I have now been to dealer 2x for a shudder that occurs between 30-40 mph on moderate aceleration. BOTH times I have been told they cannot replicate. Yes it's on file (at 47k and again now @ 61k) but I am getting VERY frustrated. Service manager drove car home last night--60 miles plus--with my permission so he could see if he could feel shudder and claims he can't. There IS an issue, I am NOT making this up. Yes, it's on record but enough already......I drove car with them but due to flat terrain near dealership and fact that this is easier to replicate on slight inclines, I wanted him to drive it for a longer period of time. Argh!!!!

 

That's just the hoops you have to jump through. If none of the dealership personnel can duplicate it, and you can't duplicate it while driving with them, then they can't fix it. Period.

 

Exactly, drive it with them in the car and tell them to pay attention when that zone approaches and see if they feel it then.

 

I notice the dealer tech drives with a heavy foot compared to me, so they cant feel the shudder I get at 2nd and 3rd gear shift points, mostly when using very gentle gas saving throttle amount
( I am gen2 on 1st warranty replaced trans with 15k miles on it- been doing it for miles and miles but they cant feel- now its bad they will feel it next week)

In the OPs case: Since the Manager drove it home and couldnt feel it- ask him/her, or for the Head TECH, to go for a ride with you
You can make it do it- do so
Its true- they can only fix what they can find- if its warranty they are happy to do the work- acura pays them for it- if it needs something else- you have them fix it and they know a new problem to watch for on other cars

We tend to be very attuned to our cars every wiggle and what feels different.
The tech drives 10 cars a day- all different and looking and listening for different things on each one.
YOU driving- is the best thing on a test drive- or trade seats with the tech if they cant get it to do it.
Documenting they tried and failed to find is good in case a problem like tranmission failure is in your near future

 

that would be torque convertor shutter. it needs to be replaced

 

Yippppeeee new transmission- well rebuilt transmission~ under warranty!!!!!
Saves me changing the fluid- when they are kind enough to replace the entire unit once a year or so

 

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. Got the car back late on Friday and didn't drive much over the weekend but felt the shudder when I did nonetheless. I am paying very close attention to exact circumstances when the shudder occurs so I can try to replicate with a tech in the car. Dealership is in a geographically flat area and I live in a more hilly area. Easier to replicate the shudder when the car is on a slight incline.

Service manager drives a Vette--I have no doubt that his foot was too heavy "testing" my car. The issue definitely occurs on gentle throttle. I told him that but people drive how they drive. Since I first reported the issue under 50k I am hoping that they do the right thing and cover whatever may be causing the problem--once they can figure out what it is.

Any way for them to determine if torque convertor is bad w/o replicating issue?

 

The tech could not duplicate my shudder so I drove him and got it to do it. He immediately said its the ERG valve. This controls fuel/air mix and as soon as they replaced this (under warranty) everything was fine. When we had the gas crisis, I was forced to run regular gas (i even added octane booster to it) but this is when the problem started. I assume the cheap gas messed the valve up but of course i did not tell the dealer that.

 

Had same problem didn't really know how to describe it so i told the dealer it actually felt like a transmission slip for 1 or 2 seconds and then back to normal when switching from 2 to 3 gear around 30-40mph. They installed new transmission. Getting my car back today. I'll see if that took care of it.

 

reddy1980,

I am having this same problem with my 05 with 39k on it. Right at about 35mph on flat ground the car shakes for a second or two and then is fine. Doesnt do it at any other speed.
The only other thing is that at 45mph I do get a little vibration.
Is this similar to what you were experiencing? Or different?
And was your dealer easy to deal with in terms of getting a new tranny?
Sorry for so many questions but it would really help me cause Im seeing the dealer about it next Monday.
Thanks in advance to anyone responding.

 

I had their senior tech ride with me to duplicate this, he has been with Acura for 18 years. He was quick to rule out tranny, and torque converter and immediately said it was ERG values. They replaced it and it works fine. They have it in their notes that tranny was ruled out so if it becomes a problem in the near future they should still cover it. I was hoping for a new tranny but if it works, it works.

 

I have had the same problem on my '04 with 30k on it. I am a honda technician and was hoping it was an EGR valve problem as well,so I have replaced it and it's been ok since. But I know they have tranny problems so I still think it may be a torque conv/trans problem.

 

I had a noticeable, consistant and daily shudder occurring at light throttle, between 1200-1700 rpms. After 3 visits to the dealer it was resolved. It actually ended up being the torque converter. Dealer consulted Acura for correct solution to diagnosis, and the part was then ordered and replaced under warrantly. I am happy that the tech was able to diagnose the problem, and they did a great job.

My experience has been that (imho) the service writers tend not to really listen, and I don't think they pass along all pertinent info to the techs. On my last visit I had to put my foot down and kindly insist that they resolve the issue. There is no way that they could have missed this shuddering on the first two visits if they had listened to my instructions, as it was just too severe to miss. But, all in all, they did a great job fixing the car, and I appreciate it.

08 TL w/ nav 41k miles

 

I had the same problem on mine,the dealer could never find the problem so they suggested they do the tranny flush?? Stopped for about a month then came back?? UGH Believe it or not it might be your CV joints,I replaced mine (both sides) and haven't had that problem since?? Just a thought.....

 

I recently noticed a slight slight shudder on my car and since I changed the 3rd and 4th pressure switch it went away completely.

 

You guys know that this is usually worn out axles and is a very common problem on our TL's right?

The problem goes away when you switch the car into triptronic and down shift into 4th but u can still keep the speed the same.