cajunsteve

Yesterday my 2006 TL with 95,000 miles started having a"hiccup" while acceleratingand switching gears (driving in normal automatic mode). While driving to the local dealership this morning for a checkup it died completely (engine racing, no forward movement) - towed to dealership and 3 hours later, get the dreaded phonecall that the transmission was dead, not in 6yr/72,000 mile warranty, replacement = $4800 - wow !!

Anybody else have this expereince?? This is a daily driver car with a 50-mile commute - no hotrodding, no teanage drivers, etc etc - last 2 cars lasted past 130K miles and never had a tranny fail. FYI - Did a tranny flush at 40K miles at same dealership.

Service writer said Acura regioanl rep "might" discount a few parts and would let me know - WTH ??

Any thoughts/stories would be appreciated !

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Ouch, sorry to hear.

I think you were quoted WAY too much though. My transmission in my 2G CL-S had to be replaced and it cost less than $3k including all parts and labor.

x1mind

hmm mine went out at around 119,xxx miles....i have an 04 base model....took it to a local shop named Transmission Experts and should had cost me 1700$ because i provided my own Transmission oil and gave them a new torque converter too! Ended up charging me extra because my Mounts were broken so he replaced everything with brand new oem parts for no more than 2,000$...its expensive to get it replaced so might as well get it rebuilt and save you the extra 2,000$ because i got a warranty with mine! Goddluck!

lilsid112

iTrader: (7)

Mine went out 71k when I took it to the dealer for their opinion. They gave me an estimate of 4800. I gave corporate a call and faxed them all my service records for them to take a look at. The following day I received a call they would cover 75% of my estimate and I would just pick up the remaining amount. Of course I received a 3 yr or 36k mile warranty on the replacement trans. If I was in your shoes I would give corporate a call and see what they say.

MandoTL

Sorry OP, but ^ how much did they charge for replacing motor mounts? I go to college in SD and I've already changed my motor mounts last November, but I think my transmission mounts might be going out, I get very small vibration.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Yup, been there. Except mine broke down on my 8hr trip to Colorado in the middle of NOWHERE. Luckily I had someone driving along with me as the cell phone reception was horrible too. But yeah...mine crapped out on me at like 108,000. Your quote is VERY high though. Mine was fixed for half of that. Full rebuild. Though the idiot didn't do the 3rd/4th pressure switches so tack on another $100.

Sucks

nothome17

Dang.. Hit and miss with these Acura/Honda's. Some will last and some just crap out.

Not just TL's that have faulty tranny issues. The Honda Accord, Odyssey and Pilot have the same issue with tranny's failing.

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Those of you with transmissions that died near ~100,000 miles, did you have redline racing ATF in or factory honda z1/dw1 fluid?

truonghthe

^^^I am curious about that too.

skadoo323

Curious if pressure switches were ever changed as well?

MandoTL

I need to change mine out this summer, I don't think mine have ever been changed. Glad I am not suffering those symptoms on my TL, but preventative maintenance is nice to do. I think I need a ATF change and PS change also. I hear a small whine/click when I turn the steering wheel clockwise to the right.
Also feel my engine feel bogged down, no real power anymore.

cokorote

iTrader: (1)

More member are reporting, this scare me a lot since I spent a lot of money fixing my TL. My last one was power steering rack and pinon and it costed me $700. Right now I'm getting paranoid about my transmission.

I did the pressure switch and the 4x3 redline d4 for peace of mind.

UA6

Mine went at 57k after I got the pressure switches changed and fluids flushed. Acura will try every way they can think of not to cover it under warranty. Even if you take the Acura emblem off the trunk they'll say you reduced the weight which added more torque that caused the tranny to blow. Next time I'm getting a Lexus.

nokkieny

My transmission shifts hard from 1st to 2nd, I hate having to worry about it breaking, I can't recall ever being concerned about a car on a daily basis, and before the TL I drove 10 year old mercedes. I have almost come to the point of accepting the fact that it will have to be rebuilt one day. I would sell the car if I hadn't just done the 105k service.

cajunsteve

In response to the various posts (and thanks to all) - the car has ALL Acura/Honda fluids in it - the tranny flush was done at an Acura dealership at 40K instead of the recommended 60K because it shifted so hard I was worried about it - I've always worried it had a problem but was told a few tiems by the service writerrs (conveinently no longer at dealership) that this was the nature of this transmission.

djmanu

iTrader: (2)

hmm this is getting me to wonder if my tranny is starting to go. I have recently began to experience weird shifts at times. The biggest one is the car sometimes revs really high and just hangs there when switching from 4th to 5th gear, but eventually does make the shift.

I did a full 3x3 with redline racing type f with the 3rd and 4th gear switches probably 10-15k ago. It was working great then but lately it has just been weird. I ordered some redline D4 ATF as per Inaccurate's post to lower the racing mixture. Hopefully this works.

Inaccurate's post:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/optimal-percentage-racing-atf-834299/

UA6

The nature of the transmission shouldn't be a total failure at low miles. Their transmissions are failing so much that they will no longer sell them because they are keeping them to fix all the failed trannies covered under warranty.

omnuts

Sorry to hear, honda needs to get its act together and improve on the tranny.. way too many failure too early. GL with getting it fixed

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

I purchased the car used @ 100k miles, but it likely just had factory z1/dw1 in it. I don't know what's in it now, but I want to change it asap as it feels exactly the same.

My 3/4th switches were NOT changed before failure. Crazy thing is I got them and about 4 days later...my tranny died. I just sold them because I thought the full rebuild would cover it, but the idiot didn't replace them even though he said he knows they are problematic in these transmission.

Ordering them today


Exactly. As much as I love the exterior styling of the TL with the a-spec and some 19's, it's just a PITA to have to deal with these shitty shifts and/or worry about them. I guess anything can happen to any car, but still..with the amount of transmissions coming back it's ridiculous! Between the dash cracking, transmission failing, motor mounts all failing, etc etc....I won't buy another Acura unless it's under a full warranty. Really eye'ing the 335i, but BMW's are hell if you're not under full warranty. Plus is it just me or is the interior of the BMw 3-series kinda plain and ugly?

Pat04TL

Steve, given that you did the 60,000 mile AT service early at an Acura dealership, I would think you have a good case to get the regional rep to goodwill some of the cost. Get your best price from all the Honda & Acura dealers in the area and then talk to the Acura rep. Other option is to get the cheapest rebuilt tranny you can find just to get it running. Then dump the car before the very pricey 105,000 mile service (timing belt etc) comes due.

skadoo323

If I remember correctly, Acura Customer Service has a Twitter handle, so you may want to DM them and tweet about the issue. Companies hate any bad rep.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

I'm doing that now lol. I'll tweet them about how bad it sucks to have a cracked dash after having to have my transmission repaired, along with hearing a whine from the power steering o-ring while also listening to the clunk of broken motor mounts/end-links

Great job Acura

coykiam

This is scaring me as well, have an 06TL with 62K miles. Last transmission flush was at the dealer when it was 38K miles. And her very last visit was an unpleasant one due to a douche bag in Rallye Acura's Service Advisor department (at 51K miles - timing belt broke).

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

Quoting myself:

I'm not sure how a car company that makes nearly bulletproof engines and does a damn good job of nearly everything else mechanical makes such God-Awful automatic transmissions. It's the only reason I own a Toyota Sienna instead of an Odyssey.

usmarinedelta

iTrader: (1)

Besides the pressure switches and the fluid, I'm thinking it's a cooling issue. Someone I know personally has a 2nd Gen Tl which are notorious for transmission failure had his replaced around 90k and now he has 260k plus so that's 170k miles on the rebuilt tranny. He said he changes his tranny fluid (still with z1 because he bought lots back then) every 15k miles and it's been shifting fine. I think the heat is a major factor that causes the fluid to break down faster, that's why I installed a ATF cooler and haven't had any issues. Fluid still the same color after 15k when I change it. So I would invest in the $100-150 for a cooler just for a piece of mind.

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

damn that sucks....i hope you get it sorted out and keep this thread updated !!!

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Where can these ATF's be found and how hard is the install??

usmarinedelta

iTrader: (1)

ATF- Automatic Transmission Fluid
You'd need an ATF Cooler, here is the link that I used for the install. The install is really simple, you remove the bumper (easy) then route two hoses and clamp them.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=atf+cooler

To get an idea how hot your transmission fluid is, within a minute the cooler gets too hot to touch.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

meh...you know what I meant lol. Thanks for the link

cajunsteve

Thanks everyone - finally got the dreaded call from Acura Service with their "discounted" offer - Acura is willing to split the cost 50%/50% since the tranny was flushed by them previsouly and while I was past the 72K drivetrain warranty limit, the car was not yet 6 years old - so ... $2400 plus tax and it comes with a 3 yr, 36K warranty - tried to bargain for another 6 yr warranty but no dice - they will not approve those. and a loaner car for the week

thoughts? the few people I talked to told me to expect to pay anywhere from $1500 to $2200 for a rebuilt tranny from a transmission shop so the discounted $2400 doesn't seem that bad, knowing its all Acura parts and mechanics (and warranty). thoughts?

cokorote

iTrader: (1)

I know that the pressure switch and the redline d4 fluid only help to extend the tranmission life, but are our transmission will still crap out before 100k no matter what?

If the transmission failures of our car is definitely a heat issue, then should I change the transmission fluid every 15k to keep the fluid fresh?

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

Sorry to hear.

I just hope next time everyone would search about the ATF threads.

Redline/Amsoil ATF plus the change of the 3rd/4th sensors considerably increases the life of your ATF. I'm at 125k without a hiccup since Innacurate and IHC posted the threads about the ATF and sensors. I've already hit 60k on both, and am going to replace them both again. A small price ($200) then $2k+ in repairs or even breaking down in the middle of the road. Also shifting plays a major role in the amount of heat the transmission endures. Threads everywhere.

If I were you I would get estimates from other places (independent shops). Angies List really helps in finding some. Make sure to ask about warranty. Good luck