gg378a

my transmission failed coming home on the turpike 2 days ago. 85,000 miles so im not too happy about that... Pretty sure it was the '19 chrome staggered rims i had on it which stressed the transmission eventually causing it to die. I havent had the rims on for about 5 months but i do a lot of driving. Now a big problem lies within my pockets 0_o. Just thought id share with the fellow acurazine members. Any feedback would be appreciated.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

I highly doubt it

I hate cars

Not the rims.

How did it fail?

TRIOD3SIGNS

DEF not the Rims, I have been on 20's for over 2 years & 70,000 miles, with no issues. (I drive a lot too)

I hate cars

Yep. If the heavier rims take an extra 10hp to accelerate, it's no different than someone with stock rims pushing the accelerator 2% farther. If the rims caused it, anyone who floors thier car would have immediate failure too.

gg378a

i guess im a victim of the infamous acura tranny problem as well then lol It wouldnt catch any gears, reverse, drive, NOTHING...it was really depressing

ParaSurfer1979

Just wait to hear the news from Acura. Youre pretty new here too. Had you been up on all maintenance with your car?

Aman

First time I've heard about tranny failure on the '05s. The biggest problem was with the 2G CL and TLs, and a few early 04s.

gg378a

yea ive babied this car... cant wait to hear any news im jus gnna get rebuilt acura said they wouldnt cover any of it i called a few......Its my only car so i gotta get it back on the road

01tl4tl

the gen2 trans prob continued well into 2005 gen3 models
it wasnt till then a complete `new case design`with better oil passages and the gen2 recall installed external oiler for 2nd gear- went internal on the new case
appeared on the rebuilt units for gen2,,,
I have seen a thread in g3 for auto tranny failures to report in, you are not alone

acura `GOODWILL warranty` is based on customer loyalty, use of acura shop for any service? and your story of need to the SERVICE MANAGER.. not the writer who is there to make the company money by bsing you

the manager calls regional corp rep and says what codes and conditions are on the car, why they think you deserve some help, then rep decides a percentage amount they will help out, from 100 to 20.
Sometimes they will go more if pressed and other times will tell you to piss off-
they dont owe you anything past regular warranty- its all about your attitude

if needed: Remind them gently there are gen2s still getting free trans under the court case,, that gen3 should have filed too
Acura knows the prob was not fixed and has been decent about covering it

BE NICE to the manager, a goodwill gesture on your part (box of donuts) never hurt~
everyone bitches and wants freebies,,
be the nice, appreciative person, who belongs to acurazine.com--they know who we are- the worlds largest gathering place of acura owners!
Tell the Manager you know about `all 10s` on the surveys, and would be happy to complete any by mail or phone or internet if they can hook you up on the trans

the surveys you get with receipt do get read every week by corp, data logged and sent to dealer for weekly shop meetings and round table review.
good remarks get bonus checks~
anything less than all 10s is a failing frade in corps mind!!
every customer should leave 100 percent happy or the manager should have stepped in and done whatever needed to make them happy- before they leave--
its a corp pride issue to get bad comments

01tl4tl

did you take your car to a dealer, or just called a few and asked the phone person if they cover out of warranty?

It has to be diagnosed first before anything can happen

or take it to a trans shop and hope its a selenoid and not the trans
Was there slipping or revving on accelleration before it quit
How does the fluid look?- red or brown or black
and smell- like oil or burnt sugar?

gg378a

wow some great info here wish i would have knew all this before.. I took it to a trans shop and and they said i needed a new masterkit, torque converter, 1st gear spreg ....the fluid was brown i checked it once it failed..

ParaSurfer1979

take your car to acura and not these mom/pop shops or you'll find acura blaming this shops for the damage and wont touch your car with a 10ft pole. If you have no history of doing your service at acura, you're most likely already hosed.

erick3

why don't you try and goodwill it? just because they say "no" doesn't mean it isn't possible. speak with your district manager. my transmission went out around the same mileage. acura of lynnwood goodwilled the replacement. didn't lose a dime TRY AGAIN!

I hate cars

They've been dropping like flies. There's a new post at least once a week. Luckily the switches and type f fluid has saved most of them from failure. If it weren't for these two items we would be well on our way to another class action lawsuit.

MAC TL

04 here 82k was driving on highway, went to accelerate rpms shot up. Then it catched. At one point i was doing 30mph revving at 4500rpms. Anyone know a good tranny shop. Im in the BX

wecoyote

[quote=gg378a;12547617]my transmission failed coming home on the turpike 2 days ago. 85,000 miles so im not too happy about that..

Just had my 2006 TL automatic transmission fail at 85000 miles. The memphis dealer says its a complete hydraulic failure and the car requires a new transmission. I'm wondering if our series is starting to have failures at 80K-90K miles. I never missed a service and all of the maintenance was performed at the dealership on schedule without fail.

It started with a small hydraulic sounding whine at high idle. When I entered an on-ramp for the interstate the motor raced but didn't engage until I eased off the gas at the motor settled below about 3000 rpms. By the time I had travelled 10 miles home, the motor couldn't find any forward gears and acted as if it was in neutral. I coasted to a parking lot to leave the car until a good friend could tow it to the dealer.

I'm still waiting to see what the dealer says Acura may do.

I hate cars

You guys aren't searching. The cause of failure and the cure for the 5at are well known now. It's very simple and cheap and the trans will last just about forever if you do it.

If it's a converter problem, that's a separate problem.

TLTrance

Okay, let me introduce you to me. I own an 05 5AT TL and just got my tranny swapped -- goodwill style (85%). Trust me, these trannies have issues, and I bet its the f'ing Z1 fluid causing lots of it. It sure does NOT help that they recommend a fluid change every 60K miles. That's 2-3 times too long.

anionrings

iTrader: (2)

^^im not sure i can agree with you 100% on this...because my oldest sister had owned a 04 a/t TL..she ran it up from 77k - 180k miles before trading it to me...everything was fine...transmission was fine......everything was smooth..i stepped on it a few time..gears shifted very smooth... even when the car is coasting to a stop the downshift its smooth also...

i never had any burnt smell...or weird shifting...or any leaks...i also maintained her car from 110k - 180k miles...i did transmission flushes oil change etc.. never changed the pressure switches..and i used the factory transmission oil Mcdavid Acura in plano,tx gave me

My opinion..it even shifts better than my current 08 Base model TL... i get rough downshift from my TL when i come from a coast to a stopping point...but it may just be me..i barely owned this car and havn't done any engine oil change or transmission flushes yet...and its at 35k miles

However, i had owned a 2nd Gen TL..My Transmission failed on me after putting 32k miles on it (it was at 77k when it failed)...but i didnt maintain it properly..i was always racing and abusing it...on the other hand i have a cousin who has a 2nd Gen TL.. he got his car at 33k miles and its currently at 150k..still on his first original transmission..

MY OP...if you take care and maintain it well..it will show you results in the end..

usmarinedelta

iTrader: (1)

So you used the factory fluid and still lasted that long without pressure switches?? That's amazing.

Tegnut

My cousin purchased his 05 NHB with Nav brand new. He has 128,000 miles when I last checked. He never changed any pressure plates, had his 1x1 ATF changed at 60,000 and 120,000 miles at the dealer. Changed his oil every 5000 miles using mobil one syn oil and Mobil 1 filter. He has K&N air filter. Had his 105,000 service done (Timing Belt, Water pump changed) and his car runs great! Never mentioned any tranmission issue. He drives like a mad man.

ez12a

Think about it this way: there were 79k TLs sold in the US in 2004 alone (a percentage of that being 6MTs, but a ton were 5AT). If automatic transmissions were that big of a problem you bet there would be a huge thing about it.

Forums are typically for people with problems. The vast majority of 5AT owners that have had zero issues will probably not join a forum to tell about how reliable they are.

abracing

Interesting comment, would you agree though that most of the acura buyers are senior people and wouldnt join forums to share their problems? I too have a scheduled tranny replacement by the dealer at 61,000 miles.

anionrings

iTrader: (2)

Yeppers... shifts smooth like butter...
Great!!..i think if a person maintains the car..the car will show results in the end .... after my car hit 36k..im doing a Full ATF 3x3 flush out...changing to fully synthetic Mobile 1 5w20 oil... just like your cousin is doing...and every 2 oil changes im gonna do a 1x3 transmission flush
think about it...out of those TL's Sold in america...an avg american usually just drives their car.. get their oil changed in a local conventional area...pump gas and just drive it from Point A to Point B... if you think about it...would an avg person who drives their car from point A to point B ever thought about transmission problems?...or doing a transmission flush??...

thats where most of the Percentage of transmission failure comes from in my opinion..they probally drive their car till 100k miles without doing a full transmission flush and keeps on driving until the tranny breaks on them...

Edit: I was one of these percentage in an avg American on my 2nd gen TL...after paying for my first transmission breakdown my whole view of maintaining a car changed...not to mention i was only 18 when this happened... it made a dent in my pocket haha!!

I hate cars

There are exceptions to everything but the 5at in the 3g is a problem. There is always someone that got a million miles without ever changing the oil or trans fluid but there are plenty that have had to be replaced in less than 50k and a TON of posts where they began to shudder which is the last step before total failure. Most were cured with the type F fluid and switch replacement.

There are known problems with the factory fluid and the switches going bad very early. Some manage to survive despite the problems but for the vast majority, switch replacement every 3 years maximum and a better fluid with less FM is mandatory for long life. There's no reason to play the odds.

anionrings

iTrader: (2)

^^ oh i c...but these transmission problems are occurring from the 04 to 06 model correct??..a rare case for 07 08?? im talking about the pressure switches and tranny failures

*prays that its not the 07 08 models*

I hate cars

Judging from this site, the '07-'08 models seem to be more reliable. Time will tell, most have lower mileage too but if I had to guess I think the later ones will be more reliable than the early ones. It's still a good idea to use a better fluid. Swapping the switches on the later transmissions has cause some problems lately. It seems like since the '07 and up use more/different switches, some were using the wrong switch in the wrong place and causing a failure on an otherwise ok trans. The switches get out of calibration over time and cause slippage and shudder on the shifts which is why we have the failures. I haven't seen the '07 and up switches tested to see how quick they get out of calibration.

So the '07 and up are kind of a grey area. The better fluid is a great idea but the switches may or may not get out of calibration as quick. All of the 3g transmissions are mechanically solid, it's just the stupid electrical switch issues and the fluid that got them the bad rep. Even the infamous 2g trans had the same issues. I've cured two of those now from switch and type f fluid replacements. They had one other issue not related to the fluid or switches but you can cure 2 of the 3 major failure points for $150 and the other with a free TSB from the dealer.

As of right now I think the switches and fluid are mandatory for a long life in the '04-'06 and not as important for the '07-'08 but still not a bad idea. I know that's not a very good answer but until someone tests some high mileage switches from one of these to compare to factory specs, we won't know. On the other hand, if the '07-'08 TLs start developing a shudder as the mileage gets up there, you can be 90% sure it's the switches.

TLTrance

I've maintained my TL to a fat ass T and the tranny still failed. To be honest, I think there is a certain element of randomness to this. I just got unlucky this time. However, as good as I maintained the car, I think there are still some improvements I can do. I'll certainly pay more attention to the fluid (drain/fill every 20K maybe), for example.

I hate cars

Did you do the switches and a different fluid and if so, at what mileage?

While frequency is important too, a completely different fluid other than Z1 is more important along with the switches that cause slippage. Fresh fluid helps but it can only do so much when you have bad electronics making it slip and a fluid that's super slippery.

P1zzaman

iTrader: (1)

There have been some reports of 07 transmissions starting to go out. I have done a 3 x 3 with Amsoil Supershift and switch replacements. I'd suggest everyone does the same regardless of year of the car.

I hate cars

That's good info. I guess what I was afraid of is people putting the wrong switches in the wrong place and then blaming the switches/fluid/trans when it was the install. Glad you had good luck with them.

anionrings

iTrader: (2)

when you say type f fluid...you mean these??

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...ype_F_ATF.aspx

I hate cars

That's it.

Amsoil "Super Shift" is another.
Redline "racing" is another.
B&M "trick shift" is another.

Most people on here use the Redline version or the Amsoil version. There's a TON of info on it on this forum.

P1zzaman

iTrader: (1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgDxH8y6cLA

TLTrance

Yeah, I didn't do the switches -- I didn't know about them until I had over 90k miles on the car. I'm definitely going to be doing them when it comes time (since I got a tranny swap, they also replaced the switches -- so they say).

Let me ask you: Since I got a "new" (ahem) tranny with supposedly new switches and of course new fluid (DW-1), when would you recommend that I do the first change to Type F? Should I just do a 3x3 or do 1x3 separated by several thousand miles each?

When should I change the switches?

P1zzaman

iTrader: (1)

I did my first 3x3 over the span of 2000 miles. I just did my switches at 58k.

Im planning on doing switch replacement every 30k from now pn and 1 x 3 trans flush every other oil change.

P1zzaman

iTrader: (1)

To answer your main question Trance, i would do 3 x3 as soon as possible on your new trans to get the benefits. How many miles on your new trans??

I hate cars

I think that's a great idea. You could probably get away with 50,000 mile intervals on a good synthetic type F but it will never hurt to do it your way.

My "new" switches are already showing signs of going out. I think it's been around two years, maybe more, I'll have to search around here to see when I did them. Going to do them again very soon. Seems to be time based, not mileage. That actually makes sense seeing that it's a diaphragm that gets hard over time, probably due to exposure to the ATF which wouldn't matter if the car is being driven or just sitting.

BukvaMan

IHC, my TL is an 05 with only 35 000 miles on it. I dont drive it much, if i do its mostly around town, stop ang go traffic and so on. I did take couple long trips across the states but thats about it. I changed to Redline Type F fluid but i didnt do the switches yet. My car seems to shift fine and everything seems to be ok so far but would you still recommend changing the switches ? and is it hard to do or not ?