MARK.357SIG

Hi, I'm just wondering. For those early 04'TL owners that are part of the transmission recall when you have it done how long did it took? how many days? etc.. and after the service did you guys notice any difference in the shifting? is it better than before? When you look at the tranny did they add something externally? And what was the mileage when you guys brought it in to the dealer?

Thank you all,
Mark

Bluenote

The transmission recall works like this:

If you have less than 15,000 miles, Acura will pay the dealer to install an oil jet in the fill hole on the transmission. If you hav over 15K miles, the dealer must take a digital photograph, display it on their computer screen & compare it to a 'control' photo to determine if the gear is galling or is damaged. If the gear shows wear or excessive heat buildup, Acura will replace the transmission.

Even adding the time it takes to snap the pic & download it on the computer, it takes around an hour to an hour-and-a-half. Of course, the dealer may need more time, depending on the workload scheduled. Don't be surprised if you're asked to leave the vehicle.

When the recall first came out on the Oddyssey's, we had 10-15 a day & asked everyone to leave them until we became proficient at them. Now we can install a jet kit in less than 30 minutes.

Replacing the transmission itself is a one day job, plus a few days to order the trans.

Lore

I find the "If less than 15,000 miles, do this, otherwise, do that" procedure to be flawed. If someone drives their car hard every day or say someone bought a dealer demo which was test-driven roughly, they may be at 10,000 miles but have much more damage than someone who drove their car gently at 20,000 miles.

While an analysis and comparison is performed for the person at 20,000 miles, the person at 10,000 miles with a damaged 2nd gear will only get an oil jet without any real afterthought to the driving condition of the car.

Bluenote

Well, I can't argue with that. I hear there are some dealers out there that are taking pics of every 2nd gear recall they perform. We don't, but we haven't annies, either.

Lore

And that would be ideal. Hey, who knows, at 12,000 miles that second gear may look as bad as a car at 25,000 miles, and will probably need a new transmission! But without a photo and a comparison, it's hard to make that judgement call.

rets

Lore, I guess Acura just used the average numbers or statistical analysis result or experimental outcomes to determine this "1.5k" stuff. No matter what benchmark Acura decided to use, either 1k or 2k, there will be always ppl there having the issues you just mentioned above...




MARK.357SIG, you should also check GARAGE https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84834 Thanks.

subinf

They take a photograph of 2nd gear? Hmmmm....that would have been good to know a few days ago, but the December 13th issue of the New Yorker came out and there is a pretty good article about the accuracy oh photographs....

TBone2004

Do you guys paint the bolts blue if you open them? My wife's '02 just came back from oil jet install and I would swear that there were never so many blue bolts there before - I think even the dipstick has a blue mark on it. Does blue mean replaced or is blue just, well, blue?

(Rets or Ron, please don't move - I know I mentioned the '02 here, but my '04 is going to go soon, so it really relates to the '04, cuz I like it better )

Bluenote

All that blue paint is from the factory. Trust me when I tell you we have better things to do with our time

American Honda says that the digital camera is the only way to tell with accuracy if the gear is galling, and must have digital proof before they authorize a trans replacement. They don't want anything 'eye-balled' but this could be for liability's sake.


I can also state that Honda is taking this transmission thing seriously, and steps up with assistance when necessary. For this reason I think it's a good idea to keep up on trans fluid changes (by the dealer, so they have written proof) when recommended in the maintenance schedule, so you can show you've done your part by servicing the vehicle properly.

Just my

rets

But if Acura wants us to keep following MID service code, the regular trans fluid change is around "3=replace transmission fluid. Estimated milage when displayed on MID=100,000"...

Did I write it wrongly or something wrong in MID's setup?

Bluenote

Probably not. I gotta be honest here & say that I haven't read my owner's manual all the way through

Not only that, the recall covers many models & years, and the trans fluid recommendations may well be different from model to model. I just feel I would be remiss if I didn't state that there is a benefit to having service work done at the dealer, which is the fact that they are more readily open to assistance if they've done the service work, as opposed to not being done at all, or not having documented proof of it.

Also, sometimes I forget which forum I'm in, and want to make sure any advice I give is applicable to as many owners as possible. The "shotgun" approach in action.

rets

Well. You're right.

Actually, all I care the most is if my Acura dealer could always remember "reset" the right item out of my MID. Since we cannot reset MID (except OIL life), any change without dealers may cause the failure of MID service code. For example, let's say I change my tranny fluid at 60% (we cannot read it on MID), and my TL will continue to count down from this point if I never reset my MID.

But, I also worry if those technicians have the fat fingers and reset all my MID info instead of that particular item (ex: trany fluid), my MID will totally lose its accuracy.

MR1

Term 'redundant' comes to mind here. We still need to keep backup printed receipt file cause stuff happens to electronics.

havokgroup

I understand your view

But for me, I make a spreadsheet of all the things that where done so I have a hard copy at all times. Recepits are always kept as well.

Bernard1973

I wonder where they install the oil jet kit, You' ve written into a fill hole.
Can you be more precise ?

I just ordered the part in Honda Europe and wait for it.
but the dealer wonder how to fit it, here in Europe there is no shop manual for TL

MARK.357SIG

thank you for the info.