Hey guys, so i have a 2000 Acura Tl and it will occasionally grind gears in fourth and fifth but i'm not too worried about that right now. when i'm in third gear, and slightly pressing the gas pedal, it feels as though the engine is skipping and jerking forward and back. feels like i'm running over small bumps close together. I either let off the pedal or push it hard to make it stop, i was wondering if anyone else had this problem? any easy fixes? or anyone know what this could be? it doesn't feel like the transmission.

 

explain grinding?
Problem goes away with more throttle? trans doesn't slip as you get on it hard in 2nd and 3rd?

ck the front and rear motor mounts to start- they are vac boosted and failure of front every 75kmiles is not unheard of
ck pass side motor mount, fails after front gone a while

how are the spark plugs- age? done the egr system cleaning ? any maintenance due or recently done?

ever change trans fluid using correct Honda dw-1?

 

color and smell of trans fluid? reddish- brown- black- burnt toast smell?
no leaks? fluid level is correct per owner book method and reads between the 2 dots- not at either- in the middle when ckd per book!!

 

Welcome Hiyou52 !!!
So ya say it doesn't feel like the tranny, huh ???
Well welcome to the 2nd Gen forum where the #1 problem with our cars is usually transmission related. Anyways, give us some additional info on the car's mileage, PM history, CEL, or anything that ya may've
recently done in the way of maintenance.

As of now, check the fluid condition and level, then have the mounts checked. But..... please be prepared for the inevitable. Sorry for being the bearer of reality !!!

 

iirc 2nd and 5th gears share a shaft, so that grinding may be a few things-
does it have the external oil jet kit on top of trans- or is there a big bolt head with ATF stamped on it?
any bolt heads on trans and attaching things to trans- painted BLUE?

3rd gear clutch pack is our weak point and usually shows as trans slipping on hard throttle from 2 to 3 gear
may be accompanied by flashing D5 light on dash

whatever history you have will help us
call acura care 1 800 382 2238x5 with cars VIN and register as owner. ask if all recalls are taken care of
You never know!

 

Try cleaning the solenoid screens and check the pressure switches.

 

So I checked my spark plugs cleaned them up, and my motor mounts, front and rear, and checked my trany fluid, all fine. I'm not so worried about the grinding guys, thats pretty common just cause of these Tl transmissions. I'm more concerned about the "skipping" that it does. when I'm cruising at around 20-30 mph in third gear, and barely press the gas pedal and the car jerks back and fourth. like turning a light switch up and down really fast. it feels like the engine is giving power in small doses really quickly turning on and off. I press the gas harder or let off it and it stops. Maybe my ECU messing up? I have a check engine light but that is because my gas cap rubber ring is crappy and is releasing gas vapor. no lights like the D5 flash or anything. drives great, shifts great. actually when I'm hard throttle, it shifts better and smoother.

 

geez would have been nice to mention you have a massive air leak in a closed loop system = VACUUM LEAK causes surge
REPLACE the gas cap NOW!!! every parts store sells them
then reset the ecu by pulling CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash for a minute and reinsert
Drive it , clean the TB air plate, seafoam the gas tank

HOW did you clean the spark plugs? there is no adjustment and they are good and color correct, or they have over 70kmiles and deserve replacement

Vac at motor mounts- you used a vac gauge or visual inspection- what?
Grinding in 5th is not normal, there are many of us with the same trans and we don't have this issue
It may be wear on 2nd gear = my question on warranty units= blue painted bolt heads
and presence of recall installed oil jet kit on top of trans

 

rare is the failure of the actual ecu
its usually bad signal from bad ground wires or failing sensor
or battery issue

 

I took all plugs out and looked at them, used a wire brush to clean a little carbon off of them, they look recently replaced, I bought the car about 7 months ago. all I have done is oil changes, air filter replaced, new blower motor for the AC. I have a new gas cap in the mail coming. I have not checked if there's been an oil jet kit added on the tranny. if you could maybe give me a link on how to clean the tb air plate that would be great. i was thinking about doing a seafoam soon as well as another oil change as its about that time. my car has 172,000 miles on it also. my immobilizer is broken too so i have to put it in drive and turn the key then shift to neutral to start it sometimes. it doesn't recognize the key sometimes I guess. Putting it in gear avoids the security system.

 

2000 TL @ 172k.....owned for 7 months. Has the car done this shit all along ? Any recent work ?

Start fresh with getting the codes, try to optimize the motor's running, then attempt to isolate potential issues by reading up on the site's "DIY" sticky along with the various posts about tranny related problems.

Grinding in any gear is not normal, but check the electrical connections and vac system first.