fla-tls

Over 90% of cars sold in the US are automatics.

criss

:lol1: those Mastercard commercails never get old :lol1:

astro

I am willing to put my money on the line, that it's your ABS system pressurizing Bill. i highly doubt it has anything to do with your tranny. This is a common concern for new TL owners dating back to the 2001 models.
Don't fret, drive the car how you like, it won't fail you.

Norse396

The TL becomes much less enviting and enjoyable when someone has major problems with it. If his Windstar was trouble free I can certainly understand why he would miss it.

In my case the TL has not been a joy to own. Looks like I'm not alone.

Norse396

What an ignorant statement to make, some people have more than themselves to think about. Life must be great when you only think of yourself right? Purchasing an automatic can be for many reasons, laziness isn't one of them for most people. Some people believe that driving a clutch when someone invented an automatic is sensless, I'm not one of them but then I believe that they have both for a reason and I won't make idiotic statements when someone makes a choice I didn't make.

A self righteous one at that.

Norse396

Good grief, why the hell shouldn't he judge them? He has every right too. If his is a pile of junk it sours it for him and I don't blame him one bit. Since many people ARE experiencing issues they will seek an avenue to vent.

Hopefully if and when you run into issues people won't be as judgmental about you as you and others have been with the originator of this thread.

Bill Knight

I know it's not ABS.
I doesn't do it in the manual mode.
Beleive it or not, my Windstar did the same thing when I first bought it.
And the Windstar was a good car. I only replaced 3 things in 9 years I owned it. 1-engine and 2- transmissions. Not bad for 90K.
I wanted a car that was made better.
I know your thinking, This guy is beating on it or doing something wrong.
WHATEVER!....I baby this car.
I am taking it in on Monday.....Stay tuned!

Norse396

Ok, bullshit meter just went off the scale....

Xerxes480

Who asks stupid questions anyways??

Hybrid

Somewhere around 85% of TL buyers buy the automatic.

So if you buy a lawnmower, do you go buy the manual (not gas) push mower, because it offers more control, and feel of the yard? If you want an ice cream maker, do you search out a manual cranked one? What about going back to DOS for your computer? Probably not. But those things all give "more control" just like a manual transmission.

For many people, there's not much of a challenge or enjoyment factor in shifting gears. They've been there, done that. If you really need to hold a gear or downshift once in a while, the automatic can now do that too. Personally, the automatic shifts at the same points I would about 99% of the time anyway. If you buy the car to "race", that would be a different story. Some people buy manuals because they truly like shifting themselves. Others buy them because they think that's the thing to do and it will somehow impress others that they know how to drive a stick, and "proves" they are a "sporty" person. Some people won't buy the automatic because they think it shifts too slowly in its manual mode, but they forgot to compare to the shifting speed of the manual transmission - it isn't instant either, it's just that the driver is doing something to create the shift instead of just waiting for it to happen (all of 1/2 sec. or whatever). I'm not attacking manual buyers or saying that AT is the way to go for everyone, by the way.

OmegaTL

Yikes, you have had really bad luck with cars. Going through one engine and two transmissions in 90K miles is certainly not good at all. That doesn't seem normal to me. Let us know what the dealership says on Monday.

2004MT6TL

Bill, don't kill your TL...

campIIIMAF

hahahaha kui-chan-kang sure be showin his age.

is he aiming at the owner or this particular thread?

Norse396

Hybrid,

Excellent points..... how many times have you had to tap the brakes because the person driving the MT car in front of you took 5 seconds to shift gears?

I love stick, I prefer it, but the wife refuses to learn it so unless the car is going be the car I drive and she never drives, it will be AT everytime.

TLover

Not bad? That's definitely not good.

KJSmitty

I experience what is most likely the same noise every morning with my AT. I do believe it's the ABS or other system performing a test. I will however try your manual mode theory and veryify same "test" (noise) or lack there off...

My only tranny concern is the "2 step delay" or engagement - as I call it, when I shift into D from P or R....

I can't say much though, I haven't even been back to the dealer nor mentioned my concerns other than the tires...


Keep us posted BK.

KJSmitty

OK, this just in....

Left work, placed car in Manual mode vs Drive. Drove across parking lot - approx 200 ft and did not hear or feel anything... Due to speed limitations I don't think it shifted to second (was watching road, not indicator). When I stopped at the edge of the parking lot I shifted into Drive, pulled out onto the street and whala the noise/thump was felt at the same time it shifted to 2nd... Due to the fact I "feel" mine in the gas pedal more than I can hear it, I really believe its a functional system test vs a trans problem. Is the shifting to 2nd the key?? I don't know, but from what I can remember most of the time when felt in the morning its just after pulling forward, so I wouldn't think it would be going for 2nd gear... The next time I will leave it in Manual mode until it automatically shifts to 2nd.

This may not be the same as what BK is experiencing, but due to my "Ex-lemon" 04 Maxima exhibiting the same noise/feel every morning - verified as the anti-lock/traction control test - I believe the TL is the same (noise that is, not the lemon portion..)

I will continue my diagnostics.. :-)

TLGator

Because it's an unintelligent conclusion to come to.

"My TL has major problems, and my Windstar doesn't" DOES NOT EQUAL "the average quality of a TL is less than the average quality of a Windstar."

This is about statistics. Granted, statistics in general are a huge, complex pain in the butt, but this is a fairly simple aspect of statistics. It is a concept people of average or greater than average intelligence can grasp. A sample size of one car (also known as n=1) just doesn't cut it when it comes to drawing conclusions. This is known as "jumping to conclusions" or "making blank statements" or "n of 1 nonsense."

It seems to me that pretty much everyone on this forum is of average or greater than average intelligence. So I'm not trying to insult anyone. Rather I'm trying to point out that one's reason can be fogged by the negative emotions of having a lemon or major failure.

Norse, it sucks that you have a lemon TL (I think yours is a lemon, anyway). It sucks that this guy's TL has a major tranny problem early in its life. It would piss me off, too.

But it wouldn't make me believe that a person was better off buying a new Windstar than buying a new TL. There are 40,000+ new TLs on the road now, and chances are that 39,950 of them will never have a major transmission problem. The average quality of a new TL will far exceed the average quality of a new Windstar. That's based on thousands of experiences, not just one.

That's also why it is crazy when people come to this forum, where less than 1% of TL owners regularly contribute, and jump to conclusions because 3% of the 1% have a problem.

Anyway, I hope everyone with these tranny issues gets resolution quickly. It's got to suck. Good luck!

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

I've noticed my car doing this as well -- after all my tranmission problems (three failures to be exact) I can confidently say that this is some sort of diagnostic mechanism b/c i do not feel or notice any problem w/ the shifting, and I drive my TL VERY VERY aggressively ..

meathead

the van? is this a joke?

Bill Knight

I said in Automatic!.......... Manual works good.
I don't here anything in Manual either.
I am not comparing the Windstar to the TL...It's just my Van was free and clear. Now I spent 33k and have AT problems.
How would you feel if your TL was grinding from 1st to 2nd in Auto at 1000 miles? Would you like to have your Transmission worked on in a new car?
My van did something similar when I first bought it and after the warranty was up the tranny broke. Replaced it and that didn't last either, so I Traded it in on a TL. The engine in the Van was replaced under warranty because of a head gasket. If you owned a Windstar and have 100K, then I'm sure you have already put Headgaskets or new engine and at least one tranny.
I noticed these problems early on and the dealer said I was the only one.
Next thing you know there is a recall.
Just be aware of how your TL shifts from first to second going slow, on your first drive. Does it clunk or grind?

Bill Knight

*Please note that because I say a shift from 1st to 2nd, I don't mean in manual mode.
Automatic's have 1st and 2nd too.
This is what I am referring to. AUTOMATIC MODE! 1st to 2nd going slow. The first time out for the day. Check it out.

Cyclonus

I second Animate's response. I drive in LA and even though I would actually prefer to drive a manual, I will never buy one as long as I live here. I don't know what traffic is like in Pittsfield, MA but here in Cali it's absolutely heinous.

By the way…. Has anyone else noticed how a few of these people who are starting these negative threads seem to stay at a particular number (like 10 for example) on their post counts? Something seems kind of fishy about these guys……

I mean a Windstar? Are you for real?

Agent Smith

[QUOTE=Bill Knight]
My van did something similar when I first bought it and after the warranty was up the tranny broke. Replaced it and that didn't last either, so I Traded it in on a TL. The engine in the Van was replaced under warranty because of a head gasket. If you owned a Windstar and have 100K, then I'm sure you have already put Headgaskets or new engine and at least one tranny.
QUOTE]

Good god I would have dumped that thing too. That's WAY too much going wrong in 90k miles. Sorry to hear about your trans problem with the TL. At least it was under warranty this time

thegre8tone

Exactly, I had a 1997 Prelude 5sp...Here's my shifiting pattering on the 405 (the world's biggest parking lot)...1st...2nd...1st...2nd...N...2nd...etc. I don't miss that at all...

Bill Knight

I look at this forum as a great tool to find out similar problems.
Yea, it's kinda of fishy that I have a problem with my TL...WHATEVER!
You offer no help...just stop in for a free post! Fishy!

fla-tls

Bill, I think what KJSmitty was trying to say was that they also experienced the same symptoms as you.

I don't know about the '04, but there are MANY threads about the 2nd gen and noises from the engine compartment when you first start to drive. All of these are the ABS system going through self tests. In the 2nd gen it happens twice, if the '04 is similar you can expect this odd noise to happen every time as well. (BTW - did your van have ABS?)

In any event, I hope your situation is only the ABS system preping as well. It was a learning experience for me as well when I first bought my car.

Good luck.

Cyclonus

Free post? Do you think I get off on watching my post count go up or something. Whatever. Why don't you go back to driving your Windstar and shut the fuck up?

Cyclonus

Bill,

Sorry for the above post (I typed and posted before I thought it through and I would edit it if I could still do so). That was totally uncalled for on my part and I wish you the best of luck figuring out what is wrong with your transmission. I know I would be pretty pissed too. I thought I was having a problem with one of my wheels until I found something lodged in the rim that I must have ran over. I was pretty upset with my purchase too for a day or so to say the least.

My advice would be to try and get it to your dealership. The sooner they figure out what’s wrong the better and once it’s fixed maybe you’ll think differently about your purchase.

Once again, sorry about the post and good luck.

Bill Knight

And I am sorry for offending anyone too! I'm a little frustrated with this problem on such a potentially good auto. We will see what they find out!

rets

So, Bill Knight,

Let's go back to your original topic. Someone said it may be the ABS system checking... do you hear "thump" or "flap" sound at about 10MPH after starting your engine/car?

The ABS checking is also only taking place once during the drive... ??

Xpditor

MSRP on my Acura TL : $35,695 (w/Navi)

How could you even begin to compare the TL with a Windstar without a crack pipe?

GaleForce

Perhaps he has a crackpipe?

BrandHdriver

Bill,

I think this noise (grind) is a normal thing - too many people are reporting it.

Mine has done it from day 1 since picking up the car.

Remember, 50k warranty = little worries

Formula 350

Bill,

The problem I have with your comment is that you are stating the car is not as good as your Windstar with less than 1,000 miles. Yes, you have a problem with your tranny. but what if this is your ONLY problem for the first 100,000 miles. Then your Windstar is a piece of crap with one engine and two trannys.

I owned a 1985 Cougar and it was in for warrenty work over 10 times in the first year!! It was always giving me problems the whole time I owned it. It would stall when it would get hot. Finally Ford got sued and had to admit that it was an engineering problem. I will never buy another Ford product as all cars I have owned by Ford have sucked big time.

Take your car in and get it fixed. Let us know what they say the problem is.

Xpditor

Is that one of those hidden TL features that I keep finding.

I haven't found that one yet.

I hope I do before The Man does! :cop:

XP

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Or Washington DC

Bill Knight

Yes, it started as a thump. Now it almost sounds a little like ABS.
But it's always at the shift point. Yesterday it did it again, just after a 1/2 hour stop.

I'll drive it today and try pressing on the brakes a little as it shifts.
See what happens.

criss

Come on...commuting with a stick is fun in DC. I've been doing it for 12 years now.

My wife hates driving either car/stick in the traffic and I hate driving the MDX/auto in traffic so each person is different.

Norse396

Intelligence has nothing to do with a gut reaction, when things are going well we think clearly and find it hard to understand when others don't.

I agree with many of your points, however when I'm driving and surrounded by evidence of how poorly my car was QC'd, my brain isn't thinking about you or any other TL owner. It's thinking how how badly I'd love to scream at the a'hole who took a nap when he should have been doing his job at the factory.

I have never owned a car with so many interior issues before, the saving grace was the dealer, but now they have slipped as well by puncturing my rear seat and forgetting to reinstall door clips and leaving grease stains everywhere and tools everywhere.

Acura has a long way to go to convince me they can play with the big dogs.