2001 Acura TL from North America - Comments

Transmission slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear.

Excellent car, up until the transmission problem. The transmission started slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear yesterday. The car only has 48,000 miles and has been lightly driven all of its life. The dealer quoted a repair cost of $5,900, with possible assistance from Acura. However, it didn't sound like there would be a great deal of assistance and I'd still be looking at a sizable repair bill. I'm also apprehensive about the problem recurring. So I decided to bite the bullet and trade it in for a new TSX. The best the dealer could do on trade-in was $1,750. I called Acura and they wouldn't help me on the purchase/trade-in, not an upgrade, accessories, nothing. So "strike one" against Acura. I'm a "two-strike" person, any problems with the new car and I'm swearing off of Acura forever. Did the same for Chevy's and Nissan, two-strikes and you're out, forever.

Consumer Reports have reported the Acura TSX was very reliable. They did report the Acura TL 2000 thru 2003 as worse than average for transmission problems. Some third gear clutches had premature wear causing failure. I have a 2003 TL Type S with 60,000 miles and have had no problems. It is a great car. We average 28 mpg. We did buy a Certified Acura from a dealer with the extended warranty, so should the tranny fail, Acura should cover the repair. I will be looking for a used TSX 6 speed to replace my Honda Civic soon.

What a lousy trade-in deal they offered.. you could dump SELL it for more than that, even with the tranny problems. The low mileage on the car makes just the ENGINE in the car worth more than what they're trying to give you.

I sold my 4 year old TL with 41000 miles for 10k as Carfax had the trans issues on the report Worse resale we ever had.The trans was replaced when we sold not needing yet another one. Carfax is great to the buyer as this is a good example..