Tranny Failure Thread

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Old Apr 5, 2005 | 09:44 PM
  #281  
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Originally Posted by gsafarz
I just bought my 2000 acura tl used with 88k miles. It is in great condition, very clean with only some minor scratches, got it super super cheap. I took it to the dealer first thing after I found out about the tranny recall. They looked it over and said everything is fine and installed the oil jet.

Has anyone had the failure after the oil jet?

Also, has anyone related the tranny failure to using the sport shift?

The car was previously owned by a woman and has mostly highway miles, so I doubt the SS was used much( no offense to women, but they are generally not as aggressive drivers). I am wondering if i should stay away from using the SS to prevent damage and make the tranny last, or should beat the sh_t out of it and get a new one before 100k warranty is up..

For those who have had tranny failures please let us know how much you have used the sport shift.
My 2000 TL tranny failed at 90K, 6 months after the oil jet was installed (the oil jet is for a different tranny failure issue). I hardly use SS; maybe only once a week or so to slow down on a highway ramp.
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Old Apr 5, 2005 | 10:56 PM
  #282  
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Dealer service after 100k

There seem to be several people who have had their transmissions replaced under warranty even after 100k miles. Can anyone tell us how they got the dealer/manuf to do this? Also, please name the dealer. It would be nice to know where to go if the tranny goes out after 100k.
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 08:16 AM
  #283  
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Originally Posted by gsafarz
Has anyone had the failure after the oil jet?
Too many of us. Mine was within a few months after the oil jet kit. Mine died at 26k miles.
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 08:23 AM
  #284  
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Originally Posted by scottiew
"Too many of us. Mine was within a few months after the oil jet kit. Mine died at 26k miles."
Same thing here.
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 12:50 PM
  #285  
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My oil jet kit recall was done in February 2005, and I lost my tranny 2 weeks ago. But as someone else mentioned in this thread... I think the oiljet kit has to do with a different issue it he tranny then why my 3rd pack clutch had burned up. I am not too happy with the shifting. It seems they have tamed it a bit via the new PCM. According to my service advisor, they have had no new trannys fail or come back to them for replacement. I have 56K on my 2002 TL-S.

I am still wondering if the fix is good
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 01:07 PM
  #286  
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Originally Posted by typesfan
According to my service advisor, they have had no new trannys fail or come back to them for replacement. I have 56K on my 2002 TL-S.
Yet...

Good luck though! I'm looking around for a different car... Why pay it off when I won't keep it past 100k mi?
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 01:52 PM
  #287  
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Originally Posted by typesfan
It seems they have tamed it a bit via the new PCM.
This doesn't drive you nuts?? What if they secretly swapped out your tires for a lower performance make?
Are they dumbing down the engine to ease off their cheapo tranny?

If so, it is NOT the car I paid for!
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 02:35 PM
  #288  
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Originally Posted by fasTLane
This doesn't drive you nuts?? What if they secretly swapped out your tires for a lower performance make?
Are they dumbing down the engine to ease off their cheapo tranny?

If so, it is NOT the car I paid for!
Yeah I wonder why they haven't been sued for false advertising... or had an Attorney General look into fishy trade practices.
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Old Apr 6, 2005 | 03:09 PM
  #289  
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Tranny #3 Replaced at 156K

I had oil jet kit installed at 150K as part of Warranty Recall. Took car back to dealer after noticing 2-3 drops of fluid under car every time I stopped. Thought it was an oil leak until oil change place said it was fluid all over top of tranny. Not sure if they botched the oil jet kit installation or not. Dealer gave me a call and said fix was to replace tranny at N/C.

This is now Tranny # 3 on my Y2K TL. First one went at 95K, #2 at 156K.

Glad dealer took care of htis as I beat the crap out of it this winter getting stuck after 24" snowfall in December. Tranny overheat light even came on as I was getting car unstuck. I thought tranny was cooked at that time.

So far, so good. Even easier to get in and out of Park and putting in SS linkage feels completely different. Sorta mushy not firm like it used to be.

No longer use SS, too scary to think about dropping another tranny.

Jim Gruber
Dayton OH
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Old Apr 7, 2005 | 06:51 AM
  #290  
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mine is a 5 speed, and the wife never used SS... still will wait and see what happens.... the oil jet was done in Nov04. it seems like it shifts different to me... but its only been a couple days...

Frank
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Old Apr 7, 2005 | 07:27 AM
  #291  
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I'd almost rather trade in for a Carolla. At least Toyota quality.
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Old Apr 7, 2005 | 01:11 PM
  #292  
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Originally Posted by typesfan
My oil jet kit recall was done in February 2005, and I lost my tranny 2 weeks ago. But as someone else mentioned in this thread... I think the oiljet kit has to do with a different issue it he tranny then why my 3rd pack clutch had burned up. I am not too happy with the shifting. It seems they have tamed it a bit via the new PCM. According to my service advisor, they have had no new trannys fail or come back to them for replacement. I have 56K on my 2002 TL-S.

I am still wondering if the fix is good

The Fix is not Good. #2 Tranny was put in at 73K in Oct 04 (the latest version) and it faile in March 05, 6 months and 6K miles. I have a 02 TLS. And just last week it slipped on two different days. I could not reproduce it for the dealer and there was no code so I have to wait till it bottoms out.

I have little or no faith in the car's tranny. IMHO it is only a matter of time till there is an incident involving a failed tranny on the road. Good luck to us all.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 07:41 AM
  #293  
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Unhappy

Originally Posted by ratpack
The Fix is not Good. #2 Tranny was put in at 73K in Oct 04 (the latest version) and it faile in March 05, 6 months and 6K miles. I have a 02 TLS. And just last week it slipped on two different days. I could not reproduce it for the dealer and there was no code so I have to wait till it bottoms out.

I have little or no faith in the car's tranny. IMHO it is only a matter of time till there is an incident involving a failed tranny on the road. Good luck to us all.

I am very dissappointed to hear that. The only reason I won't trade it in today for a new one, is the 100K warranty. And you are right, its just a matter of time till an incident happens with a failed tranny to open up a bigger safety issue.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 08:38 AM
  #294  
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Originally Posted by jgruber
I had oil jet kit installed at 150K as part of Warranty Recall. Took car back to dealer after noticing 2-3 drops of fluid under car every time I stopped. Thought it was an oil leak until oil change place said it was fluid all over top of tranny. Not sure if they botched the oil jet kit installation or not. Dealer gave me a call and said fix was to replace tranny at N/C.

This is now Tranny # 3 on my Y2K TL. First one went at 95K, #2 at 156K.

Glad dealer took care of htis as I beat the crap out of it this winter getting stuck after 24" snowfall in December. Tranny overheat light even came on as I was getting car unstuck. I thought tranny was cooked at that time.

So far, so good. Even easier to get in and out of Park and putting in SS linkage feels completely different. Sorta mushy not firm like it used to be.

No longer use SS, too scary to think about dropping another tranny.

Jim Gruber
Dayton OH

Dont forget all, I am on tranny #7 in an 02 TLS with 68K miles.......don't be mislead into believing your tranny replacement is the end-all. For me, it was just the beginning. And, I never use SS, it has nothing to do with that. SS away if you'd like, just be certain to dump the car at 100K........drive safe all.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 09:32 AM
  #295  
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I was really going to purchase 02 TL, but after reading all this, I have changed my mind. Is this a bad decision on my part
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 10:39 AM
  #296  
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Originally Posted by todorable
Dont forget all, I am on tranny #7 in an 02 TLS with 68K miles.......don't be mislead into believing your tranny replacement is the end-all. For me, it was just the beginning. And, I never use SS, it has nothing to do with that. SS away if you'd like, just be certain to dump the car at 100K........drive safe all.
Wow. #7. You have me beat by 3. I think at that rate you drive the loaner more than your own car. I think Acura/Honda will never fix the tranny. Just keep putting in the disposable ones in.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 10:46 AM
  #297  
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I own a 2000 TL.
Tranny replaced under warranty at 116k kilometres.
ECM module replaced.
Oil jet kit installed at 224k kilometers (JAN 2005)
Replacement tranny failed at 234k kilometres yesterday.
Not covered by warranty and will cost me $4200.

Paying for the replacement is bad enough but its failure almost caused an accident.
I was in the left lane on the highway when it went into lower gear causing me to lurch forward and swerve. The pickup truck behind me was able to avoid me just in time. It shook me up pretty badly. I am not prepared to go through that again. I will replace the tranny and sell the car. I will also be filing an incident report with Transport Canada.

I will vote with my wallet and not ever buy or recommend an Acura product again.
It's my small way of showing that I do have some effect on Companies and the products they sell.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 12:49 PM
  #298  
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It seems that the 2nd gen. TL is dead. Will you trade it in and buy a 3rd gen. TL?
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 01:08 PM
  #299  
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Hey all, I posted a thread a few pages back about interesting info on the NHTSA website. Official documents from Acura to the government on the tranny issues. The oil jet was installed for 2nd gear breakage which is a much more "rare" failure, but more of a safety issue. That is why Acura threw that in in hopes to keep the 2nd gear properly lubed and prevent any further gear from breaking and being sued when someone gets rear-ended by a truck. Most problems are with the 3rd clutch not holding up..wearing out and clogging up internal filters, etc..
I don't think using the SS mode is really going to affect the tranny. I use it quite often and have 27k on the my TL-S without a problem..yet.. Afterall, the SS mode is part of the reason I like driving this car. Screw it, it is a pseudo-sports car so we might as well enjoy it rather than baby the heck out of them. So far as the new TCM being altered for less performance, now that is foul play. I don't know how it can be proved though, especially if HP is not affected.
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Old Apr 8, 2005 | 03:18 PM
  #300  
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Shifting Issues / Flashed ECM

Interesting way tranny shifts after being replaced for the 3rd time now. Under WOT tranny attempts to shift at 6000 RPM, it starts to shift and it feels as if the rev limiter cuts in and waits until the revs drop to 5700 before it will actually shift. Even at 3/4 throttle it acts the same way. Tranny seems to be hunting at time for the proper gear. Wondering if when dealer replaced the tranny they did nit reflash the ECM with the proper software. Any thoughts before I take this turkey back to Acura.
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Old Apr 10, 2005 | 08:39 PM
  #301  
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I bought a 99 tl about a month ago knowing certain years had tranny issues. Before I bought mine I looked in consumer reports and it showed that 99 had 2-5% in tranny issues while 00-03 being the worst. So far from reading every thread in here, consumer reports hits it right on the dot.
Just did a tranny flush at 68,000 and noticed that it shifts very smoothly, not that I had any issue before, but i did notice an improvement.

Has anyone tried using a full synthetic in their tranny? That should help with heat & shearing. Also for those that are out of warranty, why not go to aamco instead of the dealer? aamco gives a lifetime warranty on their tranny's compared to anyone else.
I guess only time wil tell if mine goes out. I hope it's within the 100k warranty period but if its not, aamco here I come
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 01:37 PM
  #302  
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Hi,

The "kit" installed by the dealer for the tranny is it just a band aid solution to the problem or what?? This sounds pretty scary if and when the tranny fails!
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 01:42 PM
  #303  
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Originally Posted by fsttyms1
teh biggest symptom (on my 3 that died ) was a sligh slipping between the 2-3 shift. it was like a slipping clutch.
Except mine was not a slight slipping, it would grind until it felt like I was losing control of the car. I didn't trust the car for a while after it dropped down to second from 5th gear in rush hour traffic, but after I got my new tranny put in, I realized everything was fine.

For symptoms, they have been posted many times on the forum (search feature) and there is a detailed list of warning symptoms from the recall notice sent out by Acura.
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 01:49 PM
  #304  
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Originally Posted by Rusky
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
This sounds like something similar to what's happening with mine. Coast a bit, tap the gas pedal, except I'm not sure if it the gear slipping or what. Essentially feels like a downshift until it "catches" and then normal acceleration. Sometimes when I feel it "slipping", I just press the pedal harder to get through it. Since nothing registers on the dashboard/computer, the dealer cannot determine if it is a tranny failure or what's going on.

Been living with it since my tranny replacement. Maybe the next time I take my car in for an oil change, I'll drive a mechanic around to see if I can replicate the problem for them. Too bad this problem occurs periodically.
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 02:03 PM
  #305  
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Cool Merged Thread: New Tranny

Just got the call from Acura of Brookfield in Wisconsin. They are going to replace the tranny on my 03 TL-S. I've got 54,000 miles on the car and I was not part of the warrenty extension but it is being replaced under warranty. Had the 2nd gear recall done some time ago. Using an 05 TL loaner. I like my TL-S better.
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 02:11 PM
  #306  
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Why didnt they include all '03 models in the extended warrenty? My TL was made in June of '03 so its not included, but glad to see that they dont give any problems covering it.
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 02:15 PM
  #307  
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I had mine replace last week around the same amount of miles...
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 02:21 PM
  #308  
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i wonder how much money they are losing giving away all these free trannies
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Old Apr 11, 2005 | 02:42 PM
  #309  
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Transmission FAQ: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113297
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Old Apr 12, 2005 | 10:41 AM
  #310  
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Originally Posted by AcuraTl203
i wonder how much money they are losing giving away all these free trannies
Apparently they are spending much less money by giving out the replacement trannies that have the same problems, over and over again, than they would have to spend to design and manufacture a tranny that works!

.
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Old Apr 12, 2005 | 02:58 PM
  #311  
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My TL-S 02 is currently @ 67,000 and so far no problem with the transmission, should I wait or bring it to the dealer and have it check for the recall
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Old Apr 12, 2005 | 03:37 PM
  #312  
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Originally Posted by tipiip
My TL-S 02 is currently @ 67,000 and so far no problem with the transmission, should I wait or bring it to the dealer and have it check for the recall
tipiip- Just curious, what month was year car manufactured in?
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Old Apr 12, 2005 | 03:37 PM
  #313  
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Originally Posted by tipiip
My TL-S 02 is currently @ 67,000 and so far no problem with the transmission, should I wait or bring it to the dealer and have it check for the recall
tipiip- Just curious, what month/year was your car manufactured in?
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 08:25 AM
  #314  
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New guy

I'm a new guy to this forum, I started looking when my '02 TL-S NAVI tranny failed at 76K a few months after the jet kit was installed. I've read over these posts and it seems consistent that there's a coin-toss to decide if I'll be back to the dealer regularly....Also had a front and side engine mount gone (saw one other post about that, but no reply). I bought the car at 37K in Dec '03, and have used it mostly as a commuter, but with the occasional blast on an appropriately inviting stretch of road in SS. Love the car (except the torque steer), but I'm sure concerned now!! Gonna do some more searching on this site for info, but I don't see much hope in reliability...the reason I bought this car in the first place. I had a Mazda before that I put 245K on before it's tranny packed up...then I found out those cars were famous for tranny problems too....gonna go research the extended warranty issue I've seen referrenced here - my dealer told me this replacement would be covered for the remainder of the 100K and that was it...
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 08:42 AM
  #315  
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Hi,

I am looking at purchasing an '05 TL with AT and NAVI. Does the problem discussed in this thread effect both automatic and manual transmissions?

Thanks!

David
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 10:54 AM
  #316  
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Originally Posted by PeteTLS
Also had a front and side engine mount gone (saw one other post about that, but no reply).
It has nothing to do with the tranny.Thats just normal wear with those engines. The more of a lead foot you have the sooner you will have to replace them.

The most important one is the front engine mount. Once that mount breaks and you accelerate, the engine will start to hit the frame of the car
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 12:03 PM
  #317  
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Originally Posted by optomos
It has nothing to do with the tranny.Thats just normal wear with those engines. The more of a lead foot you have the sooner you will have to replace them.

The most important one is the front engine mount. Once that mount breaks and you accelerate, the engine will start to hit the frame of the car

Thanks...I had the same problem on a prior car, and doubted it was tranny related, but it seemed to be a little soon to be replacing mounts...oh well - any good sources for parts in the ATL area?
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 01:17 PM
  #318  
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From: Eastern MA
Originally Posted by dd110914
Hi,

I am looking at purchasing an '05 TL with AT and NAVI. Does the problem discussed in this thread effect both automatic and manual transmissions?

Thanks!

David
Auto only.

This thread deals only with 2G (1999-2003). Most 2005 TL owners are in the 3G area. No 3G owner admits to any systematic transmission problem with the 04 or 05 TL (the average 04/05 does not have enough mileage for the problem, if it exists, to manifest itself.). My gut feeling is that the 3G transmission has been fixed. I have owned both a 2001 and a 2005. No tranny problems.

As with any car there are reports of one or two 04 or 05 tranny failures in the 3G topic. But whether these are related to 2G failures are hotly debated. You may want to search the 3G area threads. Step carefully, you have entered a minefield!
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 02:32 PM
  #319  
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Originally Posted by PeteTLS
T- any good sources for parts in the ATL area?
I havnt looked around much, but Advance auto parts and Auto zone carry most general parts. As far as I know the engine mounts are dealer only.

I went to marrieta bout 3 weeks ago to have my windows tinted at custom sun control, right by Nalley Acura. After I was done I drove to Nalley and had them put the front mount in for me. Cost me 280.82 with tax. They wanted 170 for the side mount but I told them to hold off. I will do that one myself. It took them 15 minutes to replace it so its not a hard job. Carey Paul Honda on 78E was about the same price but they would have to get it from a Acura dealer.
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Old Apr 14, 2005 | 02:43 PM
  #320  
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Acura Carland quoted $195.00 for the front and $120.00 for the side (IIRC), doing them at the same time as the infamous trans (guess I can't complain too much, I did get 76K out of what seems to be the original, where others here have had 5 by this time). I'll do the labor myself, can't resist a chance to get greasy, but I sell parts for Euro cars and was looking for a place like us for the Asian imports. Maybe there isn't one.....One of my Jag customers in FL says he just ordered a Honda mount from alley, they were cheaper than anyone else he found...hard to believe - 'Nalley' and 'cheap' can't be in the same sentence!!!
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