Tranny Failure Thread
02-28-2005, 10:49 PM
#201
Drifting
Originally Posted by jlaavenger
Acura wouldn't budge either because my car had excessive highway miles and all of my service wasn't done exclussively at Acura. ie. Oil changes.
1.) Acura does not require maintenence to be done by an acura dealer
2.) As someone else pointed out, Acura has not addressed our tranny problem. They are addressing the symptoms but not the cause. Technically speaking, (in a perfect world anyways), each previous repair should be the same "problem" or ticket item, as the original problem was never fixed. Even Pontiac doesn't give me the runaround with stuff like this. For example, my power window motors went out before warranty was up. They went out again after warranty, and they still replaced it under warranty, because it turns out it was the power regulator, that caused my motor to go out. They could've very easily just said, tuff, we gave you a new motor, too bad if it went out again.
Oh, and $6200 for a tranny is completely and utterly rediculous. Unless Acura trannies are made of gold or something. I've seen GM and Nissan dealers both charge half that for a tranny. And at a tranny shop, a little less then that still... And Nissan trannies are made in Japan too, so there's no reason an Acura tranny should cost double.
02-28-2005, 10:56 PM
#202
Drifting
Originally Posted by avs007
Oh, and $6200 for a tranny is completely and utterly rediculous. Unless Acura trannies are made of gold or something. I've seen GM and Nissan dealers both charge half that for a tranny. And at a tranny shop, a little less then that still... And Nissan trannies are made in Japan too, so there's no reason an Acura tranny should cost double.
03-01-2005, 11:17 AM
#203
Advanced
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Beantown
Age: 48
Posts: 72
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
wtf, i just bought a 01 tl, and went to check out this site, which is great by the way, and come to find out im gonna need a tranny? that sucks, i love this car! and i did notice it feeling a little funny going through 2nd and 3rd. wow that sucks real bad, my car has just over 48k on it and from what i gather i need a tranny at like 50, is this right? Please help.........P.S- would a tranny cooler help?
03-01-2005, 11:30 AM
#204
tranny at 50K
Yeah you might need one. That is when I noticed mine going. I actually got about 35,000 miles or about two years of trouble free driving from my S. I loved it the first year... I noticed the tranny being a tad different after about 2 years. The fun started after 40K and the tranny failed at 52,000 and again at 72,000. And I was recalled for the oil jet as well.
I traded it in at 83,000 figuring it was rough shifting and I had another 17K on the warranty. I did not want to test how well acura stood by the crap that they made...
I changed the tranny fluid at 15k, had a full flush at 30,000, and then changed it again at 45. This was the first car I ever had to do that with. I would bet that the engineers figured out that something was up since I have never changed tranny fluid more than 3 times on a car that went 185,000. miles.
And it appears there is a torque converter issue in the 3G models. And hell the 04s had to be recalled as well for the oil jet. They are installed at the factory from what I know, so acura has still not been able to design a product that will last....
I traded it in at 83,000 figuring it was rough shifting and I had another 17K on the warranty. I did not want to test how well acura stood by the crap that they made...
I changed the tranny fluid at 15k, had a full flush at 30,000, and then changed it again at 45. This was the first car I ever had to do that with. I would bet that the engineers figured out that something was up since I have never changed tranny fluid more than 3 times on a car that went 185,000. miles.
And it appears there is a torque converter issue in the 3G models. And hell the 04s had to be recalled as well for the oil jet. They are installed at the factory from what I know, so acura has still not been able to design a product that will last....
03-01-2005, 12:34 PM
#205
Drifting
Perhaps Acura needs to contract the use of GM's 6 speed automatic transaxle that comes out this year. I've never had issues with GM trannies. Though I know it'll never happen.
I heard the 3G TL's don't have as much tranny issues, not because they designed a better tranny, but because they fiddled with the ECM to pull power/retard timing at shift points, to reduce stress on the tranny. Talk about putting a band-aid on a wound...
I heard the 3G TL's don't have as much tranny issues, not because they designed a better tranny, but because they fiddled with the ECM to pull power/retard timing at shift points, to reduce stress on the tranny. Talk about putting a band-aid on a wound...
03-01-2005, 02:38 PM
#206
I tried to tell people this
Originally Posted by avs007
Perhaps Acura needs to contract the use of GM's 6 speed automatic transaxle that comes out this year. I've never had issues with GM trannies. Though I know it'll never happen.
I heard the 3G TL's don't have as much tranny issues, not because they designed a better tranny, but because they fiddled with the ECM to pull power/retard timing at shift points, to reduce stress on the tranny. Talk about putting a band-aid on a wound...
I heard the 3G TL's don't have as much tranny issues, not because they designed a better tranny, but because they fiddled with the ECM to pull power/retard timing at shift points, to reduce stress on the tranny. Talk about putting a band-aid on a wound...
03-01-2005, 04:46 PM
#207
5th Gear
Join Date: Feb 2005
Age: 59
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
nope, Houston Texas on Rankin.
Originally Posted by VTEC11
$6200? Seems high, hope that's canadian. Anyway, let us know what happens.
Then he said he might could do the repair for $4200, so I guessed $6200 was for a brand new one?
Took it to a local Transmission shop. The say its in the overdrive and that the Clutchplates are burnt.
03-01-2005, 09:25 PM
#208
Intermediate
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Detroit, MI
Age: 53
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
2003 Acura TL Type-S with 30K miles, transmission failure. Repaired under warranty, but still after repairs...when the car is pushed, it pauses before taking off, it never had that problem before.
03-03-2005, 09:30 AM
#209
TL-S navi driver
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lake Forest, FL
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Turbosam.....
FYI...the problem with the oil kit is in the 2nd gear, but chipping is also occuring on the 3rd gear, a problem which Acura has yet to remedy. I am now on my 7th tranny in 67000 miles and going back in this Saturday with problems. Please don't patronize those who live with this problem repetitively. It is VERY annoying and disconcerting.
Have a nice day!
FYI...the problem with the oil kit is in the 2nd gear, but chipping is also occuring on the 3rd gear, a problem which Acura has yet to remedy. I am now on my 7th tranny in 67000 miles and going back in this Saturday with problems. Please don't patronize those who live with this problem repetitively. It is VERY annoying and disconcerting.
Have a nice day!
03-03-2005, 09:39 AM
#210
TL-S navi driver
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lake Forest, FL
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by PA-TL-MAN
Just last week I had my transmission replaced on my 2002 TL Type-S at 41,500 miles. I bought this car new and I changed the transmission fluid myself at 15k and 30k. This car is driven on the highway about 95% of the time, and I never use the 'sport shift'. The only indication that it gave me was when the car was sitting in the garage for long periods of time (over one week), it would not engage in reverse immediately. It would wait 3 seconds and then catch. That happened about 3 times over the last 2 1/2 years, and I thought it was just my imagination. The transmission never slipped, in any gear, and always shifted smoothly. After reading the stories on this website, i thought I got a good one. The only reason that I brought my TL to the dealership is because of the recall notice I received in the mail. When I got to the dealership to pick my car up, they told me that I needed a new transmission. So I then asked them how long it would be and they told me one week. They also gave me a rental (a Chrysler Pacifica) from Enterprise, free of charge (just pay for gas). I was really not impressed with the Chrysler. You know, no power, no handle, and no quality. Then I thought to myself ... who would buy a piece of junk like this? It was all wheel drive, so I used it in about 4 inches of snow to go up my driveway. It did it without a slip. Now that was the only thing that impressed me. Anyway, I got my TL back on time, as promised, and it seemed to act the same way it did before they replaced the transmission (and the ECU). I really did not notice any difference in performance or shifting, but after driving that Chruysler, anything was an improvement. Once I arrived home and popped the hood, I noticed the 'blue' bolts on the transmission. That's my TL transmission story.
03-03-2005, 09:44 AM
#211
TL-S navi driver
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lake Forest, FL
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by HotBoyinDaAcura
Yea but if you knew what i paid for my car you would shut up
Ok, tell me what you paid? The cars arent worth sh** anymore because of the bad trannies. I paid 34K for mine 2.5 years ago and it is worth 13K now. 2002 with every imaginable option! Sad!
03-03-2005, 03:39 PM
#214
8 trannies... you need to get rid of the car it is a piece of shit... if you love it so much you need to seek help and fast. Imagine if the trannie costs like 5000 (if you were to pay for it each time,) the car would cost about 70k. 32 for the original car and 35k in trannies...lol
03-04-2005, 10:24 AM
#217
6th Gear
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My tranny died
Immediately after receiving the recall notice, I took my '03 TL-S (42K miles) to have the tranny checked. It passed and they installed the kit. Just 2 weeks later, I get on the freeway to go to work, I get up to about 60mph, and the tranny suddenly shifts into 1st. Thank G_d for seatbelts. I thought I was going to get rear-ended. When the car slowed to 20mph, it shifted to 2nd and I got off the freeway and limped to the dealer with the car jerking between 1st and 2nd, and slipping shifts. They replaced the tranny but I'll never be confident in this car again.
I noticed something interesting: Whenever my mother would get into the car, she thought there was an emergency vehicle coming. It was the whining of the transmission. During the 2 1/2 years I'd had the car, I hadn't noticed the gradual increase in the sound but, with the new tranny in place, it is quite again. This is something to pay attention to.
I noticed something interesting: Whenever my mother would get into the car, she thought there was an emergency vehicle coming. It was the whining of the transmission. During the 2 1/2 years I'd had the car, I hadn't noticed the gradual increase in the sound but, with the new tranny in place, it is quite again. This is something to pay attention to.
03-04-2005, 11:45 AM
#218
My baby's daddy
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: A town
Age: 49
Posts: 247
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
well, I joined the list this week! Fortunately I had both the certified warranty and the extended warranty so I got a new transmission - free. But what a bummer.
It was quick and relatively painless. My car drives good again - 99 TL-P
It was quick and relatively painless. My car drives good again - 99 TL-P
03-04-2005, 11:52 AM
#219
My baby's daddy
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: A town
Age: 49
Posts: 247
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
yeah, hard downshifts and gear "searching" are the symptoms to be aware of. I noticed that throttling after coasting caused a noticeable smack when it would catch the gear. This made passing and getting out of lanes where drivers were turing a hairy proposition. I brought it in and mentioned the symptom, they found a broken motor mount and replaced it. However, that was probably caused by the mis shifting tranny and my new tranny was complete yesterday - 99 TL-P
03-04-2005, 01:33 PM
#220
Advanced
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2001
Age: 56
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by rasosi2000
I noticed something interesting: Whenever my mother would get into the car, she thought there was an emergency vehicle coming. It was the whining of the transmission. During the 2 1/2 years I'd had the car, I hadn't noticed the gradual increase in the sound but, with the new tranny in place, it is quite again. This is something to pay attention to.
With the new tranny, I don't notice the noise anymore.
03-05-2005, 03:53 PM
#221
Racer
The interesting thing I found out with these trannies is that they are all only available under warranty. I talked to the parts guy and there are so many warranty claims on them that if you're over the 100k, you can't find one available to purchase yourself. Acura usually will goodwill these things for up to 140k if you cry enough to them. If any of you guys have yours go out past the 100k, make a good attempt to argue with the dealership about having it replaced free. I don't know how you guys' dealers work but here it can be done.
03-05-2005, 10:24 PM
#223
Originally Posted by r10apple
The only thing I can say is that I have three kids and a wife and I am not afraid to drive the car with them in it at all.
Mine failed for the third time on me on the highway at 1 am while I was going 80mph... I was effectively in neutral going 80mph, so if I needed juice to get out of the way of some car .. i had none... was churning at 6000 rpms... just to maintain speed. That was the beginning of the end.... the worst was when it decided to downshift into 2nd gear and really cause some harsh engine-braking ... this was on the way to the dealership that night after the tranny started acting up. The case and point that I took from my experience was that it was truly unpredictable .. and that worried me. I just never knew when I would be driving and it would decide to fail ...
03-06-2005, 12:31 PM
#224
Instructor
trann
i have a 2001 tl and i replaced my first tranny at 28k miles in october 2002 now 4 days ago i noticed my tranny was sliping while i was on highway i had no lights come on. so i took it to the dealer yesterday and told them that my tranny slips they took the car and road test it and told me they didnt found any problems. so i told them what should i do they tell me you have to leave it with us or warm up the tranny and bring it in, so i warm up the tranny and came back to the dealer in 5 minutes and told him its sliping and i couldnt pull the car inisde the shop i had to shut the car off and start it back again and the service advisor drove it in and tells me we go to order u a new tranny so the car has 50k miles and they didnt give me the loaner car they told me i have to come back tuesday to get a loaner they ran out of loaner cars.
i hope they dont put in the old trany inside the car because its messed up that tranny can go out in 20k
i hope they dont put in the old trany inside the car because its messed up that tranny can go out in 20k
03-06-2005, 02:00 PM
#225
Boostaholic
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Orlando
Age: 41
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Im looking at getting a 00-03 TL, maybe a TL-S if I get a good deal. After hearing about the tranny problems im kinda hesistant of getting one now.
Im looking a good used luxury car and its a toss up between this and a IS300. The TL has standard features that I want that are only options on the IS. Some people have told me the Type S suffers more from the tranny problems than the base. Is this somewhat true?
Is there any other mechanical problems im should look out for?
If I get this car I plan to keep it for a very long time. I just dont want to replace the tranny 1000 times.
Im looking a good used luxury car and its a toss up between this and a IS300. The TL has standard features that I want that are only options on the IS. Some people have told me the Type S suffers more from the tranny problems than the base. Is this somewhat true?
Is there any other mechanical problems im should look out for?
If I get this car I plan to keep it for a very long time. I just dont want to replace the tranny 1000 times.
03-06-2005, 02:22 PM
#226
Drifting
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: seattle
Age: 66
Posts: 2,030
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
when mine took a dump i had no prior symptoms. I was doing about 50 & boom out of nowhere it was like i had slammed on the brakes. think it would have been raining i would have gone into a spin. Almost got rear ended too. d5 was flashing. managed to limp home & then to the stealer.
03-06-2005, 02:31 PM
#227
Boostaholic
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Orlando
Age: 41
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I do 50% city and 50% highway driving, with the highway driving being about 2-3 hour drive to north Florida or south Florida. I dont want the car to break down on one of those trips.
03-06-2005, 02:38 PM
#228
Drifting
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: seattle
Age: 66
Posts: 2,030
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Mugen1182
I do 50% city and 50% highway driving, with the highway driving being about 2-3 hour drive to north Florida or south Florida. I dont want the car to break down on one of those trips.
03-07-2005, 09:39 AM
#230
Instructor
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I just took mine in to the dealership and they are replacing my tranny as we speak. Car is a 2003 TLS and will be out of commission for at least 10 days. This is the last Acura I ever buy. Acura are you listening?
03-08-2005, 08:55 AM
#231
TL-S navi driver
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lake Forest, FL
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by mickey3c
8 trannies... you need to get rid of the car it is a piece of shit... if you love it so much you need to seek help and fast. Imagine if the trannie costs like 5000 (if you were to pay for it each time,) the car would cost about 70k. 32 for the original car and 35k in trannies...lol
I know, but the car is paid for and I can't afford a car payment until I finish with school and get a job. I will never find a car with all the accessories and speed this one has for the crappy 13K the car is worth. I just continue to take it in for its 15K mile service and new tranny every few months....lmao!
Talk about being stuck. Bummer, huh? Doesn't everbody feel sorry for me ..... (ok..gag!)
03-09-2005, 09:06 AM
#233
2nd Gear
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Florida
Age: 63
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
02 TL-S Transmission
I bought my used 02 TL-S in October 04 with 32k on it. I thought I was getting a great car Acura certified used car for $20,000.
I had it in for normal service (39K) just an oil change they told me they needed to do an up date to the transmission. I said fine.
Two weeks later the car was not shifting out of 3rd gear. I called the dealer up and told them what’s going on he said to bring it right in. When I got there the service man did tell me they have had some problems with the TL-S transmission and did give me a rental car (04TL with Nav) Very nice, so they did take very good care of me.
They had my car for almost a week. When I talked to them they said we are glad you bought it in when you did becuse it died when we where doing the service test drive and need to be towed back into the shop. They did replace the transmission and some computer total bill was over $6,000 and I asked the service man if this can happen again and he said he has not seen it happen with a new transmission but as I read on here I see that’s not true. I sure has hell don’t want to be paying $6,000 for the next one.
My car now has 41k with a new transmission should I tried it in or keep it?
Are the new TLs any better or the RLs?
I had it in for normal service (39K) just an oil change they told me they needed to do an up date to the transmission. I said fine.
Two weeks later the car was not shifting out of 3rd gear. I called the dealer up and told them what’s going on he said to bring it right in. When I got there the service man did tell me they have had some problems with the TL-S transmission and did give me a rental car (04TL with Nav) Very nice, so they did take very good care of me.
They had my car for almost a week. When I talked to them they said we are glad you bought it in when you did becuse it died when we where doing the service test drive and need to be towed back into the shop. They did replace the transmission and some computer total bill was over $6,000 and I asked the service man if this can happen again and he said he has not seen it happen with a new transmission but as I read on here I see that’s not true. I sure has hell don’t want to be paying $6,000 for the next one.
My car now has 41k with a new transmission should I tried it in or keep it?
Are the new TLs any better or the RLs?
03-10-2005, 12:15 AM
#234
10th Gear
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: New Orleans, LA
Age: 54
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
manumatics suck
Knowing all the tranny bs, I got rid of my 01, with 2 tranny fixes, to get an 02 S with nav. I've had friends with Porsche and Audi Tiptronics, both relatively early in prod. runs, with all the same reliability issues. Your mom won't have any, but if you push it, expect problems. Their dealers reacted the same as Acura's, almost as if it was expected. The only reason that Acura didn't offer a manual until now is line efficiency. Any bitches about TL quality or reliability have usually been answered with "value". The technology in these trannys still isn't foolproof in cars in which price isn't a factor. Ferrari's F1 shifters supposedly require "maintenance" as often as synthetic oil changes. The problem with the TL tranny is that the car is just too much freakin fun to drive and the demographic of most owners is that we will have fun driving it. They threw the tranny in as a selling point but obviously planned on it selling more as lux than sport. Should have offered the manual as an option from day 1. As much bitching as we do about the tranny on this site, all the other options fall short in one way or another. If somebody came up with a bulletproof aftermarket transmission, I'd get a stiffy and they'd get paid, paid, paid.
03-10-2005, 02:46 AM
#235
1st Gear
Join Date: Mar 2005
Age: 48
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ajth
Originally Posted by htownaccord
i have had 3 trannies in my car....unfortunately i can not get it to be "Lemoned" because i did not purchase the vehicle new...-=(***.... ne who.... i am on my 3rd tranny at 89k miles on my 02 TL-S....my question is... this is a reoccuring issue...the history on my car is the tranny has been replaced at 32k, 58k, and now 88k.. i am afraid since this issue is reoccuring and seems to happen every 20k-30k miles or so, that my tranny will go out around 110kish in which will be a VERY expensive replacement... do you think there is anyway i can get Acura to warranty this "NEW" tranny until then? because to my knowledge its only to 100k and thats it.
btw i drive around a lot...so getting to 110k wont be too hard for me....
btw i drive around a lot...so getting to 110k wont be too hard for me....
ya, same problem on mine. i bought it new,01 TL, replaced tranny at 75k, now its shifting abnormally, in dealer now, hope they'll give me a loaner. Can we get an extended warranty for the reoccuring problem? Anyone ?
03-10-2005, 06:52 AM
#236
WayTooManyAcuras
Originally Posted by geauxcubs
....... Your mom won't have any, but if you push it, expect problems.....
Your Mom has just as much a chance having a tranny failure in an 02 TL as you do. They are defective, not all, but a lot of them. It has NOTHING to do with the way they are driven. NOTHING.
This notion was disproven years ago on this forum. YEARS AGO.
03-10-2005, 07:30 PM
#237
Advanced
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Atlanta,GA
Age: 37
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What I don't understand or agree with is when people say, some are defective but not all...If they are all built the same way (Minus the difference in quality of the clutch packs) then doesn't that make everyone a possible bust, since basically all are the same?
03-11-2005, 09:16 AM
#239
Cruisin'
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Virginia
Age: 66
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by Noahkk17
What I don't understand or agree with is when people say, some are defective but not all...If they are all built the same way (Minus the difference in quality of the clutch packs) then doesn't that make everyone a possible bust, since basically all are the same?
If you read deep into the NHTSA data (see earlier links), you will find that there are certain periods (months) of production in which the incidence of transmissions failures is much higher than normal. It looks like its an issue of materials used, specifically the hardness of the metal used to make the gears, and perhaps other materials.
What disturbs me most is why acura/honda apparently hasn't yet come up with a rebuilt transmission that overcomes the problems so that when they replace them after a failure that acura owners will be the happy customers that we should be! 
I bet it comes down to a cost/benefit analysis and they have determined that its not worth it for them to "fix" the problem, and instead its cheaper, probably much cheaper, for them to keep putting the same old crappy transmission in again and again. In a few years the problem will slowly go away. 
In the mean time, I continue to drive my 2003 TL-S the way it was meant to be driven - aggressively (safely and courteously of course 
).
The only change to my driving is that I refrain from mashing on it from a dead stop.
03-11-2005, 09:57 AM
#240
TL-S navi driver
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lake Forest, FL
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by goldendragon576
just got my 3rd tranny put in yesterday. So far so good. Btw, i only have 47k on my car.
. We got to pay extra fot the headache! Aren't we the lucky ones!?