So this morning I am on my way from San Diego to a jobsite up in San Bernardino and I am taking 3 other co workers along to do this job. We left early and traffic is moving nicely but I am in no real hurry so I am just cruisin at 70 -75.

About 90 miles into the trip the dash lights up like a christmas tree, flashing "D", !triangle, check engine light, etc and the speedometer is reading zero! WTF tranny problem! revs a little high, slide to manual but it wont tell me what gear I am in, must be 4th. keep cruisin while thinkin........glance at navigation. I am 20 some miles to my destination. I have 3 people that need to get workin on this job, I dont want them on the side of the road waiting for a wrecker. Car downshifts again revs now to 4K must be third, is it goin into limp mode? Need to get off at next exit! Damn this is gonna suck!

Get off at next exit and pull over. will not shift out of gear, turn engine off, now it will shift into park. Ok open hood and smell tranny fluid with a little smoke. seems like there is a little fluid on top of tranny. Get back in the car and all 3 girls are looking at me like WTF are we gonna do now! Start car up all lights off except for check engine light. Shifts fine into D and I drive a block or so without issues.

Ok, Check Navi for closest Acura dealer. Acura of Riverside about 8 miles away! OK not comfortable with freeway, 12 miles on side streets, what the hell! we set off across town and make it there without any issues.

Girls all pile out and hit the lounge for bathroom break, free starbucks and pastries. Tell the advisor whats going on and he has us in a 2010 ZDX and back on the road to our jobsite in 20 minutes. He will verify my extended warranty and get the diagnosis and call me as soon as he knows whats up.

Adviser calls back and cannot verify acura care, I confirm that whatever the diagnosis is if I pay now and I show them the warranty paperwork later they will reimburse me. I will deal with that later I just need to get everyone back home later today. Call me when you know whats up!

About an hour later he calls back and says I have good news! Here I am thinkin it was somethin quick and simple. Nah! not even. Your gonna need a new transmission! Good news is your at 69,580 miles. factory warranty is till 70K! Hopefully it will be done so you can pick it up on Saturday. Enjoy the ZDX!

He said they would check the motor & trans mounts to as its common for those to go as well.

This is an 06, and never had any prior symptoms of any trans problems till it went today.

Acura of Riverside totally came thru so far

 

mileage?

 

its in the long story! lol 69,580

 

Cool story, but why the thread title ?

 

^Many 5AT's are breaking.

Very cool that you found a good dealer and it all worked out with no fighting.

 

Well as it turned out its more like they found me! trans implodes a few miles from a random dealer as I was nearly a hundred miles from mine.

 

Glad you found a dealership nearby and everything worked out for you.

His tranny bit the dust.

 

I am just glad yall made it to the dealership.... also happy to hear that you were in the pocket on ur milegage... I am NOT happy that the TL trannys are acting like the ones in the freakin CLs!!!

 

Update! received a call today from service advisor said car is all done and ready! Damn that was fast! they had the car 36 hours. Cant get there till friday so i will enjoy the ZDX till then. Acura of Riverside service experience continues to impress.

 

Wow...thats great news!

how do you like the ZDX?

 

This ZDX does not have navigation and it looks like it should have it. Its rides very composed, firm but nice. Never did like the new acura front beak treatment, little to tall shouldered for my liking, rear end is pretty nice. Not really much room behind the seats, but the passenger cabin is nicely detailed. Twin sunroof /glass roof is nice. gas mileage suffers from weight and sh-awd. Its really a very nice vehicle just not one that I would choose to own.

 

It's very good to hear about your experience. In all honesty, call up acura client relations and express you gratitude for their help. A lot of the time, all they recieve are complaints. A thank you letter or a commendation from Acura Corp really brings a smile to some of these service writers!

 

The service advisor mentioned that I would be contacted by corporate and asked about the service. I told him that I would definitely put a good word in for him for sure and that I had already posted on acurazine my experience and he was very grateful. So for sure anyone in the Riverside area I highly recommend this service advisor. His name is John Crook! And I am not kidding! we joked about that, but I am sure he has to try extra hard just to overcome that moniker!

 

Wow that sucks about your tranny, but talk about customer service!!! Kudos to Riverside Acura..

 

Nice review... thanks alot! Sounds like it has the making of a cool ride...

 

John Crook.... yeah, he went into the wrong biz with that last name... LOLz
At least you wont forget it any time soon!

 

Can you let us know if this tranny only saw Z1 ATF and if the transmission switches are original.

 

Mine did the same at 49,000. Only difference was no dash lights and I was barely moving. Leaving a parking lot. Got it 5 miles to the dealer and they shut it off. Drove it next morning (dropped off at 5 pm) and said my car was fine - come pick it up. Had to argue with the writer and they got someone else to drive it. Transmission was bad and needed to be replaced.

Mine only saw Z1 and had original switches.

 

Man your lucky, glad you found a cool dealership
Btw more info on the three chick riding with you, what kind of job were they gonna do? picks?

 

You're scaring me now.

I'm almost at 100k on my 06 A/T.

I really need to get those 3rd/4th gear sensors replaced along with fresh Redline Racing.

Happy that the dealer took care of you. I'd be bending over for them.

 

Glad things seem to be working out. Very nicely stated review of the (ugly imho) ZDX.
My car is currently @ 66,500 with original transmission.

 

Hi Pohljm- been a long time since the Torrey Pines meet.
Sorry to hear about your transmission. What I was wondering was regarding the maintenance side of things. Just wondering if you changed those sensors, ATF prior to the failure. I'm kind of hoping you did not so the theory about the sensors remains alive.

I changed my ATF at 20K and will change again at 40K with Type-F Redline and sensors. Hopefully that will help prolong the tranny, but on the other hand if it should fail you certainly timed that event right!

 

Hey LaCosta! Only Z1 3x flush at 60K, original switches never had any issues

 

Thanks for the update- sounds like you are having a great dealer experience too. You might want to make sure that the sensors get replaced on the new tranny if it's a rebuild- somebody said that the rebuilds don't always get new sensors- just something to double check for. Best of luck- and we'll need to do another meet again this Spring or Summer.

 

pohljm,

I send my condolences.

Any plans to switch to Racing fluid from Day 1 with the replacement trans? I would. If something went wrong with the replacement trans, the dealer will not know that you had Racing fluid in it. "Don't ask, don't tell."

 

Amen brother. I'm almost at 93k and I'm worried about my tranny blowing like it did on my 01 CL-S. I've had the damn pressure switches sitting on top of my dresser for months and have yet to install them. So dumb.

OP I'm glad your tranny was fixed under warranty and that your dealer took great care of you! It's nice to hear a positive story every once in a while. Good luck with the new transmission

 

I think I will let it go for about 1500 miles to get the initial break in material out of there and then do a 3x flush with some good fluid. I need to confirm that the pressure switches are new.

 

Sorry dude, but good thing they took care of you...good customer service is always well noted and remembered.

My 07' TL was certified pre-owned...I got the bumper to bumper coverage for up to 100k(@ 45k now) miles or next 3.5 years. Hopefully I wont have that problem. I'm a maintenance whore...My buddy thats a Honda master technician says the transmissions tend to have problems and are really the only problem(major component though) with these cars...told me to just use Hondas ATF...whats better?

 

To see what is better, check this thread below.

Racing ATF (click here)

I know it is a long thread to read. But, you can read it backwards. Read the last page first and then read each previous page.

On Page 14 (second half of the page), you will see pics of the trans drain plug filled with clutch material. The Racing fluid stops all of the clutch wear. No fluid except a type F fluid (such as Racing or Lightweight) is able to stop the clutch wear. There are many trans on our 3G forum that have failed due to clutches that are completely worn down.

Changing the Z1 fluid often will not help. If a person was to 100% completely add fresh Z1 (oem fluid) every 3000 miles, this would NOT stop the excessive clutch wear caused by the Z1. Only the Racing fluid can stop the clutch wear.

 

Wow thanks great man, I go to skuel in SD not local from LA area.... Now im gettin worried bcuz I actually found an 06 RBP/parch. w/ 31xxx miles. Clean title. but if its becoming an issue with transmission idk if i want to buy one.

I thought the tranny issues were wit 04 and 05 models not 06. Should I consider this purchase? Has all records of maintenance w/ brand new tires seems good to me but college student do not want the burden of high cost for a rebuilt.

 

The 04 and 05 trans failures are due to another design flaw (a different failure mode). Whereas, the 06 (and upward) are failing from worn-out clutches. We are just now seeing more and more of this on Acurazine as the 06 (and upward) TL's are getting up higher in the mileage.


Z1 + 100k_miles = No clutch material remaining

 

This is worrying me...I have an 06 with 120k+ miles on it. It runs well, but maybe I should get those pressure switches and drain the transmission fluid and fill with ATF?...I love this car; don't want to lose it or trade it!

 

@Inaccurate
So if I decided to purchase the TL in order to avoid this wearing, I should switch to Racing ATF rather than the Honda Z1? I mean it has 31xxx miles and I rarely commute from San Diego to LA for family visits, so it will be a while before I begin hittin those high mileage numbers only drive around 8-9k miles a yr. I plan to keep the car for 5 yrs. so I hope I dnt face this issue.

 

@pohljm
That sucks that your tranny problem happened while cruising on the highway - I couldn't imagine what might have happened if it failed in a more "abrupt" manner!!! Thankfully you and your passengers were okay. Also glad to hear the Acura dealership took care of you.

@Inaccurate
Would you mind elaborating on the "different" tranny problem the 04's and 05's have? I have an '05 with about 44k on it. I am planning to do the switches and a 3x3 with RR Lightweight Racing Fluid soon. I take it that doing this on an '05 tranny is still a good idea?

Also, where do most of you who have done the switches get them? Online or just through your local dealer?

Lastly, I live in Florida - is the RR Lightweight Racing Fluid better than the "regular" Racing Fluid in this climate?

 

Update, The 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches have been replaced along with the new transmission. The trans is filled with Z1.

 

Keep us posted on future (non)issues. G/L

 

Thank you sir.

 

Only on MT? What about AT?

 

oh yea...I have 07' AT.

 

Absolutely. You should switch to Redline Racing ATF.

When? The sooner, the better. I would do it the first day that I brought my brand new car home from the dealership if I could go back in time with my car. With each day of driving with Z1, you are losing valuable clutch material.


The 2002-2005 automatic trans had issue with inadequate lubrication/cooling of the 2nd gear set. However, now looking back on this with these new discoveries of 2006+ failures, I am starting to wonder...... How many of those 2002-2005 transmissions really failed from overheated 2nd gear sets versus how many failed due to worn clutches? I really am now thinking that those 2002-2005 trans failed mostly from worn clutches. Just my new theory based on empirical data that we are unfortunately collecting now with our 2006+ TL's.

Yes, for sure, you need to switch to the Redline Racing too with your 2005. All automatics can benefit from the Racing fluid. I am even adding the Racing fluid to my wife's 2003 Acura RL.

For your climate usage with emphasis on wear protection, I recommend 2 quarts RedLine Racing ATF (PN# 30304) and 1 quart RedLine Lightweight Racing ATF (PN# 30314) per every refill.







I understand the confusion. Most people hear the word "clutch" and automatically (terrible pun ) think Manual Transmission. However, automatic transmission also have clutches too. The clutches in an automatic are "wet", meaning they live in oil (the ATF), and they are miniature in size (approx 6-1/2 inches diameter).

If the schematic drawing in the Service Manual is accurate, I count 25 individual clutch disc in the 5AT.