2002 Acura TL 3.2 TLS from North America - All Comments

I'm a little late hearing about the TL class action suit. Can someone tell me how to proceed, and if there is any recourse. I am the original owner of an 03 TL, purchased in the spring of 02. When the 1st transmission was replaced at 50k I was assured by the dealer the "problem" was taken care of, now at 150k I once again need a transmission; unfortunately there's a 2 month wait for the "out of stock" transmission. Seems pretty funny that there would be such a need for transmissions on a 6 year old car, unless of course lots of these transmissions were being used up faster than they can be replaced. I'm bummed, I love my car and hate the idea that it's not what I was led to believe. Shame on Acura Corporate in California telling me they aren't willing to help.

8:44... I wish I kept our Legends, not the TL models. In my opinion this is a time bomb to drive. If the trans goes and you are in the midst of tractor trailers on the interstate, you may not feel that you do not have to have kids to be aware. Sure I loved driving it. Nice options, great power but I have zero regrets other than the tremendous financial loss selling. My personal safety is worth more than any car; that's my opinion, and maybe others feel otherwise because of the financial outlay to move on.

I have a 2002 TL-S with 86K miles that I bought certified pre-owned at 41K. I had the transmission recall performed shortly after buying the car and had the transmission serviced at 60K as a preventive measure on recommendation of the dealership. The transmission didn't make any unusual noises when I bought the car, but now makes a whining sound (like a turbocharger spinning up) only in second gear. I think the trans may have slipped once or twice under heavy throttle (for example, making a quick turn before the left turn arrow went out), but I can't be completely certain. The noise is not affected by whether the trans is warmed up, but it is worse under heavier acceleration and when starting off uphill.

I called the Acura dealer yesterday, and was told by a "service advisor" that I needed to make an appointment for diagnosis, at $105. Luckily, I asked for the service manager, who said to just bring it in for a test drive (which I intend to do next week). He did indicate, however, that Acura had issued a statement to the effect that their customers aren't used to the "normal" noises made by FWD cars (to which I replied that I've been driving FWD cars since 1978, and believe I know what's normal...)

The transmission is covered until June 2009, but I'm concerned that it could go at any time.

Has anyone experienced noise like this and NOT had the transmission fail? Also, any idea of the cause? I suspect that it's gear noise, based on the similarity to the noise manual transmissions make in reverse.

11:55, My 01 TL did something similar - whining noise, slippage from 2nd to 3rd gear. I actually drove it 1500 miles at Christmas before having it checked out. Then once Acura told me what was wrong they said it was safe to drive the entire next week until my new trans came in. It never did completely fail before I had it replaced - I wasn't about to let it go that far. I wouldn't put off the mechanic's visit or any needed work, but it doesn't sound like you are going to break down on your next trip to the grocery store either.

As a Honda owner of over 20 years, I can forgive Honda/Acura for a flawed transmission design (although how it wasn't detected during road testing is a complete mystery.) What I can't forgive is that Honda is cynically replacing failed transmissions with rebuilt units that, according to the postings here, fail more quickly than the originals. No more Hondas for me. Ever.

I had the 2000 TL for about two years with 147000 miles and bought used, not know how many owner before. Now it had the Check engine on, TCS light on by itself, and blink D5. I just read all of this comment and know I may run into trouble for this trans problem. I checked it is out off warranty. But my car still driving fine right now. The question is how long it will give me trouble after blink the D5 and TCS is on? Also some guy mentioned if put into manual shift right after start the car, D5 will not blink and TCS will not on. I tried. it is true. Is this going to avoid the trans problem or not? any people try it before. If so I will drive it in the manual mode always. What is my other option? I do not think I can sell the car like this way.

To the person who posted at 4th Jun 2008, 16:24 about the whining transmission, what was Acura's exact diagnosis? Did you have to go higher than the local dealership to get the transmission replaced? As I said earlier, I described the same noise over the phone to the service manager at the local Acura dealer, and he tried to convince me that it's normal for a front wheel drive car.

Does anyone have any idea of:

1. What percentage of '00 through '03 TLs have actually had transmission problems and.

2. What percentage of the rebuilt replacements fail.

I am buying a Acura 2003 3.2TL, and I put deposit already. The current owner is the only owner of the car, and showed me all the service invoice and paperwork. They also showed me the recall letter of the transmission and they did get it replaced. However, I checked the VIN# in www.hondatransmissionsettlement.com, and found out that the vehicle is not covered under the settlement!

I am so confused, why would a dealer send the owner the recall letter even the car is not under the settlement. Is that site only good for US vehicle? or we can check the canada vehicle vin# there too?

The car currently at around 163k, and the extended warranty on the recall letter said it covers 7.75 year and 175km. I am planning to go to dealer and ask them to do a checkup for me, and force them to replace a new one for me. Any of you think it's possible?

Thanks.

I posted about the transmission whining (and now it is slipping) in second gear...

I went to the dealer - after a test drive the service manager said they would have a rebuilt trans for me next week, and I would get a loaner car while mine was in the shop. They were very professional about it.

I was still concerned by the stories of rebuilt units failing, and did some additional research. Initially, Acura was rebuilding the original transmissions. In 2005 they started using a redesigned case for the rebuilt transmissions and these seem to be much more reliable.

I own a 2003 Acura 3.2 TL (129,000 ml) and I am also having some transmission trouble.

I took it to a dealership for them to perform the recall test. He told me the trans was "fried" and it would cost me 4,400 to replace it.

Came to find out, he never even performed the test. When I called him back, he said he didn't need to do the test because the trans was already gone. My point was that, if the trans is gone it, could it be a result of the recall that had never been performed, (which I just found out about.)

I made a second trip (80 miles to the next state) after calling "Customer Service" and talking to the service manager just to get the recall done. And it was as I suspected they would say, it was not the 2nd shift recall, but the 2nd gear was slipping because of 2nd gear clutch pressure failure.

I'm not saying that that is not the truth, but I am a little skeptical after they gave me the run-a-round about doing the recall test in the first place.

Does anyone know how I can find out if what they said is wrong with my trans is not caused by the 2nd shift recall?

To the 15th Jun 2008, 17:18 poster - can you remember where you read about the redesigned case on all transmissions fixed after 2005? I've seen this on Wikipedia - which, as a librarian, I don't find to be a reliable source. I've scoured the internet for more information on this and would like to read more. Please post some websites if you can. Thanks.

I brought my 2002 Acura TL on 5/08. With only 74.477 miles on it. So far I have not had any problems. I have put about 3,000 miles on it. If something does go wrong I will be sure to let everyone out there in car survey. org and Wells Fargo who gave me around 10,000 for the car and were they can pick it up because I am not paying 4,000 dollars for repairs and still have to make payments.

Wow, I was preparing to purchase a beautiful 2003 TL-S with 112,000 miles on it. The CarFax was clean but my test drive was short. Thank you for saving me! I guess I will keep the old Accord EX and Prelude SH a little longer.

Thanks again!

John.

I purchased a 2002 3.2 TL in December 2007. In early June 2008 my transmission started slipping and the engine was making a whining noise. The TCS light was on as well as the check engine light. I took it to Acura the next morning and was told by noon that the car needed a new transmission. The car had 99,000 kms on it. Acura replaced the transmission at no cost to me ($2,400.00 + labour. It worked out to $3,048.81 taxes in according to the bill). I asked questions about the transmission because I came across a thread like this where people were discussing their transmission issues, and was told by Acura that when they redesigned the 2002 TL they changed the gear set-up and moved 2nd gear higher and it wasn't getting the fluid necessary. They added a jet pack to shoot fluid up there, but that didn't work so great. Acura told me that I have a totally redesigned transmission with reconfigured gears, so the 2nd gear thing no longer happens.

On another note, I read that the 2002 TL have long lasting platinum tip spark plugs (170,000kms) and timing belt. The timing belt is supposed to last to 105,000 miles. Not sure what that is in kms I think 155,000 kms? This is according to the recommended service schedule the previous owner gave me. They got it from the dealer.