^ It lost me too.

 

I had the update done last week on my SH-AWD Tech. I am quite happy with the update so far. The 2-3 shift jerk is not completely gone, but it's not an aggressive jerk. You feel it, but it is quite a bit better. The rest of the behaviour is also quite impressive, to me atleast. Car feels more responsive, and it actually feels like a different car. I'm happy with the update so far, it could be a bit better, but far better than before.

 

I had the update done last week. I wanted to wait a few hundred miles before commenting. I have to say, the hard shift from 2-3 is 85% gone. The shift is still more noticeable than the other gear changes, but it's not a jarring/shuttering shift like in the past. I've tried it in all driving modes, and it works equally well in all modes. Knock on wood, but it appears the engineers are going in the right direction with this update. Hopefully, there's more tweaking they can do, but it's much better than it was.

 

Have you noted higher revving and whether there is a difference what rpms the gear changes are made?

 

I get varying degrees of jolting 2-3 up shift depending on acceleration. Hard and very soft acceleration are not to bad. Moderate, not so good. Also, in Sport+ mode using paddles the 2-3 up shift is horrible. Have you tried that since the update?

#FixMyTLX9speed

 

I experienced some improvement when TSB-15-40 was applied, primarily to the 1-2 shift. 2-3 shift is still bad. The dealer applied TSB-15-40 again after it was revised, but that made no difference. I believe that it made the shifting when in Normal mode worse (I use Sport 99% of the time).

 

Drive in Sport mode and TSB 15-040 helped the shifting jerkiness - much better than prior to TSB (and I had 15-038 done earlier).

 

No, not really, mind you I didn't really pay attention to that. To me it seems like it's shifting at the same rpm's, just a lot smoother and quicker.

 

2 to 3 shift in manual sport+ is horrible. Engine revs by 1k before it shifts and the car seems to stop accelerating during this sequence.

Seems like a CPO GS fsport is on my list once my lease is done unless they fix the tranny issues

 

I don't use the Sport Plus mode, but in all three other modes, the 1-2 shift is now fine at all rpms. The 2-3 shift is usually good under 2k rpm and over 3k rpm. However my normal starts would usually put that shift in the 2 - 3 k rpm range and there it is noticeably notched. I can avoid it by starting slowly or giving more throttle and going faster, which is not always possible in traffic, nor a good fuel economy strategy.

 

Ditto. (Except I only use Sport mode, "set it and forget it".)

 

I drove a BMW 328 and 335 the other day, primarily to compare performance of their 8 speed transmission to our 9 speed. No question, it's smoother shifting at the lower end, but interestingly, not as silky smooth in the upper shifts, although still smooth enough. My very knowledgable salesperson, who had also sold Honda and knew quite a bit about Acura, mentioned that transmissions that are ultra smooth at one end can be choppy at the other end, all of which relates to torque. If that is the case, BMW has chosen to split the difference. Perhaps that leaves hope for further refinements to the programming?

BTW, I noted a few other things. The TLX is quieter than the 328 with the 240 turbo, and although similar to the 335 (2015 - 300 hp), seems to have a little less road noise. That is likely due to the BMW's run flat tires. I also noted that with the reduced lag in rapid acceleration after my transmission update, there was no appreciable differences in lag when tromping the throttle, either from a standing start, or while driving.

I won't stray too far off topic, but in general, given price and equipment, i came away feeling good about the overall TLX quality and value, but wishing that the transmission shift logic more closely resembled the BMW's. A little tranny envy.

 

^engine characteristics.
Honda's engines ALWAYS make the most torque at 6000 RPM. it's something like 250lbs of torque at 6200RPM

where as other car manufactures make peak torque at 2000 RPM. something like 300lbs of torque at 2300 RPM, depending on manufacture.
thus the need for BMW to channel all that power in the lower gears.

it also doesnt help that Most Honda's are FWD, and only now that they realize that AWD is better to put down all that power


Honda has chosen to do it this way since the early 90's. that's just they way they are. i'm hoping with the introduction of turbos that they change and allow more torque down low, where it is needed in every day driving

 

I still want some one with the update applied to reset the battery to see what happens, an experiment if you will.

 

Just two thoughts, you are correct on the RFT noise. They are better than a few generation back, I swapped out my 2011's for get flats, kept the 2013/14 RFT but they still need more refinement.

As for the 300bhp in the BMW one of the not so secrete secretes is BMW under rates its engines. There is also a significant torque differential between the two cars with the 335 generating 300 ft-lbs @ 1300 rpm. The TLX generates 267 ft-lbs @ 4500.

A graph would show a pretty flat line across the RPM range for the 335 & a very steep one for the TLX. Where the rubber meets the road its one of the keys to the 335 outperforming cars of similar weight with more rated power.

Its also why if Acura is serious about the "thrill" they need to develop a Turbo version of the V6, but as Justin says Honda engines have never developed torque down low.

 

Makes sense. I am generally okay with torque at the higher end as i generally drive fairly conservatively and like the power at the upper end for passing. However, that worked fine for my 5 speed TSXs, whereas with the 9 speed, there is the issue with high revving low end sticky shifts.

With Honda putting their toe in the turbo waters with the new Civic turbo option (a nice car for the money), perhaps we will see an Acura turbo in the next few years. I suspect Honda is using this as a product test and a market evaluation before considering more wide spread turbo implementation.

Incidentally, if I was willing to shell out the extra cash and get a similarly equipped BMW, I suspect I would lean to the 328 with the 240 hp.

 

The J35 does have a flat torque curve. The dyno run of a TLX V6 here shows it gets 90% of peak torque from before 2500 rpm all the way to redline which is very good for a NA engine.

https://acurazine.com/forums/perform.../#post15160609

But it's probably optimized to its limits and to compete against the German 3L turbo V6s, Honda will need a similar engine.

 

Yeah we're off-topic. but wouldn't the TLX come alive with the "simple" addition of a mild turbo? Wow, even with 10-12lb of boost this car would be a runner.

.
.

 

Turbo or not, I would be ecstatic with a smoother 2nd shift

 

Had the transmission update redone yesterday while my car was in for winter tires swap out (Michelin X-Ice Xi3). To date, I would say the 2nd shift has also improved and has smoothed out for some shifts in the 2-3K rpm range. Not perfect, but if it stays this way, I will be a happy camper.

 

Yes. There's room in there for one. A turbo TLX-S would be perfect.

My guess is that Canada is a test ground for the options. Already they've axed FWD V6 models, and Canadian models include a few extras. I'd expect any possible turbo model to be only offered in AWD.