2002 Acura TL 3.2 TLS from North America - All Comments

Get ready, folks, I am on my 5th transmission.

I am the first owner of a 2002 TL Type S, and we had our first transmission replaced at under 30,000. That transmission was replaced at a little over 60,000, and then again at 104,000 miles. All these transmissions were warrantied and we love the car, other than this lemon transmission.

WE are loyal to Honda and have a 2004 Acura TL in the garage, along with purchasing Civics for all four children when each turned 16.

My car is in the shop again, and this time they are balking at paying. I am entering into negotiations tomorrow morning, and I cannot believe I came upon this web site. I am going to ask about the class action, and see if we can get one more transmission out of them.

I am stunned to see all the problems, and Acura's lack of leadership. I was going to replace this Acura with a new one when this gave up, but I was expecting that would be at least 200,000- 225,00 miles. Oh well, wish me luck.

Frustrated in Indy.

I bought a used '03 3.2TL Type "S" in December of 2006...it has operated perfectly until yesterday... same thing everyone else is saying... slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear... I had it towed to a local transmission shop and am now wondering if I should have them put it back together and take it to the local dealer... it had 54000 miles when I bought it and now has 67500...would the dealer repair it for labor only or at best for free??? Again, I am not the original owner and have no warranty, but Acura has to know they have put out a faulty product and the more people that see sites like this, the fewer people that will buy Acura/Honda...I have been a huge believer in Honda products since my first Honda in 1987 and never even gave it a second thought that I might be looking at a $3000-$4500 repair expense in a 2003 model Acura...I expected to drive it for a few years and get a full return on my "luxury car" investment. I will contact the local dealer and see what they say...

Thanks for a great site and an open forum to discuss these issues!

I put in the comment on August 20th and thanks to this forum Acura of Memphis will be replacing my transmission under warranty even though I did not buy the car from them and I bought it used. They will aslo be including a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on the new transmission. This is great news!!! They are doing all of this at no charge to me!

I only wish I had done the research first and found this site... I did have to tell the transmission shop I originally had it towed to, to put it back together and had to pay them $700 to do it, but that is much better than having to pay for a new transmission!!!

My suggestion to anyone that is having a transmission problem: TAKE IT TO THE DEALER, TALK TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AND IF HE WON'T FIX IT UNDER Warranty, TALK TO THE DISTRICT MANAGER... IT WILL HAPPEN. ACURA IS STANDING BEHIND THEIR PROBLEM AND THEIR PRODUCT!!!

Acura of Memphis is very good. I bought my car from them and they have honored every warranty - no problems, no hassles whatsoever. I'll certainly consider buying from them again, but it probably won't be another Acura (don't care for the newer models). I'm waiting for the powertrain warranty on my TL to expire next summer and then I'll purchase something else.

I was shopping the other day and as I was getting in my car a Mercedes CLK pulled in the space beside me. She got out and looked at my car and said "Nice car" referring to my 02 Acura TL (which was sparkling clean at the time and looking pretty good if I do say so). I was a bit surprised and said "Thank you, I like yours, too." She said "I used to have one like that and I miss it so much.". I mentioned how much I enjoyed this car, but the transmission problems I'd had with it. She responded that is exactly why she got rid of hers.

I mention this story because 1) someone in a cool Mercedes complimented my car :) and 2) this is the third person I've talked to (in the city I live in, not online) that has loved this car, but had to trade it in because of these persistant transmission problems.

I'm just so put out with the idea of getting another car. My TL is running well, but I know I have to get something else within a year or so, but I don't want to. I've looked everywhere (foreign, domestic, high-end, mid-range) and nothing seems to compare. Cars and the way they ride and perform are so subjective. Others may have no problem finding a car that is a great substitute, but I can't find anything I like as well as this Acura (the new Acura's don't even compare, might as well have been made on another planet). Sorry if this is a bit off topic, but just thought I'd share my misery with those who love/have loved this car. If you have a suggestion for something that handles and performs like this car, but has the same sporty-smooth ride and safety features as these TLs (and less than $35k, new or used), I'm listening.

I own a 1999 Acura 3.2 TL with 115,000 miles on it, and I just found out that the transmission is on its way out. I contacted Acura and brought the car in to a local dealer to have it diagnosed. Luckily for me, even though it's over warranty, Acura gave me another transmission. I only had to pay $600 for labor. I have a new warranty with this transmission. It's 3 years or 36,000 miles. I couldn't be happier and I feel the company did good by me, because honestly, they didn't have to do a thing for me.

We are very glad to see this site. Yes! It happened to my wife yesterday while driving home. We owned a 2002 3.2 TL Type S and this is the third time for transmission failure. The car has only 43K. It was so lucky there are no accident involved this time. She drove slow in the 25 mile zone, the car suddenly went full throttle max RPM and jumped forward without any warning signs. She applied the brake so hard, but could not stop the car, luckily no car in front. With fast reaction, she turned off the engine key and jumped out. The feeling of death is in reach within a second.

We were lucky there were an Acura dealer (Alex, VA.) employee drove by and he stopped to help us take the car back to the dealer. We are now in the loan car from the dealer and wait for the transmission to be replaced again. We will think hard to trade in for another car soon although we love the car dearly. Safety really concerns us. I hope the Honda/Acura manufacturer put customer safety ahead and stay behind support their products.Thanks.

My 02 TL type S transmission went out after I serviced it amidst concerns of the check engine light and the V.S.A. indicator lights illuminating in the dash.

The mechanic was test driving the car when the transmission failed. He exiting the highway onto an off-ramp when this happened. He was very scared, saying that he had never experienced anything like that before in his life. This happened August 23 2007, and my car has been sitting now for about a month waiting for repair.

I had 2 failed attempts at help from Acura Client Services and the dealer hasn't helped either, wanting me to pay 3.7k for transmission replacement. I can't afford to replace it out of pocket, and I'm scared that the repair won't last once it gets repaired.

Although my V.I.N was included, the class action law suit didn't help since I had 137k when it failed.

The 07 Type S looks really good to me, but I wonder if the lack of customer service will follow me with a new purchase should the same situations and circumstances occur. I love the Acura product line, and I've been a fan for years. But I hate how they resolved this issue with my car.

I actually went and purchased a used transmission from a friend that had his automatic swapped (via special project) with a 6-speed manual. He has only 5k on it and I have high hopes for installing it into my crippled ride, although the dealer will not install it for me.

I feel let down and I am disappointed with the people at the dealership as well as the staff at Acura Client Services because I feel that they could do more to help us. We are victims, people who made a purchase based on reliability and prestige of a product whose reputation speaks volumes about it, or so I thought. We had no idea when we made our purchases that our cars would fail us the way they did. These are ACURA vehicles!! Reliability and safety should never have been an issue here!! How long must this continue before we achieve ultimate customer satisfaction?? What can we do as consumers to get the results that we deserve for the vehicles we fell in love with??

I have a real problem with buying another Acura - after all I will be getting rid of this one much sooner (and at much more expense) then I had planned because of a faulty transmission problem with this model. So why should I give this company more of my money even if it appears they have fixed this problem with the newer models? I'll let another car company vie for my hard earned money.

Also be aware that the TLs made after 2004 are a totally different breed of car. You may like the ride, but personally I did not.

I own a 2003 Acura TL Type S. Very nice and reliable car except for the transmission. I have 47K miles on it and the tranny went. It started to slip between 2nd and 3rd then it got stuck in 2nd and would not shift into third. Also my check engine light, vsa light and traction light went on. Brought to the dealership and I am starting to get a hard time from them. Very annoyed and pissed at them and I am refusing to pay for the transmission. I am going to call the district manager and have a talk with them. Starting to see that many people are have a lot of difficultes with the tranny. Thinking about selling the car very soon!!

WOW, interesting reading! You guessed it, the transmission in my 02TL has just experienced the same symptoms as I've read about (slippage, sudden jerking). I doubt there would be any sort of coverage due to it's high mileage (although according to recall notices I've found, the recall went into effect the day I picked it up (used) at the dealer). I've now read about MANY results for the SAME problem!Love the car otherwise, but this is ridiculous! Does it make any difference if the car was purchased in the US or Canada? ANY information would be appreciated. cljbcoll@hotmail.com.

Wow...my 2002 TL with 97,000 is at Acura repair. I just received call from them confirming that the issues I was having was due to transmission and they are replacing it. I just spent $1600 two weeks ago for 100,000 service and two new tires, timing belt and other minor things. I took the car in due to minor slippage of gear, but also needed to get state inspection and thought that the issues I was having would be taken care of by getting service on car. Obviously, I continued to have some issues and had a bad transmission 'attack' on Saturday night. I returned home and switched cars for the evening. I want to keep this car for another 50,000 or so miles as I love it and it's paid for! Someone hit me this summer and had $6,000 damage repair (not my fault), and I had some dings fixed and the car looks brand new now. I'm amazed by all of the entries on this site, but happy that I do not have to pay for this transmission repair. I asked Acura if I was getting the 'same' transmission with defects, and he told me that it has been updated, and I will be able to tell a difference in the ride of the car when I get it back. I hope that all goes well and I don't have to have this fixed several more times like many others have noted.

I have a 2000 3.2TL, and just this morning it left me on the road. I was driving on the highway on the left lane when the car would not go for more than 40mph. I made my way to the right lane, and took the next exit at 25mph until I got to a safe spot to stop and park the car. It sure is a scary feeling when other cars on the highway are going at least 60mph. As some of you have said Acura did replace one transmission on my care couple of years ago with no problem whatsoever. I will find out how it will go with the second one. This time the car has well over 200K. I sure will do some research before I buy the next car. I also have a 1993 Legend that's a beauty, and bought the TL hoping it would be the same...

I own a 2000 Acura TL with approximately 86,000 miles on it and I am now noticing that when it goes into third gear it shutters for about four or five seconds. I am assuming that it has something to do with the transmission, but I am not 100% sure. Does anyone know if the extended warranty is good for either seven years or 109,000 miles, which ever comes first or is it just 109,000 miles period?

To the owner of the 00 TL with 86k miles on it. The transmission settlement is 7yrs, 9 months OR 109,000 miles. So you may still be eligible - I guess it depends on when your car was originally purchased. My 01 TL was purchased used, but I saved the carfax I ran when I bought the car so I have the original purchase date. If you aren't the original owner of that car and don't have a carfax report I'm not sure how else you could tell. But many others on this site have apparently negotiated well with Acura dealerships to get something paid for even if there car was out of warranty. Maybe you should call your dealership? Good luck.