Jessie Trimborn

Has anyone paid a shop to do a swap to the 2006 Accord transmission? If you did how much was it? I'm in South Florida (since I know area of the country will make a difference). I'm debating whether to bite the bullet and pay for the swap (since it's beyond my current abilities) or sell it and upgrade to a newer one. Do the transmission problems tend to end with the 2nd gen? I know I read something about 2005 but the I know the 3rd gen starts in 2004.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

The problems continued in the 04 TL and halfish way through the 05 year I think.

The transmission swap is very simple. You don't have to open the tranny or anything, as it's just a swap with a used one that bolts right in. There are a couple of pieces that need to be carried over or swapped, and that's about it. Here's a long thread about it:
https://acurazine.com/forums/second-...n-swap-905115/

There are other members that can give you better or more specific advice about this swap. I don't really know/care about the auto trannies in our cars.

grandlaker

Stay away from the '06's too. Daughters tranny on her TL went out.

Jessie Trimborn

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate the help. I'm sure my husband is tired of listening to me but he picked out the Acura and I warned him. Granted I didn't know the full extent of the transmission problems but I told him to get it checked out before he bought it - he didn't. Within 50 miles, guess what he noticed? Transmission problems. Thus the first rebuild. He's no longer in charge of buying the next car. I know this is an Acura forum but does anyone else have a suggestion for the following: I want a car that lasts a long time, that can be worked on easy (I've done simple things like put in a new radiator and switch out the brakes myself.) and that I have a small likelihood of hearing the words - transmission problems. I love the Acura but want to know my options.

grandlaker

Not sure why Acura can't build a reliable transmission. Even the TLX's in '15 had issues and bunch's of them had to be replaced too. I'm going tomorrow to look at Lexus IS250. My '01 TL has over 292K miles now and still going strong but not so sure I want any of the "newer" TL's or TLX. I also have a '13 TL I bought new. Been a very good car except for brakes. Less than 80K mikes and warped rotors now twice. Think I will make the jump to Lexus.

Skirmich

Acura has been building reliable transmissions since post 06s.. Otherwise we wouldn´t even bother with the AV6 Swap.

Jessie Trimborn

I've learned more from this forum in a day than 3 months of talking to my mechanic has gotten me. I've not so briefly described the issues before but short version husband bought a 2002 TL that right away we had to change out the transmission. Right out of warranty of 24,000 miles it's gone again. Got the dreaded 0740 code. I'm wondering what ya'all would do in my situation with the following options: note the car has 170,000 miles on it

a) Swap out the transmission for the 06 or 07 Honda Accord myself - the problems I'm worried about with that are:#1 I'm a women, I've done some easier stuff myself like the radiator and brakes but not especially mechanically inclined although I usually make up for it with sheer determination, my husband is more mechanically inclined (HVAC tech for 15 year)than I am (though he obviously knows shit about transmissions) #2 - I'm assuming I need a lift and we just moved to the Miami area so we don't know anyone either and I doubt our shitty mechanic will let us use his. I was looking online and saw we could probably get the transmission for $500-$1000. Are they any other tools that are more expensive that I would need. Just trying to get an idea of what it would cost to swap it

b) sell it and upgrade to either a year not known for transmission problems or something else - looking online with a shot tranny I'm estimating we can maybe get $1000-$1500

Going after the shop for the list of things they done wrong and messed up on most likely isn't worth the time and expense at this point so that's out. I also don't really want to pay someone else to do it (we've already put almost as much in the car as we bought it for and I can't imagine it would be cheap (we paid $1600 the first rebuild) In my position what does everyone think is the best play? I'm really split on it and some advice would really help me make a decision either way. Thanks

Skirmich

Hi!

The swap itself is easy as there is little to be modified to install the AV6 Trans.. In the TL-p is just a matter of looping a Power Steering hose, In a TL-S is 100% Plug & Play.

Your best bet will be to find a transmission shop that it's willing to swap the trans AS IS (No warranty from their part) it will set you back a couple hundreds of bucks for labor only but will save you the hassle of installing it and making sure everything is bolted on correctly.

If you are still inclined to DIY the tools arent really special the trans drops by itself from the bottom of the car (part of the subframe needs to be removed) and dropping the transmission is the hardest part as it seems to weight 1 ton working in that horrible angle. I cannot lift the trans by myself so it's definitely a 2 person job.. The transmission almost seems to weight the same as the engine, that heavy it is.

hope this helps you out.

tripleguy

A couple cars come to mind that fit your description. A Nissan Maxima, 2002-2003 is a great car. Great V6 motor, great trans. A 4th gen Toyota Camry (97-01) with the 2.2L is almost unstoppable and very easy to work on. There are folks that have racked up some very impressive mileage on theirs. I know one guy buys green ones (US made). I asked him why green? He said, the interior color (gray) is most plentiful in junkyards - you can find any part you need.

That said, with a V6 Accord tranny, your Acura should give you good service. A 99 Acura TL with low miles would be good too. The 4 speed didn't seem to have the same issue as the 5 speed that came out the following year.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

^99TL with 4 speed had a slightly lower fail rate, but was still a complete shit transmission with no reliability. It's a shame because the engines in these cars are bulletproof.

Jessie Trimborn

It does- thanks. I was thinking it would be way more expensive having a shop do it. I'll have to look around for a reputable shop. I really don't think the one who's been working on it is capable. He claims he worked on at least 2 Acura transmissions a week but if he did you would think he would know most of the info I've learned on here in a day. Means he's either incompetent or a liar and just out to take me for as much money as possible, neither of which I want to deal with.

If anyone has a suggestions for a good shop in the Miami area (anywhere from St Lucie county on down to Miami Dade) I'm all ears.

tripleguy

If you have it at the same shop that charged you $1,600 for a "rebuild" I wouldn't let them touch it. A decent rebuild should cost more than that. It won't fix the inherent design flaws of the transmission but it should last longer that 24,000 miles. To do it right, it needs to be completely disassembled and clutch packs rebuilt. It's a time consuming job and it won't last forever either based on the design limitations in the trans. A V6 swap isn't that difficult but finding a shop that will do it might be as they would need to agree to do the work as specified by you (based on the instructions in this forum) and they can't offer any warranty on the work. Some places might shy away for those reasons.

musiclevelz5

Compared to the 5 speed trans I think its unfair to call the 4 speed very unreliable. My 99 has 298k and is still on its original trans. Granted I change the atf every 15k.

Also I know others with the 99 in my area with no rebuilds and all are over 200k. You cant say that about any 5 speed.

The 4 speed does not have the 3rd gear pack problem which makes it much more reliable. I have rebuilt the 4 speed a few times and its always the first gear pack that went bad.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

It's only positive point is that it's not as bad as the 5 speed, which isn't saying much.

Your anecdotal evidence doesn't make the 4 speed a reliable transmission. It absolutely is an unreliable transmission compared to other cars, and definitely so when you compare it to Honda's usual reliability. Especially given the context of picking a car for its reliability, no one should ever recommend a 99 TL for it's transmission reliability.

musiclevelz5

Maybe with your experience sure. But mine says otherwise. I am sure other people will support both sides. Regardless, I have nothing bad to say about the 4 speed. I certainly would recommend it over other cars that have transmissions that cant even last 100k.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Oh, I have almost no experience with the 4 speed. But that's the point. I'm not basing my information from anecdotal evidence of individual cars. You can objectively see the number of failures from 99 TL cars on this forum, as well as other sources online. No one cares that you have nothing bad to say about it, because there is an overall consensus by professional reviewers that think otherwise.

I'm not arguing with you about our opinions. The 99 TL is statistically an unreliable car because of the transmission. The fact that you want to compare it to cars that can't last 100k supports this. Why would you compare it to unreliable cars? The average car lasts much longer than 100k, so don't compare it to shittier cars to make it look "better."

There are other Hondas, Toyota, and Nissan cars (and their luxury brands) that offer similar prices and features from the same year. Compared to those (which would be the most fair "competitors"), the 99TL is an unreliable car. If you disagree, that's your opinion and not a well supported one.

tripleguy

I've read the threads where transmission problems show up - the tranny threads and how many miles on your car thread. While there are some 99s on those with tranny problems or replaced transmissions, the majority are 5 speed transmissions. If you can "only" get 200,000 miles out of an original transmission, I don't consider that a crap transmission and I don't consider the car it's in an unreliable car, regardless of brand. As you say, that's your opinion and it's unsupported in that you don't have any more empirical data than I do - posts on this forum about tranny problems. How many 1999 TL owners have or had cars and didn't post tranny issues on this forum? You don't know any more than I do. Yours is not a scientific or data based opinion any more than mine is. The design flaws in the 5 speed, the ones that cause the catastrophic failures, are the result of cramming in a transmission that's too small to accommodate adequate lubrication and cooling of the clutch packs, hence the failed fix of the add on oiler. That problem isn't as prevalent in the 4 speed. As a result, it's less prone to the catastrophic failure. Then again, I don't have data like out of XXX,XXX production units, XX,XXX experienced transmission problems after YYY,YYY miles, but neither do you.

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Oh for sure it's better than the 5 speed. I'm not arguing that, but you seem to be mistaken if you think there's no evidence to show that the 99TL has transmission issues. It absolutely does have a higher failure rate than it's Japanese competitors. You also seem to be misinformed if you think that you need a meta analysis and verified statistics to make a supported opinion. That's my opinion based on years of seeing the forum posts, as well as experience with other Jap cars that have zero transmission problems. But again, you seem to be obsessed with comparing it to the 5 speed. This support is much stronger than what any single case can provide. Still, both of our opinions are relatively unsupported like you said. I just don't care enough to find more evidence to argue a moot point.

Are you saying that all 99TL cars get 200k out of their trannies? Like I said, anecdotal evidence is weaker than forum experience, even if both are weak.

tripleguy

Based on your statisticsl analysis and this info (see link) I've concluded most Toyota Camrys transmissions are crap too. https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-t27959_ds450692​​​​

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

I'm not sure what "statisticsl" analysis you're referring to, but that link doesn't work. Even if Toyota transmissions were crap, that wouldn't make the 99TL a reliable car. Do you see how you continuously only compare the 99TL to cars with shitty transmissions? I'm not sure why you want to defend the 99TL so bad, but if you honestly believe that it has a reliable transmission then that's your laughable ignorance.

Skirmich

4 Speed Transmission is more reliable than the 5 Speed unit at least in the 2G TL for Sure... But that is not saying much...
The OG 5 Speed trans was DOA since its design so it didn`t even stand a chance while the 4 speed is just a shitty low quality Honda Transmission from the era that were prone to failure by wear earlier than other manufacturers transmissions.... So pick your poison?

My 2c.

tripleguy

Guess it comes down to your definition of reliability. For some, that means having a car where engine and trans perform trouble free for 300K miles or more. For others, it means getting through the 4 year lease period unscathed. My point with Toyota was that most car manufacturers have models that experienced higher failure rates than others. The 4G Camry is a good example. The 2.2L trim cars last forever. The V6, not so much. So the 99 Acura TL is a crap box, just like the other 2G cars with the 5 speed. Total crap, unreliable POS. Feel better now?

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Why would I feel better? I'm not in the eighth grade, so your opinion won't affect my mood. Your statement makes you sound immature. There isn't a right or wrong here, so don't act like a child.

It was simply a discussion of your unpopular opinion that the 99TL has an overall reliable transmission compared to industry standards. Sorry if you took it personally, buddy.

tripleguy

You said, " Do you see how you continuously only compare the 99TL to cars with shitty transmissions?" Continuously? I mentioned one import that had transmission problems. Maybe you have a comprehension issue or you don't know what the word continuously means.
You went on to say, " you seem to be obsessed with comparing it to the 5 speed." Again, do you understand what obsessed means? How many instances of comparison to the 5 speed can you find in my posts in this thread? Obsessing?
As for sounding immature, I think you have the trophy for that and I won't unseat you any time soon. Acting like a child? You have a need to always be right and get in the last word. Who's the child? Don't worry, you win. I won't reply to you or this thread again, promise so post your vile response. Why are you posting on an Acura forum again? You don't seem to have much good to say about the brand. You're short, aren't you? Good day, Buddy!

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

Hmm, you seem upset. Try not to get too emotionally involved in online forums. It's not a good look for you. I'd showcase your defense of the 99TL relative to other cars with poor transmissions, but you seem to be blinded and unable to continue any civilized discussion. Also, you can just read your own posts right above.

I'm 6 foot tall (personal attacks really reflect your poor character btw), and I love my TL. That doesn't make me delusional about the 99TL having a reliable transmission though.

Like I said, there's no right or wrong here, so you don't have to clarify that I "won." I'm sorry that you couldn't handle a discussion without getting emotionally hurt. I sincerely hope you learn to get a better grasp on your emotions, buddy.

Jessie Trimborn

I've posted on here a couple times before. Shorter version of the story (and sorry it's still long) - husband picked a crap transmission shop, put a rebuilt one in a year ago on our 2002 Acura TL, started having issues again (having trouble switching gears and then drops into gear hard, feels like the car stops and then jumps into the gear which were the same initial problems) that first presented in a cold snap (30 degrees, live down south) 1,500 miles before the warranty was up. We called and documented the problem but since we were 600 miles away it wasn't like we could just drop it off for them to look at it.

They assured us if we had any additional problems to let them know and they would cover it if it was even a little over mileage because of the distance to get it there. Cold snap ended and no more problems until a few months later on our move back down to South Florida. Doing 75, the car starts revving high (3-4) and the engine light comes on. Stopped the car and there's tranny fluid all over the tires and dropping on the ground.

At this point, we are over the mileage on the warranty. Bring it back to the shop and they agree to fix it if we pay for parts. When we picked it up, they told us they flushed the transmission and replaced the shift linkage. The service engine light is still on. Within 100 miles, same trouble shifting. They tell us to bring it back and driving it will be fine. Made it about 5 miles and D5 starts blinking and TCS light comes on, so I towed it.

At at this point, I'm pissed at about everyone. My husband for picking a crappy shop, the crappy shop for being so incompetent, - so I go to talk to them myself. Find out he made the part for the shift linkage, we apparently did pay for labor even though they said we would only have to pay for parts. I know it can't have cost $350 to make a part.

This is what they say is wrong - something with the 3rd gear, the shifter they need to replace and possibly the PCM. From what people have informed me on here, it's not worth it unless we switch out the tranny for the 2006 or 2007 Honda Accord because the problems will just get happening. I seriously doubt the capabilities of this shop to do it.

I'm going back tomorrow to try and talk with them one more time and see if I can't get them to take some responsibility. I've been considering fixing the 3rd gear (which I know is essentially a band aid) and then trying to get rid of it. I've listed in online but with 170,000 miles and a broken transmission I haven't even got any calls and I'm only asking $1500obo.

So far they offered to give us back half of the 350 to go towards the repair. I can't afford to pay a competent shop to switch out the tranny for the Accord right now. My second car, a 2004 GMC Envoy SLT is also on the fritz so I need at least one reliable daily commuter.

Does anyone have any advice regarding speaking with the shop? Anything in the story particularly stand out that they did wrong that I can point to and the mechanics of how it potentially caused more problems? I want to go in there sounding as informed as possible and I'm hoping I can get them to at least bandaid it for cheap so we can either get another years use of the car or be able to sell it. Any resources you could also suggest so I can understand the mechanics behind Acura transmissions? Any and all advice regarding dealing with the shop or things they did incorrect would be majorly appreciated.

Jessie Trimborn

And one more quick question- I've been going through the forum to try and gain knowledge and I have seen it said that the transmission should not be flushed on these cars. I know it was flushed and have paperwork stating such. What would flushing the transmission possible cause?

grandlaker

Maybe locate an Accord transmission and ask the shop to swap out and eat their labor? Not sure I'd sink another dime on current tranny.

Skirmich

Sounds to me the shop did a very poor job on the rebuild or just used sub-par Friction Disks and Metals...

"Flush" is a procedure where they use a High Pressure machine to Drain and Refill the transmission ATF Very Quickly! Is used in about every "Jiffy Lube kind of shop" to swap the ATF in the least amount of time possible. Honda Transmissions are not designed in the same way most other transmissions so Flushing a Honda trans will cause the clutch packs to disintegrate in the worst case scenario leaving you with a Dead Transmission after the Flush... In the least amount of damage scenario it will push tons of debris of the clutch material into the valve body leaving you again with a non-functioning transmission. Honda makes a "Flush" machine that works on Low Pressure and does the same procedure just not as Quickly as the High Pressure machine.

Any respectable Transmission Shop that works on Honda Transmissions know they must NOT use a High Pressure flush machine to flush our transmissions otherwise it can kill the transmission immediately. They will not state how-ever what type of machine they used in the paperwork and if you ask they will probably say they used a Low Pressure machine.

Jessie Trimborn

Thanks for the advice. I've toyed with the idea of trying to get them to do labor for free and do the swap, but like I said I'm not convinced he wouldn't mess it up. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed to say the least, so I may be able to get him to say he used the wrong machine. If he even knows you're supposed to use a different one.

Originally my husband had told me he just did transmission and did 3-4 Acura's a week but that's not true. He is an all purpose shop so I have no idea his actual level of knowledge of Acura/Honda transmissions. The fact the he said nothing about the the swap that everyone here seems to know about, doesn't speak much of his knowledge.

I'm not even sure of the approach to take with them, as they've dealt very little with me up to this point and I had no idea what they were talking about the first time. I've been going through posts for a lot of the day and saving relevant ones. I'm at the least beginning to get an understanding. I've dealt with them with kids gloves up to this point,but this was before about 50 people told me they did a shit job in the best case and may have actually caused damage worst case.

I don't really want to sink more money into this transmission but I can't afford the swap right now. (unless I get them to do if for just the parts cost that I supply). We just moved and I've been in the process of starting my own web design/digital marketing company (worked for an agency for 10 years before this). I suppose if I could finish up my site and portfolio quickly if I sold just one website I could more than pay for a swap at a reputable shop. I could also get a job at an agency in the meantime but not having a reliable car isn't helping with that. Sometimes when businesses learn I do social media and help business with their reviews for a living, they tend to be a little more helpful. I'm at least keeping my fingers crossed.

I guess we will see what how it goes tomorrow. I'm going to attempt to stay calm and rational. Does anyone know a reputable shop in the Miami area (Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade,St Lucie or Martin county)? I'll even go further if it's someone that people personally know that actually knows what they are doing or has done the transmission on theirs.

Skirmich

You can source out a transmission in the mean time, Try local junkyards and ask specifically for a:
"2006 or 2007 Accord V6 3.0L Automatic Transmission" it must come from the V6 3.0L Gas only, 4 cyl and Hybrid transmissions wont work.
Transmission cost will hover between 700 and 1.2K highly dependent on mileage and external conditions.

For the swap I would recommend to ask many Transmission Shops for labor quotes.. Avoid keywords like "Comes from a different car" "Its a swap I´ve read online"..
Just tell them you got a second transmission that you wish to get installed (Basically meaning: Just want your labor cost for installation only).. Usually these types of procedures are NOT WARRANTED so its a replacement "AS-IS" tell them that you are fine with that. The important thing here is to get a GOOD Used AV6 you don´t want to mess with super high mileage ones because you will after all be using a USED transmission that god only knows what condition is in.. The lower the mileage and pristine ATF condition (Must be Cherry RED or Redish in color, Avoid super dark or brownish ATF) you can get the better!!

You are looking at roughly:
700-1X00 for AV6 Transmission
150-200 for a Remanufactured Torque Converter (Optional but Highly Recommended)
5-10 bucks for Torque Converter Seal (Optional)
10-15 bucks for 2x Axle Shaft Seals (Optional)
??? Labor.

Jessie Trimborn

Thanks, I love the car and I know that 170,000 is really just hitting puberty. I wish I had come on here before I let my husband deal with the first rebuild. For what we've sunk into the transmission, I could have paid for a swap already. This forum has helped immensely, between the advice I've received and reading through threads, I can hopefully semi intelligently speak with the crap mechanic. At least he can no longer make things up without me knowing.

Jessie Trimborn

I'm fairly certain I've convinced a shop to do the swap. If you've read any of my earlier posts, I'm basically dealing with a shop that up to this point has performed some pretty crappy work. While I'm not entirely confident in their ability, from what it looks like it's an easy swap to the Accord and I figure if my husband or myself is there to "help" (by which I mean supervise) hopefully there's not too much that he can do wrong. I'm trying to get them to throw in the labor for free (since it's their crappy work that's gotten us into this situation in the first place). If I can't get them to do it completely free, I want an idea of the cost to negotiate it down.

If we supply all the parts ourselves, anyone have any idea a ballpark figure of what a shop would cost to swap it out? I know it will vary from the area you live in (I'm in South Florida) but a ballpark or a range would be really helpful and about how long should the swap take?

Thanks again, this forum has been invaluable and everyone has been super helpful. I really appreciate people taking the time and answering the many question I've had.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I live in Houston, Texas.
had an indie mechanic swap my blown engine for a good engine for $650 + fluids + the cost of the used engine.

I sourced the engine from....www.car-part.com
input information and website will spit out parts + area of junkyard + price...makes it VERY easy to find what you need

08KBP_VA

I'd also suggest maybe posting in the local subforum for that area and asking if folks have any suggestions for a local mechanic and prices.

Sorry not direct help to your questions but might get more eyes that are local that can get you some better numbers.

https://acurazine.com/forums/southeast-318/

SuperGreg

Then why give them your business?

Jessie Trimborn

Because my choices are limited. My other vehicle is literally a ticking time bomb with no a/c and windows that don't roll down (in Florida). Most of our money was spent on a very pricey move where just about everything that could go wrong did. I don't have the money to take it a different shop since they are performing the labor at a reduced cost (possibly free,he wants to look at all the info from the forum first). I'm pretty much out of options and I just learned I start a job (because I needed to take something in my field quickly because of all the unplanned expenses) that's approximately 120 miles round trip, so that takes Uber or Lyft out of the equation. I need a car that works (on a limited budget) and I need it fast. I'm not going to find anyone that will let me supply the parts and do the labor for free, obviously.

Short answer - crappy situation.

Jessie Trimborn

Thanks - I posted over there to see if anyone could give a ballpark or estimate of about how many hours it took them.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^no longer than a week.
i suppose my mechanic had other jobs at the same time he was undertaking my car.

Iggy

Taking my sweet time I did it in 13hrs. I would bet a transmission shop would be able to shave a few hrs off that.