9th Dec 2005, 01:40
I recall a well-known American manufacturer that had this exact title in the mid 90's also due to problematic transmissions in their minivans. That company had also built some of the best cars on the road... and continues to today, es in the Euro market.
Just because the cars cost less, does not mean they are of less overall quality in comparison to the Euro and Japanese market cars.
8th Jul 2006, 22:01
I had my transmission replaced at 20,000 miles and again at 80,000 miles and I was thinking the very same thing. If I had a GM car, I would be ranting and raving about what a piece of crap it was.
What's the difference, you ask? Two things.
First, except for the buggy transmission (which the dealer says is a known issue) the driving experience is otherwise exceptional. There is nothing like the feeling of gunning that 3.2 TL on the freeway, with the standard Bose stereo cranked up.
Second, unlike having to argue with a Ford or GM dealer over whose resposibility it was for the repair, and then having to deal with the inconvenience of not having a car for a week, I drove right to the dealer, took my car in, and they gave me a 2006 TL loaner to drive. Didn't skip a beat.
I think giving loaners to your customers would go a long way toward keeping customers satisfied. If you aren't inconvenienced, it's not a big deal. But if your car is gone for a week on two or three separate occasions, and you don't have wheels, you get pissed.
26th Jul 2006, 23:03
I had my TL2S transmission replaced in June. I had less than 30,000 miles. My dealership was great -- replaced at no charge.
My complaint is that I never received any notices of the 2 recalls Acura had on this model. I haven't moved, they have my name, etc.
Can anyone explain why I didn't get the notices?
Thanks.
19th Nov 2006, 11:37
I currently own a domestic vehicle and have been through 2 automatic transmissions within 13,000 miles. I have not had any trouble with the dealer in replacing them though. Also 3 CD players replaced, vehicle no starts on several occasions, it squeaks and rattles worse than my 12 year old Honda Accord with over 300,000 miles on it did and it idles rough. I do not have any after market parts on the car. I have serviced it as per the drivers manual and it has been an absolute nightmare. I know for a fact when my warranty is up I'm paying out of pocket. At least Honda / Acura has recognized their fault and are making good on it. I heard the total cost to fix the issues is over 200 million. Try getting a domestic company to extend the warranty on a poorly engineered part.
21st Dec 2006, 15:48
I was wondering what happened with the trans that is awaiting acura to decide whether to replace. Acura claimed the trans is not one included in the lawsuit. I am having the same problem with my Acura TL-S 2003.
21st Dec 2006, 20:38
I also have an 03 TL-S with 54K that isn't covered by the extended warranty that is in the process of having the second tranny replaced. Acura has agreed to cover the parts, but no labor. Any suggestions on an approach that might help in getting Acura to cover the labor too?
18th Feb 2007, 17:02
Wow, I'm not buying this car anymore... glad that I found this websight to convince me otherwise!
19th Feb 2007, 20:12
We just had our transmission changed at 45000 miles - same symptoms - 2nd to 3rd gear downshifting issues. We'll see how will this work out.
1st Apr 2007, 02:07
I agree totally that if this was an american car, there would a great deal of defamation put into it, or probably it will even appear on 20/20 or Nightline.
I really have second thought about Hondas. How can a company be considered as the most reliable when one of the most important organs, the transmission, is so faulty in so many ways.
I don't care if it has the best electronic reliability, if the engine or transmission is not working well, it will endanger the passengers.
I hope the media will put more pressure on this auto company before any major accidents occur.
1st Apr 2007, 10:14
<<I hope the media will put more pressure on this auto company before any major accidents occur.>.
Oh please. The Ford Explorer had design defects from 1990 - 2002 that were killing and injuring occupants (and this was before the Firestone debacle) yet no one said anything.
No car company is perfect, but American manufacturers have a long long history of covering up dangerous defects.
1st Apr 2007, 18:10
There was a lot of attention. But with Ford's catching on fire problems it garnered more attention and with GM losing billions of dollars. There really are not that many TL's on the road to start with and I hear from a source which I am checking that 25% of TL's suffer from this failure. I don't get why they dont all fail... but supposedly only a quarter of them have the problem. I do not think this is a tranny issue once the car is above 55 miles per hour or in a higher gear... so I think all the accidents are probably from stop and go traffic or going at a slower rate like 45 miles per hour, etc.
9th Apr 2007, 11:39
My TL-S has got 40,000 miles and is on its FOURTH transmission. The first tranny was changed when it had only 10,000 miles. Even though most other features are good on the car, I find that the overall quality of this car is poor. Can't' really trust it and take it out of town. Very disappointed to see Acura build such a poor car.
I had an MDX which had recalls in the first 6 months. The trend I am seeing is that both of these cars were built mostly in the US. My old GS-R worked flawlessly even in extreme cold weather. GS-R was built in Japan. I hear the TSX is overall a nice car - built in Japan.
See the trend?
22nd May 2007, 17:47
Not sure I would recommend this car for a Son or Daughter. The transmission problems are such a safety risk. After several transmission replacements, my car has never worked properly. The slipping of the transmisssion frequent. At this stage, my neck and head hurt, after I drive the car. Not sure if its the surging of the car while driving or just plain tension from driving a car that does not accelerate when needed and hardly operates when driving over a hill.
23rd May 2007, 19:04
My 1st transmission was replaced at 18,000 miles. The second at 33,000. Then the third at 41,000. I finally had to sell it - I sold it to a mechanic since I felt it necessary to disclose the transmission issues. This really disappointed me as I purchased the car based on Acura's reputation of quality.
17th Aug 2005, 23:21
I don't understand how a car on its third transmission can be called great. Had this been an American car for 2/3 the price you probably would have called it every piece of crap coming and going. What does it take you guys to admit that EVERY manufacturer has some serious problems in their vehicles despite of where they are made.