I understand now.

Here's a great thread to start with:

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/6-speed-conversion-591872/

And there are a number of other threads that document individual forum members experiences.

 

After 10 days and $2000 I get my car back from the service dept. I amost want this transmission to go out before the 3 yr. 36k miles so acura will have to eat the cost of a new one. By the way, the 09 TSX looks nice, but the engine is shit.

 

Well if they won't help anymore than that, visit one our official vendors and score yourself a deal!

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/discounted-oem-tranny-out-warranty-tls-while-supplies-last-721701/

 

My 01 has just under 62k on it; I bought it Feb. 08 with 48k on it. Before I totaled my WDP 00 TL, they replaced it free at 92k as it was under the extended warranty. As for this car, I am out by time but no where near the mileage. I heard that my local dealer (where I used to work) will goodwill the tranny and I'd have to pay the labor. If it's more than 700 or 800 bucks, I am trading the car in and will never buy another Honda product. I sometimes regret buying another TL and almost wish I'd gone with the 04 RL this time around.

I've had 2 Civics, 2 TLs, and 2 Honda Aquatrax PWCs. Honda better stand up to this product if it dies on me. There's no way in hell I'd put $3k into a $7k car. Any tranny that dies under 100k should be free no matter what the age is if the fluid has been changed properly. I can't believe some on here are paying upwards of 3 grand to get theirs done. What sucks is I took my insurance settlement and paid off the Aquatrax and basically just wound up with a car payment again. I owe $7100 on this, so I can't afford to put a $3k tranny in it. I hope I don't have issues; otherwise my next car will be a Lexus ES350.

It's in the shop as we speak getting a timing belt and tranny flush done (1st flush since I bought it w/ 48k).

 

Don't flush it.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/transmission-fluid-change-instructions-721374/

 

I meant drain and fill. I don't "flush" them out ever because it can do more damage.

 

Someone mentioned the Lucas oil either in this thread or another failing tranny thread so I wanted to add my experience here.

My transmission was going to shit, I'd have to turn off and restart the car (a few times) to make it a few miles. A few days later the car didn't really want to move. It took several tries to get it to go in reverse and several more for it to drive (through my parking lot). I read about people having luck with Lucas Transmission Fix and I've read about it not doing anything for others. I figured for $13 I have nothing to lose.

I bought the Lucas Tranny Fix and added it to the car per the instructions on the bottle. My car was making a strange whirring sound before I added it. By the time I was done adding it the whirring sound went away. I was thinking great!!! Then I went to put the car into drive and nothing, then into reverse...nothing.

I ended up having to push my car back into my parking space. The transmission wasn't really working so I didn't lose anything, but it made it completely stop functioning.

For anyone that's considering adding an additive to their transmission fluid be careful. I only did it because mine was 90% done anyway.

 

Hello everyone, new member here. Last night I bought a 2003 TL Type-S, 80k on the clock. I'm very happy with the vehicle so far, but I am concerned about the potential transmission problems.

If I'm reading correctly, my vehicle is NOT covered by the Acura factory recall?

 

EDIT to be included with above message:

I went to the Acura website, put my VIN in the box and this popped out. Forgive my ignorance, but does this mean a) the transmission has been fixed already (hence status "FIXED"), and b) I am covered if this transmission fails again?

Your Acura is included in the 00-04 CL & TL A/T RECALL Campaign.
Description 00-04 CL & TL A/T RECALL
Date 06/29/2004
Type Recall Customer Letter
Status Fixed

 

how do u check that? i dnt see that anywhere in acura.com?

 

http://owners.acura.com/Maintenance/Recalls.aspx

 

my vin is not working ? my vin is 19UUA568X2A800926
and btw i am from canada. do u mind trying

 

my vin is not working ? my vin is 19UUA568X2A800926
and btw i am from canada. do u mind trying to see if it works from your computer?

 

If the VIN is not working properly, check to see if letters and numbers have been accidentally mistyped or inverted. Make sure the letter O was not entered in place of the number 0. Also, make sure the correct number of characters has been entered. Automobiles have a unique 17-character VIN. My Acura only provides information on Acura vehicles.

 

Dear fellow owners:

My 2003 TL tranny just went out last week - has 106k miles on it. Took it into the dealership and they determined that it's the dreaded transmission failure. They finally got back to me today and told me that Acura won't cover any of the repairs, because I don't fall under the extended warranty (my VIN # is out of range for the 2003 models).

At this point what should I do? I took my car in on Feb. 2005 and got my car supposedly fixed (guess they just did the jet oil fuel fix). Any advice, help, insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

I made the mistake of going to a service writer first and dealing w/ him up to this point. Is it possible to try to talk to the service manager after the fact?

 

Yes ProZak, talk to the service manager. I think others have suggested you may want to call Acura Care direct as well.

I've been meaning to post a final accounting of what happened to me but haven't had the chance with bill in hand. I was going to give an itemized break down.

Basically in the end Acura paid for half and my portion would have worked out to about $2000 even. That included the remanufactured transmission, the computer and the fuel regulator. Plus another $200 to replace a leaking hydrolic engine mount with reduced labor because the tranny was out. This dealer gives back 10% on a prefered customer card so I also got $200 in credit to use for parts or service.

This came very close but did not quite reach my $2000 out of pocket threshold for avoiding feeling ripped off since I paid $2200 with a $200 credit. Hmm, I wonder if the service manager reads this thread and knew that $2K was my breaking point

 

Bought a 2003 Tl-S with 80k on the clock last Wednesday. On Friday, <500 miles after I bought it, the transmission started slipping and downshifting improperly.

The dealership I bought it from is going to fix it and I told them I want Acura parts, installed by Acura, with a warranty from Acura. They told me all of this would be fine and that I will have a 3-year, 36,000 mile warranty on the new transmission.

Should I ask for anything else?

What should I look for while driving the car after the transmission has been replaced?

Thanks,

-Adam

 

Well my tranny is about to die too. I'm at ~88,000. Slipping VERY badly between 1st and 2nd, and 2nd and 3rd. I'm also getting the random downshifts at cruising speed (which isn't too funny). Going to the dealer this weekend to see how much my wallet is going to shrink

 

Congrats on your free trans replacement. I would have them check the engine mounts, they are probably in need of replacement and combining them with the trans change saves you a lot on labor. other than that just follow 01tl4tl's break in instructions and you should be good to go.

good luck

 

Hello all,

I have a 02 TL-S and the tranny took a dive at 89K. First it would slip between second and third, then it would delay shifting into reverse. I took it in to Cerritos Acura and I did not speak to a service manager. However Jonathan the service writer who helped me was very friendly and gave me a discount on the diagnosis...instead of $110 I paid $55. When I drove the car home it was running worse than before. I suppose the tech drove the hell out of it to duplicate the symptoms. After I got it back it would not upshift into third and reverse would only engage after I gave it some gas.

Jonathan said he would submit by case to his warranty manager and see if I can get good will. He thinks that I have a good chance because my VIN# is part of that court ordered extended warranty, and that I am only three months out of warranty.

Just wondering if anybody has any opinions about this. Should I have talked with the service manager directly about this? Also should I be able to get something better than a 50/50 split. I have read this thread and saw some good stories and some bad stories. A majority of the ones with horror stories were the one either were VIN's that did not fall into the court ordered ext warranty, or the ones that were way over the warranty mileage.
I did also notice the ones with positive outcome were the ones that has VINs that were mentioned in the settlement and were just slightly over on the mileage.

I did have the tranny flushed by the dealer at about 65k, and I just had a buddy of mine who is a honda/acura trained tech change my trans fluid at about 83k.

If I do not like what Acura is offering should I hound Acura Care until I get what I want? What I want is for Acura to cover 100% of the cost and I would be willing to pay $300 for the ext 3/36k ext warranty.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

 

....almost time to get my tranny fluid changed... have almost put 15k on this 3rd tranny... and I keep praying!

 

Hi folks,
I am a newbie to this community and I am here to sought some advice.
I own a 2000 Acura TL with miles close to 89K. The tranny gave up with the engine error codes like P0730(Incorrect gear ratio) and an other one saying torque converter. However, I was able to drive it in manual mode to get to the Acura dealer.

The acura dealer in Orange County, CA called back and said its going to cost me $3,400 for a new tranny with 3years/36 months warranty along with installation. This is a big number and I don't know how to deal with it.
I asked the guy if there is any warranty or goodwill gesture that he can do.. He told that there is some warranty till 9 months back for these kind of issues and so I am out of luck with that. He said he will check with his service manager and get back to me. I personally want to meet the manager guy and talk to him..

Any advice how to negotiate/bargain/convince to get help from the dealer or the Acura corporate would be highly appreciated.

Cheers!
Jeevs

 

This will be long but please stick with me. To refresh, I have a 2000 TL, 123k mi, bad tranny. P0 730 code. Went to talk to the service manger (SM) finally and pled my case. He called the district manager (DM) who BTW had previously said “no relief” to the service advisor via email. DM offered 25% off a “warranty” tranny. So here's the catch. Apparently the original quote from service advisor for $3334 was for a "customer pay" tranny ONLY (no computer). The 25% discount applies to a "warranty" tranny. SM said for a warraty tranny, Honda automatically includes and charges for a PCS, which is another $900. (SM said the computer doesn't really add anything in his opinion). So he said he would do a "warranty" tranny w/ PCS for $3200 and take 10% off parts & labor to get my business. Then he said it's likely I'll need engine mounts which would be another ~$300+ but he would not change labor. (So there goes my 10%). BTW the mounts were replaced at 55k mi already. Why? I don’t know - previous owner.

I asked if it would help if I call Corporate. He said DM basically IS corporate and that they would consult him, so it was no use to call.

He also said if it weren’t for the lawsuit Acura would just replace it but, because of the lawsuit Acura drew a line in the sand and won’t replace anything past the extended warranty. I told him about this forum and about people past the warranty getting goodwill.

To me, it would be fair to sell me the tranny at cost + labor.

So am I being played or should I just suck it up? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

I have some problem with my TL 3.2 Transmission. When its shift to 2ND to 3RD it slips and make noise on reverse. The Transmission fluid get black & burn badly. I wanted to change the fluid, its gonna be okay if i change the fluid? Someone told me if i change my Transmission fluid my Transmission will be dead. Any advise or experience my friends ? Thanks in advance.

James

 

Dude, take the deal. If you read my post on the previous page i was offered basicly the same thing. Although a waranty tranny usu costs about 2200 with 6 to 8 hours of labor @ $100/hour. As far as i can tell 25% is the best Acura will do now for people in your situation, or out of vin 03 tl`s. My tranny ended up costing $2000.

 

I searched this thread and didn't find anything conclusive, so forgive me if this has already been addressed/discussed.

Upon receipt of my car yesterday, with a new transmission from Acura, it just feels like there is more engine braking through all the gears. It is absolutely possible that I'm imagining things because I drove the car for <2 days and <500 miles before the tranny failed, and I've been driving a Ford Focus since then. It doesn't even seem like a bad thing, just seems different.

Am I trippin'?

 

Well it's not really a deal to me. The $3200 includes the 25% "assistance".

So again. Do y'all think I'm being played? Do I really need a TCM? Basically I'm paying the same mony but getting an extra part I'm not sure I need! (Maybe I some tow it to Mobile if Huntsville dealer won't work with me!)

 

There was an Acura parts guy selling a trannys for $1995 plus shipping look here https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721701 Call him see if there are any more, ask about the computer upgrade and then talk to your service manager to see if this will come out cheaper. I dont know how all of what you need could add up to $3200. It shouldnt cost one grand for labor. I think this also has to do with the area of the country you live in. The guy that decides how much acura will help is the district parts manager. It seems like the district parts manager in the south is an ass.

 

Yeah i saw that link. I figure by the time I pay shipping & labor I'm in the same spot except without the PCM. And that may change the deal with the local dealer to use another dealer's part since they won't make any $ on it. But I guess it's worth a try.

So you paid $2000 out the door including labor for a trany installed?

My car was originally bought in Montgomery. I bought it used at 63k mi from a wholesaler in Hsv. Same DM has Hsv, Birmingham and Mont. Not sure about Mobile.

 

New to this group so forgive me if I'm asking a question that's already been asked. My folks have a TL that's got about 175,000 miles and is currently on its third transmission. The service manager mentioned that the rebuilt trannies that Acura is now putting in as replacements in problem TLs no longer have the chronic problem that puts them all on a deathwatch, saying that Acura has implemented a fix on the rebuilts. Any truth to this? Or are they stringing my folks along so they keep the car and keep getting it serviced there? Thanks in advance, it's been helpful reading all of your comments.

 

Another option is to buy one outside of your local dealer and have a reputable transmission shop install it.

Read this thread ---> https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721701

 

The general consensus on this forum is that Acura made some changes to the transmission in February of 2005 that may have significantly reduced the failure rate.

I haven't seen any hard statistical evidence that this is the case but does seem that the newer design is holding up better.

 

I had a similar experience with my 2000 TL but with fewer miles, only 96K.

Eventually they agreed to give me 50% Goodwill (originally they wanted to give 50% in store credit). Out the door I was $2200 including the PCM and motor mount (can't remember if its front or rear, is hydraulic).

So if I'd gotten 25% goodwill mine would have been about $3200 (the goodwill didn't cover motor mount). Considering the mileage difference that's probably what they would have tried to charge me with your mileage too, if not the full $4K.

Supposedly the new PCM should make shifts more friendly to the transmission. I'm guessing that means a little rougher (the analogy I imagine from a manual is if you want your clutch to last longer you don't ride it as much on shifting but then isn't as smooth but lasts longer).

P.S.
One thing I forgot was they quoted maximum possible price for PCM, but I talked with a friend in parts and he said that the have to quote maximum up front but sometimes the transmission will come with a reconditioned/repurposed/used PCM and will be less. They don't know until the order is filled. Ask them about that, and make sure they pass the saving to you rather than pocketing it. The SM gave me some cryptic assertion that she would "try to keep the cost as low as possible" when we were agreeing on the work but I thought that was just BS until I talked to the parts guy. I couldn't guess what she could mean by that since I couldn't imagine how the cost of replacing stuff could go down rather than up.

 

$2060 to be exact. I have a 2003 type s. SM said it wouldnt need the PCM, I honestly don't know if they replaced it or not. I know I paid for a tranny and some tranny fluid. Tell your SM about me here in Mobile. Try to ask for a breakdown of what each part will cost. The SM here said that it would not be a problem to get the tranny from the other Acura.

 

Thanks catfish. Not sure I can get the same deal on my '00 but I'll ask him to give me a written quote and try to negotiate from there. My SM said the PCM automatically ships with a goodwill deal (i.e. they charge for). He's a 25 year employee. Even though he's not on the showroom floor he's still a salesman. He didn't hesitate to call the DM but was only on the phone 5 minutes. I'll try to work him some more.

I'm trying to access the original service records from the dealer in Montgomery where the car came from. I called the SA there and she said it was serviced every 3k but most records had been deleted due to age. It showed dates but only a few records. Advised that corporate my be have them. My local SM acted like he would be able to access them but said his "computer was down". I may still have a chance!

 

I realize I'm well over the mileage but I'm trying the "faith in Acura" / "stand behind the product" stance. The PCM was a curve ball to me so I appreciate the tip on the charging full price for one that may not be new. What is repurposed?

My SM said similar things about the PCM but acted like he had to sell it to me as part of the warranty deal.

So what did you say to get them to come off of it? I know I'm in a tough spot with 123k mi but I think if I keep going down there he may budge. Thanks for the comments!

 

Folks,
I am having similar problems with my 2000 Acura TL (error codes: P0730 and P0740). Went to Acura dealer and after the bargain they agreed to replace the transmission for 2900$ (originally 3400$).

Then, I found this local shop who were specialized in transmission repairs offered to rebuild the existing transmission with OEM soft and hard parts for a price of 1650 with 3year/36000 mile waranty on the whole transmission.
I just don't want to spend 3000 bucks on a 6000 value car (as per KBB the value went down drastically over the last year.. damn recession !!!)

Do you guys think its a good deal to get this rebuilt instead of getting it replaced by Acura? as I am getting the same 3 yr warranty.. I just have to stick to that shop in case of any repairs in the future which I hope not.

Please advice if anyone has any good experience in this regard.
Appreciated!!!

 

My big concern with going with a local shop would be that they might not use all of the updated parts that were part of Acura's February 2005 design update.

Did you talk to the Service Manager at the dealer?

Did you try contacting Acura's Customer Care group to see if they could help out? $2,900 isn't much of a discount.

 

Yes, I did talked to the Service Manager at Acura and he said that's the final discount he could get from the district authority. I even talked to Acura client services and they also said the same thing.

The only thing that made the local shop at a better place is that they are willing to give 3 year warranty - not just on the parts they replaced, but on the transmission as a whole.

Thanks Bob_F.
I just need to make sure that this local shop is aware of using the updated parts of the Acura's Feb 2005 design update. Any idea where I can get more information regarding this design update, so that I can use it as a reference?

Also another thing, the car seems to be running fine when I drive it in manual mode, so I am also thinking of resetting the engine check light and give it another try. If its really a hard error, I should see the same symptoms again. I feel totally clueless sometimes https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/ugh.gif