So my 04 5A/T, 160k miles....I was going to do my 3rd and 4th switches/Redline ATF, buuuuuut I'm not 100% sure if the previous owner ever changed the fluid, and am in no mood to completely @$%@* up my tranny. Any advice? Or maybe a way to tell if the fluid has been changed? (I have been able to find out that overall the car has been maintained well from what my mechanic said, and many fluids and other maintennance has been done...just not sure on the tranny )

 

Justin, I would switch out the tranny fluid while doing the 3rd and 4th pressure switches

 

I was actually about to order my switches today when it hit me. Call me skittish, but I just wanted to play it safe, ya know?

 

the way i see it, its better to have fresh fluid than to have the old stuff in there

 

True. But I've heard doing your tranny fluids (if it has never been done before) can pretty much ruin it. That's my only concern.

 

Sigh....I sound like a nervous wreck.....

 

I'll get a load of crap for this but I'd be more skittish about wasting your money on those two switches.

From the "pros" I've spoken to there is no reason to swap them out as part of a maintenance plan. IN MY OPINION: The reason it is such a popular thing to do is because it is "affordable" and easy for the DYI'er. If these were $500 a piece no one would do them. Or people would at least second guess the validity of the swap. Just my opinion. Which is what most forums are all about. I'm sure someone will disagree.

 

From what I've read through here and through all the information I've been absorbing (and true, it IS only word of mouth), there seem to have been nothing but good reviews. As far as the "affordable" part having something to do with the popularity....if it's affordable, good for the tranny (once again, from all the info I've read) and provides a better ride...why not?But hey, to each his own, right? I get what you're saying.

 

I hear you. I'm not trying to burst you bubble. I've thought of it myself on my wife's 08. And part of the reason was it was under $100 for everything and fairly straightforward to do. Especially with that install thread I think "I Hate Cars" had a hand in.

But I've heard from two experienced mechanics privately on here and a couple at dealership (shocking I know) that it's not worth it. Funny, my 08 with 53K is having AT swapped as we speak at dealer (warranty). I imagine they don't mind the work that maybe those switches would have prevented? Jury is still out for me.

Good luck in your decision.

 

I inquired I Hate Cars about the same thing--high mileage '04, wary about introducing new fluid to a car that has always used the same fluid

what he said makes sense:

just do the 3X3 change, but in intervals. So drive about 500 miles or so after the first drain/fill, and then after that, do the remaining 2 drain/refills to complete the 3X3. That way, the new fluid can slowly get introduced into the system while still working with the old fluid. Kinda like letting the car adapt to the stuff in slow dosages. I would do the switches--there seems to be concrete backing from experience here on the forums that suggests its benefits.

 

Sounds safe enough. Basically after about 1500 miles of 3 drains and refilling with fresh fluid, the car should be adapted to the new fluid.

 

What are people's thoughts on doing the switches but using the newest fluid that Acura recommends?

I just don't want my warranty to be in jeopardy. Because I used a fluid that isn't recommended by Acura's fluid department (Bob).

 

You'll have no problems changing the fluid and no ill effects from doing so. If the fill plug is extremely tight where a breaker bar is needed to loosen same, chances are it hasn't been changed, but if removed with little effort, it's probably been changed before.

 

I did my 3x3 few weeks ago, the car had about 104400 miles and i think the fluid was never changed before.. I did about 250 miles since than and it still drives

so.. just do your 3x3 and i think you should be fine

 

I did a total of 9x9 so far. Not all at once. I first did redline, the harsh shifts I didn't like for my daily driver. Then I did another 3x3 with redline just to make sure I redid all my fluids right with pure redline (oh also before the 9x9 I did another 3x3 with regular synthetic amsoil so a 12x12) and now I'm back with NEW switches and acura's newest fluid on my 3x3 and I can tell you I like it, it shifts great with no complaints. I mean don't get me wrong, I believe in the concept of the switches and redline but I wanted a nice shifting ride as this is a daily driver for me. Hope that helps.

Oh and one more thing, I don't think your mechanics or dealer's know what their talking about. Believe it or not, alot of them aren't the smartest. Also from what i've read and IHC, Acura doesn't diagnose the problem, if it breaks and it's under warranty then it just gets replaced. They (the mechanics there) don't pull the switches out and test them or tear it apart to see why it's happening. But from trial and error here on the forums it's narrowed it down to the 3x3. I've heard of people having their trans go up after fluid changes but not on a 3x3. And btw what happened to your trans?

 

Are you using the Redline or the newer fluid?

 

As long as the tranny isn't slipping change the oil. Once it starts slipping then you're better off leaving it. My last car, a nissan sentra was slipping in 1st for about 30,000 miles before I got rid of it and the new owner is still driving it around because I didn't change the fluid.

 

What is changing the switches suppose to do?

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/very-interesting-conversation-my-transmission-builder-tl-721508/

A-110: DIY: Guide to replacing 3rd & 4th gear pressure switch for 3G TL https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/110-diy-guide-replacing-3rd-4th-gear-pressure-switch-3g-tl-2004-2006-a-729149/




Related: https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-performance-parts-modifications-112/racing-atf-764322/

 

i think you mean 9 x 3 because 9x3 means you did 9 drain and fills with 3 quarts each time. 9x9 means you did 9 drain and fills with 9 qts each time....the whole transmission holds 9 qts u cant drain 9 qts out at a time. 9x9 also means you used 81 qts total. dont even get me going on 12x12 it would mean you used 144 qts of fluid lol

 

In one of these threads (I believe the DIY), the switches were tested both old and new. The old ones had more resistance which could affect their performance.
Given the well known transmission problems with these cars and the low cost and effort of replacing the switches, combined with the empirical evidence of wear over time, why wouldn't you change them?
If your oil filter was $500, you would still replace it, wouldn't you?

 

I hope this is what you were asking:

On the '08 TL I am picking up tomorrow a.m., they replaced the trans as I was getting shuddering at around the 25 and 40mph shift points, twice it slipped when accelerating after braking, would spike tach while under steady acceleration. Tech said "snapshot" of trans showed kick down into 3rd gear while under acceleration. He said this what pretty much what he needed to send request to Acura. They ok'd no problem.

My wife has same car. Her car is the one I am trying to offset future issues on. We have tons of warranty left on both but it's still pain in the ass doing the dealer loaner swap etc etc.

 

The techs are dumb as rocks. The cure was a simple switch replacement that turned into a trans replacement.

What's wrong with a kickdown into 3rd under acceleration???

 

To clarify once again.....

The odds of hurting a high mileage trans that has never had the fluid changed is very slim. The danger is in the new detergents of the new fluid "cleaning" large debris and it plugging an orifice or sticking a valve. Very unlikely but doing a single drain and fill and driving it a little means you're driving around with only 50% new fluid so the cleaning will be a little less harsh. The type of fluid does not matter, just the fact that it's new matters.

I'm sure the vast majority could do a full 3x3 with no problems but it's no additional work to just space it out.

 

You may be right but if Acura green-lights the entire transmission, TC, and switches then so be it. I'd have to ask why Acura wouldn't check and or replace switches first; seems like path of least resistance and cheaper?

Also, I've been told that faulty switches will throw a check engine light. True? Always? I never had light.

As for the kickdown, I think "kick-out" is the better term. He was referring to driving on flat road and having trans kick out of gear as opposed to it kicking down under normal circumstances such as approaching a grade. You know how those service adviser interpreted tech statements read on the service sheet; the only thing truly understandable is "washed and vacuumed car".

 

I've heard of bad switches throwing a check engine light once ever in over 100 failures. The ECU has no way of checking if they're out of calibration, only if the resistance gets way off or there's an open or a short. Otherwise it's blind to the switches.

I stopped trying to figure out why Acura does what it does. It seems as if they could save themselves money by doing only switches but then again, I believe corporate pays the dealer to swap a trans under warranty. Where's the most profit at???

So maybe they meant it neutraled out or flaired. It has to be pretty bad to be captured on a screen shot.

I rebuilt transmissions for years at a very good shop along with working for a guy that holds several land speed records and even one on water and the first thing you realize as your knowledge level goes up is that dealers have some of the least knowledgeable people out there. These days they get the pass if they can read a code from a scanner and replace a part. I've had conversations with Acura and some Cadillac techs that did not know how an engine actually works and I'm talking some of the basics. As a 19yr old I took an advanced computer controls class in college. The teacher at first said I couldn't go straight into the class, there were two other lower classes required first. He let me stay but said if my grades dropped below a C even once he was kicking me out. I was a kid in a class full of dealership guys who were taking the class as a refresher. I thought I was the dumbest one in the class for a few weeks. After getting to know some of the guys I realized I had taught myself almost as much as they knew just from racing alone. I aced the class, many of them struggled and it opened my eyes. This isn't to put down dealership mechanics, we have two badass Acura dealer mechanics in town and a couple really good ones on this board. But the day will come when you realize that the majority of the dealership techs are glorified code readers and parts swappers. There's no theory, no advanced diagnosis, no thinking out of the box, just read the trouble code and replace stuff not knowing why you're doing it. I've had to hold the Nissan tech's hand in diagnosing the Murano. I had to show him how to use the live data and look at KR and interpret LT and ST fuel trims when we were having a knock and misfire problem. I got my way after doing so but before that I was told there's no code so there's not problem.

The other thing you'll learn is emissions related codes such as misfires and evap codes will set very easily while other things such as trans switches, trans speed differential (slippage), and our common DBW codes take a miracle to set even when the car is doing all kinds of funny things.

 

My car, with the new AT, did throw a check engine light once just before it was brought to Acura and diagnosed. My wife said she was leaving the mailbox and the car rev'd and lunged forward (a slip I imagine). She came to our restaurant parking lot and I saw the light lit up on the dash. We owned a Passat and I worked for VW during the coil pack days so trust me I know what a check engine looks like. The light cleared itself and mysteriously so did the code. I told the tech there was a light and he said he found no code stored. Odd?

Anyway. Just picked up my TL with new AT. Runs fine. Thanks for the info. And yes, it's like the old saying about Doctors. Someone had to graduate last in their class in med school. That could be your doctor.

 

Did they go ahead and swap out your tranny?

 

Yes, Acura ok'd swap. It is certified pre owned which kind of pissed me off that this wasn't noticed. Just took car back today. Everything good.