Is it just me, or does anyone else have a slight hesitation when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear in ss mode? It seems to only happen from 2nd to 3rd gear, like the gear doesn't catch right away. Just curious.

 

um... I will test it on tomorrow...

 

what are the rpms when shifting? try 1 higher or lower and see if there is a differance.

 

Wow, that sounds almost like the problem that we 2nd Gen owners have with our trannies. Mine started having a similar problem the other day, and it was happening both in auto and ss mode. I could hear / feel second gear disengage, and then about 500 - 1000 RPM's later, the gear would catch and there would be a slight jerk. I brought it into the dealer and they said that my tranny needed to be replace (under warranty thank God). If this problem continues you might want to get it checked out just to be on the safe side.

 

Yes, I've tried and have brought it up to 5,000 rpm and still the same. This is the only gear it happens in.

 

It is similar to what you've explained, but it only happens in ss mode not auto. Here's hoping it isn't a bad tranny

 

happens to me too. nothing jerks or anything, the SS just doesnt register that u tried to shift into 3rd, it goes on as if u never pushed it foward into third

 

I guess I'm not the only one. I wonder if this is normal? If it is, it would hurt our track time. You'd probably get better time with auto than in ss mode. has anyone time the auto TL with and without ss?

 

I checked it today and didn't notice any hesitation. It goes smoothly into 3d, and then the same exact feeling going into 4th and 5th.

If you had an early model 04 I would say it might be the 2nd gear problem that was recalled, but with an 05 this shouldn't apply.

Since it happens all the time, or at least enough to show them, you should take this to the dealer and get it checked out.

 

Thanks Ron. Just curious, did you test it both on hard and light acceleration. I'm sure it wouldn't make a difference, but just wanted to check.

 

Kind of medium acceleration, hard enough to pick up speed but not hard enough to get a ticket. It shifted very smoothly, with just a slight, almost imperceptible lag which I think is designed to make it feel smoother.

 

When you say slight lag, do you mean that it stayed at the same rpm for a split second as it shifted? And if there is something wrong with that gear, wouldn't the same happen in auto mode? However, it doesn't. Thanks Ron. Sorry about all these questions. I just wanted to make sure.

 

Mine does just like Rons.....shifts when called to gear. Now if you shift way too early it wont go to the next gear and bog the motor.....but it shifts normally.

 

I'll have to check this out, because it might be slightly more perceptible in SS than in Auto, but still not enough to think there is a problem. Downshifting seems to be instantaneous, but up shifting is maybe like that because it is letting the revs go down or something like that.

No problem with the questions. This is one of those things that everyone perceives a little differently so it is good to get a bunch of answers.

 

i have an 05 and i notice the 2nd to 3rd gear lagg also... it was never like this when i first bought my car... i thought it was just me but now i know its not..

 

Have you had your tranny fluid changed yet since you've purchased? If not, how many miles do you have on your TL? Maybe we need to change our tranny fluid? I was going to change mine but the dealer told me to wait until 30K.

 

my car only has 13k miles on its right now.. i follow the service that my mid tells me to and so far it hasnt told me to change my tranny fluid.. i thought that could have been the problem also.. i checked my tranny fluid and its looks pretty dirty...

 

This issue is a bit disturbing to me. I think I will follow Michal Wan's recommendation and change it soon. I also have 13K on mine as well. My trans fluid isn't that dirty, but it's getting there. I don't think I'm gonna wait for the 30K miles suggested by the dealer or the MID.

Ron A, how may times have you changed your tranny fluid?

 

I drained my tranny fluid at home into a clear container, at 19,500 miles, and it came out thick and dark brown, so dark you couldn't see a light through it.

I took it to my service manager, and he said the Acura service rep was coming in a week, so I said I would wait until then.

I showed him the fluid when he arrived and told him I wanted Acura to do the triple drain/refill procedure because it shouldn't be that dark and thick. He resisted at first but he saw I wasn't going to quit so he finally asked if I wanted a customer good will service done.

I said I don't care what you call it as long as you do it and I get it on record that you changed it at 19,500 miles because the first drain was so dark and thick.

He said ok, and then I noticed he went and talked to the service manager and asked him to put my jug of dark brown fluid aside so he could take it with him, so I guess they will be checking it out.

If I had taken my car to the dealer for the single change,or the triple change, they would have just changed it and never said anything about how dark and thick it was, so I urge everyone to either do it themselves or make whoever does it catch it in a clean, clear container so you can check it out.

I told the service rep I never had any symptoms, and the tranny works fine, but who knows how it will act at 40,000-50,000 miles? This way I have it on record.

 

Ron, when is the normal transmission fluid change? I know, RTFM.

 

I would get it checked out because they supposedly fixed the issue with the transfer from 2nd to 3rd gear.

 

There is no specified change for normal driving. The owner's manual says if you regularly drive your vehicle in mountainous areas at very low vehicle speeds, have it changed at 60,000 miles, then every 30,000 miles thereafter.

So you could assume that normal driving would require a change at over 60,000 miles, which is ridiculously high.

There is an explanation of how the MID works in the Acura Service News for September 2005 http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SN/B050900.PDF
This says to change the fluid at 30,000 miles under the same conditions I mentioned above.

I would say you could do the single drain at 30,000 and the triple drain at 60,000, but I would recommend the triple drain every 30,000 miles for safety and peace of mind.

 

Ron, Thank you for the information and the link. Very informative and yet baffling. Anyone have his or her maintenance minder system display B3, which is replacing the transmission fluid? If so, how many miles were on your car when the B3 service displayed?

I am trying to figure out the approximate miles when the transmission fluid should be changed since the article and apparently the manual are not specific.

 

Okay, I found out why it was happening. First off, no flaming please! I demonstrated the shifting to my friend today to see what his thoughts were of the problem. It turns out that you're not supposed to let go of the gas when shifting gears!!! Having driven a mannual before, I thought you are supposed to let go of the gas when shifting. I hope I didn't mess up my transmission!

 

There probably haven't been many "3" displayed because in my estimation it will come around 80,000-100,000 miles in normal driving. Keep in mind this is Acura's recommendation.

You can follow the MID fairly closely for other services, but in my opinion the transmission should be serviced much sooner, due to the relative cost of repairing a transmission when compared to the price of transmission fluid, plus labor if you don't do it yourself..

My recommendations above still stand for my own usage, tempered by whatever the dipstick shows during routine fluid level checks.

 

What is a triple transmission fluid change? Is it drain, then fill, drive X miles then repeat the procedure two more times?

 

Exactly, but the X miles is only a few miles, just long enough to warm up and circulate the new fluid.

It works very well, and although it doesn't replace 100% of the fluid, enough new fluid and additives are replaced that it is a satisfactory method for insuring longer transmission life.

Acura does not recommend actually flushing out all the old fluid and replacing it with new fluid, so this is the next best thing.

 

Btw, I know this is off topic, but I can't believe how well the tl handled with the stock suspension. I was in a loaner TL (auto) with my friend today when he got of a ramp and tackled a wrap around at 50 mph. It felt like a rollercoaster ride. I've never done this in my own, but fell good knowing that it is capable. I can only imagine how much better one with the A-Spec suspension and RSB is.