I have had the same problem with the third gear not engaging properly, not only with my 2010 TL SHAWD, but with my 2007 TypeS. In the former car, a linkage change under warranty fixed the problem. In my current car, the third gear (and increasingly downshifting to second from third) has been tricky to engage when cold. As the engine warms up the problems become negligible. I have spoken to Acura and to the dealers about this, but with the 2010 -- possibly because I've learned with the 2007 -- I can basically negotiate the gears and make sure there is no slippage. I am simply waiting for the problem to get worse, and if it does, Acura will again hear from me. The disappointing part was that I thought with the redesign of the manual tranny advertised by Acura before the current iteration of TL came out, the problem would be solved. Alas, such has not been the case. As for the reverse gear problem, I agree with other posts: I find putting the gear in one of the forward gears first (not necessarily first), the engagement is much easier. If not, I let off the clutch in neutral, and try again.

 

I started a post here with details on the 3rd gear issue. My dealer replicated exactly what you see and are working on it as we speak.

I'll update that thread when i get my car back with the details of the fix.

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/my-experience-2012-tl-my-3rd-gear-issue-841632/

 

Maybe I missed it, but does it actually feel like it is going all the way into gear when you shift in reverse? With several different hondas/acuras/others, going straight from neutral to reverse would sometimes get me part way in, enough to engage back up lights, review camera, ..., but by no means was the transmission in reverse. Shifting into second gear always seems to alleviate the issue. However, I have never experienced a shift into reverse (full throw) that wasn't in gear my my Acura 6MT.

Far as hitting the barricade, always try to keep awareness of which way your moving, no different then people crowding your bumper on a hill (without having hill assist) you need to be ready to get back on that brake if you are rolling the wrong direction or since we still have hand brakes...give it a grab.

 

Maybe my 2010 TL manual reads very specificly on page 467 to move the shift lever to the left into the 1st/2nd gate path first before going back to the right and into reverse gear. But who needs to read a manual?

 

Just wanted to point out that this is a great tip! I only had to remove 3 of the clips to bend the plastic shield down and access the drain bolt.

One recommendation I have though is to use a piece of cardboard underneath the foil (to give it more support).

Thanks again!

 

I realize this is an old thread but I just read the whole thing and also Pete's thread on his 3rd gear problems and repairs.
A couple points: I think the 3rd gear issue and the reverse issues are probably unrelated.
Docboy if you are reading this, did you get everything resolved?
The reason you wiggle the shifter from side to side before choosing a gear is to ensure that all the shift rails are actually in neutral position.
It sounds like some of these problems may have been caused by shifter cables or shifter adjustment being off. Again, when you shift gears you always go through the neutral position so theoretically all the gears are in neutral and you should have no issue selecting whatever gear you choose from neutral. But in practice there many be a situation for various reasons where the previous gear was not "unselected" 100% so when you select the desired gear you are sort of (partially) in two gears at once. This is a very bad thing! It sounds like Doc's problem may have been that he was in reverse but he was also in another gear at the same time so his transmission was locked up and he could not back up as he wanted to.
I would like to hear more of these issues and I may be able to offer some interpretation if anyone wants to discuss. Well, it would be nicer if we didn't have the problems in the first place - I feel bad for the owners suffering through the annoying experiences.