pk4355

i have 2003 Acura 3.2TL about 115000 miles yesterday i drive my car then i think when the shifting the gear its ressing and then running normal.
what should i do?
i know there was recall in 2004
GEAR FAILURE COULD RESULT IN TRANSMISSION LOCKUP, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH
Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2003/...#ixzz1NsRkTmhJ

technic05

Hi,

Yes the 03 3.2TL base and Type S models have a transmission issue. I've worked on several 03 Models that have been on their 2nd or 3rd transmission.

I would take your transmission to the dealership and have them scan for any codes, there's a set of codes that have bulletins pertaining to transmission replacement. If you want to check yourself just pull the dipstick and smell the transmission fluid. If it looks dark/oil like that's usually a sign your transmission has been overheating due to a mechanical failure inside the motor itself. If you have the Flow Jet Recall installed, take out the 2nd gear speed sensor and look at 2nd Gear. If it looks bluish in color that's due to that gear overheating due to improper fluid flow.

If you have any more questions i'll be happy to email you some material regarding the matter.

pk4355

i check Transmission Oil its new i change about 92K, no smell,
how i take out the 2nd gear speed sensor?

give me some more information.

pk4355

i just see on Youtube.com one video. i think shifting problem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7IPd...eature=related

technic05

Hi,

Go ahead and PM me your email. I have a PDF file for you to follow.

Gearspeed-Performance

iTrader: (1)

Do you know what the fluid condition was before it was changed?
Typical failure on these transmissions is 3rd gear clutch assembly. What you will get usually is a 2-3 slip condition initially with codes PO730 indicating incorrect gear ratio due to trans slippage. In more severe cases a code PO780 will come up indicating internal trans failure and you will usually lose Reverse gear. Losing Reverse gear is from the filter being plugged with clutch material. Hope that helps! We sell these transmissions daily so they do fail often! Good luck!

Mvrik

I stumbled across this post while researching my TL's transmission problem. It's exactly as you said, Ive lost my reverse gear, and trying to engage it will produce a loud grinding noise. Ive changed the ATF (which was a dark blue, and from my research ive concluded is not good..) What do you suggest I do, if there is anything i can do? What it the exact cause of the problem? Thanks!

DC-4Silver

I have a acura cl type s 01 and a friend of mind told me to make sure the engine and tranny mounts are good. If they are good, then to change your tranny fluid 3 times if it hasn't been changed before.

94EG8

Replace the transmission with a remaned unit or have the one you have rebuilt.

I only ever built one of these things, actually just did it a week ago and that's exactly what it was. 3rd gear clutch pack was toast, all of it, piston, spring, frictions and steels, pretty much everything but the drum and one thrust bearing. Everything else in the transmission was like new, but the failure was caught early, it had only slipped a handful of times and was still for the most part working fine when we pulled it.

cregan107

I just had a ransmission failure last week.Told that the torque converter had fried. First diagnosis was that the control for fluid going to the cooler failed.

Next told ne that the cooler was so blocked that he couldn't clear it with compressed air.

Aamco store owner now claims that he discovered that the ground wire from the battery to the car was disconnected. And because of that, the electrical system "found ground" through the torque converter and fried it. Sound pretty fishy to me.

He replaced the tran and TC two years ago. My guess is that the cooler was already clogged from the failure and should have been replaced. Maybe he flushed it, maybe not.

But the elecrical ground story doesn't sound real to me at all.

neauva

I have a 2003 TL-S myself, with about 99K miles on it now. About 3 months ago it started 'slipping'. I checked the ATF. It was chocolate colored and smelled a little 'burnt'. So, I had it changed (which, much to my surprise meant a partial drain of about 3.5 qts and a re-fill) for $100. Once I learned how easy that was I did it myself two more times (after about a week in between each). It started acting better but now (2 months later) it starting to slip again. And, it's reluctant about shifting into Reverse now. The slipping seems to happen mostly at the 2-3 and 3-4. I'm not sure what to expect by taking it to the dealer. I had the oil injector recall work done several years ago and I'm sure the tranny is beyond even the extended warranty (if mine was even covered). Any further suggestions on diagnosing it? Thanks!

94EG8

Those claims just don't even make sense. If the ground in question was removed that car wouldn't even start due to the lack of a good ground to the starter. I'd say you're probably right about the torque converter. Or the transmission just failed, these things had a very high failure rate. The one time I rebuilt one of these transmission for someone we seriously considered swapping in a 6 speed manual from a CL instead since we knew it would last that way.

BillBerg

New member, first post - thank you for hosting.

Transmission question/problem

Acura 2003 TL, 132,000mi, VIN/serial 19UUA56633A085679

Transmission started to slip when hot, was glad to get home.

Replaced fluid (3 qts, one time, first time ever changed) Strained through a paint strainer and there was *nothing* in the strainer. Assumed tranny was fine and it was a solendoid/electrical problem? Replaced torque converter clutch solenoid valve and the shift solenoid valve B. Removed shift solenoid valves A and C and they seemed fine, put same back in.

First test run, shifts fine, no slipping, unitl the engine warms (5-10min). Appears to have a bit if vibration at the stop sign, but minor. When at a stop, go from P to D5, no movement/engagement immediately, engine just revs. eventually drops into gear, but I wasn;t willing to run it any distance for any extended test, just in the cul de sac.

When first started engine, had P0743 code. I cleared and it never came back, assumed it was due to removal/replacement of the solenoids and it just took a bit a time for the fuild to get there. No codes after first test run.
Fulid between the two circle marks on the dipstick. I'll top off up to the high mark tomorrow for another run.

I'm just trying to determine if it's likely to be a solenoid problem amd I should continue to replace, or just have the tranny replaced? Not sure what solenoids/sensors are most likley to be affecetd by temp. of the motor?

Do not have the gauges needed to test fluid pressures per the service manual.

Thks,
Bill

94EG8

I can pretty much guarantee you the transmission is bad. Either get a remaned unit or have the current transmission rebuilt. Also have the torque converter rebuilt while you're at it and flush out the transmission cooler and lines.

BillBerg

94EG8 - is this in response to my question or another? I hope anothers

BillBerg

94EG8

Yours. Sorry, but the transmission is almost always the problem. A word of advice, don't buy a used junkyard transmission for one of these cars, either get a remaned unit or rebuilt the one you have, the failure rate is at a point where there's a good chance you'll be replacing a used transmission in again in no time.

BillBerg

94EG8 - although bad news, I thank you for your response.

BillBerg

BillBerg

Follow up: took to local (trusted) shop for eval and they reported trans is shot. Said the 5-10min running time was due to the internal(?) filter unclogging while it sat and then clogs up first 5min or so preventing fluid from circulating and then stop working. Seems strange to me that I wouldn;t have seen some of this debri when I strained the fluid. Anyway, it's being replaced with a remand unit from Honda with a 100,00mi/3yr warranty. My cost $3,200.

I asked about the core charge because I was interesed in ripping it apart. Apparently this isn;t an option with Honda. Oh well.

Bill

94EG8

The one I pulled apart had fairly clean looking fluid in it as well. It wasn't nearly as far gone as most are, for the most part it still ran fine except for the occasional missed 2nd 3rd shift where it would just rev.

You most likely would have found a thoroughly destroyed 3rd gear clutch pack with everything else looking more or less like new. Honda really wants those cores, they replaced a ton of those transmissions.

For what it's worth $3200 isn't a bad price at all for a good remaned transmission. It cost us about $1700 in parts for the one I built, as well as having the torque converter rebuilt (I think the torque converter rebuild was about $200 so $1500 in straight parts) The majority of the parts I bought from a transmission shop that I didn't have connections with so I doubt I got a special deal there, anything I bought from Honda I got a steep discount on.

BillBerg

I can only hope that if it's coming from Honda with a 3yr/300,000 warranty it hopefully is a good rebuild. Do you know if the factory rebuild includes the torque converter? Or is this something that I can expect down the road?

Hard to imagine right now that I will ever purchase another Honda product.

Thank you,
Bill

94EG8

Anytime we put one in at work they came with the torque converter and full of fluid (they have a short length of tubing connecting the two cooler lines you remove when put the transmission in) Even when you rebuild these transmissions they still suffer from the same design flaws as the original, so expect the failure rate to be about the same.

Honda had a hard time with automatic transmissions (especially V6s) for quite a while. Generally speaking as long as you buy a manual (other than the '06 - '11 Si's, even these aren't bad if you don't abuse them) The newer stuff is mostly pretty good.

BillBerg

The shop returned my Acura today with a remaned tranny. Seemed to run OK on the 30mi or so ride home. Couple of observations:
1-it appears to be way overfilled with oil. will this settle down after some miles or should I drain it to the upper level?
2-the oil cooler recall, the one with the retrofitted filler plug, was not reinstalled. should it have been or is it not needed with the remaned unit?

Not a tranny question, but the shop said my front motor mount was bad. Guess they know this beacuse it has to removed to install the tranny. is this an easy install?

thks,
Bill

94EG8

How did you check it? It has to be checked with the engine warmed up, but shut off and on level ground within about a minute of turning the engine off. If it's still high after checking it this way then yes you'll need to drain some fluid out.

I think you're kind of responsible for that installed. When you send a transmission in for a core that cooler tends to stay with the car. It doesn't really do anything to help with this type of failure though. There was a chance second gear could overheat and shatter binding the transmission up and locking the front wheels causing accident.

It's been a while since I looked at one of these cars, but from what I remember it's pretty easy to get at that mount.

thks,
Bill[/quote]

vivix

I have 2001 TL with about 102K miles. I observed atleast 5-6 times in the past two weeks that while driving on a local road, after taking a turn, when press the gas pedal, it wouldn't get any momentum. It took 3-5 seconds to pickup the speed. Yesterday it took about 10 seconds to pickup the speed. Today I checked the ATF, it looks dark though the ATF has been replaced an year back. I guess the problem with transmission and may need to be replaced.

If that is the case, can anyone recommend an auto shop in NJ area?

Thanks in advance!

Flat-bedded05

Put a cooler in it