Did you ever ask the Acura dealer anything??

 

No, am going to. Getting the money together, and thinking of all options before towing car there. Will def. try to wrangle a deal from them first, before making a decision.

 

if you have a long relationship with the honda dealer- go speak with the parts and service managers there and ASK what they can do for you-
the labor rate is lower, and they may cut you a break on the trans price.

Acura dealer doesnt have a history with you, (which matters in some cases) but it wont hurt to walk in and speak with the parts and service managers- tell them it wont drive in, what can they do on corporate goodwill --
or if not goodwill- Whats their- `we want the job instead of letting you go to aamco`- price

You can tell them you're still getting the cash together- especially if its cash not credit cards --which they lose 3-5% on the transaction on processing fees, so cash makes for discounts

 

Well I've already payed off about 4--- dollars on a loan I took out at my bank so they said they would approve me to take out what I need for the transmission. I just would rather not have to pay as much, but I'll have cash for them instead of credit.

My car is actually still driving, just the transmission is a messed up and the car isn't shifting well so I want to get it fixed before it gets worse. Should I drive over to Honda or Acura first would you say?

 

A good friend of mine used to work at aamco and told me aamco stands for "all automatics must come out"........so i'd, personally, never take my car to aamco.
Not to go off topic, but the transmission rebuild work is the only thing that hasn't slowed down for Honda around these parts.

 

Has anyone with a high mileage car (near 200k) tried to get goodwill or free replacement and been successful? My car has 178k and I am worried about the tranny going because it was supposedly replaced way back when at like 25k (I have yet to register with acura and check it... I'm doing it when I get home from work). But now it feels like there is some slippage in 2nd and 3rd gears. Any idea if Acura would help me out?

thanks

 

do you have some amazing relationship at your dealer- like bought 5 new cars there, always taken in for service etc???

I have seen them help loyal customers up to 140k,,but 200,.....thats asking a lot since the gen2 trans warranty extension only goes to 109--

while gen3 gets stuck with only 50!

 

hey how everyone im new to this form i have a 03 TL-s just got it with 104500 mile and tranny just went @106 only had the car 4 like week and a half need help what can i do to get it fixed

 

Welcome to Acurazine!

The odd thing about the 2003 model year is that Acura did not offer the 109,000 mile/7 year 9 month extended warranty on the transmission to the entire production run. Whether or not your 2003 TL is covered depends on the car's VIN number. (Caveat: Cars with salvage titles are not covered regardless.)

So the first step is to call Acura, or register you car online, and check for the warranty coverage. If your car's covered, Acura should install a replacement transmission at no cost.

If it's not covered, you may still be able to get some or all of the repair covered as a "goodwill" gesture. Start reading this thread backwards from this point to learn all about that option. Pay particular attention to the posts by 01tl4tl

 

well looks like i just joined the failed transmission club, wasnt to sure a first becase of oil leaks on monday but today i flushed the tranny out and put in new tranny fluid in and come to find out it still doesnt work. i live in san diego and my car is stuck up in temecula. my car has 110096 miles on it. im hoping to get a goodwill tranny

 

So nevermind on my tranny being blown! Had my mechanic look at it and he found some bracket in the transmission that needed to be replaced. Don't remember the name of the part.. oh well. Anyways I'll take 360 over 3000 dollars.

Thanks guys who were helping me even though I didn't end up needing it. haha

 

I've read numerous threads on this site and have found it to be extremely helpful Thanks to all the people who actually do good on the internet.. :-D

I own an '02 TL-S with about 138K. I am only 18 and it is my first car so I've been taking care of it religiously.

Last night, I got onto the freeway and got stuck behind some guy doing 30 on an onramp so I floored it to get around him..which I honestly don't do often..and when the tranny shifted outta 2nd, I felt a huge jolt..bigger than anything I've felt before. I know that it was prob from the high RPM shift but nonetheless, ever since I flushed the tranny about 10K miles ago, I've felt that it has been shifting very roughly, especially when cold. So I've been letting her warm up before driving it for at least 10 mins, and this seems to help with the relatively rough shifts (I mean c'mon..it's an Acura..it shouldn't be shifting abruptly how it is)

I've read about an oil jet kit a while back but never really figured out how to spot it. Can anyone help?

Also, the owner before me said that the tranny had never been replaced. So how can I find out if she is a part of the recalls? In addition, if I take her in now, what are my chances of getting a "goodwill" tranny?

Thanks to anyone with a response.

 

My tranny went at 111k a few weeks ago....Acura did a 90 / 10 split. This worked out better as if you pay something towards it, you then get a 3 yr / 36k warranty as opposed to 1 yr / 12 month.

 

herro prease, gentlemen.

new to the site, not new to this problem. Insert my trans drama here. lol.

but either way guys i love the site, but have a question...
My trans is going to be rebuilt by a very reputable transmission guy i know. But i am concerned about the parts that are going to be used. He has told me that the "new" oem parts that honda has been making are alright now, but i have my doutbs.

is there any truth to this statement?

im going to rebuild not buy a whole new trans.

i await your enlightened answers. and still proud to be an acura owner.

jon

 

you cant (easily or reasonable $) buy a whole `new` transmission- acura sells a rebuilt unit made from all the returns- using good parts where found and new parts where needed
BUT
they use a new case which is improved over the pre 2005 units-
rebuilders get the same updated parts that acura uses so no sweat there but its the original case

02 are covered vin, as long as its not salvage/rebuilt title
register here to see if the oil jet recall was done and ask about the cars history, and other extended warranty like the SRS and seatbelt
1-800-382-2238x5 and http://owners.acura.com/registration...erstepone.aspx
Need cars VIN for both those

Check vin number against the `odometer error` lawsuit VINS- that extends the trans warranty to 114.5 miles

To visually locate the oil kit look on top of trans- see a small hose going into a bolt at the top center of unit? thats it
To easily see if trans replaced with warranty unit- look at the bolts that hold the trans together- painted blue bolt heads= acura warranty rebuilt

 

02 TLS
when you say you Flushed the trans- exactly what method did you use -drain 3 qts and replace- or the 3x3, or a shop machine power flushed it?
and what type fluid- honda ZR1?

Also the acura hates sitting to warm up as that does nothing but pollute the air
Wait 1-2 minutes then drive
The car is designed to shift a little higher rpm and slightly rough shift when dead cold- for a few minutes of drive- as soon as temp starts to climb on the guage, that system is off. It helps it warm up quicker and the fuel system can go into lean clean mode where it belongs

 

"Hates sitting to warm up-" Are you saying it somehow damages the engine to idle over 2 min.?

 

Just dropping in for a quick "thankyou" to the board (especially, 01tl4tl for his valuable advice.)

After two plus months of back and forth with AcuraUSA, they've decided to reinstate their original offer to replace the transmission on my 2001 CL-S (127k miles) for $1100. Eventhough I have to pay for my car to be towed to MD to have the work done, I was glad that they didn't force me to have my car serviced at the really shady Bradley Acura in VA (who started this whole nightmare when they fired the Assistance Manager and refused to honor the Goodwill replacement offer that was made by him.)

I got the car back yesterday and it is shifting a little rough (more noticeable when the car is trying to go up a hill.) Is this typical for the new transmission? I remember someone on the board has indicated earlier that when the new transmission is installed some kind of electronic reprogramming has to be done. I check the work order and can seem to find any reprogramming work.

 

The new trans controller does learn your driving style and makes some adjustments to shift points to a degree.
The break in is be gentle to normal rpm first 500, then normal to pushing it to 1000 miles, then drive as desired
Allow the metal parts and rubber and kevlar bands to all get aquainted- its not like bedding brakes but it does have a general need for bedding-in of parts to each other.

If its not smooth shifting after 500 miles take it back in, something is wrong
A few minutes of rougher shift 1-2 gear and higher rpm at shift is part of the warm up program-

On start up the fuel injection goes to `full rich`- fuel laden mode- its dumping extra gas into the cylinders in order to get hot faster, so it can switch to lean mode- least amount of fuel to the cylinders and max mileage- minimum emissions- ULEV and all you know~

In your owner book- yadyada- I dont make this stuff up ~

 

total- you can idle for hours when the engine is warm all you want- its that cold start mode when its loading up the cylinders- plugs and cat with fuel...you want to get drivng because THAT will bring the operating temp up right away- the car moving is more effective than parked to warm it throughout the systems from intake to exhaust tips

See that water dripping from the exhaust??, better to get going and make heat to dry that out- right? It will rot the exhaust on cars driven a few (less than 10) miles to work in cold or wet conditions

 

good job peewee-

I heard persistance often paid off when writing and calling corp- that it may take a few months of effort but you get results in the end

Stick with it and they do really want happy customers- you just have to tell the right person what it will take to make you happy
Once you are happy, be sure to write corp and thank them- name people, do the same for the dealership that helped you now. Bonus checks at the service manager and writer level are affected by survey results and hand written thank you letters are like gold. Who takes the time to hand write a thank you these days?!~
Expect excellent service from then on!

 

i don't know how you do it man! you are the second gen God! Thanks so much.

also does the "improved case" do anything different other than hold everthing in there?

 

01tl4tl

tranny was flushed using good friend/ASE Master tech's method (owns small shop but not wealthy/big enough for flush machine)
initially, we overfilled tranny using dextron III fluid (cheaper) and disconnected cooling lines in order to drain excess while running. turned off and overfilled again. we repeated this procedure until fluid was clean (was darker then dirty engine oil before flush) and ended up running about 14 qts of dextron III through before beginning overfill with ZR1. repeated procedure with ZR1 and ran about 6 qts of that through it before finally filling it with ZR1 and making sure levels were ok. it ended up being a little spendy but i wanted to make sure the fluid was CLEAN before driving it as i had read a lot about these failed trannys. lengthy description but wanted to clearly state what was done..not really 3X3 but similar.

also, even after driving for about 10 miles, rough shifts continue with only slight improvement after 40 miles on the hwy.

i just logged in to the acura site and it says "fixed" for seat belt and oil jet kit but open for warranty ext.

extension means little to me as it just passed 138K..but there are others that get lucky and split costs with acura even after warranty..right? i just want to judge when i should begin to hound acura just so im not left without a car for an 80 mile commute per day..

 

sry..not ZR1 fluid.
it was actually ATF-Z1..just looked at the service record

 

Not sure it's wise to flush with the wrong fluid-??

 

from everything I have read here, using anything but ZR1 is risky business
In fact- the book says if you ever add any amount of dex3 "In an emergency"
then you must immediatly do a 3x3 maual drain and fill with honda zr1 to remove all traces of the dex3!!

Some people with good trans are on amsoil, but not starting that at high miles and with a totally untested, not suggested,, method of fluid changeout probably isnt a great plan either

Sorry to say: I hope your buddy doesnt mind the insurance hit- they fried your trans by using a non approved method and non approved fluid- now its dieing

How many times has it been said, and in print in the owner book, on how to drain 3-add 3, drive 5 minutes using each gear to move fluid forward in the system,- drain 3 add 3 drive 5 drain 3 replace 3 done

Its about 3.2 qts will drain out each time, if you are patient for the .2
repeat a total of 3 times for 9 qts
thats displaced the original 7.3 qts the trans actually holds in total
you can only get 3 qts at time out of it

 

Failshed- thank you!

What I know about the TL specifics comes from personal experience with my TL and by reading info on acurazine~ and readig the owner book!!

Having been a tech-service writer-manager in the past, I can offer insight to their side of a situation and how to get better help from the Service Manager (see: donuts)

The mid 2005 switch/replacement trans case used in the warranty rebuilt units have what appears to be greatly improved oil passages and oil flow-
the killer of the early ones is lack of that cooling oil flowing to certain parts of the clutch packs--they overheat and it's goodbye forward motion~

The external oil jet recall kit adds a source of oil to 2nd gear- different issue than normal failure
The units made since then are greatly improved based on info on azine- but they do have one go out now and then-
compared to now and now and now and then then then

 

I had my type s tranny fail at 89k mi. I had it repaired at the chevy used car dealership i bought it from. They actually have a good tranny shop there. I was told it doesn't have an acura tranny it now has a tranny supplied by this tranny shop that is built to spec for the acura. Anyone know anything about this? Does it still have the same failure problems?

 

I understand the 3x3 method as I too read the manual, and it's essentially what we did with the flush. In order to lower costs however, we decided to initially flush with dexron III, then flushed out what may remained with ATF-Z1 - the preferred fluid that's stated in the manual - and the 3x3 method minus driving. This was roughly 6 months and ~10K miles ago and will be flushing again soon. This time with the method described in the manual as I know the fluid will not be dark, muddy and smelly.

Thanks for the great info on the new case and oil jet kit - 01tl4tl
You know quite a bit about this whole situation and it ahs helped a lot.

 

i have a 99 TL with an 01 swap out. Everything works fine but the automatic mode. Reverse works but i have to shift it in s/s what is that? All the gears are good but it's stuck in manual mode

 

 

take it directly to the acura dealer
Fixed means it was taken care of- fixed- the recall was performed

Open means the overall extended warranty is in effect on the trans- not if it is original or warranty,, replaced/date etc

Call acura for that info to be sure 1-800-382-2238 x5

 

shifts are scary?- what do you mean by that- its slamming into gear?
And 1st, is that an extended delay of more than 2 seconds to fully engage fron N to D5 before it will move down the road?

 

it slams into gear I was on the highway the other day going into chicago I was downshifting and it took a few seconds to take and when it did boy it was bad, since then first gear has faded on me three times right as I first start moving I will slow down to turn a corner and it will fade out rpm's rise no catch left off the pedal and it catches

 

my car is at acura I took the tech on a ride and my trans is shot and it's covered so I got a loaner and my car should be ready by Wed. thanks to all the good info here I was well informed going into the dealer today. Continental Acura Of Naperville is awesome John Meyer, Asst. Service Manager was great got me setup and out the door in 20 mins

 

I still praise 01tl4tl effort in reaching out to those in need to this day. I probably would've have fallen into paying aamco for a tranny but with the advice I got from 01tl4tl it only ended up costing me roughly $200 for an engine mount which I was also told was too much to pay. Acura covered my car as a good gesture repair even though I was over the 109k limit on the extended warranty.

 

i was told that the mount would be replaced at at a fraction of the cost I hope it's not 200 dollars like I've been hearing here someone wanna chime in on that for me?? Please!!!

 

just talked to acura he told me over four hundred for both mounts if they are bad wtf that can't be right is it??

 

That's a bit high. Here's a link to the parts with pricing for the engine mounts.

http://www.acuraautomotiveparts.org/...s=&view=normal

You can also check out the honda store online which will have the same diagrams but cost a little more but not $400.

 

chanrith- good to see your still running strong!

With the trans removed for replacement- its 20 minutes/ .3 of an hour labor to change the front motor mount. With trans installed its 3 hours!!
Yes the part really does cost 120$- its a special fluid filled unit and some years even have a vacuum booster built in the motor mount!
The passenger side mount often goes out too- no discount on labor there .5 hour and ~50$ part?
havent checked recently to know exact pricing
Spirited type shifting- without performance driving instruction and skills- puts strain on the mounts

The service writer may forget to adjust the computer for `with trans removed` and front mount will come as $400.
just ~remind~ them of the change in labor time