21st Jun 2007, 00:43

Wow, it made it to 192k? Many of the American cars that people preach about would be dead by that mileage. Yeah, maybe their transmission would not go, but sure as heck they would not be worth anything to repair.

24th Jun 2007, 09:46

I have a 2000 TL, and am the original owner of it. The car has 116,000 miles on it, and had no major issues until a couple of weeks ago when the transmission started to act up with similar problems that I just read on this blog, like jerky upshifting from the 2nd to the third and gear slipping with high engine reving, etc. The car became a serious safety hazard with abrupt down shifting almost to a dead stop from let's say 40 mph. Talk about sweating!!

I took the car in to the dealer, and they mentioned no chronic or design issues with these transmissions. I just thought at 116K miles, this could happen. The car is in the Acura shop to be worked on the next few days. My cost for the transmission is $2600 plus tax. Now I know there have been folks who got their transmission fixed for cars with > 100K miles for free or just paying for labor (~ $1000). I will see what I can do talking to the service manager tomorrow (Mon), but I am not sure if I want to keep the car. I am having other stuff done like timing belt, brakes, 105K tune-up, etc at the total cost of close to $5K!!!

Wondering if this is the right decision, but as-is the car may not be worth anything.

24th Jun 2007, 17:54

I would sell it as is for 2 or 3 grand and disclose its issues in my opinion. Its 7 years old. If you fix it you will probably be netting about the same amount. I sold mine over safety only. It ran great, but had the trans done and I disclosed it honestly as Car Fax had it all reported anyway. I feel I am coming out ahead now having domestics. The repair costs are over with. You learn.. hopefully you will have better luck on the next vehicle.

25th Jun 2007, 10:52

I've thought about this a lot just in case I'm put in the situation. But if my 01 TL had the transmission fail after warranty coverage had expired, I'd either sell it as is, like the person ahead suggested, or I'd fix it and drive it for 10,000 miles or so as I shopped for a new car. (The new trans should be good for 10,000 miles, right?) You can use kbb.com (Kelly Blue Book)or Edmunds.com to determine what your car would trade for with a fixed transmission. And you know what it would cost to fix it. So get a calculator and crunch some numbers, and decide what you think is best. But I think you are correct to get a different car - this one is a possible danger and a definite money pit. Good luck.

2nd Jul 2007, 22:50

Hello All-

Upon reading most of these comments, I am in poor spirits. My boyfriend has a 2000 Acura 3.2TL and last week, it began to have the same transmission symptoms listed by hundreds of people before me. I have a few questions that weren't explicitly answered in the posts before me.

- So there was a settlement in a class-action suit against Acura, right? What were the stipulations for people who want to get their transmissions replaced? For instance, my boyfriend's car has more than 100k miles on it, but may have less than 109 on it... would it still be covered under the extended warranty?

- My boyfriend's parents bought the Acura secondhand from a relative; since they are the second owners, is the warranty null and void?

- If he ends up getting it fixed, what should he expect in terms of cost for all scenarios, i.e., if he has to get it wholly replaced (it isn't covered by the extended warranty) or if the dealership he goes to just charges him labor?

Any other tips would be helpful, please contact me at abclemens@gmail.com. It's very difficult for him because he's away from home now (he's in Yorktown, VA on an internship) and doesn't really know what to do, especially since he works all day and can't get into a dealership to get the car examined. Plus, he'll have to drive it home at the end of the summer, and home is Detroit, MI.

11th Jul 2007, 13:19

Hi All.

I am an original owner of 3.2TL. I received a recall letter (summer 2004) about the faulty transmission. I brought the car to the dealer to have the transmission diagnosed. The dealer did not find any issue with the trans. They then installed the OIL JET into my car. Now my trans is on its way out, so I brought it back to the dealer, and they said that my car is out of warranty (134K miles), therefore I have to pay out of my pocket to have it fixed. The cost is $4500 + labor + tax. I think this is ridiculous. I never knew any company would put warranty on a faulty product.

I think we should all gang up and make our voices heard loud and clear on this matter. I am thinking of gathering more information on this issue and send them to Acura Manufacture. If that does not work, I will then get the media involved. My email address is locbe2002@yahoo.com.

12th Jul 2007, 10:37

I have a 2003 TL Type S. if the car is not covered under the extended warranty, does that mean the car is OK? Why is Acura ignoring the problem? Peoples lives are at risk!!!

13th Jul 2007, 08:55

I have been an acura fan for a very long time and have had 6 acura vehicles. I had a 1999 3.2 TL bad transmission at 150000 kms. Replaced transmission and sold the car. 2002 Acura MDX 65000kms transmission replace, 95000kms again transmission replaced. This all was under warranty, but there is a definite problem with the acura vehicles. I got a 2002 TLS which had the transmission replaced at 150000kms and now with 209000kms is gone again. Called Acura customer service and they said that they will call back as its out of warranty on the 3.2TLS, but they better replace it as they put in a re-manufactured tranny in this car. In the last 3 years on these 2 cars I have had including the original 6 transmissions. There is a real problem here and I will make sure acura does something about it.