Deb's tls

Carried it to the dealer this morning. Alot of stammering and "We haven't seen this before" BS. Always the standard quotes. Taking the car to the dealer, the shift indicator light started flashing, the check engine light came on and the VSA light came on. I was worried it was going to leave me stranded. They gave me another Type S for a loaner. Hope it holds together!!

Randall

Yoyodyne

Questor:
Your dealer is either incompetent or lying---neither of these things is a good sign.
When I brought mine in because it was exhibiting the same symptoms that you experienced, they said the tranny had to come out and they never batted an eye.
In fact they told me that they had "replaced about 20 of these so far."
Now maybe your people haven't seen it happen at their shop yet, but I have to believe that Acura has sent out all kinds of memos to their Service Departments about this.
So it's a little fishy to me that they would plead ingnorance at this late date.

d_monie1

my vin 042164 bought in 11/01 is doing well. cd changer had to be replaced because of a jam and those mxm4 tires had to go also. If anyone wants to know, trannies may be defective but the michelin mxm4 are definitly defective. (soft sidewalls). This should be looked into. SERIOUSLY!!!

Willsonic

#003150 purchased 04/2001

At the shop right now, and the dealer claims they can't reproduce the problem. It has been getting worse the last couple of months. Holding gears too long during accel/deccel...

Just turned 11,000 miles, and I almost never use SS.

Deb's tls

The Dealer called this afternoon....said the ECM had a trouble code for a malfunctioning shift solenoid. He has ordered the part to replace. But, he also said if that didn't correct the problem, then the transmission would be replaced. So, I guess I don't have alot of confidence in the fix. Time to unload this vehicle!

RedLined

Yep, that's what they said with my first one. Same codes and everything. The fix didn't work and I got a new tranny.

Deb's tls

Redlined....how long before you had to take it back for the tranny replacement?

roadman

Just picked mine up last night. True to their word it was two weeks to order and replace. Of note: the dealership has replaced 4 S-type transmissions so far with one more on order. The service dept did not know how many S-types that they have sold/leased to guage the failure rate. I did ask if they replaced any tranny's on any other cars (ie: Rl's or Integra's) and the answer was no, only the S-types.

I have to say that it now shifts flawlessly, I do not know (or remember) if it shifted this smoothly back when it was brand new.

RedLined

When I took mine in for one of the tranny replacements, they told me they had replaced several RL trannies, but no TLs.

I also felt mine shifted smoother than ever after I got it back the first time. Then it went out again a few months later.

Questor

Dealer has confirmed the tranny failed its test. VIN and info posted earlier in thread but is 004557. Had about 14.3k miles at time of failure.

After reviewing the many posts on this thread and others on the site, I told the dealer I wanted it replaced without fidgeting with lesser attempts. They went to bat for this at zone or whatever level and have been authorized to order a new tranny for transplant next week.

The dealer has been good through this with rapid response, loaner, diagnosis and advocacy with Acura's district office. There's no more I could ask for from them than they've offerred. (er.... reasonably)

I guess I'm a trifle unhappy with Acura now because this is so unexpected and probably changes my plans for holding onto this car past the original warranty.

Among others concerns, one is that resale value may head toward the toilet. Who wants a car with a history of tranny problems?

Sure would like to see Acura release a statement recognizing this issue and announcing they have discovered and corrected the root cause. Until this is done I wouldn't want to touch the car new never mind "pre-driven." There's too many other good cars out there to take such a chance. My 6 1/2 previous years in two Infiniti's (J30 and I30t) were problem free. Ten months in an Acura and this. Just three days ago I'd smile just getting in the car because it's so much fun to drive.

Sorry to ramble but I appreciate the outlet valve for the steam.

****
2002 TL-S Nighthawk/beige

bluedemon73

Mine vine is 026059...bought it back in 08/01. No problem so far(knock on wood)

how do I find out when it was built?

Deb's tls

You can add mine now. VIN 000250. Put it back in the shop Saturday. Dealer is ordering a new tranny today. Bought last May. It has a little over 15K miles. This car is sold when we get it back!

Randall
2002 White Diamond Pearl

Ruski

mine is in the shop. Dealer will call once they figure out what's wrong.

They told me some story about Honda's trannies and bearing that are seated too tightly causing such failures.

MB-telecom

My tranny was acting up (see thread '). The New Car Sales Manager told me that he has seen NO tranny failures at all (this is Courtesy Acura Denver, CO). The dealership has seen tranny's 'acting up' and due to defective/failed or ailing solenoids. They found no problem(s) with the soleniods, but they replaced them anyway. I was at the new owner orientation this past Saturday and the Service Manager said as far as warranty work goes, if the dealership replaces ANY part that has not failed or is not broken, then Acura will not reimburse the dealership. I found it odd that the dealership would 'arbitrarily' replace the soleniods without any diagnosable symptons. I KNOW they did not do this out of pocket. I am sure Acura KNOWS darn well that there are tranny and/or solenoid problems or my dealership wouldn't have been so quick to replace them. This sounds fishy to me. The New Car Sales Manager looks me in the eye (on Friday when I picked up my car) and swears they have seen no tranny troubles. How could this one dealershoip be isolated from all of the tranny problems? It is almost mathematically impossible!

I will give the dealerhip every chance to fix the problem and keep my a 'happy/satisfied' customer. God help them if the car EVER has to go back in for any tranny problem! I do not make car payments on a new car to drive with uncertainty (and downtime) reagrdless of a warranty. That is the whole reason I bought a new car and choset Acura - RELIABILITY!

neuronbob

Wow. This is another thread that scares me. Mayhap you TL-S folks really ought to complain to the DOT via their web site, and force Honda/Acura to take the problem seriously and in a public manner (e.g. recall). I think this is more than a few whiners complaining about their tranny. In fact, it looks like the Dodge/Chrysler newsgroups I used to be part of when I owned my Intrepid...scary. We knew which trannies were likely to fail in which models, and sometimes even at which time in its life cycle. I never thought I'd see this discussion in an Acura forum!

I really feel for you guys. I know I have a TL-P, theoretically less likely to have this failure, and that I enjoy driving the car hard occasionally, as many on this forum do, but for 30 large, I expect a certain amount of quality, especially from Honda.

RobMiller

'02 TL-S, SSM, Non-Navi
Purchased 04/01
Vin 007566
Tranny issues........!!
You name 'em, I got 'em!!

fla-tls

Has it been replaced, serviced, looked at, etc?

RedLined

Damn, this list is getting long and it looks like it's going to keep on growing!!

garylee55

Neuron Bob...My dealer service manager says the tranny problem first showed up in the '99 TL...

My tranny replacement is on back order now...neither dealer nor Acura can tell me when to expect the replacement tranny...

Ruski

mine has been in the shop since Monday. Tranny is still on order.

garylee55

They've had my car 2 weeks so far...the dealer says there is another guy ahead of me...his car has been there 3 weeks...cannot get Acura customer care to give me a possible date for a tranny replacement...parts department says they cannot get an update from Acura either.

Questor

I just came back from a 10-day vacation and expected to pick up my TL-S with a replaced transmission today.

Imagine.....

It's not ready yet so I'm back to a loaner. When I went in, the service person said he'd have to call later to inform me on the status.

Out of service 4/20; tranny death confirmed 4/22 so it's been gone nearly 2 weeks.

So much for Acura reliability. I've made too many trips to the dealer over this. :yack:

03TLTYPES

Dude they repalced mine in 3 days! And I got a $hit load of free $hit!

I'd start b1tchin if I were you.

RSXster

My dads .2003 TL-S was leaking transmission fluid and now the car needs a whole new Tranny. I can't give you the vin # cause the car is at the dealer. Whats up with the TL-S trannys?

:yack: TL-S Tranny

If i find the VIN# i will post it.

RobMiller

255 ponies under the hood of a '02 Maxima
with a 6 speed ? Sound pretty good right
about now, huh? Going to the Nissan tomorrow
to see what they'll offer me for my car.
Any thoughts ???

oblio98

WTF??? is going on here????

:-jon

Ruski

RSXster, that's new

I don't think anyone else's tranny that failed leaked the fluid.

Are you making this up?

RSXster

I am definetly not making this up. My dad bought a 2003 Acura 3.2TL type S and it was leaking transmission fluid, so we brought it in and the dealer said we needed a whole new tranny. Its still at the dealers. We have 2 RSX's now cause the auto black one is a loaner car.

VIN# 004721

Please add the vin to your list.

daverman

Yeah right, troll.

02TypeS

Well i hope i dont have this issue my vin # is 013047 and the car has 12k on it.

So far the tranny feels ok i guess but i do notice when iam on a hill or incline and take it out of park it clunks hard?

Iam in the process of purchasing this car and am getting a killer deal on it but this is starting to worry me i sign papers on monday 4/8/02

Its a 02 TYPE S No Nav with 12k miles with comptech header,comptech lowering springs,acura bodykit,blackwood steering wheel,19" racinghart wheels all for $22k from a buddy!

Iam really thinkin about it now?

Throtex

Most automatic cars will do that... I've never been in one that didn't. I think if you want it to stop doing that, you need to put the ebrake on first, let it catch the car, then shift into park when parking on an incline. Shouldn't hurt it though.

02TypeS

Oh ok, gheeze why do i see so many negative posts reguarding this car is it that bad?

Too many complaints out here!

I think someone needs to contact Acura direct and talk to them and make them read this board asap!

This is redicoulus :yack:

I want to buy this car really bad but also dont want to regret it in the long run, this really amazes me out of a honda product!

BirjuP

I have contacted acura as well as the BBB. I will take legal action as nec. there is someone on the board with a tranny replaced twice...thats two times too many for me. Wasnt there something about a class action suit? I cant search for it because im not a paying member...so if someone has a link or knows about it, please post!

02TypeS

Yes please do so i can decide if i want to buy this 02 TYPE-S!
I would have a great warranty at the 7yr 100k however who wants to be at the dealer every 10k getting a new tranny?

What happened to Acura?
You would think they would redesign the tranny or something asap and recall them and put this to issue to bed!

As soon as someone hears something from the BBB or Acura please let me know asap at izolgd111@aol.com
I think the car is a good car but the tranny is a major issue and needs to be addressed as soon as possible, this will not help resale of the TL and will hurt Acura's reputation at a growing rate.

Keep me posted.

RedLined

I've had my tranny replaced twice. E-mail me at Paul_J_Z@hotmail.com and I can send you all the info I have on the VA lemon law and why I didn't take action. The NC laws probably aren't exactly the same buy I'm sure they're similar.

02TypeS

Is there any reimbursement offered from acura besides a new tranny every 10k?
Why should we the consumers be faced with this problem when we spend the big bucks for a car that should not have this issue?

nick79

can u add me to the list of tranny failures, mine died at 10,500 miles.
VIN #19UUA56912A004249

being in car for possible 2nd tranny failure at 25,000 miles.

Questor

Yesterday I called Acura Customer Service at 1-800-382-2238 to ask what's the deal.

I should first comment that I stated the dealer was treating me well on this, considering, and that I had no beef with my dealer. My beef is with Acura.

Q: How many TL-S trannny failures reported?
A: Have heard of some but have no knowledge of total number.

Q: Is the replaced tranny identical to original or has a problem been identified and fixed?
A: Acura constantly updates trannys and the replacements used meet all current specifications. (I'm trying to sound objective here but what a line of b...s...) New solenoids specifically mentioned.

Q: Will the replacement tranny be new or rebuilt?
A: Replacement trannys are either new or remanufactured "to factory specifications." Remanufactured trannys contain mostly new parts. The dealer should be able to tell the owner which type was put into their car.

Q: Will Acura extend warranty on tranny for replacements?
A: NO! Original warranty period stands 4y/50k miles TOTAL from date of delivery. We specifically discussed that it is the original period and not 50K/4y from date of install of replacement.

Q: Does this mean I'm screwed if the tranny fails after 50k miles?
A: Since I called to report this, they make a note in my case file and the customer care office would take this into account so would assist me in replacement in the event another failure occurs out-of-warranty.

Q: Is this in writing?
A: Check owner's manual as he stated it says some repairs under certain circumstances may still be covered out of warranty. (Too bad my manual is in my car which is still in the svc dept over 2 weeks).

Q: The lemon law statute in my state says I need to contact manufacturer, not the dealer, for forms, etc., to determine if I would qualify for the process -- are you the person to notify?
A: Don't think so and never heard of this. Thought owner contacts BBB which would contact manufacturer.

Q: Has this problem been reported to NHTSA and are they monitoring?
A: Don't know how NHTSA gets such info but dealers are required to provide records to agencies of repairs and repair-types.

Q: How long does it take to replace tranny -- mine has been in for 2 weeks now?
A: Can't answer as situations differ. He told me he would look into this to see if there is anything he can do to expedite the process.

Q: What will happen to my resale value?
A: No answer.

Q: Is there an address to which I can send some comments?
A: Send to:

Koichi Amemiya
President, American Honda Motor Company
1919 Torrance Boulevard
Torrance, CA 90501

I still can't believe this is happening with an Acura!!!!!!!!!

My impression was that they are still trying to downplay this. When I look at the VIN numbers and see that in the under 5000 group there seems to be at least one failure per 200 cars over a portion of the reports here this just strikes me as high (no facts to back this up). Also, Acura doesn't feel a non-Acura board such as this reliably measures problems.

Scrib

I got an '02 CL-S 000055 is the VIN (55th CL-S build for '02) and I've got 2650 miles on it.

Tranny seems OK, but... When I shift sometimes (in SS) it kind of jerks forward; it's certainly not smooth. But it hasn't dropped a gear or had a hard time finding one. Should I maybe take the car in to be checked?

oblio98

Wow! Good post, Questor. This whole tranny thing is getting very weird. The fact that two '03 TL-S's are now included makes me shudder.

:-jon