Good evening forum,

I'm new to the forum, just bought my first tl. Been reading this forum since I got it and is amazed with all the useful info shared here. So I got a few questions to the minds here.... Got a 08 tl-s with 65k on it. Been reading a lot about the suspect AT these vehicles are equipped with. Been also reading about the pressure switches....so my question is how can you tell if your switches are failing, or is there a test procedure to determine if a concern exists?

This has been a car I've wanted for a while, so I want to make sure I head off any potential issues ahead of time. Any info or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

 

The 07 and 08 TLs have a much better transmission, and any failure reports are rare.

Concerning your pressure switches, the consensus is to change them after a certain mileage as preventive maintenance. It will result in smoother shifting and longer life for your transmission.

My car (07 TL-S) was a highway car in its previous life, currently sitting at 180,700 miles. The transmission still feels very smooth and normal to me, and I'm guessing it's because it spent most of its time in 5th gear on the highway. I do want to get them changed at some point just for peace of mind (along with the final phase of my 3x3 transmission fluid change, I just did change #2), but for you, it depends on how your car was used previously. 65k is still pretty young IMO, but if it was driven hard, I'd say to change them, just to be safe.

I have no idea what the consensus is on mileage intervals for the pressure switches, or how to know if they need to be changed. I guess once someone chimes in on that, I'll be able to know how soon I should get that done.

 

your in exactly the same situation as me bro LOL same mileage and everything.

pressure switches for 3rd and 4th are on my to-do list soon.

 

To test the pressure switches you would have to remove them, pressurize them and see what pressure you get an electrical change. The pressure "setting" slowly drops over time/use. This is not that practical for most of us to do. When you notice some shifting issues the clutch has be slipping more than normal and shortening life of transmission. After eight years and 65k miles the money and time to change switches is well justified. Is your transmission fluid getting darker...

I noticed very slight shudder after 82k miles and 9 years on 04 TL but know that there must have been excessive slipping that I did not notice or feel before that. I wish that I knew about the problem and solution sooner...and now have shortened life of clutch...

 

Not everybody notices a difference when they replace the switches but most do, on my 05 TL i didn't really notice the difference but it gave me piece of mind. It also helps that the switches are cheap, i bought and installed mine for about $100.

 

Check posts 537 and 557 in the following link - does not describe *how* the test was done, just the results.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721508&page=14

 

It's not as much of a concern with the 07-08 TL-S because Acura decided to bolt on the stronger RL tranny while 04-06 models continue to fail :P
Check your fluid and make sure its red/pink.

/e I would still order the switches and swap them just because it's a simple DIY compared to the headache you could face later on.