I just received a letter from Acura applicable to 2015-16 TLX vehicles. The ATF warmer was improperly manufactured. Symptoms; vehicle overheats, transmission shifts poorly (my issue) and or transmission chirps during 3-4 shift. Warranty coverage on the engine and transmission is extended to 10 years from date of purchase with no mileage limit.

Anyone else get this notification?

 

I4 or v-6

 

My notification contains my VIN and I own the 6

 

I think it was mentioned not too long ago. I have a 2015 V6 with the original garbage transmission but haven't gotten the letter yet.

FYI : the following TSB's are related to the problem. One of them even specifically states in the past the transmission was replaced for the problem :

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B17-011.PDF
http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B17-012.PDF
http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B17-027.PDF

 

I got it. Not sure if I should be happy I got a free warranty extension with unlimited miles or scared because my engine might overheat when I least expect it.

 

Yep, got it yesterday. No indicated issues so far with my transmission.

 

I have been posting in the 1-2-2-3 hard shift thread; ironically I was approved last Friday for a new transmission and actually have the car in today getting the new transmission. I got home yesterday and got the 17-027 in the mail. Now I'm wondering if they are replacing the ATF warmer as well. I don't think they are but then again, that would make too much sense.

 

I just got the letter today, so I'll be taking my car in.

I took my car in to get the software update for the transmission and so far it seems like my shifts are rough compared to before. However, it hasn't even been 2 weeks since the update so I'll give it some time. I don't know if it's placebo or not, but it feels more responsive to acceleration. Will be bringing it back in for this though.

 

yes, the warmer is installed onto the transmission. When they replaced my transmission the warmer came with it.

 

Yes

 

We received the notice as well. This is our 4th Acura and we have grown accustomed to usual thumps, bumps, and dumps of their transmissions, and this one definitely has some thumps. So, are we to assume this is going to cover any and all issues with the engine or transmission until we hit the mileage or year mark? Or only if the service techs determine the issue is related to the faulty part? Kinda funny and sad, because we almost expected a transmission related recall when we purchased the car.

 

Yes. Received it this week. Still not sure I am ok with this concession. Very glad I leased.

 

Honestly I think Acura did the wrong thing. Instead of calming owners and doing a full recall, they are pretty much saying "let me know when it breaks". Going on long road trips would be scary to me.

 

I have not received the letter but I expect I should. Can anyone tell me if the extended warranty is transferable to a new owner?

 

The notice says the extension is transferable to any future owner.

 

Oh joy. I just got the notice for my "operating within parameters" transmission.

Guess I'll take it in before my road trip next month that I'm fearing to take. But hey, if the transmission/engine falls apart on the middle of an interstate in the middle of nowhere, I'm so happy I'm "covered".

 

I got the notice. I had a new transmission put in probably 18 months ago now which has been working beautifully. Would love to know if the ATF got replaced as part of this procedure.

 

yes. The transmissions come filled with ATF from the factory.

 

I took my '15 SH-AWD TLX in for this issue last month before I've received the notice. I was having a hard shift from 2->1 and a squeaking noise when shifting 3->4. They diagnosed the issue right away and said that I needed a new transmission. They said the parts were backordered and that the new transmission would arrive this week and would have my car tomorrow.
Now I'm being told that not all the parts arrived and that the parts are backordered until the end of the month! That would be a total of five weeks that they would have my vehicle to replace the transmission. I'm in the process of escalating up the channels so I can get my car back sooner.

 

Well, Hey Casey, just think of all the mileage you're saving on your car. Oh well, gotta look at the silver lining.

 

This is true. It also gives me plenty of time with a loaner RDX which was another vehicle that I was considering purchasing. After this transmission fiasco, I'm not so sure about any Acura vehicle.

To be clear, the back-ordered parts are two O-rings and one rubber hose, totaling about $20. The parts are nowhere to be found in the entire country. I wonder how many other transmissions are needing replacement right now!

 

They've been replacing transmissions before this warranty extension, and I'm sure they'll continue replacing them. It's no wonder they're probably running short on parts.

 

Like the other guy said, I would love having a loaner car for five weeks! Part of the reason for that is, I feel like if I drive my car hard I'm signficantly shortening it's lifespan, though I don't actully know how true that is, I imagine that the people who have a light touch on the throttle (along with proper maintenance) are the ones that more often have their cars operating well, for longer than 100,000 miles?

If I have a loaner car, I don't mind driving it hard because I know the dealer can fix it for a lot cheaper than I could (I'm sure they don't charge themselves as much for repairs as they charge customers!).

 

Finally got the TLX back. The Service Order is two full pages of parts that were used to complete the replacement. The order states that the transmission was replaced under TSB 17-012 but looks like TSB 17-027 also covers the same issue. It looks like they also replaced the radiator as well. I was told that there shouldn't be a worry of ATF fluid mixing in the radiator, but I guess they didn't want to take any chances.

TLX dropped off: 11/20/2017
TLX picked up: 12/22/2017 (4.5 weeks)
TLX build date: 08/15 (the very last of the '15 MY)

The bulk of the transmission parts took about a week to arrive. The part that didn't come until 12/22 were two O-rings, part number 91307-RTA-005. There were also some ATF warmer hoses that were delayed but arrived shortly after the transmission. I talked to one of the technicians who said another TLX was waiting for a transmission replacement, but that one had to wait on the same parts! Apparently, the dealer can't back stock these parts to accommodate future replacements.
As Christopher and bearhugs points out, it ended up being nice to drive something else around for awhile. The RDX was decent to drive but ended up being something that I wouldn't consider purchasing in the future. My TLX also seems to have better acceleration than the RDX, and I definitely appreciate the Advance features (parking sensors, auto heated seats, LKAS, ACC) that the RDX was lacking.
For as many problems as people are having with their TLX, I must say that I do love driving my car. The new transmission doesn't seem to have as much of the 1->2 shift lag that my previous one did (though it's still there), and it doesn't stall with downshifting during turns like the previous one. Note that I never had the 2->3 shift issues that many people have had. I'm also surprised at how quick the dealer was to initiate the transmission replacement after I showed them the 3->4 shift squeaking as well as the 2->1 downshift that caused the car to lurch. I see how much some people are struggling to convince their dealer to replace their transmission based on other issues, so maybe it's a matter of finding the right dealer who will be willing to help. I'm guessing the warranty letter will help dealers see that it's as big of a deal as people have been saying all along.

 

Dropped my 15 TLX off with a re-occurring emission light problem, mentioned some bad shifting that honestly happened from day one but it's gotten worse lately and more common in different gears. They told me I needed a new transmission. I'm outside of warranty, I have 86k on the vehicle so they haven't determined if Acura will cover it yet. I'm assuming they will step up and do the right thing, certainly that kind of mileage on a Acura is nothing when it comes to engine and transmission. I have original pads and rotors and I feel I can get another 80k out of those. I mentioned the letter about the heater and they said the heater didn't cause this so it wouldn't fall under that warranty. So I suppose it's possible they don't warranty one up in the 100k area. My first TL had some tranny problems but it never bothered me much. This one had them too from beginning but it was rare and just increasing in frequency and gears. I suppose I should have spoke up sooner. But I have three Acura's in the driveway that would all be replaced if I thought I had to put a new tranny in every 80k. My 2006 TSX has 180k and tranny is still smoother than my TLX. My month old MDX has the smoothest tranny I've ever had on an Acura. They definitely seemed to get it right with a 9 speed.

 

Pretty happy they covered my transmission under warranty even though I was outside of it. Problem resolved. Thanks Acura!

 

Good for you, that is one of the rare times I've seen Acura/Honda do the "right" thing. I had one of those bad transmissions from the 90's and I ended up eating it.

 

I took my TLX to the dealer last week and they applied the PCM and TCM update, again (3rd time since last October). Yeah it smoothed it out but am already noticing the shifts are becoming more prominent. I still love the car, but sometimes the gear hangs and then when it finally shifts it feels like someone dumped the clutch in a manual car