Acutron

Hope everyone is having better luck with their TL's than I have been.

I was wondering does anyone on here know of a contact # for ACURA customer complaints besides the one for Client Relations, as they are utterly useless over there.


Let me begin and maybe some of my fellow Type S owners can weigh in on this.

Last month I started having the notorious 3rd gear issues with it popping out once engaged (This is on the manual transmission)

Then I start noticing , what I can only describe as 'whining' in 4th and 5th gears at 2500 RPM in 4th and 2000RPM in 5th. When I took the car to the dealership I advised the service reps of my issues. They made note on the service form that my issue was with 4th gear whining and no mention of 5th. The resolution on the form states they advised me of faulty synchros and they performed the 3rd gear TSB. When I went to go pick up the car, I noticed 1st and 2nd gears were extremely notchy. After signing the paperwork and going back out to the car, 1st gear would not engage. He then advises me we need to duplicate the issue and sure as shit when he jumps in the car, it starts shifting. So I advise them I will keep an eye on it and sure enough the car was back in the shop the next day. So after being without the car for roughly a week and a half I finally get the car back and to my dismay, when the service manager and I go for a spin I still hear the whining that was not there until my 3rd gear issue set on. I tell him i want the noise eliminated and he tells me this is a normal characteristic of the car. Which to me coming from a car maker that puts itself in the same class as Lexus and BMW, this is utterly unacceptable. We exchange some words and I tell him how I feel about hat and I am on my way. The next week after that I was having all kinds of 1st gear hang ups/ failure to engage. I documented each instance and felt that this was unsatisfactory as I should not have to worry about whether or not my car will go into gear. So I make the dreaded mistake of calling client relations. I tell them of my issues and I had set up an appointment with another dealership. I mean why would I go back to the same dealer after they tore my transmission apart two times and made my problems worse? I take it to anther dealership and they advise me that they are not able to duplicate my issues with the whines and the gear hangups. So a week goes by and I go to get the car and go for a test run with their service guy. I am thinking that I am about to show him exactly what I am talking about and the car goes into gear. We take a drive and they claim they did nothing to the car, it is now shifting into 1st gear consistently. I told the service guy to be serious with me becasue I was convinced they changed something. He tells me this is not the case. that aside I show him my gear whines and he advises me this is normal???? The dealership basically refuses to admit this is an issue but I know from user experience that my car was not making any of these noises before the transmission issues.

Maybe some of my fellow Type S peeps can weigh in on this. Is it normal for a 6MT to hear the trans/differential in certain gears/RPMS to the point where you can hear it over your stereo? Because now I am in a spat with client relations telling me that if the dealer says it's a normal characteristic of the car then I am SOL which is BULL SHIT. The noise is to the point where I can hear it when my stereo is on. I told the client relations lady this and I also advised her that this type of noise is not normal in any car. Bottom line is I am stuck with a car that has been through 2 dealerships and they refuse to get my car running the way it was before all my transmission issues. WTF ACURA???


Can anyone weigh in on if this is normal 'characteristic' or does anyone know of a contact higher up the corporate ladder? This whole ordeal has been beyond frustrating and none of the people there seem to care about how much time I waste from work/life/etc to get these issues addressed to this point. And my car is still not back to the way it was before the issues set on. Because it's to the point where I am about to list this thing for sale and say fuck honda/acura. The car does not even have 35k on the odometer. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks as usual everyone!

What's funny is Acura's whole ordeal about being these technological modern marvels and their saying..... ACURA....... Advance.

It's funny because I have been trying to advance with them but they can't seem to advance to the point of having basic mechanical concepts intact in their vehicles that have been around since before I started driving.
Does anyone else see the humor in that????????????????????????

Cheap Clutch pedal
Noisy Transmissions
Rattles
Flaky Transmissions


And these are the cars SHIELD is driving around in? Boy oh boy we are in a world do hurt if that's the case......

DaeHanMeenGuk

TIL S.H.I.E.L.D. is a an agency that exists irl

There have been plenty of threads regarding your issue. The GM Synchromesh seems to be a popular "fix", although results may vary. If the car is giving you that much trouble, sell it and buy a Prius. Those things are absolutely quiet.

Acutron

That last remark about SHIELD was for added sarcasm. Acura's advertisements are as fictitious as the agency. Maybe I missed the mark. Maybe I am being too picky. The thing is buyers need to beware that ACURA and customer service don't mix like 2 dicks and no chicks. Get my drift?


So what you are saying is that the Synchromesh in some instances, masks the noises? I knew about it making the transmission shift silky smooth but haven't heard about it drowning out the noises.

Maybe I will give it another shot with the juice after I get the GD power steering recall done and get them to do the TSB on my POS clutch pedal creaking, clicking, & sluggish.

I am almost to the point where Honda won;t be getting any more of my hard earned dollars going forward unless they make drastic changes. I work for a company that wins JD Powers awards and if we treated our customers the same way Acura treated me, we would be out of business.


And on a side note my Boss just got rid of his Honda for a Prius and he loves it. I know you were being a smarty pants with that last remark but they are good cars. It's a cool car, just not what I am looking for. Seems if I can't resolve and get past all these issues from such a pristine manufacturer then I may just dump the car and go back to the 90's when shit just worked and all I had to do was maintain the GD car and not look back.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

Change your MT fluid to GM Synchro. Simple.

I've never had a problem with Acura.

Just because you're having a problem with 1 dealership and 1 phone number doesn't mean the brand sucks. Check your MyAcura.com account for full #'s or ask your local dealership/any dealership through phone.

Acutron

Won't go back to my local dealership and they are the ones who put me in the boat I am in now. I guess I should have learned my lesson with my CL, but being the brand advocate that I am/was , I bought in again, and again I am having issues. 2nd Type S(hit) and 2nd set of transmission issues.

And yes as far as customer service goes, the brand has room for improvement.


Since you are the second to weigh in (thanks for that) I will give the juice a go. I ran it in my 06 and it cleared up my notchy issues, but even in that car, I never heard the GD transmission making noises over my GD stereo.

NBP04TL4ME

I have an 08 TL-S and had the 3rd gear problem, but also had the problem resolved by my dealer. They replaced the 3rd gear synchro and I have been relatively trouble free since. I say relatively only because once in a blue moon, it will kick out. I haven't needed to take the plunge on the GM stuff, but have been thinking about it.

I haven't had the other issues you have relayed but am now starting to hear the passenger's side front door lock actuator complain a little.

06NH6MTTL

iTrader: (1)

I don't want to post my whole story because it makes me incredibly upset that i own this piece of shit but my car had the 3rd gear pop out which evolved to the 3rd gear grind i dropped off the car at Ferman Acura in tampa and its been there for 22 days and the only thing they have done is remove the transmission and then call me to tell me i have to opt for a used tranny for $4000 and a new one for $7700 because they cant get the case to open up. I have called everyone in client relations and spoke with Julie (secretary of John Mendel CEO) and they did nothing but tell me i am 5 months out of warranty and then the dealership lied about the case being opened by someone before and put back together improperly so Acura has told me they wont do anything for me!!!!! Now I am getting the car back with the same problem and hoping my local aamco can get me out of this bind!

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

I share the same transmission / synchros as the 3G TL minus the LSD .. I too experienced the 3rd gear grind and pop out the first couple months owning my car.

Transmission now has 134,000, not a single popout since running the GM fluid for the last 60,000 miles.

NBP04TL4ME

I know you have your car or will have your car at Aamco, but you may want to try the GM fluid first. You are out of warranty so what is the worst that can happen? I have also attached the original Acura Service Bulletin related to this issue. Doesn't sound like you are happy or impressed with the first dealer, but if you decide to go to another dealer, please note the following as part of the bulletin -

"Out of warranty: Any repair performed after warranty
expiration may be eligible for goodwill consideration by
the District Parts and Service Manager or your Zone
Office. You must request consideration, and get a
decision, before starting work."

I'm not sure what the cheapest route is going to be, but certainly would try the GM fluid first and then possibly seek out another another dealer armed with the attached and finally compare costs with Aamco.

Just my

ZOMGVTEK

I had a few popouts, and a grind or two going into 3rd before. I have since did a drain and fill with Honda MTF with no change, followed by Syncromesh FM about 50 miles later. I didn't notice the change immediately, but after a few miles, it was surprising how smooth 3rd felt.

Never had an issue with 3rd since. The trans feels about the same otherwise, and has always been silent. I usually crack a window since the car is too damn quiet otherwise.

LGcbp8

I’ve noticed intermittent issues shifting into 3rd as well But only occasionally and seems to be mostly when/if driving slower and shifting slower into 3’rd (like bumper-bumper traffic). It seems to shift a lot smoother when accelerating and shifting faster. Not redlining it, just a little faster pace.

For the noise part, I’ve never noticed or heard anything like that in any of the gears. But at least part of it like what ZOMGVTEK said:

Quote:

I usually crack a window since the car is too damn quiet otherwise.

It is pretty quiet in the cabin, which is good, but also means we'd be able to here noises outside the car we wouldn't be hearing otherwise. Just comparing my previous car alone (accord ex-l) to the TL-S it is very noticeable.
I'm not saying the noises are good or should be acceptable...just offering a explanation to why.

Hopefully a different dealer can fix it for you.

JORTS

OP Hope this works out for you. I had the 3rd gear issue that was 100% solved by the GM juice

eg5

iTrader: (4)

man oh man, all these horrid stories about their trans,makes me want to shell some dough for the g/m juice. have a 204000k type s and so far ive replaced third and not too long ago my mainshaft top bearings keepers shattered. luckly the other half of the case served as a holder for all the broken parts. no parts entered the actual gears/shafts! all this time, acura trans fluid is the only thing this tranny has seen

NBP04TL4ME

I've been on the fence as well.........

06NH6MTTL

iTrader: (1)

my major problem was i had a constant 3rd gear pop-out i switched to the juice and all my problems were solved until one day my clutch line rubbed on my shifter assembly developing a leak and i revved matched the rest of the way to work. After making a new clutch line and bleeding everything i had a constant 3rd gear grind!!!!

FGbG-Tech CyberModz3D

Ruthless

LEGIT question though...
I am having 3rd pop out/Grind going to put a XTD Stage one in. Should I even put GM 88900399 (Acdelco) in or just put OEM Honda in & See what it doooo?

NBP04TL4ME

This is a nearly 8 year old thread - but the short answer is go with the GM stuff. I did and never looked back.

FGbG-Tech CyberModz3D

Thanks fellow ziner!! Ordering 3 qts tonight. ✌🏽