JCJ

Perhaps this question has been asked many times before, but I don't seem to be able to find the answer. Is the 5A tranny in the 04 TL the same as the one in the 03 TL? If so, what exactly was done to fix the infamous tranny problem in the 2nd gen TL?

I am considering a 04 TL but I want to make sure that it does not have the same tranny problem as the last gen TL. I talked to several dealers but could not get a clear answer - they either denied there was ever a problem, or simply brushed aside my question by saying that the problem was fixed long ago and there is nothing to worry about. IMHO, the tranny problem in the TL is at least as severe (though not nearly as well publicized) as the infamous "unintentional accelaration" problem in the Audi. It took Audi years to restore their tarnished reputation. Unless Honda/Acura or someone with inside information come out to say exactly what the root cause is and how the problem was fixed., potential buyers like myself will not be satisfied. If I cannot get a clear answer, I think I might go with a 6MT TL or Infiniti G35 as alternative.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help answer my question!

VtecMW

I don't think you'll ever get a straight answer on this. If you go to hondanews.com and read the Technical section on the new TL it talks about the changes made to the powertrain. I believe there is some mention of the transmission. I don't know if that's going to help you conclude whether it's using the same transmissiion as the old TL.

If you can't find the answer you want, I suggest waiting a couple of years to see what type of experiences early TL buyers have with the car.

EmuMessenger

We'll probably never know!

jwaters943

Acura is being really secretive about this issue, but I seriously doubt you have much to worry about as far as the tranny goes.
Have you checked out vtec.net? They have info on both the 6 speed manual and 5 speed SportShift. The wording is as such that it would lead a person to believe the transmission is new or a revised version of the old.

For what it's worth I'm sure that the engineers who worked on the new TL were aware of the previous problems and worked hard to correct them. I don't see Honda/Acura making the same mistake twice (at least when it comes to reliability).