NYC2LATL

I have been reading these forum for some time now but decided to join finally the other week. there has been a lot of great information to learn and i wanted to go ahead and share my recent experience. i have a 2004 TL with 50400 miles on it. i pride myself in taking good care of it. i was having the transmission shutter that many had talk about. several said they ended up with gear chip and others fixed it through transmission fluid changes. i took my car into Power Acura in Torrance, CA they didn't find the problem (or never tried to) and told me i could have my fluid change and that they would fix it, if after paying them 75+ dollars to do that it didn't work then i could come back and they would go to the next step. well i didn't buy that at all. I took it to Santa Monica Acura, the dealer i prefer and they took the car, found the problem and have since contacted me letting me know i would have my transmission changed and Acura would pick up the bill. they suggested no fluid change, didn't try and charge me me any such thing. speaking of charging, the other Acura dealer (torrance) said that i had to accept a 180 dollar charge for them checking the car and if a problem was found and i chose not to pay them to fix it i would have to pay this fee. well the Santa Monica one never asked for such a fee at all. all i can say is some dealers are better then other and if it doesn't feel right trust yourself. also never go to POWER ACURA in Torrance California. they are trying to rip you off. i have never felt so uncomfortable at a dealer before.

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

I'm glad you got it fixed!

Khisanth

I also have a 2004 Acura TL with 50K miles and auto tranny. I used to have the shutter, but haven't noticed it in quite a while. I do have a loud transmission whine in first and second gear when accelerating. When I took it for diagnosis at Acura Torrance they charged me the same and said the whine normally developed on these cars and was not a problem. I didn't believe this so I went to Santa Monica Acura for diagnosis on the tranny. They confirmed that whine and checked the transmission fluid and said something is definitely not right. I did however have to pay their $250 diagnosis fee. At this point the sales rep wanted me to gather all paper work regarding my car services and he would contact acura to see if anything could be done. He wasn't as positive about Acura covering though.

cellph titled

That whine coming from your transmission, what was the root to that problem? Is it serious? I have the same whine sound and would like to know about it.

Khisanth

I still have it. Basically once I told the Acura dealers that I had changed my transmission fluid in September and two months later it was black and dirty they said there is definitely a problem. They couldn't specify exactly what it was, but that it was not correct. I am going to go back to the original tech with my paper work and we are going to contact Acura service and see if we can get some help from Acura. I don't know if the OP had an extended warranty or not, but ti sounded like he was able to get his tranmission replaced past the factory warranty. If Acura doesn't want to help, I'll prolly trade in the car for like an 06 or 07 TL and then buy an extended warranty. The price of a new transmission and labor to install it will prolly match what it takes me to move to a newer year of the car.

Khisanth

Hey NYC2LATL, was your car still under warranty? Also, would you let me know who you dealt with at the Santa Monica Acura dealer? I would like to work with someone who has done this recently as the rep might be able to help me out the same way.

SpecTro

iTrader: (2)

Sorry for Hijacking you thread but i want to mention that i also had a great experience with SM Acura. I had an issue with my VSA. my braking was all fucked up, and though it took me a few drives there to get them to look at it, once i showed them a bulletin from Acura regarding the VSA module they went ahead and changed it without further questioning.

Ricardo is the service tech i dealt with, great guy.


I have an 04 too, but havent experience any of your symptoms, i had changed the sensors and fluid a while back.

good with with your car and let us know how it goes.

88hybrid

The low speed shudder, at light throttle imput is a Torque converter issue.

NYC2LATL

Hey Guys, sorry i didn't get back on here sooner. the guy i have been dealing with is Robert. he has been the man. taking care of everything and keeping me informed the whole way. he got everything covered that needed to be fix. he handled the tranny completely on acura's dime. i had actually bought the extended warranty for $1500 back when i got the car so im covered for 7 year 100,000 miles. My TL is an 04 so i have just a few years left but it has paid for itself for sure by this point.

NYC2LATL

im picking the car up tuesday when i head up cause im down in the south bay so getting up to santa monica take a little time. but i'll let you know how it drives with 50K on the motor and 0K on the tranny!

Khisanth

So I've taken my car into Santa Monica Acura to see what they can offer me in regards to my transmission whine. I did not purchase the extended warranty and hope Acura will see fit to replacing my transmission for free as my car is a 2004 with 54K miles.

Khisanth

After Santa Monica Acura explaining my case to Acura, they have come up with a 75/25 deal. Acura will cover 75% of a transmission replacement and I will cover the other 25%. This will come out to about $1100 on my part apparently. I'm not sure if I should just leave it or follow up with Acura and try to get them to cover it all. My warranty has expired and I did not buy the extended care. Any thoughts?

88hybrid

Take what you get on a car out of factory warranty.

djflex167

mines have 55109 miles so far so good!! fingers crossed lol.

Majofo

Sounds like a good deal. You're basically paying labor.