chris03tl

1 of 2 answers:

1. They werent

or

2. $$$

Rocket_man

Seems like the driver to driver adaptability is causing problems. Why is this even needed? Acura should make this set-able in the menu.

chrisr

I had my TLX at the dealership last week and had the update installed. I printed the TSB and handed it to the service representative. I didn't have to explain much. He just read through the bulletin. The update took an hour.

I have driven it for 2 days (to and from the office). It does seem that I can still induce the hard shifts from 2nd to 3rd gear during the usual occasions. The cluck feels slightly less than before the update but is still noticeable. Some of the clunks have a different characteristic. They seem less forceful but somewhat longer.

I opened a case with Acura Client Relations called me 2 days after the update. She said I should give it a few more days and she'll call back again. She seems very responsive although I'm not sure what she can ultimately do.

Can Acura actually swap your new TLX with another TLX? Have they ever just give people their money back?

chrisr

By the way, it seems like the 1-star reviews from the members of this forum have already posted in the different websites. In the other forum, we thought these 1-star reviews might get Acura's attention. If you feel like expressing your voice, here are the sites where you can post a 1-star review:

Edmunds.com

Kelley Blue Book

2015AcuraTLX Consumer Reviews

nore03

I've gotten the update and I can say it does perform a little better but still not flawless. The service tech said I shouldn't drive the car in sport because that will make me feel it. Normal is the way to go so I have been driving it in normal to see how it is going to react. I am getting to the point now though that I don't really care about how it works. I love the car and everything about it. I think the more I read about the tranny issue the more i care about it. I got on the car today going home from church and it is so quick and fun to drive I think my focus on the tranny issue is causing me to not love everything else about the car.

On a side note, I drove the Pilot with the 9 speed and it shifts pretty well. I didn't notice anything bad. The Pilot only offers the 9 speed in there Touring and Elite trim which is not the volume model. The Ex-L and lower trims have a 6 speed so I don't think Honda is as worried.

accord1999

To be fair, ZF's 8-speed is well regarded and is found on many high-end vehicles. Honda probably just thought it was getting a transverse version of that.

chris03tl

I would hope Honda would have done enough research to realize the transmissions are nothing alike BEFORE they decided to make this their "flagship" automatic.

chris03tl

Im sure they are worried....the 9AT shifting issues have eventually shown up in every application (not just Honda/Acura vehicles), so yes the brand new on the lot Pilot shifts fine, for now.

Just like the TLXs everyone has test driven shifted fine during the test drives.

There has been at least one person that already had to have the 9AT replaced on their Pilot (it puked all its fluid out), and the same has happened to at least one MDXer with the 9AT as well. And over on the MDX forums, the complaints about shift timing, quality, etc are slowly making their way to the internets.

Keep an eye on the Piloteer forums....since Honda will sell a lot more of those than the MDX and/or TLX, if the problems start to show up that place will be flooded with complaints.

Gary325TLX

I too read all these issues about the tranny. Rate is a 1-star at all the sites you can find.

Unsubscribing from this thread..

Bye.

I love my TLX, each time I open/close the door, each time it moves to my seat position, each time it automatically turns on the ventilated seats, each time it controls the cabin temperature/climate, each time it slows down when in cruise.
5-start all the way.

jeich182

Adios. Those of us who expect more for our ~$40k we'll still be here until it's fixed.

Rocketsfan

From the article :

When I asked about rough downshifts during a common American maneuver—a gentle rolling ‘stop’ followed by a right turn and moderate acceleration (one that’s a non-event in the Discovery Sport), Mohr deflected to FCA’s choices. “It sounds like what you’re describing there is related not to adaptation but to shift strategy, which is determined by our customer,” he said.

I feel this damn near all the time on right turns followed by moderate acceleration.

Rocketsfan

If that were the case, I must be having some out-of-body experiences or get possessed on some of my drives since I'm the only one driving it.

Rocketsfan

FYI : I've driven it in Normal on a tank of gas after the update and the issue is still there. Although the shifting has improved, the bump of that one shift is softer, but still present. And every so often it is a bit more forceful.


** Sorry for the triple post mods... should've multi-quoted **

Stew4HD

My shifting issues are still there after the update. When I first drove it off the lot, the car seemed better that is, until I started driving in my normal patterns.

Like you, no one else has driven my car except for mechanics so the driver to driver thing is bogus. I think I drive a bit differently sometimes, depending on many situations (in a hurry, relaxed, stressed, etc). IMO, they are trying to be too smart or are making excuses.

I am seriously trying to be mellow about this but.. it's not easy. I have come to really dislike coming to a stop now. The car feels much slower, like it has no power from a dead stop.. dead ass slow unless I give it a lot of pedal

neoshi

That's super disappointing to hear.

Basically, their fix is to do an idle relearn after every complaint, send you off for a few days, and hope you give up on the issue.

On the plus side, you get your very own CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE book with the protagonist, YOU, and the antagonist, ACURA, in a epic fight for a decent product. Such a juicy story.

Stew4HD

Since Acura does have a good track record for fixing things.. I'll give them some more time.. but only some

jeich182

My car has had 3 idle relearns since I took delivery. Anything fixed? Nope.

neoshi

It's because your foot has different personalities on different days and during different situations. ZF thought you would be one with your foot, but apparently we Americans are like octopuses and our limbs have minds of their own.

Nexx

i just got one for my lady a week ago. I drive these things everyday. if drive it hard to about 4000rpm and left off the gas suddenly i can replicate it. but its not much different than what would happen if i did that in my RLX. maybe its slightly harsher but nothing that i would generally complain about. i hope its not in your heads making something worse than it actually is. ive asked her if shes noticed anything funny while drive and shes said not so far. she has no idea there is a "problem" with the shifting.

Quandry

^^And please don't tell her or hint that others are reporting a problem. I sympathize with those that have a severe problem, and the rest of us would have been better off not knowing about it.

jeich182

Right, it must be our heads that created this many upset owners and pages of posts regarding the issue. 4,000RPM and suddenly let off the gas to replicate? If that's specifically what it took for this to manifest I'd do a victory dance. Instead it happens at nearly every 2-3 at most RPM and if I have my head 1-2" from the headrest the jolt of the shift will push it back to the headrest as it shifts. BTW I've driven an RLX recently as a loaner and found the "antiquated" transmission flawless and refreshing.

CPR

FYI: Brought the TSB/from 7/25 to my dealer this morning
Service Advisor swore, that no other customer has even mentioned the SH-AWD tranny problem; i.e. hesitation, hard shift, etc.
Anyway, I'll report back tomorrow if all is well; fingers XXXXX
What I don't understand, is that 2 months ago the Technician drove the car, & agreed with me, about the 2 problems, but claimed they were waiting for a software upgrade. Why didn't Acura C.S. notify me that the upgrade was available?

Stew4HD

Same thing with me. I had to tell the SA of the TSB. As for the AWD tranny trouble, the tech that rode with me felt the shifting issues and then he drove an AWD Tech and said that it did the very same thing as mine.

Isn't it great to be coming out of a corner, give it gas and ..LAG.... nothing... then it catches? I guess they didn't want us stressing that SH-AWD system.

9SpeedTran

I have noticed in the last couple days how fast the 9 speed downshifts after the latest update (34). The weird lunge during when slowing down also seems to have pretty much vanished.

Also today on a highway drive today to work, I got 37.3 mpg averaging about 70 mph on about a 25 mile drive over hills etc.

I love this car.

CPR

Love mine also; hope the update fixes the problem; will report back tomorrow

mani

I just got my car back last week after the dealer had it for 35 freaking days... I heard everything from yes they are trying to find the issue, acura has been alerted, acura is sending their engineer, engineer test drove went back to acura will come back with results, most probably new transmission needed to the final OH, they did a freaking reset relearn shit !!!

Yes Im freaking pissed

wlkeel

I feel for you guys and hope they get a "final" fix soon.

I'm amazed at how many auto manufacturers have used this ZF unit. From the Sept Car and Driver mag when talking about the Land Rover Discovery Sport: " ....2.0-liter turbo four and a ZF nine-speed automatic is tepid, with unpredictable power delivery and harsh shifts". When talking about the Jeep Renegade: "Leave it in auto and it always seems to be in the wrong gear. As in other applications of the ZF nine-speed, shifts are alternately harsh and slurred." The article continued with even more criticisms of the unit.

I wasn't in the auto industry, we built missiles. But by golly, we screened our suppliers like nobodies business, and our specifications were usually such that a great subsystem was provided.

What the hell happened with all these auto guys selecting this ZF unit??? Hard to believe.

In any case, they'll probably make it acceptable - sure hope so.

Rocket_man

They were lazy in doing their due diligence and ZF must have some great sales people. They just wanted to believe this was the solution to a transmission for this car and checked that off the list and went on to figure out how to hide the exhaust and design some ugly wheels. Gotta set priorities!

Stew4HD

I think they were so focused on the CAFE numbers that they didn't even bother with vetting ZF.

CPR

Got the car back yesterday; dealer actually performed 3 updates, as per Acura TSB's
Service Manager swore I'm the ONLY complaint they've had, concerning the ZF tranny.
Anyway, car feels much stronger off the line in Sport mode; (only one I use).
Hesitation, & hard shifts seem non-existent; hopefully, it stays this way
LOVE my SH-AWD/Tech/TLX!

mani

Hopefully sir. I had the same experience last Friday when i picked up my car.... but i think the learn process is still adopting for the next few days or miles or so... The jolts from 2nd to 3rd started coming back after 3 days started with 1 or 2 times in a 10 mile city drive to 4 this morning on a 5 mile drive... Dealers HQ called for survey. had to report everything. They are asking to bring the car back and do a drive with a technician. This is the third time I will be going back for the same issue. Might have to get more serious about swapping in a new transmission as it seems that its not with all cars... Will keep you all posted.

BluePlanet

I had TSB 15-038 performed on my TLX 5 days ago. (The guys in the service department didn't even know about it -- I had to show them the actual TSB -- but then they found it in their system.) In short, I still have the same problems afterward. The harsh shifts, especially from 2 to 3, are far from gone.

If there is any improvement, it is very small. Like someone else mentioned, I now sometimes feel a rough shift between gears 4 and 5, which was never a problem before. Jeez, Acura...

To back up a bit, I spoke with a regional Acura representative about the issue a few weeks back. He acknowledged the issue, but fed me the same line received by others: it's a characteristic of this car. He was very attentive to the issue and seemed knowledgeable about the kinds of things that made it not as noticeable (e.g. faster acceleration). But in the end, I said I was very disappointed, having buyer's remorse, and hoped that Acura would fix this problem soon, and he couldn't give me any guarantee that would be the case. (I realize that for legal reasons, these guys can't admit fault because then they actually have an obligation to do something about the problem. So they mostly say things like "I'm sorry you feel that way...I regret the car isn't functioning like you want..." Stuff like that.)

So why don't I just accelerate quicker? First, give me a break -- whether you accelerate fast or slow shouldn't dramatically affect the car's ability to shift smoothly. Even so, almost all my driving is city. I can't gun the car at every stoplight to minimize the rough shifts. And under slow to moderate speed acceleration, the car still noticeably jerks from 1-2 and 2-3. It's especially noticeable when accelerating into turns.

I'm not letting this go, and my request to others is not to let this go. Keep letting your voice be heard on multiple fronts. I've still got some confidence that Acura will take this seriously at get it fixed, but I think you have to be a squeaky wheel at this point.

ATXTLX

I had the same result (with new 4-5 now being felt.) I agree that everyone with the issue(s) needs to squeak.

jeich182

I'm scheduled for the 19th. I'll report back as well.

hadokenuh

If they keep your car for 35 days and have not fixed the issue, look up lemon law in your state.

Momyc

I'll drop my car tomorrow for the update.
Keep my fingers crossed !

MTD

PLEASE try to obtain as much info as possible for us Canucks.

Momyc

The car is on the shop this morning. I show the TSB and the guy said he is somehow aware of that . He kept the TSB to give it to the technician. I have also other small things to fix , the sensor on the door handle , my scratch on the bumper..


On the other hand they give me an 2016 RDX . Oooo god Acura why you didn't keep the 6 speed AT on TLX. I enjoy the RDX coming to work more than my TLX in 5 months since I have it . No harsh shifts , responsive , what the f@@k Acura , why why you messed up the TLX transmission? The RDX reminds me how much I loved to drive the TL .
Sure TLX has a much nicer interior and it's also quitter , BUT I would say the RDX, because of the transmission, is much fun to drive on regular conditions ( I don't want to bring SH-AWD in the equation) .


I'll keep you guys posted how is going with the new update. I hope they will apply it and they wouldn't call with some crap motivation that it cannot be done.

MTD

Well the TSB is for US cars, so hopefully there is a comparable Canadian version.

mani

I had a loaner 2016 MDX for 35 days which ironically shares the same ZF 9 speed transmission we have and let me tell you it felt like a totally different animal than my TLX. No shift jerks, better and responsive preppy launches and the parachute feeling is close to only 2% which is very very reasonable. Me and the wifey are in love with it.