a problem or not. Regardless, I've made it farther than most. I have a 2000 TL I bought in June 2000. I have 152,000 on it and I'm using the original tranny. I got the 2004 recall jet whatever thing installed as soon as I could.

Anyway, lately when going from 3 to 4, especially when the car is cold, I'm getting a little stutter. I doesn't happen all the time and if I use the sportshift, it never happens. I haven't noticed any 2->3 problems, no slipping or anything like that. Otherwise, the car seems to be fine. Is this usually an early symptom? Something else? Heck, it could be the road or something.

Thanks,
Chris

Schlotkins

To follow up on my last post, can someone point me to the document that stats the Apr-Jun 2000 models were particularly hard hit? I guess I shouldn't be complaining my tranny made it 150k miles, but even still...

Thanks,
Chris

hamproof

I'm bringing in our 00 TL (right now at 98k miles) to have the dealership look at it tomorrow.

Now, exactly what will the service guy do? The transmission hasn't failed YET, but over the past year or 2, we have experience the shudder occasionally. So, it is a matter of time.

Will the service tech drive the car around and then turn around and tell us he didn't experience any problem or cannot duplicate the problem (which is why I hate having to go to the dealership)? Or are they expected to open up the trans and determine if the gears are worn out and at that time determine if it warrants a new trans or maybe salvageable by installing the oil fitter kit?

Just want to make sure I understand Acura's stand on this coz' we all know it'll fail. Just a matter of time. Would hate to bring it there and they turn around telling us there's no problem and charge us $100 for diagnose fee.

Schlotkins

I'm in the same position tomorrow. I have no idea what they are going to do. I'm not in the same situation - aka you are still under warranty. I'll post how it goes, but I imagine I'm just going to get a bill for $100 (or more as I'm sure they'll find something else wrong too).

Chris

fsttyms1

There is no documents that state that. They are all hit the same. They all have the poor design. (even the 03's that acura claims some werent effected)

fsttyms1

They arent allowed by acura to open the trans up. They will plug it into the computer and read the data from the ECU, they will inspect it by taking it for a drive to see if they can duplicate it, if they cant they wont do any thing unless they find something that doesnt seem right with the ECU scan or test drive.

hamproof

What's the ECU scan spitting out? Will it actually *tell* them the trans is worn out?

I know by driving, there's 1 in a 100 chance it'll happen during that 10mins they are out. If I drive around on Sat (wife's car), on a 2hr trip around town, I'll experience it once or twice.

So the chances of them experiencing it in the 10mins drive is almost nil. Man, I'll be pissed if I get docked $100 (or around there) for them to tell me that.

Unless the ECU can tell them the *life* of the trans like the new cars that can analyze the engine oil quality and let you know when to change it.

I'm afraid this is going to be a waste of time...

We still have 7k miles to go till 107,000k (at 98k now), but the car is either very close to 7 years or maybe above it already (bought CPO, so not sure when the original purchase date is).

hamproof

Are you above 107k miles or 7 years already? That's the adjusted warranty period for the trans.

fsttyms1

Well if the trans has done something the computer will store a code for awhile. It wont tell them the life of the trans but it will store some data on its behavior and if something is out of the norm it will show up. The CEL light doesnt have to be on to have a code show up. If your getting weird actions out of the trans and the dealer can replicate it they should have no problem replacing it. If not, well then there is nothing you can do. It may be helpfull to describe to them when it typically happens and as that they try to do the same to get it to happen.

hamproof

Looking at page 39, post 996, which I copied and pasted below..

******************
So I dropped my TL off at the dealership to have a detail done on it after a paving company sprayed it with tar in the parking lot of my work (I couldn't pass up the fact they called it "the Spa" and shared it with the Lambo dealership next door), the service rep told me I had an open recall, the oil jet kit was never installed which I guess went unnoticed for 2 years of going to a dealership in Florida, even having them check out my tranny once....

Well he just called me after about to install it and told me second gear is too burnt up, the oil jet kit would be absolutely pointless and he said its only a matter of time until 2nd gear starts slipping....So new tranny for me!
******************

When I bring the car in tomorrow, will they at least install the "oil jet kit" before charging me $100 and sending me on my way?? If they are going to install the kit, I assume they will open up the trans and see if there's a problem.

I very much doubt they'll find anything on the ECU nor through driving around. It only happens once or twice in a 2hr drive. Of course it happens every weekend I'm driving the car no fail. But chances of it happening while the service tech guy drives it around is almost nil.

I've bad experiences w/ dealerships and most that I used to go to, will go out of their way to not fix anything and their very first excuse is, "That's normal" OR "The tech didn't find anything wrong".

I'm trying to cover all angles.. .been years since I last went to a dealership.

fsttyms1

First you need to under stand that our trans have 2 problems.

1.) is what the recall for the oiljet kit is for. VERY (and i mean VERY) few have the 2nd gear problem. (its the less than 2% that is stated by the NTHSA and HONDA).(and i to this date have not know of or heard any one who has had that failure. a few have had he trans replaced when brought in for the jet kit because of the discoloration, but none have failed) They do not have to "open up" the trans to inspect it. Honda gave them a scope to peer into the trans to look at the 2nd gear shaft for discoloration. They can NOT look at the clutchpacks with it.

The oiljet does NOTHING for the problem most of us have. Which leads me to #2

2.) Which is what the warranty extension is for. Its for the 3rd gear clutchpack.

Schlotkins

This is a bit unrelated, but do they finally have this stuff fixed? I personally would love to buy a RL, but I can imagine myself doing it since it probably is a similar design to my 2000 TL's tranny.

Cheers,
Chris

fsttyms1

They appear to have ours fixed now. And those trans are alot different from ours

hamproof

Thanks for the clarification. I did admit I didn't read all 40+ pages. But I manage the first 10 and last 10

Going to bring it in to the dealership tomorrow and see what happens. Confirmed that we have 3 months left /10k (it is 109k right? I thought 107k).

I wish I'm wrong in my assumption what the tech will do, but from past experiences, I'm going to get screwed. At least IMO.

Schlotkins

hamproof-

I'm not sure if you'll have the same "luck" but acura just called me and let me know my tranny is going. I had symptoms similar to you. Unfortunately, with 152,000 on it, I can't really argue much about it but since yours is under warranty, that would be a good thing.

farmdevil

Just for my clarification...

The friend I bought the car from was driving at about 55mph, I believe, and the car shifted into park. Then I guess enough internals were messed up that it started freewheeling and somehow he drove it to the dealership.

Was that the problem fixed by the oiljet recall?

Schlotkins

Update-

I just heard back from my dealer, and except for some strings attached with a bunch of other word I need done, they are willing to pay half of the cost and I would have to pay $1800 for the transmission with a 3 year/36k warranty. I asked if it was new or not, and he said it was rebuilt by Honda. Now, in 3 years I'll be more than ready to dump the car, but I thought they only put new ones back in... ? Am I going to get an old one with all the same issues?

alphason'sac

The post '05 transmissions are supposed to be more reliable. I just got one in March, and it is holding up pretty strong so far. There are a few owners that have had those fail as well, but nothing to the extent of the pre '05 replacements.

fsttyms1

It didnt shift into park, most likely it just downshifted to the lowest gear (usually 2nd or first) If the 2nd gear shaft broke he wouldnt have been able to drive it anywhere. When the clutch pack wears out it looses its ability to hold gears and it will suddenly just drop out of that gear and into lower. This is what most have happen to them on the hwy which makes for a scary ride

fsttyms1

There are No such things as new ones. They are all rebuilt. They are rebuilt with teh new parts. for 1800 id take that deal

alphason'sac

Tell me about it! It is a terrible feeling even if you know it is coming.( I got off of the expressway before this happened to me) It was because I knew the signs from reading this thread that I knew what was about to happen, so I got off, but when it did slip at a much lower rate of speed, it still got the heart pumping!

Schlotkins

I did! 152,000 miles and a new tranny for $1800 was a pretty nice deal. I didn't even have to fight for it.