Last Friday my check engine light came on so I took my car to the dealer. Found out that there's something wrong w/ my transmission. I'm getting my car back today, and if the problem persists (the car would occassionally jerk harshly when shifting gears) Acura will put in a new transmission. Has anyone else had this problem--the car jerking when shifting?

 

Wonder if Acura is still installing the oil jet on the 2005 models? Does this "jerking" action only occur in first and second? Or is it a problem in a five gears?

 

If you want all the gorry details about transmission problems go to the CL forum, the transmission recall sub-forum. You will find a very long thread about data Acura released to the NHTSA (the CL uses the same auto trans as the second generation TL). As a 2G TL owner this whole issue gave me nightmares.

You will find that the oil jet fix is not needed after a certain 2004 VIN number since the fix was made permanent inside the transmission housing. Also bear in mind that the oil jet fixed a very rare (less than 1% of all TLs) and very serious and potentially fatal problem where the transmission would lock up completely at speed. The much much more common problem of 3rd gear clutch pack failure was addressed with a series of small changes that did not seem to do much good with the second generation CL and TL. The symptom of this is a sudden down shift from 5th to 2nd gear as the 3rd gear clutch disintegrates and clogs up the transmission fluid. For example, Acura changed manufacturing tolerances to give the cluch plates more friction, increased diameters of some lubricating holes, and so on, and so on.

As to the transmission in the third gen TL, Acura is being very secretive about what was changed.

 

Did you car feels slow from a start when you have done a lot of city driving ?

 

When about to change gears, it feels like the car is braking slightly, then my head gets jerked back slightly. Like a sticky transamission. Also sometimes when accelerating, the RPMs goes up for 1/4-1/2 a sec before the automatic tranny clutches down into gear.

 

I've noticed a few hard shifts on my TL which is approaching 6 months old and 5K miles. I may be over sensitive, but it seems to occur when the tranny is 'hunting' for a gear change between 1st and 2nd when traveling slow, such as stop & go traffic or hunting for a parking space. I feel a light tug, as if the brake was applied, the thump into gear. In normal driving and under acceleration it seems fine. I've been stuck in traffic a lot lately so it may be why I noticed it a few times now.

I am approaching my 1st service call in about a month, so I will monitor it and determine if I need to alert the service manager.

Keep us posted on your findings.

 

^ Yeah, I experience the same thing as you TampaMike. In stop and go traffic, i feel some slight slugging between 1st and 2nd. Under normal driving and acceleration its smooth as paper=)

 

When you do a lot of city driving ty if you can to launch your car from a stop like if you were racing and see what feeling it gives you. For me i 'm not able to make the wheels spinning and the car feel versy slow untill it reaches 4500 rpm, even in manual mode. I always waiting for Acura to find the problem, IMO it's transmission. 3 months thst i ve been waiting for Acura Canada find a solution. My car accelerate like a civic, really disapointing.

 

I can't say I drive that aggressively, but I notice no problem with normal to aggressive acceleration. I can easily chirp the tires. I only noticed a few times where the shift between 1st & 2nd was clumsy while I was maintaining a slow roll at a speed where the tranny was likely looking to shift. Me thinks this is a byproduct of the smart transmissions that 'learn' your driving habits. The tranny seemed to be 'hunting' for a gear change and my feather touch of the accelerator 'confused' the tranny as to when to shift. Perhaps this is a characteristic I have read called 'tip in', or the tuning balance between accellerator and tranny response? I've only noticed it a few times so it may be an inherent trait of the tranny and not necessarily a defect. Considering how smooth it is otherwise, it likely made me notice those few clumsy shifts. When I drove in today, it was seamless. After driving my associate's Murano, that seemless CVT may have put me into analysis paralysis!

 

I've had my '05 TL for 2 months and I've experienced the same "tug" at low speeds only. Feels like it's down shifting too soon, causing it to drop into higher RPMs. I'm taking mine in to service tomorrow.

 

Well, let us know how your service appointment went! I complained about it. They test drove it, and they said they it was fine.