91NSX

Hello everyone

This is my first post. My wife's car, a 04 TL, had the autotransmission diogosed as bad The car has 58k miles, and Acura has stepped up to the plate and will replace the trans for zip. However, we have to pay for the labor - about $1350.

I am grateful that Acura has done this, but wonder about the situation. Our car was an early build, October of 2003. We had a recall about something with the trans, I think a 2nd gear issue. Could this be related to the problem?

Your comments would be very appreciated!

NFLblitze1

uh oh....here we go again....ROUND 2!

dug-mac

I'm surprised to hear that they made you pay for labor. If I were you I might try contacting Acura Client Services just to follow through on this. The 2nd Gen cars are/were known to have this problem. I had the tranny replaced in my 03 TL-S at no cost to me. Yes, there was an extended warranty on it, but you have nothing to lose by trying. Good luck and let us know how you make out on this...

91NSX

Thanks

I will call them tomorrow.

dug-mac

If you're at all like me you're not looking for a free ride, and it's great that they paid for the cost of the tranny. Still, Acura has had issues in this area of late and IMO should be willing to do whatever it takes to make this a non issue. Also, if your tranny died 8K earlier it would have been covered under the new car warranty - given the circumstances there is no reason why they should hold fast to the 50K limit. Heck, if you own a NSX, they should cover the labor charges for you simply because you've spent so much money with Honda/Acura..................Again, good luck and keep us posted...

Peters

I can't imagine a modern car needing a new transmission at 58k miles. And they want you to pay for labour? Is it a manual? Have you raced it? After just reading that Consumer Reports Magazine just rated the TL in the top 10, you may want to take that up with Acura too.

crm_codder

What was your first symptoms of bad tranny?
BTW. 58K for almost 2 years? Are you using this car as limo service?
Mine is about 4 month older and I am considering my car as heavy used (15K a year).
I am not going to use this car beyond 45k, so probably one more year, I hope my tranny will survive....

MR1

Please research the gen II TL, all V6 Accords and 01-02 MDX automatic transmission history. The information that you come up with will make you insist that Acura cover the parts and labor and extend the warranty to at least 100K.

They all share the same transmission and it has a poor history. Good luck and please keep us posted.

caball88

i don't see them charging you for labor as completely reasonable, mainly because the previous generation's auto tranny's had problems and it is very likely this is the same tranny slightly modified. i would definitely call up client services and discuss with them the problem. 58K miles and needing a new tranny is pretty rediculous.

Phrosttz0

thats ridiculous bro no '04 car should be having tranny issues, i would def take that up with acura, and make them pay for parts, labor and time

brich2929

A buddy of mine at work has an MDX...I think its first generation with something like 120,000 miles on it but always dealer serviced. It had the Transmission "fix" under the TSB. A few months back he was driving back from Virginia on 95 North and right at the exit for Maryland House his wheels locked up and he proceeded to skid for about 25 feet coming to a dead stop in the left hand lane of I-95 North with rigs and traffic whizzing by at 55 plus MPH. The SUV had to be towed from there on a flatbed to the dealership (CAstle Acura). At first they weren't going to cover anything at all since it was out of warranty but then they decided to cover the part and he would have to cover labor...still like $2500 or something. I believe he eventually got their regional guy on the horn and they covered it %100

mickey3c

well with the 3g models now out for a couple of years and getting some serious mileage on them, I would expect to see more of this. The 5AT design is not IMHO as bullet proof as it should be. The original 5AT design had serious problems. And the subsequent 3g models had some changes like less lower end torque, ECU, oil jet, etc. which seemed to try to address this issue. I would not expect to get more than 100K out of a 5AT from acura.

I know many people have owned older cars which have, but the TL is not made as well as some of the older models e.g., legend which could run about 45K in 1995.

I would talk to acura and see if I could get the labor charges back. I would cite the 5AT issues that they had in the past including the oil jet which was installed on all 2Gs and early 3Gs. That and the fact that there wasn't like 85k on the car. It was barely out of warranty.

In many ways this reinforces the point that if you can buy a car cash and trade it in just before the warranty ends you are better off.. my 2g TL I did just that. Owned it for 45,000 miles and traded in on a CL S.

KilroyR1

For DIYers, one thing you could do to prolong the life of the trans is change some of the fluid with every oil change.

Before you dismiss this as overkill, I have a Griots Garage vacuum pump that sucks out oil or transmission fluid. It has graduated marks on the side for each quart that is removed. No mess and it takes all of five minutes, start to finish.

Buy a case of Honda Z1 fluid. Stick the pump tube down the hole used to check the ATF level and suck out, say two or three quarts (you probably won't get much more than three). Then just fill the appropriate number of quarts through the same tube.

Now that my wife's automatic Accord has 80,000 miles, I change two quarts of ATF every time I do an oil change (5000 miles). I don't trust Honda's automatics anymore.

Who knows, this may not work, but I have guess that the addition of fresh fluid more often may help. Much cheaper than spending big bucks just after the warranty runs out.

91NSX

There was a high pitched whinning sound that would vary with the engine speed. It eventuall got louder and louder, but was more noticeable in lower gears at light trottle.

My wife does crank on the miles on this car, with getting to work and other chores.

I called Acura customer service, and asked that they pay for the labor costs. A manager is supposed to get back to me. They asked how many Acura vehicles I have owned (91NSX, 2000 Ingetra S), maybe this will help!

A_UFO

Was that when the transmission was cold or hot or both?

91NSX

Both hot and cold, although I think it was less noticable when the transmission warmed up.

HuKaShI

I have this exact same problem.

My car is at the dealer as of monday and I just found out that it is ready for pickup.

They say that the sound is gone, but I'll find out for sure when I go pick it up tonight.

BTW, I have 42,000 miles on mine. It started at like 30,000 or so.

Acura should definately foot the bill 100% since the tranny on yours is not that old.

Today's cars should be able to go more that 58,000 miles before the tranny goes.

sebounet2005

What's the warranty in Us ?

Here in Canada i think the transmission is under warranty until 100 000 km that' s 62500 miles. So yours should be covered. The basic bumper to bumper is at 60000 km or 37500 miles, but for luxury brand like INfinity it's until 62 500 miles. Acura isn't a luxury brand ????

On my Accord they changed my transmission at 96000 km or 60 000 miles
they change it on my 2005 TL AT at 32000 miles about.

I was afraid to go with acura because of the tranny, but they said evering is set now. I m not sure of that

A_UFO

For 2006 TL:
Vehicle:.......................................... ...................................4 yr/50,000
Powertrain:....................................... ................................6 yr/70,000
Outer Body Rust-Through:.......................................... ......5 yr/unlimited miles
Acura Total Luxury Care (TLC) with roadside assistance: 4 yr/50,000

For 2004 & 2005 TL:
Vehicle:.......................................... ...................................4 yr/50,000
Outer Body Rust-Through:.......................................... ......5 yr/unlimited miles
Acura Total Luxury Care (TLC) with roadside assistance: 4 yr/50,000

So the powertrain on 04 & 05 models are 4 yr/50,000

HuKaShI

91NSX,

Just a quick question.

Have you changed your air filter yourself or have you had the dealer do that for you?

I know it sounds like a stupid question but I'm just conducting some research on my problem..

Thanks!

rventu

This maybe a dumb question but I have an 06 TL so does the transmission fall under the powertrain warranty of 6yr/70000?

sebounet2005

For what i know and in Canada it's included in powertrain warranty

sebounet2005

your warranty is better than canada

here is the link it's in km so divide by 1.6

sebounet2005

Why you ask that ?

Because my problem appear after they change the air filter and change the mecanism that makes the wheel turn when you turn the steering (two times, onne failed after one week)

)

A_UFO

I think that is for older models (04 & 05).

It looks like Acura increased the Vehicle and Accessories warranty for Canada 2006 TL.

The Acura Canada website shows:

• Major Component – 5-year/100,000-km limited warranty
• Vehicle – 4-year/80,000-km distributors limited warranty
• Rust Perforation – 5-year/unlimited-distance warranty
• Surface Corrosion – 3-year unlimited-distance warranty
• Accessories – 4-year/80,000-km limited warranty (when installed by an authorized Acura retailer at time of new vehicle delivery).

This is from the 2006 TL brochure from the Canada website. You will need Acrobat Reader in order to view this file. Go to page 22.

http://www.acura.ca/NR/rdonlyres/edm...006_TL_Eng.pdf

1sweetTL

Oh shit! All this talk about bad trannies is making me nervous.

I bought this car cuz i though it would be as reliable as my Accord EX was!

Note: To date it has been, I just hope it stays that way....

My wife told me yesterday that a friend of hers that works for ACURA Cust. Serv. said they have been getting (a heavier than normal amount of calls and) complaints on the Trans.

Maybe they are having some issues.

My wife was asking me if I heard anything on the board about bad trans. in the
TLs.

Now I READ This!

91NSX

Got the wife's 04TL back on Thursday, after 2 weeks. Acura goodwilled the transmission but not the labor (about $1390). Lesson to be learned: drive the wife's car for two weeks prior to having the warranty run out! I think I would have noticed the problem.

No complaints with Acura though, they stepped up to the plate with the new tranny.

Actuary

All I know is there better not be another war on transmission.

For my last mustang, I didn't do anything other than oil, filter, air filter and it lasted 50K miles fine.

chewi

Thats not fair at all....
You need to contact someone else and dispute this.
Why would you have to pay for the labour when this is not a normal service like an oil change.

Your transmission could be a Lemon, and thats not your fault that you purchased a pretty new car with a lemon transmission.

This is Acura's fault and they should take care of this problem free of charge.

A_UFO

And 8,000 miles over the 50,000 warranty. It’s not like you had 20,000 miles over the warranty.