Coins

Hey guys
Since winter began I noticed a distinct whine form my car when the car starts cold in the morning. It goes away once the car warms up.

Last week I started noticing that there is a large 5-8 second delay when shifting from Park to Reverse and then to Drive.
After the car warmed up and I drove for maybe 5 minutes it shifted perfectly.

Today I turned onto the road and started to accelerate in 2nd gear. The RPMs jumped above 3k but it felt as if the car was in neutral. It delayed its shift into 3rd.
I then started noticing that its not shifting into 3rd properly and it feels like it slaps into 3rd gear and I feel it sort of stutter.

Any suggestions on what I should do
The closest dealership is about 25 miles away.

I live in Dallas by the way if anyone can recommend a shop to have it checked out at.

Houston

How many miles on the car?
Has the tranny ever been serviced?
Have you checked the tranny fluid level & color yet?
Check engine light on?

Coins

96,000
Did a 1x3 with oem Honda ATF at around 80k
No check engine light

Will check the fluid once I'm home

Ciroqboy

I'm experiencing the delay on cold starts also but no whine. My car has 80k miles, but chalked it up to cold weather since it's been snowing...... But subscribing to this thread.

ArAbiAnArAb

117k 2008 TL here..no tranny service (had the car since it was at 81k) and im scared to change my tranny fluid because I've read that this can speed up tranny issues...i have about a 1-3 second delay (depending on if im on an incline)...no delay on cold start...any thoughts of the Drive-reverse shift?

Houston

I'll wait for the fluid check before making a suggestion. As far as the whine, unless you can hear it coming from the transmission, I would say it's probably the power steering. Next time you do a cold start and you hear the whine, turn the wheel left and right before it reaches normal operating temperature to see if the whine gets louder.

Coins

It was brown/light brown in color. It didn't look any different from before. It smelled the same as it always has, wouldn't say it smells burnt.

bla8291

I'm pretty sure the fluid is supposed to be pink, unless your fluid is different. Changing your fluid is only bad if you change out all 9 quarts at once. But if you take it to the dealer, they only put in 3 quarts (1x3), and putting all new fluid would be a 3x3. A 3x3 is best, but you have to do it gradually. People on here usually suggest to do the 3x3 in 3 steps - get a 1x3 at every oil change, or slightly more frequently than that, until you've done three tranny fluid changes.

Another thing worth mentioning - I'm not an expert on this, but since you're dealing with a delay in shifting from park to drive, and shifting to third gear while driving, consider changing your third and fourth gear pressure switches. When shifting from park to drive, the TL actually shifts into third gear briefly before going to first gear, which may be why you're experiencing problems there too.

Coins

Yea I am considering having the pressure switches changed out along with another 1x3 but i'll wait for more recommendations.
Thanks bla9291

Alexns05

If your fluid is brown it definitely needs to be changed ASAP

Coins

wow i've been reading the same ATF color since I got the TL.
Guess a 1x3 and pressure switches done will be my first step.

Any suggestions on how I should drive her to the dealership or not even risk it and have it towed.

nttstt444

iTrader: (1)

If you take it to an Acura dealer they will more then likely just tell you the trans is junk and needs to be replaced. Even if they don't, they are going to charge you an arm and leg to do a 3x3 and who knows what they would say about the 3rd 4th gear switches. Your better off to do a 3x3 and change the switches yourself. Maybe the filter too and see where that gets you. There's plenty of info here about trans issues, so I would suggest reading up.

Coins

I figured this would end up happening..

Honestly I would rather just have a experienced mechanic complete the job. Of course it doesn't have to be done at Acura, but hopefully I can find a trusted mechanic around.

Any recommendations for the Dallas area?

The switches would run me about $80 and i've been quoted from Acura that the labor will be another $200 when I asked them a couple months back.

desmo888

What you describe certainly doesn't sound good, Coins. An easy thing to do would be to swap out the remainder of your transmission fluid. The transmission holds 7 quarts of fluid, but you can only drain 3 quarts at a time. So do a 2x3 or 3x3 change now and see if it makes any difference. It'll cost $60-90 to DIY and I did it over the course of about a week, but when I did a 3x3 to my car at around 80K miles I only noticed a difference (smoother 3-4 upshift) after the 3rd fluid change. Of course, I didn't have the problems you describe, though.

FWIW the transmission fluid is not pink. It's a light amber color.

Best of luck.

Coins

Thanks Desmo88!

Decided to look at the ATF with some light outside.

desmo888

The color there is pretty normal. Comes out of the bottle light amber, and turns darker with use.

Coins

The color of the OEM Honda ATF is red which is what I used, but I only did a 1x3. Before the 1x3 the fluid looked and smelled the same.

Acura_Swag

ever had the tranny serviced ? did you do your 105k maintenance?

Coins

No I have not.
I bought the car at 71k, and looked at all the service records and no indication of a tranny service. So the 1x3 is the only thing ever completed.
I was planning to have it done at 100k

Alexns05

This isn't true... Tranny fluid is red, not sure what kind you're using but that's not what it's supposed to look like for the 3G TL.

Coins, if it was originally brown like that why did you only do 3 quarts? You probably need to get all of that out.

Houston

Like others have said, the fluid should be red/pink in color, so it definitely needs to be replaced. I really doubt the pressure switches have to do with the delay, but since you've never changed them out, I would suggest replacing them. A Honda dealer will most likely have them cheaper than an Acura dealer. Just call them for a quote with the same part number as they won't be able to search parts for the TL. I'm sure you can find a shop that'll install them for less than 100 or maybe look for a fellow Aziner near you that can help out.

As far as the delay, I would say it's due to clogged transmission solenoids. I would suggest replacing the fluid, pressure switches, transmission filter, and either cleaning the solenoids or replacing them. I'm actually doing all this on the weekend