So i was driving down the highway cruising at a good speed and the transmission kicked out of 5th gear an the speedometer dropped to 0 MPH! i pulled off the road immediately and stopped the car opened the hood an the trans was smoking! I pulled the dip stick out an the fluid was smoking an more on the black side. Called AAA an had it towed to cottman tranmission. They ran diagnostics and told me they wont know for sure till they open it but can cost from 1500 to 3500 to replace parts and fix. I am so unsure what to do an dont have the money to fix this. I know about the recall an i dont believe my car had the 2/3 gear cooler line installed. What should i do? Try an take it to my dealer an see if theyll replace no cost? I go there alot an they know me but i just dont know. Please Advise Guys!

 

I would say that if a recall notice was issued and the owner never had the service done, the dealership might consider that the fault of the owner for not obeying the recall. Some information is missing such as the mileage you're currently at and if the fluid has been changed in the past. There's a lot of variables when it comes to transmission failures so it's difficult to say if the dealership will assist in the repair (from a financial aspect). If at a regular tranny shop, the repair may be less money but you'll be on the hook for the whole bill. The problem you now have is that the car is at Cottman, so getting it to the dealer will cost some cash (to flatbed it there), and there's no guarantee that the dealer can help you even if you can get the car to them (other than a tranny swap at your cost).

 

Get your car out of Cottman transmission as quick as you can. I worked for them back in the day. The entire business is based on selling overhauls even on perfect transmisisons. I quit because what they were doing was so wrong. I can elaborate in detail if you want me to.

 

Year and mileage? You should be successful in having Acura help you out.

 

Im sitting at about 178, 000 i did my tranny fluid about 8 months ago with redline d4. My parents have AAA so i can get a free tow to Acura. Is that what everyone thinks is my best or second bet. I have off work tomorrow so if thats the case i will be heading up there to try an figure this all out. Really has me bummed, i love my car. . Should i try an drive it an see what it does? Cottman said they did when they ran tests but couldnt tell me anything really specific?!?

 

II don't want to be a naysayer, but that's a lot of miles- I'd be surprised if Acura even partially covers a new transmission. It can never hurt to ask, but if it's never been replaced before, you've had a pretty good service life from it.

 

Yeah unless your on really good terms with the dealer I would guess Acura will be of no help with that many miles. You should easily be able to get trans rebuilt for about 2K 1.5K rebuild and 500 to swap transmissions. It will be much more expensive at Acura. Look for a reputable transmission re-builder.

 

So just for clarification.

This transmission failed because of broken down old tranny fluid and not changing out the 3rd & 4th pressure sensors ? Or is there potential for it to fail regardless.....You said it was smoking and on the black side.

Overcooked tranny fluid the cause ?

 

Question- if you have been to the dealer on more than one occasion as you say, why haven't you had the recall performed?

 

The cooked fluid can be from a torque converter that's no locking on the freeway, especially at high speed or going uphill. If it worked fine once it cooled off it probably boiled the fluid and the transmission itself should be fine.

 

OP did you say your speedo went to zero when this happened? This should never happen if the car is still under power (engine running) and it is still moving forward, even when the transmission drops out of gear....

 

my gauges all went to 0 while traveling on the freeway when my trans gave up. blinking D and just about every other light. needles all dropped to 0.

 

I changed the 3rd and 4th gear pressure sensors in the summer. I am not the original owner of the vehicle and just assumed this recall was dealt with as they never have said anything to me about it. I am going to my local Acura dealer tomorrow as i have had work to figure this all out. I dont have the 2nd 3rd gear oil cooler that is supposed to be added to cool down the recall for overheating gears. If they did replace tranny for recall shouldnt they have installed this too since it was determined the fix? They knew if they didnt it would certainly happen again. I havent tried driving car but cottman said they did but again wouldnt specify anything on fluid driveablility or tests. Hoping for the best.

 

what I am getting at is the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) is connected to the output shaft on the transmission and that is being turned by your front wheels so it seems like maybe your car shut off or some reason related? as long as the ECM has power, the speedo should not quit working unless power was lost... transmission failure should not cause the car to turn off. keeping the egine running keeps stuff like the power steering working...and your brakes

when my trans quit, my speedo still worked as it was moving forward and the /!\ check engine and [D5] lights were on or blinking.

When did you get your car? if the trans was replaced in 2008 or later it will not have the oil jet kit installed for 2nd gear as that was integrated into the casing. my original trans had the kit, my replacement did not.

 

I bought my car one year ago but not directly from acura. UPDATE I picked my car up from cottman today, it drives fine for now. At closer inspection it looks like i have or had a leak somewhere as there is fluid on the trans by the 3rd gear switch. jacking my car up now to do a closer inspection. gonna check all bolts to make sure they are tight an try to find the source of the leak. anyone have any clues as to where it might be coming from?

 

Maybe check the vent tube, up by the fill location? Could've come out of that if the fluid got that Hot.

 

Yep. It puked out of the vent tube. Pretty common when they're overheated.

Now would be a good time to make sure the torque converter clutch is locking up as it should.

 

How do i make sure the torque converter clutch is locking up? And is there a specific reason it overheated. I was at a high rate of speed for a time. Anything i can do to prevent this in the future?

 

thinking i could get the redline d4 or type f synthetic fluid since that holds the heat better right? anyone know a good mix i live in new jersey but its slowing starting to warm up, but dont want it to be too viscous.

 

Put the trans manually in 4th as soon as it will go and accelerate lightly. You should feel what feels like another gear shift with the rpms going down at one point even though you're accelerating.

There are several products you can use but if D4 is too thick, the stock fluid would be too thick. In other words the trans might be on it's way out.

Of you want a stock viscosity Type F, Redline LW Racing mixed with the regular racing, Amsoil Racing, B&M Supershift, and a ton of others will work.

If you want to go lighter, there's any DexVI fluid which is significantly thinner than stock and is factory fill on most new cars. It's just a little thinner than DW-1. Redline, Amsoil, and pretty much every manufacturer has a Dex VI fluid available. Friction characteristics are similar to DexIII.

Inaccurate, a very respected member here used straight Redline LW Racing fluid in the hot Texas summer. I honestly think a good fluid for you is a Dex VI with maybe a little Type F mixed in if the straight Dex VI doesn't shift as quickly as you want.