This past Saturday a few things happened while I was driving my 2005 5AT TL:

1. On the freeway, during stop and go traffic, I was driving at various speeds, and right around 30-40 mph, the car all of a sudden downshifted, resulting in a spike in engine RPM to 6K. I braked a bit to bring the RPMs (and speed) down to below 2.5K before I accelerated again. Upon accelerating, the RPMs went up to 4K, but got "stuck" there for a tiny bit of time before it settled back down to 1.8K at around 60-65mph.

2. After I made it to my final destination, I began to park (on perfectly level road) and noticed that the car failed to move forward on its own when in D. The car stuttered eventually and caught on, thereby going forward after a few seconds.

Since then, the CEL came on, and I've noticed that sometimes the acceleration is a bit "sticky". That is, the RPM needle does not come down as fast after gear shifts, which to me indicates a sloppy shift (hard time going from 2nd to 3rd).

Strange thing is, the gear shifting is perfect if I firmly press on the gas pedal (not full throttle or pedal to the metal, but a good solid and sustained press). However, if I lightly "feather" the pedal, it seems to struggle shifting from 1st to 2nd and less so from 2nd to 3rd.

Additionally, it might have been my imagination, but one other issue was that there was an extra "stop" (may have been a gearing issue) while I was stopping while driving around 40mph.

I have nearly 107K miles on the car, and did a full 3x3 ATF (Z1 unfortunately) exchange at around 93K miles. Pressure switches have not yet been changed.

Fast forward: The CEL cleared on its own today earlier this evening. I haven't had any other issues yet, although I've admittedly been driving as "boring" as possible to not press the car before I bring it to my mechanic.

What do you guys think? Is my tranny screwed? Or could this be a good warning that I should change/do something before any BIG damage is done?

 

What was the code? sounds like tranny failure to me. I have experienced both #1 and #2 and have two new transmissions to show for it.

 

sigh...dam all these transmission issues...mine is slipping 2-3 shift

 

I didn't get to bring it to a shop to check the code. Since the CEL cleared on its own, does this mean I won't be able to retrieve the code?

 

Also: Unfortunately my warranty just ran out at 105K, so I'm sure Acura won't help me out here.. Go figure right? 2K miles after the warranty runs out this happens to me...

 

The code will be stored. Acura may goodwill some part of the repair if needed.

 

Yeah, I guess spending $2500 is better than $5000, but it still sucks, since I specifically knew that the transmission would be an issue and hence did all the preventative things I could (fluid swaps), except for perhaps the switches.

I'm going to have my personal mechanic see what he thinks first, since Acura charges $145 for the diagnostic.. WTF?!

 

Tomorrow's the day I take in the car... I wonder how likely this will be chalked up to just bad switches... *crosses fingers*

 

Update: My mechanic called me just now to let me know the torque converter is bad (code PO470). FUUUUUUUUU!

He said that when he looked at the trans fluid, it was super dirty. This is where I got upset because the dealership had just supposedly did a 3x3 13,000 miles ago (and I did another less than a year before that). I called the dealership and they explained that certainly I have done everything to maintain the car, including many preventative items, thus it does look good that Acura may goodwill the cost of replacing the transmission. Of course I feel that Acura should pick up the whole thing since I've been bringing up the transmission issues well before my warranty expired. Besides, they acknowledged that I've been a very soft driver as well, so clearly my transmission was not as reliable as some others.

Bottom line: I now have to call ACS to begin the long journey towards getting this taken care of. I probably will have to pay something, but hopefully it's not anywhere close to the total $5K.

 

That really sucks, man! My wife and I just bought a 2007 Type S 5spd/auto yesterday, and didn't notice until after we bought it there seems to be a slight slip when just cruising between 35-45 mph. It's not bad but still slightly noticeable. Also it seems to have a firm down shift from 2nd to 1st when slowing down. The car was well maintained, and has 109k on it. The original owner had the tranny flushed at the recommended mileage. I hope this isn't going to be what we have to look forward to!

 

I guess that's the rub.. You never know what you're going to get, even if the car is meticulously maintained... I guess the ONLY thing I didn't do was change the pressure sensor switches... I'm going to have my mechanic change them tomorrow -- $75 to potentially limit any further damage is not a bad way to spend money.

 

This may sound stupid but it's worth a shot, replace your pressure switches and try redline. If that doesn't work, i don't think it would hurt to put in a bottle of that lucas trans slip oil. Yes many say it's snake oil but I know someone who put it in a chevy and held up along time.

 

is it just me or does it seem like everyone (AT) has ugly shifting between 2nd and 3rd? My car has 88k, and it has always been a concern. The shift with a light pedal delivers a "bump" feel. Sign of impending doom?

 

Dunno about the Lucas shit, but the pressure switches and Redline may actually save your tranny. Skip the D4 and go with the Type F.
Contact ACS immediately and see what they will do for you. When the tranny in my '00TL went out, they took care of everything (towing, parts, & labor) and it did not cost me a cent. Of course, I was still under warranty at the time, but they had extended the warranty on those models to 107K, I believe. Bottom line is it was a great experience for me and one reason I bought another Acura TL (06).
demon-cleaner, the downshift during braking is normal. Its a feature called "Grade Logic" which uses the transmission to assist in braking downhill.

 

Thanx dwb993. I had a feeling that was something normal. I was HOPING that was normal! Love the car!

 

I just ordered the Redline Racing (Type F) today, along with the pressure sensor switches. My mechanic will be installing them, along with doing the TB and SP services.

I'm definitely hoping the RR ATF and swap of the switches will prevent any further damage. To be honest I don't even know if I want to deal with ACS, since even if they goodwill 1/2 the cost, it will still cost $2,500, which I don't have any willingness to spend at this point (baby is coming, about to close escrow on a new home!).

I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

By the way, for anyone wanting to order RR Type F, I think Amazon has the best deal. My shipping was TWO DAY free because I used my free trial of Amazon Prime. Definitely the way to go!

 

call ACS up and talk to them! ACS covered the cost on my transmission replacement and I just had to pay for shipping and tax on the new one which came out to around 800 dollars. Tell them of your situation and they will try. Don't DEMAND a new one, tell them that you are upset that you brought it up so many times and it wasn't fixed and now when it fails completely you are in no situation to afford it with a baby and house!

Acura isn't a bunch of heartless people, they have been going over and beyond what I expected from a company to do and that is precisely why I will get a honda product, because they will stand behind it.

 

You may have just convinced me... I guess it doesn't hurt to try. I'll still do the fluid exchange and pressure switches swap on my current transmission, and then call them up next week.

I do "believe" in Hondas, and I think how this situation ends up being handled could seriously sway any future decision to buy another Honda.

 

Instead of using the Type F fluid, use D4 so honda won't back out and say that an incompatible fluid caused the issue!

 

I think someone else said something like around the lines of not volunteering more information than you ever have to. I plan on telling them I have D4 in there.

We all know Type F doesn't cause any issue, except in order to be considered "playing by the book", we have to say it's D4.

 

Random related question: My mechanic is doing the timing belt service on my car right now. If I get Acura to replace the transmission, would I have just wasted my money on the TB service? Or are all the TB parts not related to the transmission?

 

timing belt is separate from the whole transmission portion!

 

Update: I've decided to not swap the fluid or the switches until after I do my song-and-dance with ACS. That way, they can see everything as it is now. Also this way I don't waste any of the fluid/parts if I do get the tranny swapped.

I'll probably call ACS next week, so I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

 

Thank you by the way... I had to make sure..