micwiltay

Wanted to post for the sake of posterity. I took my car into the dealer last Friday for shifting issues and they are replacing the auto transmission under warranty. Current mileage 32,200.

Background:

I noticed a rougher than normal 1-2 shift at around 29,000 miles. There was also a engagement delay when shifting to drive or reverse, and especially reverse to drive, and sometimes it would engage very abruptly. These symptoms worsened over time. At about 31,000 I began to hear a distinct whine and an intermittent slight scraping/abrasive noise when the car was cold and in either park or drive (it was loud enough to hear with doors closed/windows up). A very noticeable stutter between the 1-2 shift appeared a week before taking the car in for service.

Dealer is ordering a transmission today. Does anyone know if they replace it with a reman 04-06 unit or upgrade to the 07-08 unit to prevent further failures?

In the meantime I have an 09 TL tech loaner. It's a mixed bag. From a driving standpoint it doesn't feel as 'connected' as my 06 but the toys are nice

Cheers.

Majofo

hydraulic issues.. damn.. did you have adequate ATF? Make sure when you take ownership that the delay P-D, D-N-R, D-N-D is very short. Also ask them if they dropped your front suspension to do the swap.. if they did then you want to inspect the hardware on the lca's and have them perform an alignment if they didn't do so already. Hope you get up & running smooth again!

btw.. it'll probably be a reman 04-06 trans.. I'm not sure about the mounting difference between the 07-08 but I would certainly ask your dealer and the MT working on your car! ask to talk to the MT.. be persistent if they say you can't.

01tl4tl

warranty parts are rebuilt units- complete ready to install

It will have whatever the latest mods to parts inside are

jcolan1

Has anyone with an '07 or '08 had transmission issues? I have an '07 with 45,500+/- miles and I notice I a somewhat rough shift from 1st to 2nd, as well as delay when shifting from park to drive. I bought the car used with 42,000 so I don't really know if what I'm experiencing in abnormal or not. Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks.

micwiltay

When I bought the car new, low speed 1-2 shifts were very smooth. I don't know if Acura retards timing during shifts but it felt like it. A 1-2 shift with aggressive throttle was never as smooth but felt appropriate for a 'sporty' car. When my issues arose, low speed 1-2 shifts were quite jerky. I live in Chicago and do lots of city driving so it became pretty annoying.

Dave_W

Be careful with smooth shifting transmissions, because the smoother they shift, the more slippage there is. The 04-06 auto transmissions have cooling issues. I would install an aftermarket cooler if you want your tranny to last longer. I have to talk to my buddy at the speed shop and see when he can install one on my car.

sunny201

I felt that on my 07 when I was around 80,000 miles. I was scared the tranny was fucked because I drive it like I stole it all the time (redline at least a couple times a day to get my adrenaline going, thats why I installed my CAI, to hear that roar ). I did an ATF change and was back to redlining in no time. She still purrs like a cat and flies like a missle

Majofo

That's not the symptoms of slipping and I wouldn't describe a smooth transmission like that. Clutch slipping is high engagement because the clutch from one gear takes time to accumulate hydraulic pressure to shift the adjacent gear. So the rpms will rev higher than usual and the shift is usually jerky. The early 04 transmissions were redesigned after early failures and the ones still on the road were given a oil jet kit.. later 04's to 06's are fairly reliable but more and more tranny's are going out, not like the 2G's though. The tranny was overhauled for 07-08 including the case yet the main, counter and secondary shaft are almost the same, a notable change was the addition of a pressure sensor for the 3rd / 4th clutch, which correlates to IHC's thread concerning the pressure sensors (click link here). An external ATF cooler is definitely recommended to drop ATF temps, prevent oxidation and excessive wear. I would also install an inline magnefine filter if you do an external cooler. Also consider accelerated change intervals.. 3x3 every 15-20k on Z1 is a safe bet.. it's easy and it could extend the life of your AT.

ChampionFiyah

whoa, so let me get this straight, 06 tl's have trans issues too?????? : (

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

You're scaring me, everything you posted is what I have. P to R, there is delay, shifts from 1 - 2 - 3 are not smooth. I got the car like this at 32k miles and now it has 65k (not even a year yet since I've had car) and I've always had this problem? I've changed my fluid twice in that duration.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

To add to the OP, my '06 had its tranny replaced at 40k.

mb_norcal

Wow, good luck, that really sucks! Good thing you're still under warranty. My 06 has 97,000 miles and is having issues with the engagement delay from reverse to drive but they are telling me it's ok. I think I'll take it to another dealer for a second opinion.

Dave_W

Question, How long have you been working on cars professionally and do you posses any ASE certifications. My statement is true and has been known by people in the mechanic field since before I was born. Smooth shifting transmission have a level of slippage in them from the factory to give the transmission a nice smooth shift. Thats why companies like B&M make lots of money selling shift kits for transmissions. I'm not going to argue with anyone on here, but I could care less what Acura recommends. Other than a halfshaft starting to lek a short while ago which was caught at the honda place not Acura, I've never had any mechanical failures with my car. Yet people. How come I don't have trans problems, control arm bushing problems, cracked dash board problems, check engine light problems. Maybe because I don't look at Acuras recommendations as a Bible, and as for my knowledge of transmissions. I don't build them, but have been friends with people that do build them for years. These cars should come with a better trans cooler than what they have. Not to mention the shifting of all TL's 04-06 that I've driven has been sloppy. Just my

Majofo

lol.. no.. but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

You don't have to be an auto mechanic or have an ASE certification to understand a hydraulic controlled AT. So you got offended that I disagreed with you.. that's amusing.. You may know people but unless you know yourself I could care less.. The difference between slipping gears / tc is different than OE designed "smooth shifts" vs. desired firm shifts.. and sure your TL has been perfect, but would it behoove me to listen to someone who has gone through many issues with the vehicle or none??.. hmm... would it behoove me to listen to advice from somebody who has worked on the vehicle or has taken it into the shop to get worked on??

I'm tired of going through this every week.. Here's a real question for you.. How do you explain a "slipping" transmission = "smooth" shift and how an "aftermarket cooler" would be used in place of the "OE cooler" on our TL?

Majofo

Check your ATF level. The delay into gear shouldn't be more than a second (one thousand one).. Do you drive pretty hard? These AT's have different profiles based on driving style so I wouldn't point to a problem right away. Definitely keep up on your ATF change intervals and change out your AT filter as well. Do you feel a shudder before the upshift? low speed whine? Have you noticed a change in the power / acceleration?.. Well.. you're still under warranty so I would just keep your eye on it and report the symptoms before you go out of warranty.. definitely check your ATF level.. make sure the car has been running and up to temp, then park it on level ground.. keep it running or shut it off and immediately and check the level, use a dry shop towel and in a well lit area to get a good view.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

The TL does not have (unless aftermarket was installed) a tranny filter

Majofo

It does.. it sit adjecent from the heater unit. It would sit below your airbox near the resonator chamber & behind your battery.

It's #7 in the diagram.. You'll definitely notice the round heater unit #1 looking down at the AT. When you replace the filter, you should replace the o-ring & gasket (#22 & #21) as well. There is another "filter" but it's not accessible unless you do an overhaul & remove the regulator body.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

this is more of an internal thing and not part of any maint schedule, right? There is not a filter that is to be changed on a regular basis.

Majofo

I'm not aware of it being part of the scheduled transmission service but I'd at least change it out on every ATF change.. there's some clamping bolts and a center tap 6mm bolt ATF line feed.. If you can drain & fill the ATF you can replace the filter, definitely DIY.. the little "filter" in the regulator body is not suggested for even an experienced weekend warrior.. lol.

ajs800

iTrader: (1)

interesting...this is never mentioned in any of the 3x flush threads or in the manual. I guess it's something I'll check out the next time I change the tranny fluid.

lazytik

Not to hijack the OP's thread, but since its related, I figured I'd just ask this here. I recently bought an 06 A/T...with 89k miles on it. I have 90xxx now. I thought that the 06+ auto trannies were fine, but should I be concerned? I drive about 70 miles a day (mostly highway). I intend to change the ATF at my next oil change, and it has already been changed once at 60k miles.

The car emits a rough sound and jerking motion sometimes when switching from P to R or vice versa. The changes from 1, 2, etc are smooth...or maybe its just my perception of them being smooth as this is my first Honda/Acura product and my last car was...rough as hell. There is no real jerk, and they're crisp at more throttle and smooth at little throttle...so I don't know.

Maybe its the way the car drives, but often times when it downshifts when coming to a halt, there's a slight surge of power (probably since the engine just revved up to accommodate the new gear)...my previous car never did that...its barely noticeable but requires one to be cautious on the brake.

The car came with a 12 month warranty, so should I get it checked out? I don't know if this is correlated, but usually the engine emits a whistling (almost like a supercharger whine) noise when taking off. I researched that and it seems to be normal, as it was on the other TLs I drove...but could it be the tranny whining?

Thanks in advance.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

I don't drive hard, rarely pass 3 RPM, it occurs especially when it changes in the 2-2.25 RPM. P to R takes 2-3 seconds. Transmission fluid seems find, not burnt, seems like I just put it in (after 20k miles). Have not noticed anything with power or acceleration just some rough shifting, I was going to change the sensors because IHC says it helps, but I dunno if it thats the case for my current problem (will do it sometime in the future though for Prev. Maint.) Straight road, no hills or anything. I'm not sure why, its my first real car and thought it was normal :/