trfarchitect

Hello everyone,
Long time lurker, but this is my first post.

I’ve owned a 99’ Acura TL for the last 7 years. I purchased it with 42,000 miles. The car currently has 187,000 miles. All regular/scheduled maintenance has been performed on time. Oil and transmission fluid have been changed at the correct intervals. I’ve never really had a problem with this car, she’s treated me well as my daily driver.

Unfortunately I’ve begun having transmission issues. I first started to notice something was wrong about a year ago (last winter). Upon starting the car, the first few shifts would be a little rough. The car would jerk into gear. I didn’t give it much thought considering it did not happen all the time… I figure it was a combination of the car’s age, and the weather. Over the last year the jerks have gotten more regular, and recently a new symptom has popped up…

My morning commute is 30 minutes of highway driving (just set the cruise control and go). At times, when I get to my off ramp (which is an uphill incline) I run into a line of traffic and have to stop for a few moments until traffic moves forward. When I go to accelerate from the stop, the transmission/clutch seems to be slipping. The car will rev up to 3000 rpm, but the car only slowly accelerates.

The first time this happened I popped the hood, and check the fluid levels. The transmission fluid seemed low, so I added a few quarts, and drove to my mechanic figuring he could Identify a leak. Following the inspection, the mechanic told me he didn’t see any evidence of a leak. With the new fluid in the transmission, things seemed to be going well. The slipping didn’t happen again until a few weeks later (today). Once again, on the off-ramp, I came to a stop and when I went to accelerate the transmission/clutch slipped… and the TSC light started to flash… and the check engine light came on (TSC and engine light are new symptoms).

At lunch I am going to Autozone to have them pull the computer fault code. It also appears the transmission fluid level is once again low.


Any thoughts, insights, or remedies would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully there is a cost effective way to resolve this issue. Once I have the fault code, I will post it.

Thanks

Thomas

trfarchitect

I'd like to add that i have read about cleaning the transmission solenoid - as a potential fix. It just seems odd to me that the transmission only slips once it has warmed up (after 30 minutes of my morning commute).

01tl4tl

your first prob is: how are you cking the fluid level?
correct method is from cold- drive 15 minutes on freeway- exit, park, engine off-
ck the level is between the 2 dots

zero reasons for it to need 2 qts of fluid!! do you see it pouring out anywhere? bad axle seal etc?

besides that, sounds like the torque convertor is full of clutch particulate matter = trans replacement time

01tl4tl

exactly what atf did you add to the TL trans?

trfarchitect

Checked fluid level after my drive to work... 30 minutes.
no fluid on dip stick, maybe a touch of it at the very tip.

I just put in a quart of Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc auto transmision fluid (listed as a substitute for Honda ATF-Z1).

I would buy honda ATF-Z1 if it was available, it isn't.

Transmission drove smooth once i added the fluid.

Autozone pulled the following code:

P0730
Incorrect gear ratio condition. Transmission in drive and the throttle angle over 15%. The ECM/TCM uses the VSS and TCC status to determine transmission slippage.

Probably Cause:
1) Failed vehicle speed sensor or circuit
2) Low transmission fluid
3) Failed transmission

Considering this is the second time i've notice the problem, and the second time adding fluid has fixed the problem... it seeds pretty likely i've got a leak. When i add the fluid, i do not see it running our anywhere. Seems to leak at a rate requiring me to add fluid every 2 months.

The autozone tech reccomended some kind of additive to stop the leak... seemed shady so i opted against using it. If i do have a leak, is it harmful to drive the vehicle so long as i keep the fluid filled to the correct level?

I'd prefer not to drop a grand fixing something that would other wise cost me 6 or 7 dollars every 2 months (a new quart of fluid).

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

Nature of the beast. Start using SS to prolong the life of your transmission.

trfarchitect

sorry for what is likely a dumb question, but what is SS?

eckokid 00TL

Sorry about your problems.I had the same one a week after I bought my 00TL AS IS.My problem was between 3rd and 4th same code.I was told by a well respected Acura/Honda master Tech it was time for a new Trans.He said that people try to prolong the problem but doesn't last too much longer.The one thing I can share is avoid a company out of Arizona called American Carz.1225 for the trans.plus 290 shipping.Great price from what I found,I ordered my trans on Aug.15th and I am receiving it tomorrow Oct.5th.I was quoted 10-15 business days after signed invoice.I am also paying shipping COD after I have payed the 290 already.The customer service was terrible.AVOID AT ALL COST.Good luck with the tranny problems

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

Sport Shift..manually changing gears.

trfarchitect

Was your transmission fluid low when you were having issues with shifts between 3 & 4?

Did adding transmission fluid remedy (at least for a while) the problem?

Based on what i read online during my lunch break, P0730 either means i'm totally boned, or if i'm lucky, i simply have a leak...

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

You will never be able to totally fix it..Just baby it and hope for the best.

trfarchitect

no way to fix leak?

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

Sure you can fix a leak, if you even have one.

trfarchitect

perhaps i'm simply operating on wishful thinking with regard to the problem i have, but what else (aside from a leak) would explain the loss of transmission fluid?

01tl4tl

puking out the overflow vent?- but you would have noticed oil all over the bottem of the car

ck the fluid at 15 minutes freeway easy cruise- no stop and go several miles thru town first
30 minutes is way different heat of the fluid than 15--please ck it there for reading against acuras measured stick amount

Look at the axle seals on transmission,,any fluid?

Piggylover-fsttyms- acuratech1--other trans gurus--got an explanation??

note: major issues with DEXTRON 3 atf in the TL trans -do NOT use
even the one that says compat across the board- its not true
Aftermarket is fine at this point for fluid
acura no longer makes zr1, now we use dw1

SS mode = move shifter to left side and manually click up thru the gears
It has a higher line pressure and may force the shifts for you
using SS at high rpm to downshift is adding to the problem at this point
It will automatically drop to 1st at a stop light

trfarchitect

thanks for the help everyone.

i dropped the car off at my mechanic last night.
keeping my fingers crossed.

fsttyms1

Transmissions arent like engines, They cant eat and burn the fluid. If it keeps going low you have a leak. The first place i would look is the hoses that go to the radiator (99 model only)