Which update?! I have the exact same problem. Going to get remote start put in and want this done too.

 

BeerManMike, I believe the latest service bulletin is number 15-024, the original bulletin was 15-021.

mcalvi01, I agree that the update has helped. The "rear ended" feeling doesn't happen anymore, the morning shifting on cold starts is improved, the R to D clunk that I and others experienced doesn't happen anymore. However with the colder weather getting closer we will see if this holds true. I will say this in stop and go traffic or coming to a stop or taking off from a stop at lower speeds, I still feel the transmission can be jerky sometimes. It's been around 3 weeks since I got the update hopefully in time it will smooth out.

 

What is everyone else's thoughts since the new update? I still notice jerky upshifts out of first and second gear and the occasional jerky downshift from second to first when coming to a stop. Also, does anyone else feel a jerk when shifting from park into reverse or drive?

 

I think we need to keep this thread alive and keep reporting how our transmissions are behaving.




Not really, again waiting for the cold weather to come around again.

 

Sorry for the choppy response I did it from my iPhone. The shifting from P to R to D, has been smoothed out for now.

 

I had 15-024 applied (which is different from 15-021) and it did reduce the time to go from R to D in half - so that's fine. It also seemed to have changed some of the shift patterns a bit - I noticed the car will downshift a bit more when I'm coasting.

But - the slightly abrupt shift from 1 to 2 when cold is identical and the little surges when coming to a stop still exist.

Mine is within acceptable levels for me so I'm happy and will wait for more updates (which are surely coming) before taking her back in.

 

We do appreciate these updates from you guys.

 

I had 15-024 a month ago, the R-D pause is gone and I'd say the early morning cold shifts are no different than I've experienced on other cars. Better than some, and certainly nothing I would have been watching if I hadn't been reading AZ since October.

 

Thanks for the update. Do you feel a jerk after you shift the lever from Park into Reverse or Drive?

 

No.

Right. The only time I've been bothered by the 1 to 2 shift was in the dead of Winter with below zero temps and even then it goes away once the car is properly warmed up. Otherwise I agree - it's not something you would think about had you not read any of the forums and just started driving the car.

 

No

 

No

 

Well it's time for an update, in the northeast its been in the 30's and 40's in the early morning hours and guess what? Yup the clunk to a certain degree has returned. Not as brutal as before on a scale of 1-10 it's about a 5. As the weather gets colder I hope the clunk doesn't worsen, not looking good though. Anyone else with cold weather noticing the return of the 'clunk'?

 

Thanks for the update. Is the "clunk" a noise, a jerk/surge, or both?

 

The sound is basically the transmission jumping in place (hard shift R to D, a big clunk). No surge but yes there is a jerky sensation. Like taking a big rock and dropping on the floor, you get a 'thump', that's what the car feels like.

 

Appreciate for the update.
I too had it long time(3,4 months ago) back and mine behaves the same . Any more updates for 8-speed trans?

 

I also notice the little surges when coasting or slowing down to a red light.

 

Well a good transmission rev matches when downshifting, however with this transmission being kind of quirky but it really doesn't do anything perfectly.

 

I can deal with a quirky transmission, my only real complaint is the clunk from R to D on cold start ups, which has returned. It's not as violent as before but the weather isn't that cold yet either. I wish others would chime in to see if the clunk returned on their cars (like I said when it gets colder, I believe others will experience it again).

 

Clunk is still there when cold. All other issues are corrected. Clunk doesn't occur if you let the engine warm up a couple minutes, which I have done with all my cars.

 

I agree that letting the car warm up a few minutes would either lessen or aleviate the clunk. My problem is that it shouldn't be that way, yes cars run better when up to temp, but since other people that have the 4 cylinder don't even experience the clunk at all tells me certain transmissions are defective. All owners should have this problem if it were a true characteristic of this car, since it seems to be random this is a cause for concern. Acura should address this problem.

 

I've been driving my TLX for exactly a year and really love the car. It gets decent mileage, handles and runs well, especially on highways. I've been tolerating the occasional clunks while starting and stopping. The pause between R and D, is tolerable. The hesitation however has become dangerous. I pulled out into traffic this morning and the engine virtually stopped for about a second, leaving me vulnerable to oncoming traffic. Thought sure I was going to get t-boned. This, my friends is unacceptable.

Been hearing a lot about the 15-024 addressing the abrupt shifting. Is there anything to address the hesitation? (Perhaps this has been answered - sorry if I missed it.)

 

Sounds like you don't have the latest TSBs applied to your car. Go here for a list of all TSBs: List of 2015 Acura TLX TSBs - USA - Acura TLX Forum

Sounds like you need:

TSB 15-021 - Transmission Slips or Shifts Hard When Cold
Applies To: 2015 TLX - ALL L4 - From VIN 19UUB1...FA000001 thru 19UUB1...FA011573
http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B15-021.PDF

TSB 15-024 - Product Update: PCM Software Does Not Meet OBDII Regulations
Applies To: 2015 TLX - L4 with 8-speed transmission - Check the iN VIN status for eligibility
http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B15-024.PDF

 

Our car had this clunk even when the weather was warm, but it was a nuisance more than anything. Like you said, it gets better after the car warms up, but it shouldn't be there in the first place. I test drove a 2012 Accord and noticed a similar clunk, which leads me to believe that this par for the course for Honda. As to how it acts now, I can't say because it's not my personal vehicle and the daily driver used remote start in the morning, so the car is warmed up by the time the car moves. I'll make it a point to start the car cold on the weekend, although this may have to wait a few weeks as it's pretty warm here, but I'll observe and report.

 

I bought this car almost one year to this date. I have driven 23,000 miles during that time. My commute is 80 miles roundtrip into Boston (30 miles I would say is bumper to bumper traffic). Here is my experience.
I have every issue that's complained about in regards to this transmission except the R to D clunk...odd. It clunks into 2nd gear all the time. It has lost power for a second or two while trying to make a turn across traffic. The feeling of being hit from behind after coming to a stop. The overall jerkiness when accelerating in the lower gears (especially when cold). The feeling the car has been thrown into neutral and doesn't shift.
That being said, I have had all the TSB's done. I had 15-024 done last Monday. Since then, I've already had the "Did I just get hit from behind" scenario happen a few days ago. Overall jerkiness during the commute has gone down but it's definitely there. Temps here have dropped into the 40's in the morning and the rough shifting is still there after initial startup (To be honest, not as bad as last year but it's only been cold a few days this year). Bumper to bumper driving in this car is either feast or famine. Sometimes it shifts fine, other times it feels like someone is dropping a 5lb weight on the floorboard during shifts.
I've been monitoring these boards for the entire year since I've had this car and I'm not feeling very optimistic about a real solution to these issues. They can put lipstick on this pig with software patches but in the end, it's still a pig.

 

Sorry to hear about your problems. Have you had the 15-021 done? If so, it wouldn't hurt to do it again. It's possible they didn't do the idle re-learn or something else properly. Keep us posted.

 

Is your clunk only from R to D? The transmission in our vehicle also clunks (and by that I mean there is a single jerk) from P to D, as well as P to R. Interestingly, the P to D clunk is more pronounced than the P to R clunk.

 

I have every symptom as well excluding the R toD clunk. No available TSB for my car as it had the latest updates when it left the factory according to the dealer.

Dealership refuses to continue to write up trans issues any longer unless there is another update from factory..

 

I would appreciate it if you could test out your car and let me know (just make sure like you said to wait until the weather gets cold).

 

Yeah, it's pretty much just R to D on cold starts. I'll keep my eye on it to see if P to R has a clunk, it might be there but it's small. For those of you that don't have have the R to D clunk consider yourselves lucky because I tell you that hard clunk feels like it is going to break something, no lie. I will have to see how bad it is in December-February.

 

I have continued to monitor this thread, as I'm still interested in knowing if they have ever resolved the issues with the DCT even though I traded in my 15' TLX 4 months ago for a 16' Mazda 6 GT. The Mazda 6-spd has been fantastic, still happy with it. Interestingly, my 15' TLX in perfect condition, with 4,860 miles on it, is still sitting on the dealer lot...

We just recently traded in our 14' Honda Pilot Touring for a 16' Pilot EX-L. I wanted the touring, but did not want the 9-spd ZF that comes with it or the non-defeatable start/stop crap. 16' Pilot owners with the ZF transmission have already been complaining about it similar issues that V-6 TLX owners have been complaining about. Apparently, they have not fixed the issues yet.

Now that the 16' TLXs are out, has anyone who purchased a 16' 4-cyl with the DCT experienced the problems we have had with the 2015 models? I still love the looks and driving of the TLX just not the transmission.

 

I wouldn't be able to notice since I've experienced no problems with the DCT on our 2015

 

NRS78, the only real complaint I have is the R to D clunk. The micro surges and occasional jerky transmission I can live with for now, but not that clunk.

 

Has anyone who brought their car in multiple times for the same issue thought about filing a lemon law case? I know each state is different but I think the more pressure that is put on Honda will hopefully fast track a resolution. Just a thought.

 

I had hard-shifting issues with my TLX as well, but recently Acura has done a transmission software update on my car, and most of these problems went away. If your car is affected by the same software issues, you should've received a recall letter (it mentions PCM software update to satisfy OBDII regulations). If not, you can still check with an Acura dealer.

 

Vgr926, what are your lingering issues?

Nebula, I started the car cold when it was about 45-50 degrees out and did not feel the jarring clunk which you described. I did feel a slight jerk/pulse when switching between gears, as I had described before. There was no noise. Perhaps we are talking about the same thing, with your symptoms being more pronounced. I will report again once it's around freezing outside.

I would be interested in hearing feedback from those with 2016 TLXs...

 

Biggie_B, please let me know in colder weather if it happens. It's been around 50 degrees where I am. Some days I feel it some days no, I still believe colder equates to the clunk. Thanks.

 

The clunk is definitely more prominent when it's colder. The last few days have been in the high 30s here and there is a clunk, but as others have said it can be mitigated by pausing in N for about 2 seconds. Not ideal, but I doubt it will be resolved any time soon.

 

Nomad346, thanks for the update, yes pausing in neutral is the work around. I can't believe we have to do this for a "luxury" car.

 

...and these harsh shifting issues could have been avoided had they offered a manual tranny I am hoping the 2017 MMC will bring something exciting for us...I want to get another Acura but won't until these issues are resolved.