PeteTLS

well, they called from the dealer and my car's done, a day early...I guess I get to try it out. I sure hope they haven't messed with the ECU's, and I'd like to be what seems to be an exception from reading these posts - the guy whose car gets fixed the first time....

PeteTLS

got the engine mounts today too....One of my wholesale vendors on Jaguar got them for me - saved about 30% off the dealer price, and the front one he got from a dealer in FL! Rick Case Acura in Plantation, if anyone cares....

mickey3c

That and I believe they would have to fess up to a major problem and end up swapping out more trannies with the new design. Instead they put a PR spin on how they will stand by their product beyond the warranty. Yeah and avoid a major lawsuit. They detune them with the ECU factory kit. I asked why replace the ECU. They said it was part of the kit from acura. I laughed I knew what was going on.

They said the tranny was replaced, checked for any additional leaks.. I asked additional leaks!!!? they said yea after they put the rebuilt in there was a leak. So they had to replace a seal. what crap...

ncmanning7

Well, bought a 02 TL-S with nav and 53000 miles Monday from a dealer in dallas. I did a pretty good amount of research before and knew the trannys were crap but with the extended warranty I was like what the hell. Bought it for 15500 (hell of a deal in my mind) but day before yesterday you would know the check engine light came on. Ran an OBDII and of course tranny. Now mine is still shifting fine but the SS started not working right. That shit better be covered under warranty or I'm going postal. Dropping at the dealership on Monday...will keep everyone posted.

PeteTLS

I'm still curious as to the overall failure rate...sure, on here there are plenty of people who've been bitten by the tranny troubles, but are there any overall failure percentages published? I'm looking for hope with mine since I love driving it and would lose my shirt trying to get out of it into something else. Maybe next time I'm looking to buy a car I'll research posts before signing any dotted lines....

ncmanning7

Honda says about 16000 out of 1 million which is a huge understatement. That's like saying Pamela Anderson has B cups

TLProspect

Add me too the list- 121K miles. I am CONVINCED that NO ONE who owns a 00-03 TL will avoid the tranny failure. I thought I might make it since I was already at 120,000 miles and everything had been fine, the car had been maintained properly and babied by me. Nope, I really think that this is an inevitability for the TL, which makes me both angry and sad as a Honda/Acura loyalist.

MarcDavidoff

do you think they will cover it? I bet you give a big enough stink and they will.. Sounds like making it to 120k is not bad..sadly to say. WIth a honda you always think- 120k, it's just breaking in.

VTEC11

TLProspect, let us know if they cover your replacement trans or not.

TLProspect

Will do, I should know mid-next week. Cross your fingers for me, I'm looking at over $3K for a refurbed. acura tranny

pocky

You know, I have a question regarding the transmission. I'm currently on my original transmission with 22K miles. The transmission acts perfectly normal, although, sometimes, if not everyday. At one point in my drive. The transmission would feel like it wouldn't want to budge.

I would be at a stop, press the gas, no reaction, then the car hops cause i'm pressing the gas harder since it's not going anywhere, then it would stop again like there is no more power, then it'll lurch again. After it does it once, it won't do it for the rest of the day until the next day. I already have that "oil jet kit" installed earlier this year. Any comments?

alleyesonmeee

...on the interstate going 80/85 with very little previous warning. It did the same thing that my last one did, except this time I was going fast when it shifted into 2nd gear. Rpms shot up to around 8500 and my engine almost killed. Lights blinking etc. Scared the crap out of me but at least it wasn't the first time that it happened. It started back up again and I made it home safe and sound. I have to bring it into the Acura dealership early Mon. morning and I will get some kind of loaner car. It will be the third for my car if it gets replaced.

I still my TL. I'm actually kind of glad that it happened so my warranty will be extended another 12K miles.

derrick

Hey alleyesonmeee ...

Sorry to hear what bad luck you have on trannies. I don't know how I'd respond if that happened to me going 80mph (130km/h).

alleyesonmeee

I was much more concerned about the engine going through that sudden high RPM. I've never heard and engine sputter like that in my life and of course the noise was about 3 times worse because of the exhaust. I think I had fingerprints embedded in my steering wheel, I had a death grip on it.

NYZGREATST

deyumm allie, that sucksss. must have made your hairs jump straight up for a minute. good thing it didnt cause a accident

avs007

Wow... When my tranny let go, it just went into neutral, and redlined the engine, while I was accelerating...

Out of curiousity... What would've happened, if the engine blew? I would hope acura would still cover that under warranty, because the engine blew as a result of a defective tranny right?

VTEC11

Very good question. That would be interesting to see how acura would handle that situation.

Acura02Gold

Let us know how it went!

AznBalla

Well tonight on my way to dinner, my 99' TL decided to hit the lights.. I was on a small back road going about 40 and the TCS and the Check Engine lights come on.. I proceeded to dinner while carefully watching my tranny shift.. Everything feels normal, wasn't too worried as I have read about this, but i did take it slow.. After having dinner, I noticed the TCS light didn't come on on my way home.. So right now only the Check Engine light is on.. I'm planning to take it to the dealer at 3:30pm tomorrow.. I'll be making the appointment in the morning.. Do you think the dealer will just try and BS me since only the check engine light is on..? Cause the TCS just doesn't want to come on anymore.. *sigh* I hope I do get the tranny replaced.. I'm at 104K but I know a few of the guys there, and the guy who sold me my car is now the general manager! I just visited him on Thursday too! He was all over my LEXUS IS300.. haha Well I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow.

PeteTLS

I got the car back Friday afternoon. The replaced the ECM as well, and it definitely seems to have de-tuned the car!! It just doesn't seem to have the edge it used to. I replaced the engine mounts Saturday (and no, the subframe does not have to be dropped like my dealer told me it did!), and overall the car just seems tamer than it was. I'm not happy about it, but I'm also scared about having this tranny bite the dust after the warranty is done, so maybe it's the lesser of two evils since Honda doesn't seem able to make the trannys last under the original performance parameters....A lot of the torque steer is gone....

ex007

Wow, sounds like everyone is have tranny failure. Mine went last Thursday on the way to the airport. All of a sudden the RPMs went from 2,000 to 5,000 and I have no power. Then the engine and TCS lights came on. Limped into the airport for my flight. When I returned on Friday, the engine light was still on, but the TCS light was off. Scheduled an appt. for this morning. Just got the call that the entire tranny, except the casing, has to be replaced. Oh well, first real problem with a Honda car in 30 years. At least it's covered by warranty and I get a free loaner while it's being fixed.

Edited to add: BTW, my tranny failed AFTER just having had the car inspected 3,000 miles ago and having the jet oil thing installed! So either the dealers are terrible at diagnosing the problem or the tranny goes very quickly.

alleyesonmeee

My mom brought my TL to Walker Acura in Metairie, LA this morning. I get a call from the service department saying that they have ran all kinds of tests and cannot replicate the problem. The tell me that they are going to run a test to see if it is the EGR port causing the problem, and that its going to cost $156 just for the diagnostic. They also told me that they are keeping my car for a few days to see if they can get it to show signs of failure again. When I had set up the appointment for my car to go, the service advisor had told me that I would have a loaner car while my car was being looked at. They give my mom the loaner car, and then add at the last minute that the loaner car will only be free of charge if it is my transmission and only if they decide to replace it.

I don't understand how a "clogged EGR port" could cause my car to just randomly downshift into second gear on the interstate, etc.

PeteTLS

If I've got it right, the jet kit addresses a problem with 2nd, but the big problem is with the 3rd gear clutch pack 'blowing up', so the jet kit doesn't address the main issue - Do I have that right? It sure does seem like doing the jet kit speeds up the 'big' tranny failures, though, from what I read here. Every other post seems to be 'My tranny failed and I just had the jet kit done'....coincidence???? Any techies here want to comment, cause I'm sure not technically knowledgeable enough to know.....

PeteTLS

Don't these cars have rev limiters?? If so that's probably what you heard when the RPMs suddenly went ballistic...saves the engine but makes a truly horrific sound...

Clogged EGR port causing the 5-2 downshift that we read about on here as the tranny takes a dump?? Let me check the bs meter.....Yep, it's pegged!!!!!!!

Liftedoff420

MY TRANNY IS GETTING REPLACED!!

i got a 2000 with 93k on it

about 500 miles ago the check engine light went on but i assumed it nothing bad because the car was driving fine

about a week ago i put the car in SS and felt very rough shifting...got the CEL code read and it was a 1768 manufacture control transmission

took the car to the dealership a few days ago and they confirmed that the tranny needs to be replaced

the bad part- i dont have a car for a week, and they said they cant give me a loaner car because im only 19...FUCK THAT!!!

IS THERE A 15k extended warranty on replaced trannies???

ncmanning7

Well...dropped my car off at 10 this morning for the tranny code. Came back at 3:30 and of course they hadn't looked at it yet. After bitching it took them 10 minutes to tell me my "shifter switch" is out. After the lady at the counter told me that I felt that there had to be a technical term for it... that sounds like something my girlfriend would say. Anyway, the tech came out and called it a shifter switch too. The way he described it was it is the switch that tells the tranny if it is in sport shift mode or not and pretty much have to replace the entire upper assembly which of course isn't covered by warranty and will cost me $305 plus tax. I told 'em to hold off ordering it until I can do some research.

Anyone had this happen or heard about it?

Had the damn car for a freaking week. Jesus

MarcDavidoff

Was the car classified as "certified" when you bought it? I don't even remember all that a certified warranty does (I'd have to check mine), but it should cover something like that until 100k miles. Nevertheless, if you just bought it from them (I assume) a week ago, they should cover that or I would raise hell..

MarcDavidoff

Yeah, the oil jet kit helps give lubrication to the 2nd gear, nothing to do with the 3rd clutch pack wearing out prematurely. I think failures happening soon after the kit is installed is just coincidence...or you never know..

ncmanning7

Well, actually I didn't get it from an acura dealer so not certified. I got it from an upper end used car lot. Guy sells benz, beemer, lexus, acura's etc. However, he's very small time. Got a great deal but looks like I'm seeing why. I mean, I used to be a dealer...I know what and what not to look for. The car has obviously been well taken care of, never been wrecked, tranny shifts fine... hopefully it is just one of those freak things and this will be the only thing that goes wrong. Anyway, I've been looking and I think the part they were talking about is about 100 bucks and they were going to charge me $200 labor. I'm going to find a schematic and see how deep off in it I have to go and will probably do it myself. Even if I have to spend the 300 I'll still be 3g's up from if I would have bought the same car certified.

jgruber

4-20-05 Just heard from Dealer, tranny # 4 or 5 is now on order.
#1 went out at 95 K - Replaced as Warranty Work
#2 didn't fit my early 2000 TL, something about wrong shaft sizes?
#3 Oil Jet Kit installed at 150K - Warranty
- Noticed fluid leak by 152K
#4 Tranny installed by dealer at 152K-Warranty
#5 Tranny & ECM to be replaced by dealer at 160K - Warranty

It's great that Honda stands behind this car that is now 5 Years Old and 160K miles, unfortunately I just want to get in the car and drive. I alsmost got stranded on Monday when I walked out of the office, turned the key and car would not start. Turns out one of the wires fell off of the solenoid. Harness has been disconnected so many times the spade clips won't hold on any more. Acura is replacing that as well as warranty work.

I've been given a new TL loaner every time at N/C and got a TSX on request this time for a change. If the TSX had another 50 horses under the hood would be a perfect car. I like driving that car better than the 04 or 05 TL. Feels a whole lot more nimble.

Please Acura just fix my car once and for all.

Jim Gruber
Dayton, OH

PeteTLS

At least you're getting it warranteed after 160K. That's my biggest fear...being at 105K and told 'Too bad" if tranny #2 blows up...

prtyatmoontower

Just dropped mine off yesterday to get the tranny checked. Specifically made an appointment so that I could get a loaner car. When I got there they were out of loaners and asked if I just wanted to wait, that the test would only take an hour or so. I said no that I have things I needed to get done. They called Enterprise and they came down right away and gave me a Chevy Aveo?!! Never heard of it either. The thing looks like a pregnant hampster with wheels!!! The kid who dropped it off said "Look at it this way, it gets great gas mileage" I figured alright what's a couple of hours right? Four hours later I called the dealership and they said that my tranny failed inspection and that they were ordering a new one and that it might be done by Friday. I said O.K. can I come by and switch out this P.O.S. for a loaner. They said they still did'nt have any. I asked when one comes in if they could call me and they said sure. I called Enterprize to see if I could come down and switch out with something else and they said that they had a minivan. I said I would call back tomorrow. Now I'm a reasonable guy, but when you make an appointment a couple of weeks in advance for a loaner and when you get there and they don't have one, shouldn't they have at least called me the day before and told me and at least secured me a more comprable rental. Everyone has been extra nice and profesional and I haven't made a huge stink because I have something that gets me from A to B, but man I don't feel safe in this car. I mean it drives fine and all being a new car but it's like an empty soda can on the side of the road. One hit and that thing is toast including me in it. Sorry just had to vent. I just hope this is the last issue I have with trannies for this car.

ps4u

Same thing happened to me about a year ago. One week later the trannie completely failed. Good luck

primal5

Hey guys, Im new to the site, so Im sorry If I missed this somewhere, Ive noticed alot of posts about trannys. Is this for the second generation or the 3rd(current) generation of TL's??

PeteTLS

From what I've seen it's 2Gen with a few early Gen3's thrown in for kicks...I've not seen any ongoing issues in the '05 gen3's, but then again, maybe they just don't have the mileages yet. I haven't heard what the difference is, if any between the 2 cars' trannies.

all on

Well as of Friday i took my car 02 TL Type S to the dealership. I was taking a turn and all of a sudden my rpm's went through the roof then a loud clank as it caught gears. I am pissed but there is not much i can do. Just waiting for the dealership to call me back and tell me the bad news. No D5 flashing or any lights came on. Heard a loud metal noise coming from the engine as well. I only have 35,000 miles on my baby. I guess she is mad at me for test driving an M3. I am driving in an 05 TL, kind of like it but is it smaller on the inside than an 02.

PandaBear

Just wondering, on Civic and Integra many people do swap out the auto tranny and put in a manual one. For those of you who want to give up, why not swap in a manual tranny and drive stick?

It will make the car bullet proof, it will be more fun to drive, it will have more resell value if you decide to sell it. How challenging is it? You should be able to use all stock parts except the tranny, ECU, shift linkage, clutch hydraulics, and a few cosmetic pieces in the consoles.

69tl

so when my tranny went out my D5 did not get flashing, all it does is kept jerking while i'm driving like some1 is rearing end my car. does anybody know why the D5 is not Flashing when the tranny felt?

tipiip

Is that possible to switch to a manual, if so I would love to do that

brakejob

mine has 52k miles, easy life until 10/2003 when I received it, lots of hard accelerations since then, still alive... we'll see what happens...

I have had a few instances where it did not want to shift out of 2nd...