2002 Acura TL 3.2 TLS from North America - Comments

Has anyone had any results when calling Acura Corporate or a lawyer? Please respond with information.

Glad to see this website. We have a 2002 Acura TL Type S and are on our fourth transmission. We purchased the car in 2001 and in 2002 the first failure. In 2004 second failure, 2005 third failure and summer 2006. Acura has replaced the transmission free and I have over 148,000 miles. There is a class action lawsuit currently underway. I received the information in the mail today. The fairness hearing will be held on December 28, 2006 at 9:00 am in Oakland, CA. website listed is www.hondatransmissionsettlement.com. I will never buy another Acura again.

I purchased my 2002 Acura TL brand new and had absolutely no problems up until a month ago. At 108,000, my transmission is going downhill quickly. I'm heading to AAMCO next week to get a new transmission. I hope others can share good experiences with dealing with AAMCO. I took my car to the dealer (where I purchased the car) at 106,500 because my check engine light was illuminated. The code returned from their diagnostic test suggested transmission problems. The issue I have with the dealership (Cary, NC) was that there was absolutely no mention of Acura's history of transmission problems with the '02 TLs. I realize that my mileage exceeded the 100k mileage warranty coverage, but their blatant intent to not share their knowledge is enough to keep me from ever purchasing another Acura. I think it's going to be a Lexus or a Honda for me next year.

Honda is Acura, but still, the newer models have better transmissions and will be reliable.

Honda has the same problem with the transmission just got my notice for a class action suit with my 99 honda odyssey.

I have an '02 Type S as well. And I'm on my third transmission (replacements @ 103K and 105K miles). I received the notice of the class action settlement proposal too -- BUT IT DOES NOT APPLY TO THE '02 MODEL YEAR FOR THE TYPE S. Check your VIN to be sure, but we're not covered.

Does anyone know if there is another suit in which we'd be members of the class?

Jim.

I have owned a '02 TL-S for over a year and now has about 60,000 miles, and I also received the settlement notice in the mail a few days ago, then I went on line (hondatransmissionsettlement.com) to check my VIN and came up covered under the class.

Though, I have no idea if it had any prior transmission problems, I recently noticed that after slowing down almost to a stop to take a curve, when I hit the gas pedal again, it sometimes goes in blank, and kind of kicks back before the second gear engages; but it doesn't happen very often and I'm not sure if I should take the car to the dealership now or what?. Any suggestions?

I hear if you hear a loud noise from your transmission, it's a sign of going bad. Mines starting to have that noise. What happens if my 02 TL isn't covered under the Honda Settlement? It has 84,000 miles, so it's under the 7 years/100,000 warranty?

A couple of questions on this site were asked about whether you should take your Acura in for service if it's having certain transmission problems & if those problems are really serious enough to be worried about. You absolutely should take your car in right away. You must have repairs done by an authorized Honda/Acura repair facility if you want them done under the new 100,000 mile warranty (which will be 109,000 mile warranty if the class action lawsuit is approved in Dec.) So do not take your car to your local mechanic. Take it to a Honda dealer or Acura dealer. Do not wait to get your car serviced. There are a lot of scary stories out there of people being stranded because their transmission broke.

We Can Relate to all of you!

Our 2003 Acura TL Type-S factual experience:

My boyfriend and I own a 2003 Acura TL type-s and are currently awaiting approval of our third transmission.

We first began experiencing problems when the car had approximately 25,000-30,000 miles; jerking of the car and unusual noises. Our Acura dealer told us they needed to install an "oil jet kit" instead of a completely new transmission because there wasn't any damage in the form of "heat discoloration". Unfortunately we continued to experience problems and had to have the transmission replaced at 75,000 miles (transmission #2). We were also notified via mail that there was a recall on some Acura transmissions due to a manufacturing defect.

Our car is presently at the Acura dealer pending approval for a third transmission. We are quite frustrated because the dealer is saying that we are 10 miles outside our warranty coverage; which is ludicrous considering the fact we had to drive over 20 miles to take the car in!

Furthermore, we were just told that our car isn't included in the class action lawsuit nor is our VIN listed under the extended transmission warranty! Why? I have no idea, but could use some help if anyone else can relate. I am hoping to end our transmission woes as soon as possible.

I would say that with the exception of the problems associated with the transmission we loved the car. However, at this point the problem is turning into a huge inconvenience and is quite frustrating.

Does anyone know how to find out why my VIN# isn't listed? We purchased the car 6/2002 as a new 2003 TL and I don't feel we should be excluded considering we are on our third transmission!

Has anyone been able to associate any transmission problems with the "computers" within their Acura's? I recently came across someone who said their dealer told them that the transmission problems were due too bad computers. I am hoping verify this comment. If this is true does anyone know what is being done about this. We are on our third transmission with our 2003 Acura TL type-s! Thank you kindly!

Thank you for posting the class action information, I will have to check my vin and see if I am covered.

I also am on my 3rd engine and my car has a mere 29,000 miles on it. The 1st replacement engine lasted about 4,500 miles.

I am definitely thinking of trading the TL in for a Lexus or something else more reliable. It's really such a shame because I love my car, but for the transmission.

I have a 2003 Acura TL with a dead transmission. When calling Acura dealer they said only the early 2003 models of the TL were covered with the 100,000 mile warranty. I bought it in July of 2002 and it was just delivered to the dealer a few days before I purchased it.

At 27000 miles I had a recall on my car regarding the transmission and went in to have it taken care of.

My Acura has only 87000 miles on it. I can't believe that I am out of pocket nearly another $3000 for that vehicle.

This is my second TL and my last.

The mechanic told us that when the car was taken in or the recall that the damage was already done at 27000 and it was inevitable that it would break at some point. So much for Acura standing behind its products.

It must be the Acura dealer. I know of Honda and Acura dealers accepting anyone of those transmissions from 2000-2004 usually under 100,000 miles, but I have heard of some with over 100k being replaced for free.

Greetings, I am an owner of an Acura 3.2 TL "Type-s". I bought the car new and have had problems since the first few months. I am awaiting authorization of our third transmission. The dealer has had my vehicle in for inspection for over two weeks and now is telling me that due to a spilled soda there is a malfunction in the circuit board. I believe this to be false and ridiculous! They want me to pay 914$ to fix the shifter unit. I don't feel the problem is in the shifter unit. They said until I pay for that they won't fix the tranny! Please help anyone!

This experience has lead me to do some research on particularly they TYPE-S 2003 Acura TL that was quickly removed off the market. The "Type S" with Navigation is suppose to have remote diagnostics, On Star Navigation system compatibility and other nice electrical/technical features. We have had problems with all of these features since the tranny problems began and now I feel they are trying to blame us. Does anyone know if there has been any electrical defect or computer problems investigated regarding the "Type-S". Not to mention they say we're not included in the extended warranty which is also absurd. We are preparing to take action this has been such a headache and disappointment.