18th Jul 2008, 12:36

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.

5th Aug 2008, 14:29

The comment above me just isn't true. I purchased a beautiful 2002 Acura TL type S with 116,000 miles. I bought this car on Thursday and on Friday on my way home the Transmission broke. It had the recall done on it at 86,000 miles and the transmission was replaced... The timing belt was replaced, water pump, rotors, brakes, and tires.

I'm waiting to see what Acura is going to do about it because it's definitely nothing I or the previous owner did to the car... learn how to manufacture a reliable product!

The car was taken care of. The New Transmission is the same as the old... a bunch of nothing, the Air conditioner motor has been replaced, the 6 disc dash CD player is broke and the SRS light is on!

I just got rid of a 99 Lexus ES300 with 189,00 miles on it and everything worked on it and I've never had to fix or replace anything... it was a perfect and reliable car and will be my next car if I can get rid of the scrap of metal.

If I had known that Acura was going to be an expensive broke down go-cart, I never would have purchased it in the first place!!!

11th Aug 2008, 00:03

I sent Car Survey two post. 4/10/08 and 6/30/08. after the purchased of my used 2002 Acura TL. with only 74,000 miles. while I was driving my Acura. my check engine light. and my TCS light was on also. I took my car to the Acura dealership with only 78,488 miles on it. they told me that they have to replace my old transmission with a new one. for free with a 1yr or 12,000 miles warranty and they will give me a rental car while they finish working on my car. I would like to know is the new transmission better than the old one.

15th Aug 2008, 12:25

I have a 2001 TL with 141,000 miles and now the tranny is shot. I took it to the dealer (unaware of the chronic tranny problems with Acura). The dealer told me it would be $5400 to replace the transmission!!!

What should my next course of action be?

17th Aug 2008, 21:09

I'm late posting this comment. My bad.

This site helped me tremendously with regards to the transmission failure. I have a 2002 TL Type S. Great car except for two points.

1) The transmission failed as everyone indicated (for me at 63,000 miles) in Dec of 2007. The transmission and the power-train computer were replaced by the dealer at no cost to me + loaner no cost to me. THANKS TO THIS SITE, I MADE SURE THAT I HAD EVIDENCE THAT I HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CHANGED PER THE MANUAL.

2) The in dash BOSE 6 disc hanger jammed because I did not know that the BOSE unit would not be able to take "home recorded" CDs. The dealer indicated this is a freq problem with the BOSE... repair is $330 at the Acura specified stereo store here in Greenville SC or it can be sent off by the dealer for the same cost. But the same BOSE failure will occur if I forget the detail related to the CDs so I will replace the BOSE unit. Will go with an MP3 compatible unit. BOSE CD changer problem is something about the thickness of all CDs not being uniform, esp related to CDs that can be recorded at home (meaning not prerecorded).

SUMMARY: after the computer/ transmission swap the car shifts more smoothly. I did have to pay for the replacement of two ball joints and they suggested replacing the axles. That was not covered... who knows if that was related to the prior harsh shift quality that has now been eliminated. I did the ball joints for $400. Axles later next year.

I liked the sporty shifts prior to the transmission/ computer replacement, but if the "shift-shock" prior to the tranny replacement had anything to do with the tranny failure, then I don't mind the smoother shifts. Dealer did indicate that the warranty goes to 109,000 miles.

Good news: the dealer played fair and was very upfront even though I was new to the area and did not buy the car from them.

I am seriously considering selling this car when at either 109,000 miles or max @ double the original failure 126,000.

13th Sep 2008, 01:08

I had the same problem with the Bose but you don't need to replace it. Get the CD out with a pair of tweezers and reset the code. You'll find the code in the front cover of your manual on a business size card.

My transmission (2002) went in May and Acura agreed to pay half. I have 110,000 miles on the car. Ramsey (NJ) Acura was the first dealer I called ($6,400) but when I got other prices, Acura decided not to pay half anymore.

I got 3 prices from 3 different Acura dealers. One for $6,400; one for $3400; and one for $3,200.

They claimed that they could only pay half of the $6,400 because that's where the paperwork was started. After 3 months of phone calls and letter writing, I just gave up and paid for it myself.

This will be the last Acura I buy. Too bad because I did like the car.

I would suggest a class action law suit, but it looks like that's already been done.

19th Sep 2008, 18:05

I bought my 2001 TL new.

Transmission failed in '03 at 50,000 miles. Had the second gear recall done in '05 and the fluid changed at about 70,000. I am about to exceed the 7.75 year extended extended limit.

The fluid is starting to smell burned, so I believe that it will fail again soon, probably after the warranty runs out. I'll have the fluid changed again although it only has 20K since the last time.

I am confused by what I see in these postings... what is happening to people with 01's who get a failure after the time runs out? I want to keep the car but I can't afford $6K.