kika8806

Okay, long story short..I just bought a pre-owned tl type s six months ago. Just before it hit 100,000 miles, the engine and VSA lights came on, and the transmission started to slip (big surprise, right?) Well, after taking it to the dealer, and finding out that it ALREADY got a remanufacuted transmission in 2005, they told me it'd be around $4500 to fix. I assumed they would just put in another faulty transmission, like the 2nd one, plus I in no way shape or form have that kind of money just lying around. They also informed me theres no extended warranty on the tranny if they put a new one in. SO, I got it done at a local shop by a very trust worthy guy who came highly recommended to me. 15 miles after I left, the lights all came back on, and I took it back and he replaced my torque converter (again) for me. Well, the next day, the lights all came back on again and a transmission code comes up when its scanned.
My question is this, for anyone who may know: Is there a computer somewhere in there, or something, that is sending some kind of message to the tranny, or causing it to fail? I know the tranny was crap - he showed me all of the burnt out parts that he removed, and he put in all brand new clutches, shifter, the transmission, the solenoids, and the torque converter. So I know the actual transmission itself is not the problem. Is my car just rejecting the remanufactured one? If anyone has experienced this or has any ideas I'd greatly appreciate it!
Thanks for reading and sorry it was so long.

myron

iTrader: (4)

you don't have a type-s first of all. they didn't come out till 07.

and sorry I can't help you out

kika8806

its a 2002 but it is definitely a type s. it says "3.2TL Type S" right on the back of the car.

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

Uh you're completely wrong. They made TL-Ss in 01-03.

OP, sorry to hear you're bad luck with the trans. Mine went in my CL-S as well. You should post this in the 2nd Gen TL section. You'd get more help there.

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tl-1999-2003-98/

Moog-Type-S

Welcome to the world of Acura automatic transmission hell.

Sorry to hear about your transmission failures....I went through 2 on my CL-S....it was too much for me and I left Acura.

Acura/honda had auto-transmission failures in many models back in 2001-2003...it was messy.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

WTF kind of reply is this to a new member looking for help?

Plus, you are completely wrong as SuperTrooper has already pointed out... so at least have your facts right and if you can't help, don't bother responding.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Unfortunately Moog is right. It does not sound like an unknown problem... more like a very common one. Sounds to me like you need another new tranny. I myself had a 2002 TL-S and went through 2 trannies... and we had many members who went through 3 or more, with a few at 5 or so!!

I am also going to move this topic into the appropriate TL section. You will get more help there and be able to connect with fellow 2nd Gen TL owners.

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/

fsttyms1

The ECU controls the Trans and its highly unlikely that it caused the issue. It is highly possible that the rebuild was a bad one though.

hANDYcaptd

iTrader: (5)

Fixed

And OP, I think you just have a bad rebuild.

I would try contacting Acura headquarters and plead your case and see what they can do for you. The dealer is by no means your last option.

kika8806

thanks everyone...i've heard of this problem happening to a LOT of people..but i thought for sure that replacing the entire thing would fix it i don't want to have to get rid of this car, im in love with it. i contacted the headquarters, they filled out a good will request for me and basically told me that because theres no extended warranty, theres nothing they can do for me. :/

MOBB

I honestly don't think that"s the Issue. I also have a really crazy story to share. I mean the transmission WAS rebuilt, the OP doesn't have any slipping or any other tranny probfrom what I can assume from his new rebuilt trans.

Now here's my case my original tranny went out at 115k (May 2009) On my 2003 TL-S. I was luckily covered under the extended warranty and had it replaced by ACURA at no cost to me. Cool, I was super happy that I got this taken care of no charge, now 5k miles later CEL VSA comes on as im on the highway. Take it into ACURA and scan P0740. I had no tranny problems it was still running beautiful.The tranny was only 5k miles old and fluid was bright red, the service manager was stumped and said they'd have to install a new tranny because Honda might have sent them a defective one and this would be 100% covered. Cool, I was really happy to get it taken care of again.

Now 5k miles after the 2nd tranny was dropped in, CEL VSA comes on again while cruising on highway. Bring it back to ACURA scan P0740. The service manger at this point is kissing my feet and putting me in a rental and tells me don't worry well fix it rite this time.

So I drop buy my dealer as tranny 3 goes in at 120k miles Sept 09. The tech is done installing the tranny 9am the following morning. He gets in takes it for a road test CEL VSA P0740 comes on AGAIN. This tranny had less than 5miles on it!!!!!!!!! WTF???

He brings it back into the shop, tests all solenoids and looked for DTC's. All solenoids clicked and no DTC's were found. CEL VSA are still on? Acura assures me they will correct my problem at no cost to me whatever part is defective. I get a call 3 days later my car is ready to be picked up.

Transmission speed sensor was defective.
PCM was defective and replaced.
Ground wire from battery to tranny was corroded so much it wasn't contacting.

I have put 10k on this new tranny and haven't had an issue, no CEL or VSA lights ever came back. Try to think about what could be the issue. I really doubt your newly rebuilt trans is defective.

I also spoke to my local mechanic who replaces all sorts of Honda/Acura trannys for a living. He told me, its necessary to replace the PCM sometimes or else the ECU will reject the new tranny being put in.

Now Im no expert here, just take my story as some info on what I went through, I hope you can find your solution as to why your tranny is giving such headache.

kika8806

thanks so much! i don't know my way around here very well yet

kika8806

MOBB ->

thanks for your help. that sounds like the exact thing mine is doing. as i said, it already had a rebuilt one in it, done by Acura, and that one went. so this is the 3rd one, and with less than 10 miles on it, the VSA and CEL came on. i'll tell the guy who repaired it what happened with yours (without telling him how to do his job, i hate people who do that!!) and see if maybe he can check those things out.
thanks again for your input
i

piggylover1985

What kind of codes came up might i ask ? I haven't see any bad TCM(Transmission Control Module) with the TL yet. If your car is a newer Toyota Corolla. Rave4. Matrix. Pontiac Vibe and experience transmission slipping then i would strongly say that you have a bad computer.

kika8806

i actually don't know, the mechanic just said it was a "tranny code" that came up. i didn't ask for specifics but i'll ask on Monday when the poor thing goes back to the shop so he can troubleshoot what may be the problem. then i can come back and post it, and hopefully you or someone may know!

piggylover1985

What wrong with it anyway ? Shifting problem ? Or just because of the check engine light ?

kika8806

before it went to the shop, it was doing things such as: rolling forward nearly a foot when put in reverse from park, and vice versa...rolling backward another foot when put in drive from reverse, it had a very very strong delay switching gears, slipping when i was driving about 35mph+, and coming to nearly a complete stop and then lurching forward when i would downshift from going about 70mph (i.e. getting off the highway). after i got the new transmission about a week ago, the CEL light came in and it started slipping a bit after it had warmed up, say if i had driven for about 15 minutes straight, it would start slipping. i brought it back, he replaced a part (torque converter i believe) and then 10 miles later, the VSA and CEL lights came back on and its still slipping a little bit. it feels almost like its trying to accelerate while i'm competely stopped. it sort of "jumps" forward and backwards, at least thats how it feels.

piggylover1985

If it's slipping when warms up, a bad converter can cause that.
The last time after rebuilt, then the converter failed, hopefully the converter wasn't like "grenade" inside and contaminated the whole thransmission. If that is the case and he just go ahead and replace the converter only then you will have problem with hanging up the valves in the valve bodies, clogged up solenoids/pressure switches just from the metal particle or converter clutch material.
Let us know what codes when you get a chance, all the guys here are very knowledgeable.

kika8806

that's exactly what happened to me right before it got replaced the 2nd time..everything was all burnt and clogged up with metal particles from the converter.
thanks for your help, and i'll post them on monday (:

MOBB

True, Slipping on a new trans is unacceptable. Look's like Acura messed up your new tranny. The torque converter should always be replaced along with the tranny. Looks like they took a shortcut on you.

kika8806

Well, I actually didn't get it done by Acura (I figured the same thing would happen for a 3rd time) so I took it to a mechanic who has done the transmissions in a lot of my family/friends cars. He replaced the torque converter but when I came back with the CEL on, he took it apart and re-replaced that, assuming it was the problem. Now the lights are back on, so we're stumped.

fsttyms1

While you may have had a rare instance where the ECU was to blame its not a common thing. Trans rebuilds are more often the problem.

Replacing the ecu with the trans means nothing. Its not like balancing a set of pistons and rods with the crankshaft. There is no way to match the ECU to the trans so that it works. It comes preprogramed. Many of these trans rebuilds seem to be a failure of the tq converter which i dont know if the rebuild shop places new ones in or actually replaces them.

piggylover1985

The remanufacture converters companies says that their converters "meet or exceed OEM quality", is it true ? I say at least more than 20% of reman converters failed within one year.

fsttyms1

I had 2 of them of my 5 trans failures fail.

MOBB

Wow, thats something I didn't know. So what you are saying is that I can have a functioning tranny and a bad TQ?? How can I differentiate the failure from either the TQ or the trans? Is it common that both go out at the same time? IE: During the rebuild they shove your old TQ into the rebuilt tranny? Do the dealers also do this or do they replace both? My Tech at Acura told me the TQ is a part of the trans that is replaced when the trans get replaced (same unit).

This reminds me of my old 00' TL, I would get a bad shudder at certain speeds 38MPH was the harshest. It was so bad that my windshield would rattle while the back of the head was thrown back and forth onto the headrest like a rag doll. My tranny on that car was replaced by Acura. The shuddering didnt go away! It was there on the and replacement trans!
I never got it to slip or anything there was just a really bad shudder. I was conviced it was my TQ taking a shit. This only started happening after I used to beat the shit outta my car in SS and insane downshifting. Before that I never had a shudder!

piggylover1985

Sometimes your transmission failed, but the fluid is clean, some shops might reuse the old converter, or some cases they do that by the customer request to save some money and willing to take a lesser warranty. Which is understandable. Sometime the transmission shop will charge the customer for a new torque converter but they reuse it, not to often the customer will check to see if they have a new one or the old one, most of the time people won't even know if they got a new one.

travs 2002 tl type s

have the mechanic start popping solenoids the transmission
when i personally replaced the last transmission in my 2002 tls i had 2 or 3 broken solenoids which caused the lights to go on as well it doesnt take that long to do
as far as ik the trannys on our cars had crap solenoids as well so check them out and let me no how it goes

travs 2002 tl type s

also when u replace the transmissions on out cars we HAVE to use honda tranny fluid otherwise u will go thru trannys like water hats wut happend to my last tranny because in less then 1500 miles the tranny was shot
so make sure that they used honda transmission fluid in the car as well

piggylover1985

I found out of the time the solenoids don't go bad by themself, something from the transmission came apart and contaminates them. We want to find out the cause of failure before buying new solenoids and start swapping them out, as they are not so cheap. Just my own opinion.

kika8806

the mechanic who replaced the tranny replaced all of the solenoids and clutches, he said he put brand new ones in...so i *hope* that's not the problem.

but, i'm sure he didn't put honda tranny fluid in it. i'll be dropping the car back off tomorrow, so i'll ask.

travs 2002 tl type s

so kika how did it go at the shop

kika8806

he still has the car, it won't be back til tomorrow
i planned on at least asking the mechanic what the transmission code that came up when it was scanned was, but he wasn't there, and the only employee there when i dropped it off had no idea, hadn't been one of the people who worked on my car at all. i'm so curious to find out what the problem is, but mainly i just want it to turn out okay and not cost me too much more $$!

thanks for asking

piggylover1985

If he just rebuilt your transmission, now your transmission isn't working, you shouldn't have to pay for anything. Unless it's not a transmission related.

kika8806

right, i agree with you. not sure what i was thinking when i said that

kika8806

ok, i got the bad news today:
apparently one of the valves in the tranny is applying too much pressure when i'm shifting, and thats whats causing the lights to come on. so he has to take apart the whole thing again, find the valve thats causing the trouble, and then put it back together. he said he needs it til at least monday morning and was all apologies. he said this has never happened in an acura or honda tranny that he's rebuilt, so i guess it's a rare problem. i love this car so much but its been nothing but a pain in my ass lately

piggylover1985

The pressure regulator valve is probably stuck because of the metal from the previous failure.

kika8806

here i am again!!

so after the mess that was my second tranny replacement, the mechanic fixed it and all was well for about a week and a half. then my CEL came back on. he said that he was going to rebuild ANOTHER brand new tranny for me and then have me come by and leave the car for the day and he would swap them out for me. that WAS scheduled to happen this tuesday.

then, today, i was driving to work at about 30mph, when the car started accelerating and stopping literally on its own. i drove another minute or so, looking for a side street or parking lot i could turn into, when all of a sudden my D5 light started flashing really fast. i pulled over and was going to turn the car off then back on, hoping for a temporary fix to get my car either to work or back home instead. well, it wouldn't shift past neutral..it would only go as far as D4 and then as far as neutral in the other direction. i also couldn't turn the car off. so i sat in a parking lot with my E brake on, waiting for a tow truck to come. during this time, the car was in neutral, my foot was on the brake, and as i said the E brake was on...and the car was idling revving from 1rpm to 3rpms, back and forth, and making a weird growling sound. eventually, my father came and disconnected my battery so the fuel injector would think the car ran out of gas and eventually shut off. then it got towed away.

considering i had about 45mins downtime waiting for the tow truck, i took a picture of what it looked like:

the D5 light and VSA light were flashing...

my question AGAIN is...has anyone had this experience before and does it sound like it is more than just a problem with the tranny? i'm pulling my hair out over this :silvermad

piggylover1985

Wow, u have no good luck with the car eh ? So this is a whole different transmission for your car and only lasted a few days ?

kika8806

yep. he put in a brand new one about 2 weeks ago or so now. its on its way for its 4th on tuesday. but i can't help but wonder if its another problem :/

01tl4tl

and the ecu was replaced at some point??

there was a batch of VINs that got those replaced with the first warranty trans- it had different shift points and parameters