2003 Acura TL Type S from North America - Comments

I just bought a used 2003 Acura TL-type S from my local Honda dealership. The car had one previous owner that bought the car new from an Acura Dealership.

I have been a huge Honda fan and have owned 7 differnet Hondas, but never an Acura. When buying this car, it test drove well and had no cosmetic flaws. It only had 48,000 miles on it. I thought it was perfect. I purchased the car with the peace of mind that it was a reliable Honda product.

The car is now in the shop with the local Acura dealership with transmission problems. I have only put 300 miles on the car since the purchase. I am now very uneasy with the car, considering all the other problems that other buyers are having with this model.

Acura and the local Honda dealership are being very compliant. Acura Corporate told me that this car was not under the extended 7yr/100k transmission warranty. The car is out of the factory warranty. Hopefully, Acura will step to the plate and take care of all cost to repair. Has anyone else has an experience with their transmission when no warranty was available? How did Acura handle the situation?

The Honda dealer should cover the transmission since you just bought the car and only put 300 miles on it. Check your local lemon laws in your city/state. Also, most reputable car dealers will automatically give you a 3 month 3000mi warranty.

Look to your local Honda dealer to replace/repair the transmission unless of course they sold the car "as is" with no warranty. You failed to mention what warranty the Honda dealers provided. Most new car dealers selling used cars offer at least 1,000 miles or 30 days. Many offer extended warranties thru a third party. Consumer Reports has been reporting for years that the 2000 thru 2003 Acura Tl's have transmission problems on a higher number of cars than other makes. Seems the trans part manufacturer used material in third gear clutch that flakes off clogging screens limiting flow of trans fluid. Has been reported Acura repairs after March 2005 corrected the problem.