bbergeron

I recently took my 2004 TL 5AT in to the dealer to have the shudder checked that happens around 30 miles an hour. I have been researching this topic for hours so i believe at this point i am screwed since i have 143k miles on the car. i was hoping to get some help from the folks here to help build my argument to Acura USA. the weird part i see is that the tranny problem seems way worse on bumpy/uneven roads. is this consistent with others? is it worth replacing the tranny depending on what i ultimately have to pay (dealer quoted $3600) since the car isn’t really worth much anymore maybe 6k-8k tops. my other option besides replacing is driving it as is till next summer when i can afford to buy a new car...
one of my concerns is that the 2004 model is close to the 2nd gen, perhaps some of the tranny bugs spilled over to the 2004 model? The light truck Acura trannys were recalled in 2004 so IMHO why could my tl not have a similar issue... also the problem seems to be worse when the air temp outside is warmer say 80 degrees plus.
The car has been Acura dealer serviced since it was brand new, I have all the service records. it was previously my father’s car and he owned a 2nd gen TL before he bought the 2004 model and before that he owned a Honda, and my mother currently owns a civic so I’m hoping Acura will help me out with replacing the tranny.
my situation is that i am a college student and travel 500 miles between where my family lives (I visit a lot) and where my school is located. I’m nervous that the tranny could violently fail on my if it is not replaced ASAP. the dealer told me it could be 5k miles or 10k-20k.
i mean one main reason we buy Honda is to avoid things such as major engine and tranny maintenance.
if you guys could help provide me some advice, or links to help build my argument/plea to Acura that would be amazing!
Judging by the posts on here and some googling it seems that the 3rd gen trannys have a run of issues, even though they were supposedly fixed from the 2nd gen...
please excuse bad grammar/spelling its 3 AM Sunday morning when I’m writing this.

Jaster

At 143k on the transmission do not expect to get any help from Acura but do not give up on that transmission just yet. Try replacing your transmission fluid and there are shift pressure switches that can be replaced easily. Here is one of the many threads you can read here on Acurazine. Good luck

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/110-diy-guide-replacing-3rd-4th-gear-pressure-switch-3g-tl-2004-2006-a-729149/

bbergeron

well my dealer did tell me to try to get acura to help us out we have owned many acura and honda vehicles in my family, and the car was always acura serviced, and honestly there is no reason for a honda transmission to fail at 143k miles when the car was always dealer serviced, the engine can run forever but their auto trannys just suck. i love my TL and im hoping maybe i can just do the temp fixes and run it until i can trade it in, i want a Type S but who doesnt right?

autoftl

I get what you are saying... Should the transmission fail? No, but they do... Before my TL I had a Rsx-S and they are known for transmission problems( Grinding, pop out of gear) same with the new gen Si's .... Good luck getting help from Acura with that many miles.. If you do then I need to go to your dealer... Question.. How was the car driven?? Was it driven very aggressively?? Also prob why it works worse in high heat is due to the transmission running hot and the transmission fluid is breaking down...

Best deal is like the guy said ahead, replacing the transmission fluid( not acura, maybe amsoil, redline, 3x3)... and replacing the switches like stated.. I usually try to take it easy on the car while its warming up... Im at 175k+ on original transmission on a 06 base TL! Im hoping to get another 2 years, if it fails ill get a remanufactored one.. I love the 3g TL's nothing better..

Hope you get everything worked out!

Ruby

change out the 3rd and 4th gear pressure switches soon before its too late.

bbergeron

the car was not driven hard, the majority of the miles were highway miles about 120k in the first 5-6 years, traveling all up and down the east coast and daily trips to the office etc.

would it be worth replacing the tranny if that does end up completely failing? the engine should be fine for many more miles no? and it would need alot more money thrown at it soon such as breaks etc. so im feeling sort of reluctant with all the miles on it to keep throwing money at it if i can trade up to maybe an 07 (would like TL-S) or 08 with 50k miles ish and warranty.

also the thing i dont understand is the tranny seems fine shifting under stiff acceleration (not WOT). the only problems i see with slipping is on a bumpy road around 32 mph it doesnt want to upshift, and when changing from reverse to drive it is slow. it just seems weird to me thats all, but i mean hey im far from an expert.

How often do you guys swap out ur tranny fluid? mine was last done by the dealer about 20k miles ago which is why im a little pissed that if there was a problem it wasnt caught...

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

Take it up with Acura Client services for sure and tell them to help you out. They will after some arguing. They most likely will not cover 100% of it, but they will work out something with you. Most probable solution they will offer you is that they will pay for part and you pay for labor or they will pay for 50% and you cover 50%.

As far as the fluid and switches.. yes its no harm trying that .. but most likely its too late for that type of fix on your tranny. Those things are to be done periodically with lower miles on the tranny ... to preserve it .. so doubt it will help now.

But if you do get it replaced... definitely maintain the tranny by replacing those switches and doing periodic tranny flushes even sooner than the manual say because we have a pretty fussy transmission that needs some TLC.

fabricator

The Shudder your feeling is not from the transmission itself, it is actually coming from the torque converter. this is a very common issue on the Honda side of the coin(model wise) the shudder/judder usually occurs between 25-45 mph. they have attempted to cure this problem with software updates, which works depending on the severity of the shudder/judder. but the normal fix is replacement of the t/c itself. the problem started for the Odyssey in 05' and the fact that these converters are the same across the board for the most part(fwd 3.2/3.5 vehicles) i would look into that.

hope this information helps in your decision.

I hate cars

If you've done all this research, why haven't you replaced the switches and the fluid with type-F? The cure will cost you $150 yet you keep driving it with a shudder, wearing it out more every time it shifts. I don't understand why people would rather shell out $5k than search around and find the $150 cure. Good at full throttle, shudder at part throttle is classic of this problem. The longer you drive it like this, the more wear you put on the clutches every time it shifts and the less chance you have of fixing it cheaply.

I hate cars

Type F fluid cures any torque converter shudder issues. The 4th gear switch also has a role in how quickly the converter locks up which also helps with the shudder.

More often than not, the shudder is the 2-3 shift with the 3rd gear clutch packs slipping and 3-4 with the 4th gear clutch packs slipping.

The switches also cure harsh downshifts and harsh cold shifts.

Elegant TYPE S

iTrader: (2)

Is this you bro?

I hate cars

You have no idea! You can waste months of your time doing the research, writing posts trying to help people out and they still don't bother to search for it. It's as if the racing atf and pressure switch threads have never existed.

fabricator

the only acurate way of determining the issue is with a snapshot of the occurance. irregularities in the torque conveter faces have been a problem in v6 honda trans since 2000 this irregularity prevents the lock-up clutch from engaging smoothlty, causing the trans to rapidly engage/disengage the lock up clutch causing a partial lock up condition or judder. i'm not denying that your quick fix works, i know it does, but ultimately the converter is the issue. i have seen a large decrease in trans replacements due to proper trans troubleshooting and diagnosis. most techs are quick to condem a trans, when simple t/s methods could prevent unneccesary trans replacement.

I hate cars

I agree with you fully about the techs I won't even start on the average tech because it will just get me worked up. The converter lining and Z1 don't work well together. Too much FM in the Z1 causes slipping and shudder in the TCC. You can change either the Z1 or the converter but so far I haven't seen the shudder come back once the Z1 was exchanged for a DexIII or Type F fluid.

fabricator

i'm curious on how the dw-1 will react. i haven't had much use of it yet, we are still in the process of ridding our stock of Z1, joys of a bulk fluid program. its nice to banter with someone who understands the topic. most other forums im on, users don't even begin to have a clue.

I hate cars

Someone sent me a patent application on the new fluid a while back. I wish I could find it but it looked like it used a better, thinner base oil and a FM level close to DexIII levels. There was no direct talk of exactly what base oil or FM level, only comparisons to other fluids and what it hoped to change or accomplish so the above is only my interpretation of it which may be wrong.

I've been out of the industry for quite some time so I only get updated once in a while when I visit old friends.

Do you work at a dealer?

fabricator

once i get some seat time with the DW-1 ill post my findings.

Yes i have spent my 10 year career with different Honda Dealers and or Honda/Acura specialty shops. Im currently with Joe Morgan Honda, Honda Master tech/Foreman.

Any help I can be, im glad to do it.

Ace06

I realize this is an old post but I wanted to say thanks all for the great tips! My '06 started shuddering between 3rd/4th while under casual acceleration (if I gunned it, I wouldn't feel a thing), it got progressively worse, after reading the posts here, I have changed my pressure switches (both 3rd and 4th), and I changed my transmission fluid to Redline (I have 125k miles, I swapped the tranny fluid using Acura OEM stuff at ~80k miles). My car has many highway miles. I swapped out the switches/fluid this past weekend and my tranny/car feels awesome! I'm confident it was the pressure switches acting up, I just hope there was no permanent/lingering damage done (I'm hoping if there were any lingering issues I would've felt them right away?).

Thanks again all, you're awesome!