Chanrith

I drove my 02 TL-S pretty hard a couple of weeks ago and the problem with gears slipping has miraculously dissappeared. I still haven't drained and filled the trans fluid just yet. Looking to do that when I get the timing belt changed along with new spark plugs. Anyways, having that said I'm still a little dissappointed in the way the gears shift. It's a hard shift compared to my 2000 Honda Civic which was also an automatic. Is this normal or is it a sign that I have a bad tranny? Should I wait till after the described routine maintenance to see if it makes a difference or should I just go get the freakin' tranny diagnosed?

SodaLuvr

I would mention the gear slippage to the dealership so that it can be recorded. It might give you a better "deal" once out of warranty in the event that your transmission fails.

Chanrith

Thanks SodaLuvr, I just called the dealership and they just said to bring it in. They're gonna charge an initial $103 fee to diagnose but said that it could be covered depending on what the headquarters at Acura say. The good thing is that they do provide free loaner cars so it's worth the $103 for the service.

SodaLuvr

Chances are if it isn't displaying any symptoms when you drive it in, they aren't going to find anything....and you'll just be out $103.

How many miles are you at right now? Might want to reconsider...

Chanrith

I bought it with 109k miles and have since put 1k miles on it. So 110k. I think they'll at least check out the transmission to see if there could be something wrong. It will eat a little of my refurbishing budget but I think it's better to be safe than sorry. I bought the car for a steal IMO, it's a black on black 02 TL-S w/ nav for $10,500. I've set aside $1.5k for tune-up and regular scheduled maintenance items (timing belt/water pump, etc).

SodaLuvr

An independent can rebuild the five-speed transmission for about $3000. You're already out of warranty with Acura now. It's really hard to say if they will grant you any goodwill assistance if the transmission does fail. Don't count on it, in other words. I guess you could spend the $100 and see what you get out of it, but what I'm trying to say is, you might just be wasting your money...your call.

Chanrith

Thanks for the suggestion I don't think I really have a choice but to at least try since the dealer is the only source that can interface with Acura on warranty issues. My transmission hasn't gone out just yet but I'll just cross my fingers and hope that Acura will have some goodwill towards a long time loyal Honda brand owner. If it's not covered 100% I can hope that there at least be a discount of some sort for the service but if not, it's $103 down the drain.

01tl4tl

The trans has not cured itself
Did you buy the car at that dealer?- that will go a long ways in your favor
Plus the fact of the 5% high reading odometers....

Mine slipped a few times then good for 2 weeks then finally a flashing D5 light one time.
The dealer could not reproduce. I told the Service Mananger to drive it home until it acted up. Next day came the code for engine overspeed- which the tech knew was really bad trans slippage because if the engine had been over revved it would go into ~safe mode~ and not rev over 2500, and they were already certain that was not the problem!

Your long term brand loyalty is an important fact in getting some goodwill from Corp too

Chanrith

No I didn't buy from the dealer. I'm actually bringing it in to AAMCO for a free diagnostics. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the help.

fsttyms1

DONT bring it there unless every last attempt at the dealer is exhausted.

Chanrith

AAMCO will be my last resort for transmission repairs but they only sparked my interest because the diagnostics was free. I'm bringing it in today and will still bring it to the dealer to compare results. I'm crosssing my fingers that Acura will pull through with at least some kind of deal. I did call Acura customer service and told them my situation and they just said I was out of luck since the mileage reading is past the 109k mark so my hopes aren't too high but it's still worth a try since the dealers might have more say than just the general customer.

01tl4tl

A gentle reminder that Acura lost a court case and its been decided that the odometer reads 5% higher than actual miles
Customer service has a script- you need to get past that and make your complaint

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

It doesnt matter that you are a little above the 109k acura still have to cover it. Acura lost another class action lawsuit that says there odomotors count too fast. Basically saying all warrantys are extended by 5%. Meaning 5% on 109 you should be covered up till 114450k. So Acura should still cover it so before you pay AAMCO to repair it I think you should fight Acura and see what comes up. If not call the Acura client number and talk to them.

AcuraDreamin

I'm sorry to hijack the thread, but what years does that tranny warranty cover. Is it just 02-03? I have a 2000 with 47000 miles and I'm starting to feel a little jerk when decelerating and a wierd smell once in a while. What would be my options as far as preventive service? If I have any.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Bring it to the dealer ASAP. It does cover all 99-02s and some 03s. However 99s arent covered anymore because of time and pretty soon 00s wont be either. Bring it into your dealer as soon as you can and have themcheck it out if you think its tranny issues.

Chanrith

That's good to know. I just got a call from AAMCO and they noticed the delayed shift between 2nd and 3rd and also a little slipping. They wanted $127 to do a full internal diagnostics to see if it was the computer that was causing the delay. I'm bringing in the car to the Acura dealer next Wednesday and will post an update. Acura want's at least $103 just to look at it so we'll see. Thank goodness they have loaner cars though cause they're at least 30-45 minutes from where I live.

01tl4tl

Dreamin:
OK here is the deal
Take it to Acura immediatly- tell you you are afriad to drive it with it slipping!

The diagnosis fee gets paid by acura- dont sweat it at all, it allows them to inspect your car- legal paperwork basically-
tell them keep it as long as they need- Manager ok to drive it home if needed-
that worked for me!

chanrith:

DO NOT let aamco inside the trans at all- that will void your chance at warranty
Its slipping- thats a failure sign - let the dealer take care of it!

Aamco didnt even mention its still under warranty did they?- ok -so get back slowly away from ~FREE~ inspections like the plague
One of the conditions of the warranty is no one has attempted repairs
so acura is not fixing someone elses screw up
The ~new~ rebuilt units have a new improved case design featuring better oil flow

Chanrith

I took your advice and they're expediting the service to today and are working on getting a rental car if it's covered by warranty. I'll definitely bring up the court case about the odometer's reading too fast. Crossing my fingers that I will get a new trans free of charge. I would hate to have to shell out $4000-$6000 for a car I paid $11000 for. Thanks again for all your advice. I'll keep you posted on the results.

2K3_TLs

in regards to the whole transmission failure topic

After registering on Acura's Ownerlink site, how does one know if the transmission has been replaced or at least the jet oil kit has been installed? So far I have yet to feel any symptoms of a failing tranny, but when I bought my car, nothing was mentioned about the transmission ever being replaced, so I'm not sure. I've put on about 20k miles since then and I just want to make sure I'm covered if it ever decides to go out in the future.

01tl4tl

when you register on owner experience by VIN number- you create an account for your car- the main screen will have a box that says RECALL 6/04 OIL JET- DONE if the work was done, it will alo say trans extended warranty- OPEN

CALL Acura at 1-800-382-2238 x 5 6a-5p pacific time
they are the warranty center and know the total history of your car
and can even find things not on the owner computer sysytem
Just tell them you are new owner and want to register and do a history search

01tl4tl

2k3 you may not be in the covered vins- only a few 03s got covered
call acura to find out for sure

2K3_TLs

Owner Link tells my that mine is covered in the '00 to '03 recall.

Under the status, it says fixed. That means its been replaced, correct? I'd also have to call Acura in order to see if its failed more than once, because thats all it tells me, right?

I know I may be repeating old questions or something, but like I posted earlier... I'd rather be safe than sorry ESPECIALLY when its about my transmission.

Chanrith

Good news guys, the service manager at the dealer made the calls and was able to get my 110,500 mile TL covered under warranty. I also got service records from the first owner and they took really good care of the car. It shows that they did have the jet kit installed already because of the transmission. It's nice not to have to shell out $4k-$6k for something that should've been done right by Acura in the first place.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Awesome. I dont know if you read this or not, but Acura updated the tranny back in 02/05. These trannys seem to have fixed the problems so far and people havent been complaining about them like the old ones. So enjoy the new tranny and the loaner car you get to drive in the mean time.

baddbenny

HELL YEA! Way to go! Share in the joys of what they hand over for a loaner ~
Nice to see good things happening once in a while!

thegregor

I just ran into the exact same problem. I just got a TL-S w/ 10,500 miles and put about 500 miles on it when the tranny blew. The dealer told me I was SOL and they wouldnt do anything to help me out. The car came w/ a small warranty which will only cover 1k worth of repairs. I took it to a local shop who already ripped out the tranny and is rebuilding it as we speak but it's costing me $1200 outta pocket. I feel like total crap after reading this.

Anyway is there anything I can do to prevent future tranny failures? I've read something about 3x but have no clue what that means.

SodaLuvr

$2200 is a pretty good price for a five-speed automatic rebuild. The new rebuild should have the latest friction parts so the transmission will last much longer. Be sure to change the fluid at least every 30k.

Glad to hear that the OP's situation had a happy ending.

thegregor

I just called the number in this thread and they replaced the tranny in April of 05 so it looks like I am now going on the 3rd tranny. I bought the car for $10,500 plus the the $1200 is $11,700, I'm wondering if I should sell it right away for like $12,500ish and cut my losses before I have to put a 4th or 5th transmission in there because this local shop will only cover it for 12K 12 months...

Good thing I kept my 94' Prelude VTEC...

Chanrith

Thanks for the input guys and thegregor, I'm sorry about your situation it must have been the fact that the trans was already replaced in '05. Sounds like we were once in the exact same shoes since I paid $10,500 for my TL about 3 weeks ago. I didn't notice the transmission slipping until I took it home and drove it the next day. That is a damn good deal on the transmission rebuild though. I think there are other places that will give you a 5 year warranty on their transmissions. Anyways, good luck on what you plan to do.

I'm pretty anxious to bring the car into the shop but gotta wait til next week when they have a loaner available. Hopefully the tranny will last.

thegregor

Yea I bought mine about 4 weeks ago for $10,500, it's an 02 type-s. I had no idea about this tranmission crap or I would have never bought the car.

Chanrith

Damn man are you sure your name isn't Chanrith lol? I just signed up on this site and have to say that if it wasn't for the advice from the members here I wouldn't have known better and probably would've had to buy my own transmission. I think if you had the info I had before going to the Acura dealer they would've helped you but since you didn't they most likely attempted to make you pay for the trans service. One big thing I learned from Tom on the boards here is to talk directly to the service MANAGER not the service WRITER. There's a huge difference there especially when dealing with warranty issues.

01tl4tl

thegregor

SInce you were STRANDED somewhere with the kids in the car and could not get your car to an Acura delear you were forced to have it repaired at a cost of $1200

Since the Acura odometer has been proven in court to read 5% higher than actual
that means 114.5 k miles OR 110 - 5% = still in warranty!
If you know how to present it to them correctly

Other members have been in similar situations of being far from dealer, and with documentation/invoice of repair and indicated mileage- and take pic of dash mileage with that invoice in the pic- so no doubt

Send all that by snail mail to Acura Care and ask for full reimbursement cost.
A few phone calls and some time is worth 1200$ right?

Chanrith

Not to mention a brand new OEM transmission.

01tl4tl

that 1200 is for a basic rebuild- its half the price usually charge for that job
so one must wonder whats really being done

The dealer provided replacement has a new case- the other parts are
mix of old-good spec, and new as needed

The new case is the big improvement with enlarged and rerouted oil passages and the oil spray bar that was source of recall is now inside the case where it belongs.

01tl
the infamous Tom

thegregor

Thanks for the advice Tom I will try that. However when I mentioned the 5k thing over the phone to Acura they said that it was only on certain cars and not mine but I will try what you suggested anyway.

If not I'm try and take em to small claims court.

01tl4tl

The phone reps are 10 buck an hour- read a script people-109 means 109 for example-
your vin's not covered,,,,
not car people or even acura owners! for the most part-
with a few exceptions where THE 1 retired tech is on shift- out of 20 people

The written complaint with copies of documents attached sent by mail really does get results.
"I have loved my Acura for x years, our family has purchased 4 new and 2 used cars- very brand loyal etc etc
Therefore I was extremely disappointed when..........

see chanriths post with the link to the odo court case details and send that right along with your other paperwork

Good Luck!

Chanrith

Hey guys, just wanted to update that I've dropped off my car this morning and the service writer was dumbfound when the manager said the tranny replacement was approved by Acura. Anyways, they gave me a TSX as a loaner car and so far I'm not digging it. The TSX reminds me of my Civic with the equivilent bells and whistles of my TL-S + voice activated navigation. Can't really compare a 4 banger to the V6 on the TL-S though but it's a world of difference. The steering is no match either, it's very stiff. There is one plus to it though, the transmission shifts smooth. Hopefully the new trans they put in the TL-S will be equal. Thanks for all your help guys. Take it easy.

mnjeepmale

Well I just bought my 02 TL-S just recently with 89000 miles on it. I have noticed that when I drive it sometimes it feels like a jerk or that I am dragging in certain gears. Also sometimes hard shifting. I don't know what maintenance has been done in the past but I looked at the transmission fluid and it's not at all red or orange. So I am thinking about flushing out the fluid with Amsoil fluid doing the 3x3. Looking at other thread I am aware there is no filter to change and use the oil jet to fill the transmission. Where is the oil jet located? I setup an account with Ownerlink and I am not showing anything about the Oil Jet for recalls. Just a safety recall that say's fixed and the transmission is open.
Any suggestions? I like this vehicle has alot of power and drives nice. I just need to do some mods to make it faster.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

If the tranny is on its way out new fluid isnt going to help. Unless your car has a salvage title Acura should fix it with only 89000 miles on it.

Trackruner228

iTrader: (1)

Thats awesome and I am glad they are going to replace it. Sorry you dont like the TSX but until you get the TL back it should get you from A to B. I also think your new tranny should be as smooth as the TSX since it will be brand new.