2002 Acura TL 3.2 TLS from North America - Comments

Does anyone know the precise cause of all the TL/CL transmission failures? Secondly, assuming Acura now knows the cause of the failures, have they been able correct the past design problems in the replacement transmissions now being installed? My transmission is being replaced as I write this comment. My 2002 TL, type S, just turned 50,000 miles. I would greatly appreciate any feedback, because it will probably determine if I keep the car. Thanks.

I just recently purchased a pre-owned Acura 2002 3.2 TL and its been fine so far.

The pre owned may be fine, but for how long? You never know when the trans will suddenly fail.

I have a 2002 TLS that is on its 3rd transmission. I was lucky enough to have the 2 replacements done for free as the warranty was extended to 175,000 km, but I have spent way too much money on other problems on this so called luxury car. Tomorrow I'm back to the dealer for the 5th time for the SRS light which is now also under warranty. The dealer has been very good to me as I think they realise that in the last 2 years I have been in for work at least 15 times. I tried to trade it in, but with 170,000km I won, t get much for it.

I, m not sure what my next car will be. I was planning on an Accord, but I'm really turned off by Honda.

I own a 2002 Acura TL with 127,000 miles. I had the transmission flushed at the recommendation of the Acura dealership. Five days later the transmission failed and I had to have it replaced. Acura paid everything, but $1800. That's a lot of money to spend on this car. I have had no trouble with it until this point, but upon reading all the problems others are having I'm a bit concerned this transmission won't last. I'll keep my fingers crossed...

Just for everyones information; Honda Canada has extended the warranty on 1999-2003 3.2TL transmission and torque converters to 93 months or 175,000 km.

Also, there is a warranty on the OPDS control unit, ie if your SRS light goes on and the code shows the OPDS it is covered to 10 years or 240,000 km. They are actually rebuilding the foam in my front seats now due to the seat sensor problems.

I have had 3 transmissions and 5 visits for SRS problems and have not paid for anything.

I still won, t be buying another Acura.

I purchased a 2003 Acura Type S new back in 2003. Car ran fine until a couple weeks ago when the transmission started slipping. Car has 162,000km. According to VIN, my car is 3,500 serial numbers above the cut off for the 175,000 km warranty. I have been on the phone with Acura three times trying to get some participation from them on this repair. So far they have offered nothing, wouldn't even take me up on my offer to pay the "cost" (not sell) of replacing the transmission. Acura knows about this problem and if it wasn't for the class action suit they would have told all of us to go punt. As it stands now, if you're serial number isn't in the covered range, they aren't going to help. From my research, the transmissions in these cars are still not 100%. Acura has made some updates to get them to last longer, but that's about it.

It's going to cost me a bundle, but I'm going to get rid of this piece of junk that Acura calls a luxury car and get something else. Seems that Acura has adopted the ways that caused the demise of our domestic manufacturers. Don't give a damm about the customer!

My advice is that if you own an Acura, get rid of it fast and stay far away.

Hi Everyone.

I appreciate all of the comments on here.

I purchased a 2002 Acura 3.2 TL 10 months ago.

It had been serviced faithfully at Acura dealers since day one. It has had the transmission replaced already.

Today, 102 000km (5yrs and 10months), the engine warning light came on. I took it in to be checked and the result is a New Engine!

$7000.

Dealer says Honda Canada won't do anything. Say that because I am the second owner, they won't do anything. Dealer offered to cover $1400 (labour) but that is it.

Now, I am in the "process que" at Honda Canada waiting for a customer service rep to review the case and get me an answer. Not much confidence with them!!

Has anyone else had an engine problem? The dealer mechanic says the pistons are knocking. They also said I could drive it until a resolution is determined - which concerns me greatly. Is it not possible to cause even more damage by continuing to drive it???

I can't tell you how disappointed I am in the customer service and quality of product coming out of Acura. I had a Honda Accord years ago and it was the best car ever, as was the dealer service. Now, I don't know that I can trust an Acura again.

Mitch.

Canada.

I purchased a used 2001 TL back in August of '05 with about 50k miles on it. By December I was having the transmission replaced. It was slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear. I got a new transmission and on the way home it just went berserk! It was not down-shifting correctly, two gears were lit up at once and it was making weird noises. So the next day it went back and a week later I got my car back with another transmission. Acura of Memphis was wonderful during all of this and I never had to pay a dime as the work was covered under warranty.

But now I have a car that I love to drive, but don't trust. It has been trouble free since and now has 68k on it, but I'm always listening to the transmission for signs of failure - that's not good. I hate to spend the money to buy a new car, but with plans to begin a family in the next year or two I don't think I can stick with this car. My plans are to keep it until the warranty runs out in late '08.

Fortunately I haven't seen too many comments about the '01 TL on this board. I have seen many people who have replaced their trannys multiple times, but for those who have had the transmission replaced in the last two years, have you had it fail again since then? Have the more recent replacement trannys gotten better or should I ditch this car while the transmission still works and the car still has some resale value?

PS - My husband's wonderful Honda Civic didn't fair too well in an accident the other day and I'm car shopping for him a nice sedan. Guess which nice sedans I'm not looking at?

Toyota Camry?

I purchased my Acura TL “S” in February of 2003. I, fortunately, bought the extended warranty since the car is in the shop today for its 3rd replacement transmission (along with a differential) at 73,000 miles. In between transmission replacements I had a seal leak. I not longer trust the car and understand the transmissions are all rebuilt that are being used, but I haven’t confirmed this yet. I’ll try asking the dealership when I pick the car up.

I’m going to research lemon laws in Virginia and see if anything can be done. Otherwise I’ll have to get rid of the right after the summer. My wife and I use her Subaru Outback for longer trips because we no longer trust our more expensive car.

I bought a used 03 TL-S about 2 weeks ago 47000 miles. After exiting the highway, I came to a stop sign, once I accelerated about 50 yards from the stop sign the car pulled hard to the left. It felt like the brake was stuck, is this a sign the transmission is failing?

Concerning the 03 TL-S suddenly pulling to the left - I think I would call my Acura mechanic (or technician) and tell them what happened. I wouldn't mention "transmission failure" and just see what he has to say.

When my transmission went bad it was simply slipping between 2nd & 3rd gear on the up-shift. Others say they hear a whining noise. Still others say they had no warning - although they may simply not have know what to look or listen for. My husband drives and rides in my car a lot and he didn't notice the slipping gears until I pointed it out.

Can anyone verify that the transmissions on 2003 TL's are covered for 7 years 100,000 miles. I contacted my local Acura dealer and they said no, but what if the car was issued a recall notice regarding the transmission and the issue was fixed in 04?

Try this website www.hondatransmissionsettlement.com and enter your vehicle's VIN. This should tell you if you are covered. This site will also have information in the settlement, which may further help you.