Rocket_man

I really feel for those of you that have transmissions problems. I think the way Acura is (not) handling this is shameful. I tend to agree with an earlier poster who said it is basically a calculated risk to take the hit instead of replacing more transmissions. I think that is a mistake on Acura's part. Their brand cache is not large enough to such up bad press and a bad reputation. Anyway..... I was away for a week and I rented a Chrysler 300. It has a 8-speed ZF transmission vice the 9 speed... but that transmission really sucked. There were no hard shifts but it could never make up its mind what gear it wanted to be in and when I tried to get it ti kick down it was a very noticeable shift. When I got back into my Aug 15 build TLX it was night and day. I don't have any harsh shifts, in fact I have a hard time to tell when the car shifts unless I look at the tach. I do have some hesitancy when I slow to a near stop then get back on the gas, but I'm not noticing these as often. Maybe I'm adapting to it.

I don't know what causes some transmission to go bad and others are fairly normal. It has to be more than just software. But I think the numbers of owners with intolerable transmissions is probably not a big number. But there is a big grey area where it is some judgement call as to what is tolerable and what is not. Acura should be erring on the side of caution and giving owners history a big consideration when deciding to replace a transmission (ie how many problems, how many times they have 'relearned' the clutch).

Have you thought about going to your local news reporter who does consumer issues? Every city has a reporter that sticks a camera in the face of a local business to make something 'right.' Maybe the dealership will give you a generous trade in on a 2016?

Best of luck.

1Louder

^ I already tried to trade it in on a 2016 RDX. The problem this isn't a dealership issue. It's not an issue that's within their control to fix, so it's not really a dealership issue to "make right". Getting a replacement transmission requires permission from Acura engineering. So I didn't get a deal that I would call a "make up" deal for my current problem. Best deal I got was to shell out another $3500 for a $650 payment (on a lease). That's a lot worse than my original TLX deal, and the car prices are roughly equivalent.

As much as I'd like to go see a reporter, I can't help but to think that to the rest of the world this looks like the pure definition of a first-world problem. I think if there was a persistent safety issue or track record of transmission failures there might be a story there. But to a reporter, they are going to look at me like, "you really want me to run a story about your transmission shifting hard in one of the nine gears?". Hardly the stuff of public outrage. The core of the injustice lies with the owners who spent way too much money on a car to get this poor a transmission with a daily annoyance that can be fixed but they refuse to.

I think the avenue will continue to be public shaming of Acura for how poorly they continue to deal with this.

rgpolson

ZF's website made me LOL...

Advantages
- Planetary gearset with 9 speeds, 4 simple gearsets, and 6 shift elements.
- Gearsets are nested to save space
- Wide transmission ratio spread (nearly 10) with small ratio steps
- The first-ever use of interlocking dog clutches in a passenger car powershift transmission
- Torque converter with excellent vibration and oscillation isolation for optimal comfort during starting (driveoff) and shifting
- Proven ZF control systems technology helps provide the excellent shift quality known from the 8HP

Cars | 9-Speed Automatic Transmission - ZF Friedrichshafen AG

youngTL

I don't think it's all V6 TLXs. Like I said, I've tried and tried to replicate the conditions on my 2016 TLX and cannot get it to do anything other than a smooth shift.

1Louder

I meant to say all TLX's built prior to say July 2015 (I'm guessing?). If Rocket_man has an Aug 15 build that's good, and my Jan 15 build is not, somewhere in between they made a change (which is why your 16 is OK). I don't know when they switched, but something is different between mine and what's on the market now given the few here that got replacement transmissions under warranty also don't have an issue.

le^2

Anyone know Acura Canada's Lease Take Over fee by chance? I've decided to put up the lease late spring/summer. TLX Elite, black / black currently 5500 kms.

youngTL

I think it's $580.

KeithL

I have stated the ZF 8spd in my A6 was flawless, probably the best tranny I have ever driven.

I will also say that my TLX tranny is not as bad as others here have, but since moving to Sport mode it is much better than before, still a mess at times, but more tolerable now.

Rocketsfan

I'm the only one in my 2015... it shifts in bizzare fashion that changes after every software update. I drove a 2016 with 2500 miles on it. It shifted almost perfectly. In all scenarios, I'm the only one in the car.

vovo

I'm glad to see signs of the 9AT issue moving in the right direction. I've been lurking for the better part of a year to see how it would unfold. There's a lot to like about the TLX but this issue combined with what I considered to be Acura's sub-par response to affected owners scared me off when I was in the market last winter so I leased another brand. (Part of the reason I'm posting at all is to reaffirm that Acura has lost business. For me it's less about the problem and more about how they've been shrugging it off when confronted by owners.) Still, I'd like to think that Acura can turn things around and put themselves back on my radar for next time. We'll see how it goes from here.

Rocketsfan

I dropped my car off at the dealership and it was shifting like crap. I picked up a 2016 that drove perfectly. I drove it the next day on the same 30 mile path I take to work in the same type of weather. It drove perfectly. The shifts were imperceptible. Now, if you're going to tell me that the algorithms are THAT sensitive, then I should've felt something somewhere when driving the 2016 that reminded me of my 2015. I felt the transmission shift maybe once or twice, but that was normal. The sluggishness, the bucking, etc. that I've felt throughout the various updates was not there in the 2016.

Now, maybe what 1Louder said is correct, and is more believable to me -- maybe eventually all these cars will eventually exhibit issues. But I noticed in this thread I mentioned in October 2014 that I felt the hard shift. That was only about 1-1.5 months after I bought the car. I'm still waiting to see if 2016 owners mention any of this.

ATXTLX

The 2016 you drove is, in fact, different. Much much better. I received my new transmission mid October. To this date, the tranny has not changed one bit. Still shifts smoothly and imperceptibly. My 2015 transmission drove crappy from the 2nd week, and just got worse from there.

jcroniser

I am one of those who received a new transmission (mid-November) and I am sad to report that my new transmission is not shifting as well as ATXTLX's transmission. I am experiencing significant lag when shifting in the lower gears--like the car is a new driver trying to learn to drive a manual transmission. I actually had an incident a couple of weeks ago when I pushed on the accelerator and there was a total lack of responsiveness for about three seconds, before it surged forward. I honestly thought the car had stalled out for a second. I have a visit set for Wednesday at my dealership--we'll see. This has to be at least my seventh visit to the dealership for this TLX since early April 2015...

Momyc

Are you sure you received an 2016 transmission or is an 2015 one ? If they have some mechanical changes on 2016 and you got an 2015 , it may not solve (or at least partially) your problems . Mine is an 01/15 built and is experiencing hard shifts and hesitation but I decide to live with it up to my lease is up. I lost any hope that Acura will fix it for us first adopters. If they will fix it with MMC I may give them another shoot but I'll see. The SH-AWD and the value is what made me stick around Acura , but this transmission spoiled all the thrill.

kuzdu

Hey guys the loaner 2015 which I still have just started to shift rough. It was super smooth before couldn't tell shifting was even occuring. This may be to the adaptive driving patterns but I don't know what to think of anymore lol. My car is still at the dealer and awaiting a response from Acura Corp.

jcroniser

Momy, that's a good question. I don't know. The paperwork I received just says that I received a new transmission. Of course, if anyone in this group knows how to tell based on some code or invoice number, please let me know and I'll check and report back.

mindanalyzer

Please bear in mind that all ZF trannys are sold as kits and it is up to the different automakers (with ZF's consulting of course) to match them to the different engines with an appropriate programming.

My current vehicle has a 8HP (AWD with 3 driving modes) and this is hands down the best tranny I have ever driven; it is fast/responsive, butter smooth at any temperature/condition and unobtrusive. I am very difficult to satisfy in this area and I am quite happy with the 8HP

Now, I am not sure about the 9 spd ZF. The Jeep Cherokee has been having bad problems (well documented) with this, but I read something about Chrysler taking some shortcuts when doing the matching so there might be it. As many of you have painfully experienced, the TLX is also having problems. I think that the RR evoque has the ZF 9 spd but I have not heard many complains.

I am wondering if the real culprit is poor engineering work (shortcuts, cutting cuts, etc) by Jeep and Acura or that the ZF 9 spd tranny is actually flawed

jeich182

Ready to move on, I drove a new 2015 328i xDrive and a 2016 TLX SH-AWD Tech yesterday. I explained the dissatisfaction with my car and said I want to drive a 2016 because it has a revised transmission (the salesman quietly acknowledged the updated trans).
I'll just say right off the bat that if I didn't know it, I wouldn't believe the '16 has the same transmission as my car. The shifts, particularly 2-3 where my wife and I sort of brace for the shock in my car (even after 2 software updates), was smooth-as-butter in the '16. The park to drive engagement was perhaps a little bit faster, too. I got on the power a couple times (I couldn't tell you at what speed or gear I was in) and in one instance the dog clutch shift had a similar delay, in another it seemed markedly less. So the main takeaway is that there are noticeable improvements to the transmission over my early-production 2015.
As expected with the SH-AWD model, the VCM vibrations were barely noticeable although I could still tell when the system was engaged. This is a huge annoyance in my car.
I've got nothing to substantiate this but it feels more stiffly sprung/damped than the several '15 TLX' I've driven.
Bottom line is they've made some noticeable fixes/progress with the 2016 largely because of guys like us complaining. The unfortunate part is we have to fall on our sword as many of us are too upside down to get out of our cars. If you asked me today to pick I'd choose the 328i xDrive, not because it is necessarily a better car for me but because the TLX is the most expensive car I've purchased to-date and has been a letdown and caused grief in dealing with service. In one sense it's like a slap in the face to one of their most loyal customers and brand advocates.

le^2

Jeich, I totally agree with everything you noted. I had two early 90's Honda Accords, '07 TSX, 06 S2000, '15 ILX and '15 TLX. I must say the TLX is hands down the worse transmission of any Honda product I've owned.

I was grumbling about the car a few nights ago (I know, first world problems ) and my wife gave me to OK to find someone to take over the lease. Hopefully this coming Summer we can get out of this god-awful waste of time/money.

1Louder

It is. I've made it clear to ACR this is my fourth Acura (plus 2 Hondas), and that my tranny has already failed once. They don't care. They weren't particularly sympathetic about it either. I sent a pretty angry letter to ACR, all they did was basically say they got the letter and still won't do anything. It's text book "how to turn a loyal Acura customer into a future Lexus owner".

Stew4HD

The lack of response by ACR is why I will not buy another Honda/Acura after the lease is up on this car. I got so tired of them saying to take it up my local dealership.

Robs252

When I got my tranny replaced I was told there were 3 transmissions: early 2015, revised 2015 (with a new part number) and the 2016. When I asked if my car was getting the 2016, they said that was not possible. I can happily report however that my car is doing great! My build is 9/14

le^2

Atleast you guys get a response. ACR Canada hasn't even replied to me after a month.

jeich182

I tried with ACR once. They said the same thing: After that I knew what my results would be with ACR so I didn't contact them again and did pursue with my dealership. They were understanding to a degree but could not just start replacing components without anything being "wrong" with them.

1Louder

This is essentially where I wound up. Everything is "in spec".

weather

I am delighted to see some seriously disgruntled loyal Acura owner....I would give ANYTHING for those execs to read these and see how their inability to manage a business is killing the brand.

IN the odd chance someone there actually read these boards....Take this, you INCOMPETENT SENIOR MANAGERS! You are an embarrassment and you should be ashamed of what you have done to this ONCE amazing brand.

1louder...You will not regret buying a Lexus.

I am really upset to see all the friends and amazing people I have met here be treated like shit and ignored by Acura....I really feel for you, I really do!

Rocketsfan

No, Evoque owners are complaining as well. The complaints are almost like a mirror image of some of the complaints in this forums. Some see problems, some don't... some have issues with pulling away from a stop... others have rough shifts... and of course, it seems they've had their merry-go-round of software updates, too :

If you read the following thread, you'd think you were reading this thread at times. The very first post is something I complained about with my car, however, after the 40 update and the last re-flash, I think it has disappeared : 9 speed auto gearbox - Range Rover Evoque Forums - Page 1

Rocketsfan

lol. And as if on cue, I realize I missed a phone call on my mobile phone and it's the dealership reminding me to give them great scores when Acura calls with their survey. This is followed by Acura calling (within minutes... weird). The first question they ask is for me to rate the service I received at the dealership on a scale of 1-10. I responded with something like "well, I guess the service did what they could do, but my transmission is still crap because Acura refuses to fix it, so I'm not really sure how to respond to your question. The dealership fixed one of the issues but the transmission issue is still there." I think either the guy got scared, or knew the rest of the survey would be painful or useless, because after that one question, he just said "that concludes this survey...." etc, etc. "thank you" ... and that was that.

Don't waste my time with these garbage calls, Acura. You've got the dealerships parroting lines about "everything's within spec" and have them caught between getting good numbers on their survey results and a problem they obviously can't fix. I'm not giving anybody any scores until you give me a properly functioning transmission.

kuzdu

Hey guys well I got my call today they are finally authorizing a tranny change :-) could not believe what i had to go through to get this done. I assume it will be the revised 2015 one now does this come with a new Pcm or will they re use the existing? They said they will order a new kit so I assume that is part of it.

rgpolson

So I finally wussed out and traded for a 2016 TLX SH-AWD. Couldn't deal with all the drama and the Acura line that there is no problem. Would have gone to BMW, but they offered 3k less on a trade and price would have been over 50k for configuration I wanted. I'm still upset and this will be my last Honda/Acura product, but I'm now not ticked off every time I climb in the car.

The 2016 drives like a completely different car. 1-2 and 2-3 shifts are as smooth as the higher up-shifts. It better stay that way or this car will "accidentally" be driven off a cliff.

Anyway, my drama is done for now. It's a true shame that Honda/Acura won't stand behind a product this expensive and won't even admit a problem even though this has been mentioned in about ever review of the 2015 TLX 9 speed that I have seen.

jcroniser

I am currently sitting in my local dealership awaiting the return of my TLX. The service manager went on a test drive with me and agreed that the shifting was inconsistent. When we returned, he hooked up my car to their computers and advised that there was a software update available. I was a little surprised to hear that there was a software update available, considering I hadn't read about one on this thread. We'll see what this software update does.

ATXTLX

Wow.. The NEW transmission you received needs an update?

ATXTLX

Did Acura help you with any negative equity?

Stew4HD

In my case, the dealer discounted the RLX by roughly the negative equity, which brought the cost back up to the RLX invoice cost.

In the end, it was not really much help now that I've had time to reflect.

ATXTLX

Stew, at least you are now driving a car you enjoy, correct? I would love to have an RLX!!

Stew4HD

Wellll, yes and no. The car is pretty nice but... The Hyundai Genesis is better equipped than this car. I won't go into the list of things I find lacking.. mostly, I am no longer an Acura fan so I am not the best judge

1Louder

Ran across this today - they test drove the V6 SH-AWD:

Acura TLX Reviews - Acura TLX Price, Photos, and Specs - Car and Driver

Thought this was relevant to us:

Rocketsfan

Well, "Acura" called back again to do another survey. I told them they just called yesterday and quit after one question when I mentioned my transmission issue is still not fixed (see my previous post above). The person said "oh, it sounds like you completed the survey then, so I have no idea why you're getting this call again". This is a bit humorous now.

Also got a call from some service guy with a title I forget yesterday asking if everything went well with my last service (see post prior to previous post above). I left him my number. He called back today and I told him all the stuff I've been through with the clunky transmission. He said he'd get a service rep to call me back. That didn't happen today... maybe tomorrow? Who knows.

kuzdu

This must be the new update that came out for the 2016 mdx

KeithL

I found the article interesting as they say Sport mode holds gears far too long. I find it just the opposite. I think there is hardly much difference from Normal and Sport mode. I find the tranny behaves better in Sport than Normal and actually would not consider it Sport compared to other cars I have owned in Sport mode. Both my Audi A6 and Infiniti M37S in Sport modes were far more aggressive than the TLX is.