Tell me about it.... now they have the district manager come test drive it before they work on the car.

 

Well, how it went down for me was I took it in to Santa Monica Acura, described the problem, showed them the TSB. They said they'd need it for a day to confirm. The following morning they told me they confirmed the issue and will proceed to REPLACE the 3rd gear as described in the TSB pending approval from extended warranty dept (which they got a day later). They never mentioned to me simply swapping out the fluid first.

Sounds like your experience will be different depending on how lazy your local dealer is.

 

The first person you have to satisfy is YOU. If this means taking your car to a dealer for this TSB, then by all means, do it. My only advice is to perhaps do a little homework and try to find a dealer with a shop worthy of your patronage. That's all.

 

Good for you!

Now that last part is funny.

 

Nice! lucky u

Yea I can say all dealers are different tho. The first time, I brought it in at the dealer I got it from. The tech test drove it with me and noticed the 3rd gear problem right away and ordered parts for me, but I was busy and flaked on them. The 2nd time around I tried to bring it to my local dealer. Thats when they they started getting anal about warranty work.

Anyways I flushed out my tranny oil to the GM stuff since the dealer said they will first do a tranny flush. Now things are all smooth and I cant complain. Just hoping to get a new set of synchros ahaha maybe later down the road.

Good luck let us know how it goes!

 

11-30 Update:

So i dropped off the TL this morning at 8am and told them about the 3rd gear TSB, my HFL not working, and my car spitting out I have low voltage messages that my airbags don't work.

They said they will check it out and give me a call.

3pm: they call me and said they have verified the 3rd gear issue and will work on it and they found out my HFL unit is broken so they are replacing it. They told me to swing by and get my loaner car.

So far so good! btw, this is auto west acura in santa clara, ca off stevens creek for you bay area folks. Just letting you know.

 

4:30: I'm at the dealer now to pick up my loaner and they needed my insurance card but it's in my glove box. They took me to my car and they ripped everything out. Everything is hanging out and my tranny is on the work bench. Oh man. I hope they know how to put everything back together. Anyhow they said it will be ready by noon tomorrow but we will see. Just letting you guys know in case you are in my position.

 

They're still working on mine. They said it should be done tomorrow too. Let's hope both of our cars are still the same (well, let's hope they're BETTER).

 

yes!!! i hope so too. as for now, they gave me a 2009 Acura TL. 4th gen!!! woot wooot. it's kinda fast.

 

hope all goes well fellas

 

Had our 3rd gear TSB done back in mid-July. 3rd gear shifts great now but 1st gear is now starting to get balky. Not frequently but once in a while.

Debating on whether to take it back to the dealer and ask them to have a look at it (and maybe do the tranny again if there is an issue) or switch to GMSFM and give that a try.

What path do you guys suggest I take?

 

Since u got a new 3rd gear synchros, I think u should give the GM oil a try.

I think Acura's oil is the problem

 

Picked up my car just now. 3rd gear is now buttery smooth as it should be. Well, at least in the 30 minutes I've driven it.

Shocker is that the bill (to Acura/Honda) is $1600! No wonder they're reluctant to perform the work. Let's hope it stays in great condition.

 

so how long was it in the dealership for? i dropped mine off Monday @ 8am and they said they'll be done noon today. So 1.5 days. I doubt it will be that short from what they quoted. how many days did it take for u?

 

In total (due to the holidays) it's been in the shop 10 days. They didn't get the parts in til Friday or Saturday and they finished it up this morning. So I'm guessing the actual amount of time it took them to do the work is as you were quoted, 1.5 days.

 

Update: The 3rd gear is like butter!!! woot woot.. it felt a little different coming from the 4g auto to a 3g manual but no more nasty grinding and it goes it without hesitation. good stuff!!! thank you acura dealers

 

Out of curiosity, what was the charge on your bill?

 

I just bought my 05 TL last month and also have issues popping into third sometimes. I bought my car with an extended warranty so would my dealer honor my request to get this TSB done? Im a little reluctant to go there and get this done since they will be rippig everything out of my transmission but the grinds ive been getting is very annoying and its scary to know that it might fall apart in the future so I might as well get it done.

 

I bought my 05 TL about a month ago too. It was a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) and the cost was completely covered by Acura. Make sure you bring a printout of the TSB available on the first page of this thread. I say it's worth it.

 

Got my car back yesterday. Tranny shifts smooth now. Let's hope it stays that way.

Got a free alignment and battery out of the deal, too. They reset my Nav for some reason and now I have to un-nag screen it again

 

Hope u got the radio codes!

 

I have them, but I didn't need to enter them. Nothing else was changed. All my radio presets are intact and even the route history is there. It's weird. They must have just updated the nav software thinking there was a problem with it.

 

Yea, your stuff will save unless the dealer reset reset the ecu for a new owner.

 

a-holes at Santa Monica Acura tried to sell me a new battery. I told them I didn't want it and that I shouldn't need it considering I JUST got it 2 weeks prior.

 

I have an 05 6mt. I'm at 49k, but out of warranty. 3rd was a bit notchy originally. I put GM-SM it at around 5k.
Around 40k, I started having issues again...3rd popped out a few times. I put some new GM-SM. Everything has been smooth again. Should I push for this TSB? I plan to keep the car for another 50k plus.

 

I have no 3rd gear problems and was wondering if I should put in honda MT or GM SM

 

Hey guys/gals, just an update...I took my car in to Mcgrath Acura in Westmont, IL with an appointment about 2 weeks ago because of bad grinds on 3rd gear. When i spoke on the phone the service manager spoke like he needs to replicate this grind in order for them to replace the 3rd gear synchro and when i went in today, i spoke very professionaly/kindly about the issues and he said that they'll have a tech check it out and send out pictures to corporate to see if they can get the part. Im guessing if hes taking pictures theyll rip open my trans. The nice part was I thought i had to wait for them to test drive and let me know if they can reproduce the grinds but i guess they know that there is a problem so now theyll keep my car for couple of days and gave me a 09 TSX for a loaner. Have to say TSX drives nice but the steering wheel is too small and i really do not like the interior. Hopefully they don't refill it with GM synchromesh and tell me they replaced the synchro.

 

after leaving my car at the dealer for 5 days, picked up the car and drove it to see if it was the same. there were several things i've noticed that seemed a little odd to me. first when i was coasting from higher gears, there was some sort of a whining noise. It was hard to reproduce the noise after driving it a while though(temperature might had a part since it was 5°F). second there still was a little notchiness going into 3rd and seemed like before but there were times where it seemed very smooth and felt more fluid going into 3rd. I drove it for 2 hours today just to get a feel for the car and everything came out great. Shifting feels alot more smooth and I would recommend getting this TSB.

 

I've been reading posts on Acurazine for a couple months now but this is my first post. First I'd like to say thanks to everyone for all the great information. Second, I realize this post is a long one (and I'll keep em shorter in the future).

Now back to the topic.

The patient:

I picked up an 06 MT NAV with 29K back in Nov. Got the Acuracare warranty (Ray Laks - thanks again Acurazine members ). The factory warranty runs out end of Jan 2010.

The symptoms:

I have had the 3rd gear issue intermittently from the beginning and took it in to my local Acura dealer service shop (not where I purchased). I knew about it when I purchased the car thanks to Acurazine.

They had their expert MT tech drive it (they are well aware of the TSB etc.) and he didn't consider it bad enough to warrant tearing it apart to repair. I thought I should get it done while still under the orig manufacturer warranty but the service adviser told me Acuracare will cover when the time comes.

Whining / commiseration:

I have to say though only intermittent, the "pop-back" (when I let out the clutch the shifter is thrown back into my hand as if to say "I don't think so!":shakehead) or grind just destroys my otherwise blissful driving experience. I get enough attitude back from my teenagers and don't need it from my car.

My dilemma:

I have continued to track Acurazine opinions on repair metal parts vs. GM / Amsoil fluid and was honestly leaning toward the fluid, especially if Acuracare will cover if I find more trouble over the longer term.

I'd like to get any info / opinions on:

- Has anyone had the 3rd Gear TSB work done under Acuracare (does anyone know whether Acuracare fully covers the TSB work equiv to manuf warranty or are there catches)?

- I think if I pushed it with my Acura service shop they would go ahead and do the TSB before the manuf warranty expires, but should I give the fluid a try to avoid the invasive "metal parts" option? (Based on others' experiences I expect it will help considerably. But I live in WI and would not be doing that till it's warmer out, so the manuf warranty will be all gone.)

This noob thanks everyone in advance for any insight and opinions.

 

I purchased my 05 TL 3 months back as Certified Pre-Owned. Being that it was an 05, the original manufacturers warranty had already expired and the only thing covering my car now is the AcuraCare warranty included in the CPO purchase price. The TSB was paid completely by Acura (bill came out to nearly $1800). So yes, AcuraCare should definitely cover it.

 

I had this problem, but I don't think I'll ever get the TSB done. I've not had a single issue with the tranny ever since I switched over to the GM fluid.

Here it is, so you know for future reference what it looks like, and the part #:

 

Thanks for the quick feedback. Since it looks like I'm going to be covered warranty-wise, I'm like to give the "goo" a chance.

Now just to wait a few months for the weather to warm up so I can take my time and comfortably go through the thorough flushing process described elsewhere on the site.

I'm really looking forward to experience the improvement - I'll let you know how it comes out.

 

There is no flushing per se with a manual transmission. Your TL has low mileage, so a simple drain and fill should do you fine. If you are really concerned about this, do another drain and fill around 5-6000 miles later.

You will need three quarts of fluid and two aluminum washers; one for the drain plug (same size as the one for the oil pan) and one for the fill plug. You will also want to use a quality torque wrench and you will also need a few socket extensions with one swivel for a 3/8" ratchet. Don't forget to have a long neck funnel on hand. And you do not need to remove the bumper, battery, and air filter box (housing).

A drain and fill takes 2.3 quarts (2 quarts, 10 ounces). It really is the easiest manual drain and fill you will probably ever do. Not messy and a piece of cake. Just take your time and do it right.

BTW, welcome aboard!

 

Just an update: ive been complaing the past week about some noise but today the service rep called and said the mechanic did hear some odd noise but after diagnoising the problem it was because of my exhaust. I guess the previous owner had an aftermarket and when they swapped the stock ones they did a bad job putting together the center piece. service rep said it's not serious now but in the future i will need to do some welding. So in conclusion the car drove the same as before but better feel to the gear box and since the noise had nothing to do with drivetrain, i guess the TSB was a sucess for my car.

 

Good to hear. Glad everything worked out. Still going great in my car!

 

Hey All,

I haven't posted in a while, mainly because I'm severely unhappy with my car (because of the 3rd gear issues), and coming here and being told that it's not a big deal by people who don't understand only annoys me further.

Anyways, a recap:
I bought a used 2007 TL-S with 10K miles, by 20K I had a lot of pop-outs.
Finally the dealership saw the problem and replaced my 3rd gearset.
It reduced the problem by about 80%, but initiated a similar problem with 4th gear.

After complaining for months, and repeated trips to the dealership, they offered to pay off my TL-S loan if I'd buy a brand new TL-S. As I had bought the first TL used, I couldn't lemon it, so I figured, if the second TL had the same problems, I'd lemon it.

Now I'm at 20K miles on the new TL and having the same problems as the old one. The lemon law paperwork is in, the dealership wants to have a look at my car, since this new one has only been in once or twice and they haven't 'replicated' the issue..

I've tried the fluid fix, and while the shifting itself had less resistance, it only amplified the notchiness, and still popped out of 3rd.

I'm really sick of not being able to shift gears 100% of the time like 100% of the other cars i've owned.

 

Just use the gm fluid. I did this and it has been working flawlessly for 4 years.

 

I'm using Redline for 3 years now with no problems. I was told once that the GM stuff IS the Redline fluid just re-labeled...

 

whats cheaper?

 

Oh we understand alright. The GM fluid DOES solve the problem. But once they tore your trans apart, the door was opened to other issues because the s-l-i-g-h-t-e-s-t error in putting it back together (like not properly torquing a bolt inside for example) and all the GM fluid in the world won't help you.

Every 3G TL 6MTer here on AcuraZine who's had this problem that tried the GM fluid BEFORE the dealer ripped their transmission apart came away happy campers, including myself.
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