jpadilla

Out of warranty by 5 months. Noticed transmission case covered in coil last week when I change motor oil. Took into dealership to have some other maintance done and they pointed out the leak coming from trans axle seal ... $400 repair. Dont tell me this is where it starts breaking down on me.

kingofire

Its just probably a freak thing. Most likely because you live in such a hot climate in Austin that the rubber seal might have cracked or hardened and caused oil to leak.

miner

Drivetrain is covered by a 6 yr/60000 mile warranty.

neuronbob

For 2014s, the powertrain warranty is 6 years/70k miles. OP may wanna talk to his dealer.

moose66

If the warranty is as you state, and OP had to pay for the repair, he might want to find a different dealer. I assume when the VIN was pulled and input into the computer for the repair quote, it would show warranty status? Or is that expecting too much?

miner

Certainly there wouldn't consider a seal a wear item.

hondamore

The repair should be covered by the powertrain warranty. If there is some loophole which causes it to NOT be covered, I'd still make a call to Acura corporate headquarters customer service and see if they will help you out with the repair cost .

George Knighton

Got hit with some stuff yesterday, including the driver side transmission axle seal.

Started with symptoms of a bad battery, but because the battery had been certified "good" by the dealer with a B1 service three weeks ago, I thought it had to be something else.

Towed it long distance instead of jumping it because I knew that whatever was wrong, I wouldn't have the rear electric motors and I wouldn't enjoy it.

By the time they decide to flush the brake system, replace the battery, replace the transmission/axle seal, decide to replace the cabin air filters and rotate the tyres, I've got a big bill on my hands.

The first big unscheduled bill.

Kind of annoying.

And because the dealer's so far from my home in the country, I'm renting a Ford Eco-something to drive around. Just...awful. Awful, I'm telling you.

LOL....

George Knighton

Let's see, here.

Rental will be about 120.00 plus 75.00 to drop it at another station.

Let's say axle seal is 240, battery they say is 285 (WTF!!!), maybe 50 to rotate tyres, maybe 150 for cabin filters...yeah...this is annoying....maybe...what?...100 for brake flush?

And deciding to flat bed the car instead of driving it cost 280-something.

kingofire

You need to start using an independent Honda mechanic and you should also get AAA.

George Knighton

Maybe. This is the first time I've towed a car in decades. It's just annoying.

An independent Honda mechanic in Culpeper VA who will handle a KC2. I'll get right on that. :-)

It's almost enough to make me buy a Toyota. We have one of those dealers.

miner

Chalk it up to car ownership George. There are advantages to having a local dealer, but if you want a unique auto what you have experienced is about par.

Limelight

I will say the new Camry XSE V6 in white with a black roof is quite sexy....

George Knighton

You know me. I just don't like losing control. :-)

hondamore

Hey George, a few points:

As with the OP, it is probably worth a call to Acura Corporate to see it they will help you with the transmission axle seal. If it is not covered by the powertrain warranty, the fact that your bumper to bumper warranty just expired might get you some help. (although it usually helps to make that call BEFORE the service is done)

The cabin air filter you can buy online for around $30-40 and installation takes about 5 minutes.

The battery replacement and brake fluid flush is part of normal car maintenance. Aftermarket batteries can be found much cheaper or getting to know the parts manager at your Acura dealer can usually get you a bit better price.

Regarding the rental, if you pre arrange things with your Acura dealer, they would usually offer you a loaner car for the time your RLX is being serviced although your distance from their shop may preclude that and you'd still have to get a ride there unless you rode along with the tow. At least you would have an MDX or RDX to drive around in and not a - gasp - Ford.

All of that said, I can appreciate your frustration at being so far away from an Acura dealership - I'd chalk that up to the cost of enjoying the serenity of country living.

DanL07RL

Except for the tranny seal, all of that can be easily done DIY. Just sayin'...

miner

^ Sometimes DIY is not an option for various reasons

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I'm going to take a slightly different path on this topic. By no means am I defending Acura, but it is a machine and things do fail due to wear. Any machine requires maintenance. I just replaced my front rotors due to shuttering at high speeds when they heated up. Was it absolutely needed? No. But it was about $500 of optional maintenance even though the pads were basically not worn at all after 70,000 miles. Amazing. I felt weird having basically new pads thrown out when replacing the rotors, but you don't want to use old pads on new rotors. It is smooth as silk now and if another repair item appears (optional or not), I will fix that too. I probably will get another year out of my tires and will gladly replace them with the same make/model/size when they are needed. I still love the car and have no plans to replace it. However once the "fun car" arrives next spring, the Blackbird will see about 10,000 miles of use per year so its usable lifespan will be extended significantly.

Just my two cents. Enjoy your day everyone.

George Knighton

The battery had been checked and rated at 600 amps just three weeks before. I just didn't think it could be the battery.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

I replaced my battery many months ago with a dealer part. The price was similar to anything aftermarket I could find. It was an easy replacement.

twiz03

The axle seal under the power train warranty.. don't let them charge you for it.. pull the warranty manual show it to the service advisor...

My sister's 2013 RDX had the same issue and they were going to charge me $350 to do it.. I pulled the warranty manual and showed them that axle seals are under power train.. My mother in law's 2015 RDX and and parent's 2015 MDX both have the same axle seal leak at around 50k miles... Must be something with the J35/6spd auto...