AGrushetsiy

My transmission just went at -92K. I have never driven like a moron and never raced it (as hard as that may be to believe). My problem started two days ago; without any warning my gears started slipping, first lightly one night, then moderately yesterday morning and by afternoon i had to pull over 3 times on the way home because the car wouldn't accelerate but the RPM's would jump up to 6K. I understand that gears can get worn out over a long period of time and abuse I also understand slight slippage is a sign of the process but this happened OUT OF NOWHERE! My previous car was an AT Integra, it jerked and slipped between every gear but i drove it like that for 3 years. This TL went from perfect to undriveable in 3 days!


Here is some more detail:

3 days ago I went and got an oil change at Jiffy Lube (I was too lazy to do it myself)
Immediately after the oil change, i noticed the CEL was on. I didn't think much of it at the time. From my experience with Honda's the CEL goes on and off at random.
That night, on my way to an evening class I noticed the car slipped up once. Just slightly but I noticed it. Maybe a 2 second delay.
The next morning on my way to class (CEL still on) I was parallel parking and when i switched into R, it didn't engage for like 5 seconds. That's when I kinda panicked. Later after class, on my way back home, the car just suddenly wouldn't accelerate. It's like it was in neutral, on the highway. I pulled over and shut the car off. After a few seconds i turned it back on and was able to drive for another mile or two. Repeated the process 3 more times until I finally reached home. I felt like i should receive an Honorary Patience Award at the end of that. An hour later I take it to a tranny shop and go for a ride with the mechanic. He says there is "build-up/debris" inside the tranny and it's blocking the filter which causes loss in pressure which cause loss in acceleration. He then checked the CEL codes and it came back with some Torque Converter code. Also gave a quote for $2.5K to rebuild the transmission. So like any Acurazine member I spent the next 5 hours on here reading every related post. This morning I did a 3X3 drain and fill. Still same symptoms.

This makes no sense! For the whole year and 22K miles since I've owned the car I've never once had any transmission issue, even the smallest complaint, and then one morning i wake up with a car that's undriveable?!?! What gives?

I'm a student and can't afford to pay for a transmission rebuild or replacement. Any advice is appreciated.

Car Info:
2004
Acura TL
91,7XX miles
5AT

nfnsquared

1. If your filter/strainer is plugged, it could produce the symptoms you've experienced. However, a drain and fill will not unplug the strainer. It needs to be cleaned/replaced.

2. What was the exact code or codes that your mechanic read?

3. Did you ever get a blinking "D"?

4. Did you notice any discoloration or particles in the drained fluid?

Whdrms

iTrader: (1)

Oh man.. I hope everything turns out okay.. My TL is almost 90k and i am not noticing any problem with the tranny... Yet (finger crossed*) and i did 3rd 4th pressure change and 3x3 atf change at 83k. If worst happens and u have to swap or rebuild tranny make sure u do the 3rd 4th pressure switch swap. anyways good luck

3g_ace

It's your car telling you to stop taking it to Jiffy Lube...

Haha, I'm sorry I had to.....I would never take my car there but do they top off all fluids? Hopefully they didn't check the tranny fluid and "top" it off with a generic ATF, that's what would worry me about it happening right after you took it there

Good Luck

Majofo

This thread doesn't make sense. If it was a transmission code it would be registered by a blinking D light not CEL. Something is missing between Jiffy Lube and the drive thereafter.

You can also change out the transmission filter on an 04 without dropping the trans. Search for the DIY and keep us updated.

Oh, stay the fuck away from those lube shops. I wouldn't let an average monkey that works there to check the air in my tires.

Kartel2383

iTrader: (1)

I had an issue with my transmission doing a slight shutter going up a slight incline. It would up here and there. I took it to Acura telling them of my issue and they test drove it numerous times without feeling the shutter. I kept going back and eventually they felt what I was feeling. Long story short they replaced the transmission. I would either go to Acura if you have a warranty or sue Jiffy Lube after having Acura look at it. Maybe Acura to show you what Jiffy Lube did wrong. I know small claims court in Jersey max payout is $3,000. Your state is $5,000.

I hate cars

Agreed that I would never think about taking my car there but just about all "generic" fluids are better for the trans than the factory Z1 fluid.

Agreed. Something is missing to this story.

The screen is not servicable obviously but you would have to have a huge failure to plug this up. The paper filter outside could very well be plugged.

This was probably the first change in 92K and it knocked some stuff loose.

TypeR?

i work for a B&M Transmissions and i see this all the time on v6 hondas and acuras. so like i have told a few other people on this board it is the torque converter that goes bad and trashes the internal filter. be it from heat or just bad design it is the major reason for v6 honda transmission failure for some reason. you will need a rebuild and new torque converter. i recommend Precision torque converters not oem as you will have the same problem again by going with oem obviously. if you have already replaced the 3rd and 4th pressure switches let the shop know so they can test them to make sure they are working properly and that might save you some money there.
Oh and by the way IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING ANY TRANSMISSION ISSUES NEVER EVER CHANGE THE FLUID OR IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE. new transmission fluid has detergents in it and will deteriorate old clutches and cause more problems. get your fluid changed ONCE A YEAR to keep this from happening.

I hate cars

That would be awesome if Precision made one for the TL.....maybe in a 2,800 stall.... I ran one of their multi disk lockups for years before going non lock. Noisy but good.

TypeR?

i think you are thinking of a different precision. i just got off the phone with them and they have them in stock, even type s. im talking about Precision Torque Converters in Iowa

TypeR?

to the op, i can give you their phone # if you would like but i am not 100% sure if they deal with the public.

Chad05TL

I know I went into debt a few times... And once just forked over cash and credit to pay for a valve change and a new timing belt and probably other stuff, when my 3000GT timing belt broke.

And my Camaro set me back 2,000 for a new transmission too. But the first time, I was not prepared for it. So i feel your pain.. Oh I just remembered, when I was 19, I had an 86 IROC. And that transmission went out too! But it failed like around 40k miles. I really drove that car hard. I was in love, what can I say.. It was my dream car.. haha But I drove the IROC back to the dealer and turned the car back in / traded for a stupid Celebrity. I know.. dont slam me too hard but I didnt have the money and I was a kid. But still, it was a hugely stupid mistake. I learned then, to never sell a nice car based on a failed transmission. Its simply not worth it. The loss will be even greater if you sell the car when its broken. You have to fix it. So what I learned to do, was jUsT Do it. Look the other way and sign the service repair papers, get a credit card or borrow the money, and pray to God he will provide a way for you to pay. You don't want to lose your car. You just gotta toughen up. And say "I'm going to do it"

AGrushetsiy

Hey guys sorry for taking so long to write back. It's been a hell of a week with all this crap. Long story short, I've opted to get the tranny rebuilt with supposedly "better" non-OEM parts from a transmission shop in the town over. They took it in Monday and today I got an interesting call from them after they cracked the tranny open. The guy tells me my car was previously flooded, almost all the internals in the tranny were burnt out. So I go over to the shop and take a look at all the parts he has laid out across the table and he wasn't kidding when he said burnt out. They were so discolored. I've personally never looked inside a transmission before but even I knew it wasn't supposed to look like that. The case is all rusted out and apparently it cracked in one of the holes where it bolts in so the guy tell me he'll have to order a new case and everything. so like $1700 in parts and $800 in labor. Needless to say I wasn't too impressed with that figure so I guess I'll be shopping for a used transmission from a junk yard and then it's good bye Acura...unfortunately.

AGrushetsiy

I didn't get the exact codes from the guy that checked them. And the next day my battery died so the comp rebooted and the light isn't on anymore.

I got the blinking D previously on this car when i had the Accelerator/Throttle Pedal Position Sensor issue that our TL's and TSX's have. I replaced that unit myself and never had the blinking D or the symptoms again.

The fluid that was drained was VERY VERY discolored, yes. And the magnetic drain plug had a crap load of garbage on it too.

AGrushetsiy

When I took the car over to the transmission shop he checked the 3rd and 4th switches by manually shifting in SS mode and he said they all switched on time without lag. But if i do end up getting a new tranny I might as well change those switches on it just in case.

Chad05TL

why would you change the switches if they are working fine AND you are going to sell it...?

Also, if it was flooded before you owned it, then how long have you owned it and driving around on it in that condition?

And most importantly, didnt you ever noticed the transmission fluid looked funky? haha

AGrushetsiy

Yeah I know I shouldn't have gone to Jiffy Lube but it's brass monkeys out here in New England right now and I was a little lazy. Nonetheless I don't think I'll be going there again. A guy at the tranny shop said that back in the day JL used to do Drain and Fills for trannys but they kept getting screwed over with people who would come in with a bad transmission and then blame it on them after the got the service done...so then the stopped doing that. On the receipt it does say that the Tran Oil was FULL which leads me to believe they checked it but didn't top it off. Anyways I can't really take any legal action with them because they'll just say they didn't service the transmission at all. I guess it's just coincidence that the tranny started giving me problems a few minutes after their oil change.

Yeah I didn't really understand anything about what was going on until after reading some threads on here. And you give some really good advice man, props to you and keep it up. A lot of people I think benefit from your knowledge.

AGrushetsiy

Well since from what I've read on here, the switches seem to be the biggest problem on the unit so hopefully if I switch them the next owner won't have to deal with that. And I'm selling the car for other reasons, see after I looked closer under the engine bay with the transmission off, it's clear that the car spent time in water and I think that the flood is the reason behind other small problems the car has:
1. Doesn't blow hot air - it's just kinda seeps warm air into the cabin (I don't even wanna begin diagnosing that issue)
2. Small electrical issues - not too major but they kinda bother me.
3. There is always a puddle of water on the floor on the drivers side right under the pedal - I'm not even exaggerating right

And no I didn't notice that the transmission fluid looked funny before. In fact I never checked it before, I've barely driven this car for 11 months. I know that sounds stupid, but it's the truth, I'll be sure to do that with my next car.