As some of you may remember, I recently posted about the transmission issue that I was having (see here: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/hopefully-not-transmission-slipping-821740/)

I had my mechanic look at it to confirm that it was the torque converter having the problem.

Since my car was at the shop already, I had my mechanic perform the timing belt and spark plug services (I'm at 107K miles). I picked up my car today and it drove fine for about 10-15 minutes before issues started cropping up.

First, I was slowing down (due to traffic) and then proceeded to accelerate when the car would not go faster. The RPMs shot up to 4-5K, but the car itself did not speed up. I was near my exit so decided to pull off the freeway (slowing down). However, when I tried to accelerate (not from a complete stop), the car again did not speed up again. Thus, basically coasted to a complete stop at a traffic light. Upon turning green, I pushed the gas pedal and the car just stalled. The engine revved, but the car itself did not move one inch.

Eventually I was able to get the car to move again by turning off/on the car a few times and then pressing the gas pedal right after turning on the car. It would essentially not go any higher than 20mph and then proceeded to stall again. I could not even make it up a small hill since the car was stalling out.

Thus, I did the whole turning off/on thing again, put it in L this time, and drove to a nearby parking lot (more like limped). I turned off the car one more time, turned it back on, and drove home. On the way home (a few blocks away), the acceleration was very notchy and there were a few moments where the car again would not accelerate much (speed was never more than 20mph).

In all of the issues above, the engine/motor itself would rev just fine, but the car itself would not move. Thus, I don't think this is an engine-specific issue per se.

My question is: Is it possible for the car to behave this way due to a bad timing belt service? Could the parts have been installed poorly causing the issues above, or are the issues solely due to a failing transmission?

This is clearly not good for me. I really gotta call ACS asap to see what they can do for me. In the mean time, I have to rule out a bad TB service job.

 

sounds like the transmission

 

I had almost the same situation when my trans died. I was turning left and the car wasn't accelerating. I stopped on a side, restarted it and it was in limp mode (20mph) and went to a parking lot. Acura said the code was for internal transmission failure.

 

Interesting thing about this experience today is that it did NOT result in a CEL...

I guess I'll limp it to the dealership after I call ACS. RIP transmission. The thing is, I know I'll pay to replace it, but hopefully as little as possible. Time to roll up the sleeves and get ready for a fight... ugh!

 

On a related note, how much does a "new" (ahem, new as in remanufactured) transmission cost (parts only)? How many hours of labor does it take to remove the existing tranny and put in the new one? I'm trying to get an idea of what to expect if I do this via Acura or via an independent mechanic (in the event that Acura doesn't goodwill any of this).

 

Mine when free reving in gear did not throw any codes either. The techs had to hook up their computer and record it when it happened to send to Acura before they would approve the tranny replacement. I have heard the cost is about 5K but not certain. U should see if they will goodwill a portion of it.

 

Yeah, free revving is a good way to describe what is happening with my TL. This is definitely reproduceable. The car is simply NOT SAFE to drive like this.

 

Last time I asked my local shop, shop owner called it in to his supplier (Acura) he was told $2300-$2500+/- with 3yr 36k warranty. Just for trans.

 

The OTD price on a transmission at a dealer is around 5500 dollars with labor and tax and shipping included. Acura might not do the work if they see any marks from the work your mechanic did on the transmission

 

No work done on the transmission at all. I was originally going to make the switch to Type F or D4, but decided against it for now. I was also going to swap the pressure sensor switches, but didn't do it. In short, the only thing the mechanic did was the TB and SP services, both of which have nothing to do with the transmission.

But yeah, I'm sure Acura will do everything they can do "deny" me any goodwill. I'm going to call them tomorrow.

 

Wait, by stall, are you saying the engine was dying?

 

My fault for the misnomer. By stall, what I mean is that the car would not move foward, despite pressing on the accelerator. However, the difference from a typical "stall" is that the engine was free revving without the accompanying movement forward. Engine definitely was not dying...

 

I would take it to the dealer and have them reproduce the issue while hooked up to the computer and have them send the snapshot of whats happening to Acura because this condition is really not safe at all. That is what they did on mine under warranty, but hopefully they will see that its a safety issue and give you some goodwill. I would think and indie mechanic can do the tranny for 3500

 

In that case, unless the fluid level is very low, it's probably the trans.

 

So I took in the car to the dealership today. Re-explained the entire debacle and my service advisor understood it very well. He said he even heard some interesting sounds from my transmission when he turned on the engine. My situation is perhaps the best it possibly could be since I've done everything to maintain the car to a T, even beyond. I'm the original owner, and I've done all my services at Acura (except for the TB/SP service). All of these are factors they consider.

Now begins the process by which he'll speak to the service manager, then the latter will speak to the district parts & service manager. The district p&s manager has the final decision as to how much to goodwill.

Wish me luck!

 

Oh and in the mean time, I got a 2011 TL w/ the Tech Package as a loaner. Sweeeeeet!

 

^ rather have my touch screen lol

 

Yeah, some people aren't fond of the big dialstick. I do like the clarity of the new nav screen though! Makes mine look like it's powered by an NES!

 

Update: Acura has agreed to goodwill nearly 85% of the cost of replacement/install of the tranny! In my case, they said that practically every factor worked in my favor (length of ownership, maintenance record, etc). I do think that one thing that might have worked against me is the recent TB/SP service that I did at an independent mechanic. Of course, I do have 107K miles on the car, so in their eyes, this is the best they can do.

Final cost: $914!

A helluva lot better than $5,500!!!

Personally, I must say that the dealership really went to bat for me and my service advisor deserves a great deal of praise and credit. [I'm not going to reveal the identifying details since clearly things like this are evaluated on a case-by-case basis]

 

Wow, covering 85% of the cost at 107K miles is awesome!

 

It's nice they're doing that but when you figure in the $200 worth of parts to rebuild a trans, the tech's time, and the builder's time, Acura is still making a few bucks on this.

 

Yeah, they are certainly NOT losing money on this... Let's hope I don't have to do this again for the new (ahem rebuilt) one... Definitely a swap of the fluid for D4 or Type F is in order...

 

Plus they already gouged you of prices for all the other regular maintenance they did for your car, you probably paid them in excess of 5 transmission swaps.

 

thats awesome they did this for you at 107k miles

 

Haha, ain't that the truth... Of course, they could have just not helped me at all, and I would still have to fix it... Nice to know that I "banked" the goodwill through the years.. Time to withdraw the "savings"!