rocket_pup

Anyone else see this?

ZF Recalls Nine-Speed Automatic for Random Drops into Neutral, Only Involves Software Update - News - Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

BeezleTL85

I made an appointment last week to drop off my car today for a transmission software update and they said it would be an hour or 2. When I dropped it off today they said a week wouldn't be unexpected..... I now wonder if this has anything to do with that? I really haven't had any issues other than the known 2-3 hard shift

Rocketsfan

Seems like it mostly affects around half-a-million vehicles, and most of them FCA vehicles. This sounds a bit weird (from the article posted by rocket_pup) :

EE4Life

I believe this issue was addressed in TSB 15-034 - Product Update: Vehicle Shifts into Neutral and MIL Comes On with DTC P0657.

See the 2015 TLX TSB thread for details.
https://acurazine.com/forums/fifth-g...letins-914607/

Rocket_man

It also looks like they fixed this crimp in 2014 so it likely only affects early production models. But it does provide more fodder to beat on ZF and for Acura for choosing them. So here it goes.... ^^%%# STUPID ZF POS transmission and the *&%## lazy ass Acura engineers who picked this POS transmission and then lied and lied and lied about issues with it with their 'oh, there is nothing wrong with this transmission... it is 'within spec' like The Spec says "This transmission shall suck ass and plague all manufacturers lazy enough to put this in their cars instead of designing their own transmission." and the verification of this Spec is to sell 500,000 transmissions and document in thousands of recalls and angry customers and lost customers that you will NEVER SEE AGAIN!! And then all the while issuing TSBs to update the software and then tell your customers 'oh there is nothing wrong here.. just the way your POS transmission is supposed to work, just look at the what the Spec says' and they you ask "what criteria are you using to decide to replace this transmission and they say "oh that is a secret, we can't tell you, but your transmission is just fine" and then you go to Acura dealership to trade in your POS car with the POS transmission and the salesman says... "oh that is one of those TLX's with the POS transmission so I can only give you $10 on a trade in" and then you yell and scream that you JUST CAME from the LYING Service department and they said my transmission was operating IN SPEC and the sales guys says.... "yea if IN SPEC means SUCKS ASS and I can't sell that car if I buy it from you" and then you say "I am SO DONE with ACURA after the way they treated me after being a loyal customer, I WILL NEVER SET FOOT IN THIS PLACE AGAIN!!! Do you hear me Customer Service Rep?'!?! Who never calls you back because they know they have been lying to you for 2 FRIGGING YEARS and the marketing people have not distributed the newest memo with the latest lies to tell the customer so you have nothing to say any way so you just ignore them hoping they will get tired of calling and just GO AWAY because they are so annoying with their calling and calling and calling complaining 'oh I spent $40K on this car and I expect it to work better" and you put them on Mute and say 'Idiot should have bought a Lexus!" and has a good laugh with the guy in the other cubical and then go off mute and tell them 'I"ll have to call you back" knowing that you just put this guys file in the circular filing cabinet on the floor. And then you learn that Acura is planning a new 10-FRIGGIN Speed transmission as if the cure for a POS 9-speed IS ONE MORE SPEED!!!! Hey ACURA... Better keep all those marketing memos about how that transmission is WORKING IN SPEC because you may need them AGAIN! DO YOU LEARN NOTHING!?!?!?!

Whew..... I feel better...

Rocketsfan

^^^ I knew he'd break eventually.

mikedub88

So instead of fixing the shitty crimp on the wire harness they give a band aid software patch that may or may not fix the problem. 'A software update will either prevent the random shift to neutral or give the driver “adequate warning” before the transmission does so anyway.' I guess ZF stands for ZERO FUCKS given.

Rocket_man

They fixed the crimp in 2014 production. We'll have to see what TLX VINs this applies to. Probably not many. But this transmission was in production before it was in the TLX. Well over 1M of these trannies out there.

reddogTL

Current vehicles equipped with the ZF 9HP transmission include the 2014–2016 Jeep Cherokee, 2015–2016 Jeep Renegade, Chrysler 200, and Ram ProMaster City; 2016 Fiat 500X; 2014–2017 Range Rover Evoque and 2015–2017 Land Rover Discovery Sport; upper trims of the 2015–2016 Honda Pilot, and six-cylinder versions of the 2015–2017 Acura TLX. Other than FCA, no other automakers have issued a recall, and FCA is not recalling the 2016 models, at least not yet.

Sooo any time now Acura...

ZF Recalls Nine-Speed Automatic for Random Drops into Neutral, Only Involves Software Update - News - Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

rocket_pup

I recently had 15-040 applied (twice in the same visit). After +200 mi, the tranny is vastly improved. Mine originally was only a 2-3 bump, but now it's mostly imperceptible. Under infrequent circumstances there's a small blip. I do notice a slight delay in shifting (I mostly drive in SPORT), but I'm still rooting that out. All I can say it is way better without having to have it replaced (so far). I have an early 2015 model.

mikedub88

Yeah, I suspect it will mainly be FCA vehicles. I also suspect it is just a software "fix" because to get to the the tranny harness it would have to be at least partially dissembled. I have an early 15, somewhere in the 7000 vin range and I have had my car shift into neutral like this.

sbillard

This really sounds like TSB 15-034 from July last year.

AZuser

Good decision on using this awesome ZF trans, Honda.

samsausage

I just got a 2015 TLX 3 weeks ago and it has done this 6 times, twice launching me into traffic at a stop sign. I'm now trying to get the dealer to buy it back. This is BS. I started video taping myself driving the car, I have a video going from R to D and nothing happens when I hit the gas, then it revs up to 3k RPM and launches 2-3 seconds later, ripping the steering wheel out of my hands. (Wheels were turned)
This has happened while trying to merge traffic, 2-4 seconds of no power is an eternity when trying to merge traffic and then I can't stop it from launching forward when it's too late... I will not let my wife drive this car as it is unsafe.

It's been in twice for "Software Updates" and it didn't help.

This is my third Acura and I'm not happy...

Rocketsfan

The bolded part has happened to me 3 or 4 times now. Two times it happened within about a week period, I think. Nearly drove through my fence because my initial response to not going anywhere was to give it more gas. I haven't had the car go into Neutral, but I've had the updates applied, so hopefully that doesn't happen.

youngTL

I've never had anything like this happen, but mine is a '16. I think ZF needs to actually fix the hardware issue here. That's dangerous!

atl7

Is this situation I'm about to describe part of the recall? This morning I was quickly going down my driveway as I'm in a rush, roll down and reach the street, I then press the D button and all of a sudden my car doesn't go into drive but instead goes into neutral! I was like what in the ever living hell?!! And I'm sure you can assume I kept my language PG as I'm in a rush to make my meeting on time..lol.

wagsrules

This sounds to be like you were not stopped before trying to switch into drive. The transmission will not shift from reverse to drive if you are moving more than very slightly. It will instead go into neutral.

atl7

Yeah I did some more looking into the recall, don't think it's what I described. Very annoying as sometimes you're in a rush and have to backup and shift much quicker than 3mph.

Rocket_man

If you are not at a stop or going really slow the car won't shift from R to D to avoid damage to the transmission. I don't think it will let you shift into R or P while you are driving. A few times I was not quite stopped and it did let me shift into D with a slight lurch. It only takes a second to come to a stop. You must have really been in a hurry.

I have a late build 2015 and thankfully have never had this happen. That does sound dangerous.

atl7

Yep when you've got a meeting to make, every second counts lol. At the speed I was going, there would not have been any damage done to the transmission if it had just shifted into drive. I've done it plenty of other times in my cars w/o the button gear shifter and the cars are perfectly fine.

reddogTL

I have this same issue with mine. It has only happened when I'm parking moving slow D to R and vice Versa. Whenever it does it I only give it a little gas because I know it's going to engage eventually and don't want it to lurch. It's as if the transmission is not linking up with the gears/clutch or something. It's done it 4-5 times since I bought it new in October.

wagsrules

I really hate how slow this transmission is at shifting from reverse to drive. Takes an eternity. Also occasionally when I shift to drive from reverse the throttle does not respond for several seconds then decides to work and off it goes. I have learned to back out in front of anyone because I never know when it is going to do it. Had the dealer look at it when they did the 15-040 update back in July but didn't find anything and couldn't reproduce the issue which is not surprising as it is so random.

samsausage

Update to my Transmission issue: Hard Shifting & False Neutrals 2015 CPO FWD Advanced TLX with 5000 Miles that I purchased 4 weeks ago.

The car has now been in the shop 50% of the time that I have owned it. I have officially put more miles on the loaner than my new car... Yesterday I called the dealer and this is what they said:

"Honda has determined that there is an internal defect in the transmission. Honda has approved a new transmission to be installed, will take about a week."

So I have a car that I haven't even put 1000 miles on and that now needs a new transmission?? I'm beyond pissed, the dealer has been terrible to deal with, they don't call me when they say they would, I have to drive up there and then people run and avoid me, they hide in their offices... I'm so done with Acura over this. (Have owned 3 Acuras, I also have purchased 10 cars over the past 10 years and have never had a problem)

I don't trust this car one bit and I wouldn't have purchased a car that needs a new transmission or just had a new transmission installed. The only thing they can do for me at this point is buy it back from me, I'm done. (They offered to buy it back at a $5000 loss to me, what a scam!)

mondster

Trust me, youre better off getting a new tranny. The replacement will be much much better.

Also, the 15s have been well known to have tranny issues. Did u not research before buying? It was only recent that acura started approving tranny replacements. Some of us here had to endure the faulty tranny for almost 2 yrs.

samsausage

I already purchased a loaded 2014 GS350. I'm not keeping this TLX, the tranny issues made me hate the car. I hate it so much now that I will even take a $5k hit on it after only 30 days... They can do me well and buy it back and I take a reasonable loss ($1500-$2500) or I will never own another Honda product again. I have purchased 10 cars in the last 10 years, never had a problem, this has been a nightmare. I don't have time to play games with them, I'll vote with my feet.

Quandry

You were the unlucky recipient that they pawned off the known defective car, one of the risks involved in buying a CPO. Lay the blame where it belongs, the dealer is the 99% of the problem. With the transmission replaced you should be able to sell for as much as you paid for it, maybe even more if you have the time and energy. Somebody will now be the recipient of a nicely working (not perfect) car.

EE4Life

See TSB 16-075 - Safety Recall: 2015 TLX V6 A/T Sensor Cluster Crimp Failure in the 2015 TLX TSB thread for details.
2015 Acura TLX Technical Service Bulletins

samsausage

I had the replacement in my 2015 TLX that I purchased CPO only 50 days ago. Been in the shop 31 days and still in there today. Honda has now offered to compensate me for my inconvenience. I can't say how much, but I suggest if you have this issue you document everything very well and contact Honda Client Relations.
I was calm, respectful and let the documentation speak for itself. They came in with an offer and I more than doubled it, they accepted with little hesitation. Makes me think I could have gotten even more, but I'm done dealing with this car... I'm satisfied with the resolution.

I'm now selling the car, I will still loose money on it, but the Honda $$ reduces my loss and I'm glad to be done with it.

mondster

With 31 days on the shop, id go with the lemon law. No losses at all and acura will reimburse you all payments made, less mileage

nascar9900

Does the Lemon Law apply to the second owner? (CPO vehicle).

mondster

Yes

KeithL

Doesn't that vary by state and the age of the car and mileage? I did not think used car lemon laws were as strong in some states.

nebula

This came out today for everyone's information:

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news...mission-glitch

dezymond

I have a 2015 and haven't received any notice from Acura regarding this.

I also checked the Acura Owners website and when entering just the year/model of the vehicle 3 open recalls pop up. If I enter my VIN, then no recalls popup.

nebula

According to the article 8,354 vehicles are registered in the US , both two and four wheel drive.

wagsrules

I don't think this recall effects the entire 2015 model year. What Acura is doing is updating the software to keep the car in gear if there is a malfunction from this. Currently the car will default to neutral leaving the driver stranded. It will not fix the problem if it happens. If there is a malfunction do to the harness they will replace the transmission.

I'm sure a lot of those transmissions have already been replaced due to the hard 2-3 shift issue anyway.

BlackTLXadvance

trust me not all trannies get replaced. They will mostly say it normal for that transmission to do that. They avoid it as much as possible.

This is is part of the recall

"will allow a warning light to illuminate if this condition is detected and will significantly extend the period before the transmission is placed into the “failsafe” mode". That will give drivers more time to get to a safe spot--or ideally, to a dealership, where repairs can be made."

so so basically they didn't fix shit. Still needs repair...

Rocketsfan

Got me all excited with this thread... oh well, anyway : didn't they just "fix" something similar with a wiring crimp last year with a software "fix" :

ZF Recalls Nine-Speed Automatic for Random Drops into Neutral, Only Involves Software Update - News - Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog

slimm1469

This is why I've chosen not to buy a TLX. I love the car, it's beautiful, the design and positioning are sooo compelling, but the risk-to-reward ratio is too high.