Im a newbie here and a 01 Acura cl type s newbie also. I got the car from a friend beautiful shape in and out, drove for 8 thound miles and Bam! lost trannie today. Well after reading 51 pages of posts I am gonna try to find a av6 trans. Im a retired Mechanic so Im gonna do a swap in my shop. I found out the trans went for the recall in its earlier days. Could anyone tell me if I should just rebuild mine and are there any modern day rebuild kits that are better than the past?

 

Check 'Midori's thread, he just rebuilt his 2G TL tranny and should be able to give you alot of advice.

 

Ok folks im doing the 06 accord tranny swap, I found one for 650 bucks. I went last saturday and picked it up. Its pretty much the same trans with a few suttle differences. It took me about an hour to change over some parts off the old trans. (trans selector switch, oil warmer/cooler, wiring harness and a few brackets. Im going to install it this weekend so i will post how it went when im done.

 

Can anyone tell me is there any difference between a AV6 and a AE6 transmission?

 

 

 

Hi Addullah,

Are you putting the car into forward and reverse gear and stepping on the throttle with your foot being held onto the brake? I would advise against doing this; puts a lot of load/strain on the system.

Did you replace the spin-on transmission filter at the time of 3X3? a lot of members will recommend that.

The sounds of clicking sound normal to me for a transmission of your age; when mine went out there was a very loud POP when going into reverse from drive BUT NOT into reverse from park.

btw: I think the power steering whine may be due to worn out o-ring on the return side (the top hose on the PS pump) and if so can be fixed for about $1. maybe less.

another BTW...I've been watching a lot of those old space shuttle videos (you know, the ones they would examine very closely to determine the cause of why shuttles crashed) and I noticed a small puff of smoke at 0:37 in your video. I think it may be the valve cover gasket, which is a lot of work to get to, but will keep away the smell of burnt oil and a grimy engine bay. I'd probably do it when you are going to tackle something else a little more major like cleaning the EGR valve (which requires taking the intake manifold off).

 

Well, at least you bought the '99, which has much better history than later tl's. Mine is still strong.
Doubt if the solenoid is bad, cleaning is usually sufficient.
Your main problem is 1st to 2nd shift.
First, do the 2 or 3X fluid change, or whatever you haven't already done...I use Honda fluid.
Add Lubegard Red or Platinum...use double the recommended to the last change.
Consider a supplemental trans filter, like the MAGNEFINE.
Perhaps a tranny cooler too. It would be very nice to clean the inline tranny filter...which is not easy.


You should be able to see deterioration of the side mounts...they should be changed if not already done
The front needs a change if not done already. Check for a vacuum leak here.
The rear is a pain and usually done when timing belt done.
Check your CV joints for leaks or damage, as a possible source of jerking. Both of mine were done in the last year...~90K. Easy to install and cheap.
GL, post again. You have one of the prettiest cars on the road.
Opinions may vary....Joe

 

Hey! Thanks for the reply. Yes, that is exactly what I was doing lol. I won't do it again!


Does a 99 have one? :/ I thought it didn't! I looked under, too. I couldn't find it when I did the 3x3.

Must've been horrible



Yeah. I was planning on doing that and CV Axle (boot has been busted for 4 months now) but first priority was the tranny.


Holy crap you have eagle eyes! Oh, man. I already did that like 6 months ago! Maybe I didn't do it right. Car was fine after it but.. It does smell like burning rubber sometimes :/

 

Would the additives do any harm? :/ I thought about it but many people here suggest that we stay away from them. Have you had experience with it? I already did a 3x3 over a course of 3 months. First two were DEX III in the tranny for one month each. The last one was done right after the near heat-up and that's when the jerking started. I don't know if the near-heat caused it (heat gauge went up to 75% and was rising when I stopped the car but the trans oil was red when I changed it) or the Z-1. Just dunno
What are those? And in a 99, transmission lines go through the radiator. I recently did it so I know :P I tried googling for the filter but I don't see it. Is the filter flat or circular? A description says the flat filter has to be installed with the tranny torn apart. I don't think the 99 has the circular tranny filter. Or does it?

Yeah, the CV joints need repairs. I think I'll do the front mount with it too. I suppose I should try doing that and getting back to you guys. I haven't checked the side mounts (don't even know where they're located). I'll do that, too! Thank you for your reply

 

You'll see grease splattered all over the insides of your wheels and the cracked boot. you'll need someone to help push it into the trans. Rockauto!
GL Joe

 

I can offer no advice, but can we see pics of the car? Good luck!

 

Yes, the boot has been like that for ~6 months now. I've been too busy. The charging system died today. Wiring, probably. I did a load test a week ago and things were fine. The positive terminal seems to have broken loose!

 

Hey! Sorry for the late reply. I've been busy studying for my qualifiers. Certainly. Let me clean it up first :P

 

Hello. I'm in a 2005 Acura TL with just shy of 200k miles. I've gotten all the routine maintenance done on it since I bought the car 6 months ago. Since I've been driving it it had a blinking drive light, but shifts smoothly. I thought it was part of the car and even took it on a 500 Mile road trip with no issues.

I just found out about the dreaded blink and have done what research I can to figure it out.

I got a 3x3 flush on the ATF and the light went away. Now it is coming back only after driving it for about 30 minutes and goes away when I turn the car off. I am starting to notice some slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear and sometimes it takes a sec to engage going from reverse to drive. The light has also turned completely off after a long day of commutes and the tranny stuck in third and then it seemed like the ECU reset and it started shifting perfectly fine and the light went solid. I haven't been able to replicate it since no matter how hard I push the car.

I have plans to replace the pressure switches. Does anyone have any recommendations or know what the problem could be? I'm in college and can't afford to take it to a mechanic or the dealer.

 

@Jcura 2005 is the 3rd gen TL, this is the 2nd gen forum. but in general: You're gonna get the blink for any number of issues; its best to use an OBDII reader to find out for sure what happened. (they are pretty inexpensive on amazon btw).

Since you did the 3x3, did you check the clutch pressure control solenoids for any debris? The service manual will be very helpful in helping you pinpoint where your issue is.

Also, check for any other symptoms (like noisy torque converter) and note those as you troubleshoot.

I would follow up with any other questions in the proper forum where you should get better support from other 3G owners.

Try to drive the car as little as possible until you figure it out.

 

Ah. Oops. Ok. I'll move this over to there. Yes. The switches are clean, but I have no clue if they've been replaced. Unfortunately it is my daily so I don't have the option to not drive it unless I want a 2 hour commute with public transit. Thanks for the advice!

 

Sorry I'm getting back this late! Doing a PhD is crazy!

 

The alternator died on me in the beginning of August. I did that, belt, cables, grounds and the CV axle. Broke the ball joint in the process so had that done, too. The car now jerks from 2nd to 3rd too I added LubeGard. I do notice that the intensity of the jerks has reduced. Next, I need to do mounts (and PS) and will report back if that makes any difference.

 

Its been a few years, any updates? I'm looking to buy a 2001 Acura TL 3.2 VTec with 125K and the carfax is legit, all proper maintenance was done but I'm worried now after doing research on common problems.

 

I guess an 01 with an AV6 swap would be sweet.

 

I'm always a sucker for good looking cars with good engines but inherent issues.
It's what I do.

So just bought a nice 2002 silver TL type S with 99k miles and gave the whole car a good run down. Transmission checked out, shifts good, fluid still decently red.
Drove it around for a bit never got to the freeway but drove all around the neighborhood and a little ways out.

Bought the car for $3k.

I get out on the freeway to get home and bam, check engine light, VSA and exclamation.

Pulled code and it's the dreaded p0740.
Nice play seller, nice play. I asked him about the transmission many times and it actually felt strong in all gears driving.
He played like a dumb old guy selling his moms car she cant drive anymore and he's got other vehicles.
Why do I this to myself?

Anyways can anyone point me in the right direction for a shop in Portland that knows how to do AV6 swap?

I've always done most of the work on my cars and I always have extra vehicles but I'm seriously going to weigh in of I can just pay someone to bullet proof this car for couple $2k and drive it for the next 100K miles.

 

Hey guys, just picked up an 01 TL with 229k miles on it. I was extremely well maintained, but it has a trans issue.

The quick and dirty version is the trans shifts fine when in manual mode. Third is a little lazy when stone cold, but quickly works just fine. After everything full warms up, everything works just fine and the trans shifts fine when in D. To start out while cold I just drive it in either full manual mode, or the SelectShift mode and use the - and + to shift between gears. I did notice in SS mode it will automatically upshift from 1st to 2nd and automatically downshift from 4th to 3rd depending on rpms. I have not seen it automatically upshift from 2nd to 3rd or from 3rd to 4th.

There are no codes set, no flashing lights, no nothing. If I start out while cold in D it will not shift to 3rd.

What should I start looking at? I plan on changing fluid and external filter (if it has one). Should I use Valvoline Maxlife ATF, or dedicated Honda trans fluid specified (I was told by someone who supposedly knows Honda transmissions that Maxlife ATF is preferred, but I figured I would ask here first)?

Other than that, the car is in awesome shape. Engine runs perfect, good power, no issues to think of.

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Dennis

 

I'm not sure about everything else as I'm new to the TL as well, but I do know that In manual mode, it is supposed to auto shift from first to second. I read it in the manual. I'm not sure about the 4th from third tho.

 

Yeah I read the section on shifting manually... 1st to 2nd is auto, as well as downshifting from 5th to 4th as well as 4th to 3rd based on MPH.

 

Good to know. As far as ATF, I highly recommend using Honda DW-1. I just bought my TL a month ago, the only proof I have of the trans ever being serviced was from 2012,so that's the first thing I did. But, I decided to go with Amsoil. I did a 2x3 change with that on Monday. Car drove fine that night. Tuesday, on my way to work my D light started blinking. So I did a 3x3 yesterday using the DW-1 and the car feels great! No blinking drive light, no lagging in between shifts, it feels fast and smooth. It was a lesson learned. You can use whatever you feel comfortable using, but I will never use anything but the Honda DW-1 in my TL.

 

Does anyone know of a good tranny shop around 562 that will specifically do a 2002 Acura TL Type S? So Cal?

I think I might be a candidate to replace the trans for the 2nd time!!! (the first one was covered under warranty)

Today I just got CE light, and the code scanner just read P0730.

I just recently got the engine mounts and trans mounts replaced like 3 weeks ago (strange)

Also how much did you pay for the labor and part? Looking for cheap cheap, was hoping to restore the TL to pristine condition. So many memories with this bad girl.

 

Your better course of action is to find a used "AV6" (Accord V6) transmission from a 2006-2007 Accord with the manufacturing code of BAYA and put that in your car; then your transmission issues will basically be over.

 

I've seen a few on Ebay, are these risky? is it possible that someone might sell me a broken unit?

 

Anything is possible, I avoid Fleabay like the plague for that very reason.

 

I know it has been over a year but I did the mounts last week. The tranny mounts were broken. That was the problem. Front mount was broken, too. Side and back were fine. Got all 5 replaced. Ride is sweet now.. yay! But still acts weirdly. I'm guessing electrical problems since all shifting is smooth mostly but when it isn't, the alternator is making noises and the radio acts funny.

Bought a car quest last year. It hasn't yet completely died but of course Advanced Auto says it's fine and won't replace it. Denso has a pretty sweet price (75$ reman) on rockauto these days if anyone is interested. Will do that and grounds sometime later and report back.

 

You gave good advise, mate. Car is a lot smoother with the CV axle and mounts replaced. Did the timing belt, too.

 

Hi all, super grateful for anyone who can give their ¢2. My 2000 TL (which I love *so much*) threw the "code of death" P0740. So far, there are *no symptoms* of a transmission problem except for one slightly hard downshift that I noticed. I immediately did a drain & fill, and have put about 60 miles on the car since then. No noticeable issues.

I took it in to a transmission shop here in Denver and they told me I needed a new transmission. They weren't able to diagnose anything specific, but ran their checks and said that whatever the problem was, it would require a total rebuild or a replacement.

Here's my question: is this really the end of the line? Should I bother trying to clean the solenoid filters? Should I keep driving and cross my fingers? Or is it time for "Old Red" and I to go our separate ways?

Big thanks to all the TL wizards for any advice you can lend.

 

Solenoid screen cleaning is easy and cheap to do. Drive it in D4 around town and only drive it in D5 on the highway. DON'T use the Sport Shifter. Start looking and saving for an AV6 transmission off an '07 3.0L Accord if you want to keep Old Red goin for years to come. Good Luck!

 

Hey guys, I figured I would post a followup...

So, last year in July I took the 2001 TL into a guy to have the transmission rebuilt. I dropped it off, got it back 4 weeks later. He did a rebuild and installed a transmission cooler as well (not happy about the cooler mount, but I will rectify that). In doing the cooler he put in a Odyssey external adapter which replaces the factory "heater/cooler" in that spot. I really didn't like that he just let the factory cooler "sit" there without doing a coolant bypass on it.

Needless to say, it seemed OK for about a week, then I noticed that at times when cold it would miss the 1-2 downshift. Once warm, no issues. I called him about it and he stated he knew what it was and that it would need to be redone to fix it. I drove it for another 3-4 weeks and noticed that it would flare on the 3-4 shift when hot. The guy was busy so it took until the end of September/beginning of October for him to allow me to drop it back off.

So, I told him I really wanted it back before the snow starts flying in later November around here. Needless to say, that did not happen. Over the winter I had some health problems, so I just left it there and got back in touch with the guy in late February/early March.

Surprise, it isn't done. He stated that the original transmission he rebuilt had excessive wear that was causing the 3-4 shift issue and he would have to use a different core for the rebuild. He stated 3 weeks.

In late April I get in touch with him and he is in another state dealing with family issues. I let it go a week, then he states that the issues are going to take another week. I let it go. Around the second week of May I get in touch with him and he states he is in the hospital for a family member, I tell him that family comes first and take care of hsi family and get back with me the next week. He does and states it should be done later that week, but someone where he works got COVID and he needs to be cleared before going in himself. I was told he would call me the next week.

The next week comes and no call, so by Thursday of that week I go into the place he works out of. I am told by the property owner that he is being evicted at the end of the month and I am not the only one with a car there unfinished. I do my due-diligence with the local sheriff department, then the local police where he lives and everything points to it being a civil issue. So I stop back out at the place he is being evicted from on the last day of the month and surprise my car is on a lift and being worked on, but, of course he isn't there.

So, the holiday comes and goes and I get a call and amazingly the car is done. I go pick it up, everything seems good, and I leave with my car.

That was a week ago today. Since I have put on 450 miles. Car runs great, no issues. The only thing I notice is the 1-2 shift is harsh when cold, the 3-4 shift is a little longer but also a hard shift when cold. As it warms up the 1-2 shift is smooth as butter and not noticeable. The 3-4 shift is still somewhat of a "thunk" engagement until it is hot and then it is pretty smooth as well. On hard acceleration I cannot tell any slippage in any gear when hot. Under heavy load (going up a hill) under part throttle I can't tell any thunk or hard engagement when hot either.

Anyone have any ideas if maybe he used ZL-1 fluid and should I do a 3x3 drain/refill with DW-1? Or is there a "better" fluid at this point in time? What about Lubeguard?

Since he rebuilt using old solenoids, should I change out the 3-4 and 1-2 solenoids?

Lastly, should I be concerned about the external cooler? As in since it no longer has a "heater" for winter months, and since it will be driven in sub-zero temps, should I be concerned?

Given all the hassles I had getting it done, I figure the warranty on the transmission is just about worthless and I am on my own from here on out.

As it stands I still have the new timing set and waterpump to put in, all new coils and plugs, new pulleys, hoses and belts along with a new alternator and all new calipers, rotors and pads to put on sitting in the boxes. When I do all of that I will also adjust the valves and I have new gaskets for the front cover, valve covers and everything else to put in so there should be no issues for the next 100k+ miles. Oh, I also have all new coolant and power steering fluid to flush and refilll with as well.

I just don't want to do all of that if there is still transmission issues lurking about.

 

Well, I ended up getting a P0710 Transmission Temperature Sensor error along with a P1740 4th Gear Pressure Switch error, so I ordered them in (along with a 3rd Gear Pressure Switch as well), installed them, cleared the codes.

I put in the amount of new transmission fluid that came out (almost 4 quarts, it was red but had some particulate in it, dark black, and I figure the extra volume is because of the external cooler). Drove it almost 50 miles and the flare on the 3-4 is worse. Oh, I was told to use Dexron VI.

The firm upshifts on 1-2/2-3 are better. Almost don't even notice them now when hot. The upshift on 3-4 flares all the time, even at WOT.

So, I let it cool overnight, drove it at 6am this morning when the temps were 57 degrees out. On cold shift the 3-4 upshift flared at least 1000rpm all the time and once I even got a 1500rpm+ flare. I took video and sent it off to the rebuilder along with a message requesting what the solution is from here on out. Needless to say, in the video I was just a little pissed with my exclamation of how messed up it is.

At this point I will wait to hear back.

 

AV6 swap is in your future. Don't waste money on rebuilding these flawed transmissions...

 

Hi, new member. I am using a 2002 TL 3.2S on its THIRD transmission. First transmission died many years ago at 80k (under warranty), and the second one died this year at 230k. Normally I wouldn't have had it rebuilt but a family mechanic gave us a deal on engine cleaning and transmission rebuild. The thing still performs like 99%. Incredible vehicle that rockets around (until it doesn't) - but it can go a long ways if you baby it.

 

Well, considering the original transmission lasted over 220k miles with only a single fluid change in its life, and considering the rest of the vehicle is in excellent condition, I believe I am going to invest the money and have a ETE rebuilt transmission installed. Since I am near Milwaukee I am going to have them do the replacement and I get a 3yr/unlimited mile warranty. Costly, but considering the rest of the money I am spending on the car for my daughter (new brakes all around, new tie rod ends, new timing set/waterpump, hoses, coolant flush, all new fluids, all new belts/tensioner, new spark plugs, setting valve lash, new engines seals all around, new windshield, having tint put on for her, new stereo with backup camera and even new wheels and tires) I want it to be safe and reliable for her. I even am paying for a monthly car wash subscription so it won't rot out because of the salty roads around here in winter.

Basically, it should be as close to "new" as it can get. I have even considered having a paint job done on it next year.

Forgot, new fuel pump and motor mounts... Yet the existing pump at 230k miles still provides full pressure, and the motor mounts all look good and function properly still (did the vacuum test and jacked the car up and there is no leaking fluid or other damage to any of the mounts). I even got the vacuum system for the mounts to go through diagnostics once (didn't even know I did that, but I guess if you follow a certain procedure it will cycle the mount vacuum system for diagnostics) since it did it while idling after I did the intake seafoam treatment.

Honestly, I am pretty amazed for the mileage how well everything still works and how tight the suspension is. Basically rides like a new car. That is why I am not so motivated to replace the shocks/struts.

 

Quick update, all. 1,000 miles after a P0741 ("code of death")—things are still going alright. No noticeable issues on the transmission. I'm beginning to wonder if the original code was maybe due to having the fluid run low (I've got a leak somewhere that looses a couple quarts every year). Or maybe I'm just getting lucky and the clock is still ticking...

Thanks for all the help on here.