I love the smoothness of the new 7 speed in the 2012 and am wondering if the 7th gear is an overdrive gear. Its so smooth I cannot detect each shift when driving with a light foot. Tapping the RH paddle while not accelerating, and just as it drops into the top gear, will drop my RPM's as expected. A slight acceleration will take it to the next lower gear. It behaves much as older cars with a lockup torque converter.

 

I am pretty sure it's a new 6 Speed. The final 6th gear should make it 1:1 if I am not mistaken.

http://acuranews.com/channels/acura-...-tl-powertrain

 

Correction:

6 speed not 7

 

I'm surprised by this post....I would not characterize my 2012 Transmission as "Smooth". In fact, just the opposite - shifts seem abrupt at times. Perhaps I should bring this to my service adviser's attention.

 

My upshifts are really quick and smooth. My downshifts seem harsher, but I believe its just the rev matching feature.

My only issue with the 6 speed auto is that in the morning when I shift out of park into reverse, it kind of "jerks" back and I hear a slight "thud". It then jerks forward when I put it into drive. It won't do this again until the next morning.

I know that there aren't as many 2012 automatic models, but I wonder if I am the only one with this problem or not? Might have to mention it to the dealer when I go in for my first oil change.

 

Rev match downshift will only make the transmission shifts smoother, not harsher.

 

I have the same issue, especially when the weather for the past few days had been pretty cold. And i think it might just be a common problem with all acura's transmissions. Cuz i also have a 2005 EL and the transmission on it does the same thing even when the car is warm.

 

With a cold engine your RPMs may be slightly higher depending on ambient temperature when you first shift out of park. The "jerks and "thuds" are just normal driveline slack I think, since you do not hear them again until the next morning.

You refer to harsher downshifts. Is this with the paddle shifter? Auto downshifts can be felt in my 2012 but only in the lower gears (eg: 3rd to 2nd). Ocassionally, they may be a little more noticeable. Again, rev matching.

I don't think you have any real worry on this. Wait for others to reply.

 

i agree

 

Mine's a 2010 with the 5-speed and it does the same thing. So does our 09 Ody to a lesser degree as did my 08 TL. I'm not sure what causes it but I think it's just a normal trait of the Honda Tranny.