teejizzle

Hi everyone,

Please excuse my long post, but it seems that there are a lot of well informed members here and I want to provide as much detail around the situation as possible.

I was driving my 2005 TL around 65 mph on an interstate last Saturday when suddenly I noticed that my RPMs became very sensitive to pressure on the accelerator. I lightly pressed down on the accelerator and my RPMs jumped past 3K with no noticeable increase in my speed. When I let go of the gas, my RPMs immediately dropped back below 2K. I didn't notice anything particularly strange at lower speeds.

I realized something was wrong and pulled over right away. I opened the hood of my car and was greeted with some white smoke and a rancid burning smell, as if rubber or plastic was burning. Concerned, I gingerly drove to the closest auto repair shop. There, the auto tech (no certified mechanic was available) informed me that there was burnt transmission fluid all over the bottom of my car but couldn't find the source of the leak. He rubbed some off and showed me the difference between the fluid found and normal automatic transmission fluid (dark brown vs. light red). I also found that the dark brown fluid was the source of the smell, as normal transmission fluid is almost scentless. He recommended that I slowly drive the car back to a trusted repair shop closer to my residence (I was about 50 miles from home at the time).

I drove my car back to a large Acura dealer/repair shop (on the way there was no smell, smoke, or RPM jumps which I thought was weird) and informed them of the situation. They ran a diagnostic and told me they needed to run a dye through my transmission to identify the source of the leak. So I received a loaner car and they went to work with running the dye through my transmission. I was then told over the phone several hours later that the dye hadn't shown through any leaks and that they needed to keep the car overnight to try running a few more miles on it to help the dye come through. Now a day later (today), I received a call and was informed that the mechanic found no leaks in the transmission or elsewhere under the hood and couldn't even find burnt transmission fluid in the transmission.

This sounds impossible to me. Any thoughts? How could I have burnt transmission fluid all over the bottom of my car and have it affect my driving experience and yet there be no signs of a problem a day later?


Also, the Acura repair guy recommended that I get a timing belt and water pump replacement for $1,200 due to the fact that it's 8 years old. Does this sound reasonable? Should I replace now or wait?

Thanks in advance!

teejizzle

Additional information:

The Acura repair shop recommended a full transmission fluid flush (multiple times in fact because they need to flush out the dye completely).

kpc2593

Where was the smoke coming from? Near the transmission or near the power steering pump? My power steering pump hose was leaking and it would it would drip on the engine it would just burn up and cause smoke and the smell you speak of. Power-steering fluid is dark brown. Turns out there was a recall for the hose and it was fixed up with now problem. Now today, my pump is leaking but other than that everything is fine.

As for the timing belt, they are correct. It's either 105k miles or 7 years, whichever comes first. I'd get that done immediately but not for 1200. Browse around and call up some honda dealerships for a better deal.

3rdGenHybrid

Where are you located? Sounds like the Acura dealer is trying to con you into a trans flush. The dye put into the oil/trans fluid/power steering is not harmful to leave in. So why would they need to flush it out? Smh, I would have someone you know or trust take a look under the car. As for the timing belt job, if you were located in New England, I could get this done for you around $550 with genuine oem parts.

I hate cars

It most likely overheated and pushed fluid out of the vent tube on top of the trans. Once the fluid boils it can no longer build much hydraulic pressure and you get slippage.

It's the chicken or the egg thing. Did the fluid overheat because of slipping clutches or did the fluid overheat because the torque converter clutch was not engaging and the hot fluid caused the slippage.

Once Acura gets their head out of their asses which they probably won't, they will just recommend a new transmission, but if they do and once they tell you the fluid overheated and puked out the breather, maybe they can troubleshoot the TCC.

teejizzle

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The Acura shop called back again and said they'd like to keep the car for one more night/day of inspection on the transmission. They still haven't found anything wrong with the car.

I hate cars

They're not going to find anything wrong by running diagnostics and staring at it unless the maximum transmission fluid temp is stored. They need to take it out on the freeway for an hour to recreate it. If you had a ton of burned smelling fluid coming out when it failed and now there's nothing coming out, it 100% burped out of the vent on top due to excessive heat. Maybe you can suggest that to them, sometimes they need the help.

3rdGenHybrid

Unless they power washed your underside and degreaser the crap out of it... They should have seen trans fluid under your car. It's not easy getting oil/trans fluid off... Someone's lying

pohljm

What IHC said! Also there is no 7 or 8 year requirement for the timing belt change its required when the MID tells you. You definitely want to do a 3x3 to replace that burned fluid. And if they cant tell it came out of the vent from overheating i would go to a different mechanic for sure.

carz0159

It is 7 years or every 100,000 or so miles. The MID will never tell you to get a new timing belt. If you're waiting for it, your notification will happen when the belt snaps as your driving down the highway and you need to rebuild or replace your engine.

how many miles does the car have?

Will Y.

If the MID displays "A4" or "B4" as a service code, the timing belt is to be changed. The manual says that service code "4" includes changing the timing belt and spark plugs.

The 3G TL is NOT on a time or mileage-based maintenance schedule.

3rdGenHybrid

Any honda j series timing belt is on a 7 year 105k mile interval. weather you need it or not is on you. i tell my customers its peace of mind to get it changed when its due, either years or mileage, because every car is different, dry rot, or use....it will need to be done. As for the fluid leak, i hope you find a reputable technician to diagnose your issue properly.

kpc2593

That's weird, never got that code and I was at 107k miles. Always been told either 7 years or 105k miles.

I hate cars

I think my timing belt alert was close to 110k.

pohljm

I challenge you to show me any acura/honda documentation that specifies the timing belt change for the Jseries in the TL is a standard mileage/time based requirement! It is not! It is only required when the MID instructs you too. 105k - 110k seems typical. Plenty triggered well after 7 years.

I am not saying that 100k/7 years is not prudent. Its just not factory specified as such.

3rdGenHybrid

You just said yourself 105k miles is about when the mid says to change it...... 7 years with a new standard of 15k miles a year is.....? 105k miles..... I never said Honda said to change it exactly at 7/105. Maybe I should have clarified that's when a dealer will recommend replacement. But just like engine oil, I'll replace it at 3k miles before I ever let the oil life tell me 15%. And I'll replace timing belts at 7 years, 105k before I wait for a notification.

pohljm

some are less than 100k, some over 110k the point is the interval is based upon the MID, certainly not when the stealership tells you. What you said was ANY Honda J series is on a 105/7 schedule which is a myth that people need to understand.

acuratlsocal

I have same issue on 2006 acura tl. It's lowered on teins with aftermarket wheels. They are bit heavier than stocks. I was traveling north on 15 when this happened.. What can I do to resolve this problem. Different type of fluid? Adding a cooling system?