EverythingGoodWasTaken

So I have a 2015 TLX V6 Adv. 16,000k miles. I first noticed the squeak about a month ago... I was cruising along down the highway in the right lane, behind someone who was driving the exact speed limit. After several annoying minutes, I decided to pass them, so I pressed the gas pedal (preemptively, because as I'm sure many of you are annoyingly aware, sometimes the ZF trans does not immediately respond to the sudden increase in throttle and downshift as it should, regardless of how hard you choose to accelerate.) As I predicted, the trans did not immediately respond to the throttle so my timing was good, the trans finally downshifted and I actually started to increase in speed as I ended the center lane. As the car shifted from what I'm guessing was either 8th or 9th gear down to maybe 4th or 5th, I heard a loud squeak. The squeak only sounded while the transmission was shifting down through the gears, it had nothing to do with the increase in engine RPM. Also, so far, it has only made the sound when I am forcing the trans to downshift, when I am traveling along normally, through what feels like 9 million gears, it makes no sounds and does nothing outside of the TLX's ordinary (like the occasional rough shift through gears 1-3, which no longer bothers me anyway). I have yet to pinpoint where the sound is coming from, but I have replicated it enough times that I am sure the gear shifting is what is causing it.

I have some background info of an interesting behavior that the ZF has exhibited, that could possibly be relevant, as it precipitated what I just described above. I was driving down a roadway, I guess at about 40 - 45 mph and was breaking for an upcoming traffic light. As I reduced in speed it felt like i was stuck in a gear, I don't know how I even noticed it but to be sure, I momentarily released the brake pedal and it still felt like I was braking. The feeling reminded me of back when I was 17, and I used the manual gears on the automatic transmission in my 02 Maxima... Lol. When I was in a manually selected gear and I released the gas, the car would feel as if it were braking. This felt just like that... Anyway, I resumed braking for the traffic light and it felt like the gear I was stuck in finally let go and I felt the car lurch or pull forward a bit. It wasn't dangerous or anything, but definitely noticeable. Anyway, back when this happened, it was one of the first times anything unpredictable happened, other than the TLX's long list of trans quirks, as mentioned above. So I chalked this up to just being another random quirk. It happened again about a little over a month ago. I was doing about 25 - 30 mph and was braking, but harder than the time I just described, for a sharp 90 degree right hand turn. As I was decreasing in speed it felt like I was stuck in a gear again, even the engine rpm sounded a little off, like i was in too high of a gear for my current speed. But I had no time to experiment as the turn was coming up, so I just continued to brake. Again, as I previously described, the gear finally released but this time it jerked, hard, and a few seconds after that it smelled like something was burning. I pulled over and the smell was already going away. There were no warning lights on the dash and the coolant temp was normal, I opened the hood and looked around and everything was normal and the smell was gone already. For the rest of that drive I had no issues. This time I went to the dealer, coincidentally I needed my oil changed anyway so I was killing two birds with one stone. I explained everything to my service advisor and he said, "That is very concerning." Then he proceeded to tell me how much my oil change would cost and asked if there was any other service I needed. I told him I wanted them to check over my trans, check out the fluid to make sure it wasn't discolored or burnt, and I wanted them to check the CPU for any engine codes that maybe hadn't tripped the CEL. They took it back and an hour later, it was done. He said everything was fine with the transmission and the oil change was finished.

I know this isn't the last time this will happen, and the squeak happens 8/10 that I force a downshift.

I have not yet gone back to the dealer with the squeak issue, cause I know they will tell me that they can't replicate it, or that maybe it was another car on the road that I was hearing, or maybe they'll ask if I have a pet mouse. So I've come to the trusty olde Acurazine for some ammunition/input. Has anyone else experienced this and does anyone have any opinions of what it could possibly be? Lastly, how should I proceed?

Crashmaster

I drive a 2015 TLX Advance, so I can sympathize with your issues. Your first issue of the hesitation when accelerating can be solved by adding a Sprint Booster (Version 3). This will also make your transmission come alive. It is a 5 minute install and changes the responsiveness to your accelerator. As for the gear holding etc. What IDS mode do you drive in? Either way, from reading your thread, you appear to want more of a sports car from your TLX. You will really enjoy the Sprint Booster. It only increases the response time from your accelerator to throttle body removing basically all the hesitation.As for the squeak, I can’t say precisely, but it could be the motor mounts. The VCM creates all sorts of engine vibration when switching to 4 cylinders and then 3 cylinders and causes havoc on the engine mounts. And yes, there is an aftermarket solution called a VCMuzzler which will permanently keep your engine in 6 cylinder mode. It will hurt your MPG by 1 or 2, but you will always have 6 cylinders and the full 290 horsepower at your disposal. Truly a shame that Acura requires us to go to outside third party sources to get our TLX into a truly nice driving machine.

EverythingGoodWasTaken

I usually drive in Normal, sometimes I alternate to Sport and once in a while Sport + depending on time of day, traffic, etc. I'll definitely look into the Sprint Booster, but right now I am very worried about what I've been hearing. Yesterday I was getting on the highway, driving in IDS Normal, and I had my driver's side window rolled down. When I pushed the gas a little bit to get some speed to merge I heard the squeak, only now with the window open I can truly hear how bad it is. It is a very loud creak sound. So I'll be scheduling an appointment at my dealer, we'll see what they come up with but I'll mention the mounts just to be sure. I'll update the forum with the result, for obvious reasons.

Crashmaster

Yes, driving next to a curb on the left side of the car will even give you better sound of the squeak (as it will reflect the sound off the curb). You might try a few things to help identify the noise such as:
Lightly ride the brake OR see if the noise changes when turning left or right OR in Sport+ mode try different gears.

EverythingGoodWasTaken

So I went to the dealer Wednesday morning and described the squeak sound and the getting stuck in gear issue to the service advisor. He went and got a technician to go for a drive with me. I explained everything to the tech and he immediately reproduced the issue, repeatedly. He told me he knew right away what the issue was and that the trans was going to need to be replaced. He said the noise was the trans slipping from 2nd to 3rd gear. In complete silence, you can hear it every single time the car goes from 2nd to 3rd. He told me that what I was dealing with was just the beginning of the decline and that I was lucky to have caught it early. They gave me a loaner and said they would evaluate the car and give me a call. Later that day my service advisor called and explained that the Transmission Cooler Line failed, which caused the coolant to mix with the ATF. This contaminated the radiator, transmission, and all the hoses for both systems. They said they will need the car for about a week and that they will be replacing the transmission, radiator, and all of the hoses under warranty. So for anyone else out there having the issues I described, head on down to your dealer because this is apparently a very common issue. I wouldn't want to be the guy that scraped just outside of the warranty period and just started to notice this issue developing. In the interest of giving more complete information, when I get my car back I will post it's build date.

Crashmaster

Good job in getting this replaced. I had my transmission replaced due to the 2 - 3 shift. They put me in a loaner vehicle for near two weeks, but it was worth the wait. Transmission shifting very smooth now.

h_dawg

I actually received a letter from Acura in the mail a few days ago regarding this issue on the coolant and ATF mixing together and causing engine, transmission, and cooling system failure. The letter said that select 2015-2016 TLXs have this problem with the transmission warmer (it was not manufactured properly), and that they are extending the warranty on my car to 10 years for the engine and transmission, regardless of mileage to cover this issue.