21st Oct 2009, 22:19

Had my transmission replaced under recall at 105K. I have a 2000 TL. I have 119K on car and everything is fine. If I did notice the transmission starting to slip, I would sell the car.

23rd Oct 2009, 14:32

I am the original owner of a 03 Acura 3.2 TL and I have 145,000 miles. I have taken it for all scheduled services to the local Acura dealership.

The first thing to go at 100,000 miles was the engine mounts. I complained to the dealership and Acura, but I was denied by both of them to pay to replace the mounts. I cannot understand how an engine mount goes bad and not covered with an Acura, especially since I was told that the car would last 200,000 plus miles. I guess they forgot to tell me that at 100K plus it would start costing a lot!

The second thing to go, and I just learned about it today, is the transmission. $3800 plus labor - the car is not even worth that. I'll never buy an Acura again.

24th Oct 2009, 10:52

My worst resale ever was this car I bought new. I was happy to get 10K for it when I hit 41000 miles. Am glad our headache ended. It was wise I felt.

30th Oct 2009, 17:33

Bought '03 Type S... LOVE THIS CAR...but like everybody else on this forum, tranny died on me. As we speak, the car is sitting at the dealership getting a remanufactured transmission put in it. I was not supposed to be involved in the recall because my car was past the production date (warranty covers up to around 19K in Type S, but my car is 26K off the line) but Acura is still covering the cost of 60% of the remanufactured transmission. Needless to say, I'm stoked since I don't have to pay the entire amount. The good news is that since I'm involved financially in the repair, they are giving me the 3 year/36 month warranty on the transmission.

Anyway...I love the car... hate that I'm spending any money at all, but really happy that they are making an effort anyway. It seems to me they value their customers.

23rd Nov 2009, 12:03

I bought a used 03 TL-S in 06, and drove it hard for over 3 years now with ZERO problems other than normal maintenance and a set of tires.

2 months ago I took it to a specialist to have it "checked" and he informed me I had 3 broken motor mounts, which I agreed to replace. (Not cheap! But this is to be expected on a performance machine.)

No problem whatsoever with the transmission (knock-on-wood) Perhaps mine is a later model 03 or was fixed before I acquired at 45K. I now have 87K and going strong.

Yes, I have to say this is the best overall car I've ever owned, (well, tied with my 86CRX) blending luxury, performance and reliability at a price.

21st Dec 2009, 11:15

I purchased my 2003 Acura TL type S in 3/05 with 27k miles. The transmission died at 52k miles, and Acura told me the repair would be out of warranty. So I took it to AAMCO, and they said the torque converter blew as well and sent metal shards into the transmission, which in turn burnt out all the solenoids.

$4500 later, a re-manufactured Acura transmission was installed and everything else was replaced as well. I was told nothing about a recall and am unsure if my VIN # qualified anyway. A few of my friends who bought a TL or Accord around the same time had their trannys go as well, but they were under warranty.

Needless to say, I am disgruntled with Acura/Honda, and as a result will never purchase another one. My brother purchased a 2006 TL and loves it, but I refuse to give Honda my business after the way I was treated. Today, I took it back to AAMCO because it felt like the transmission was acting up again. Fortunately the tranny is fine, but the motor mounts were the culprit and it is going to cost me around $450 to fix those babies. I do have 106K right now, and cannot afford a new car, so I hope it lasts as long as some of the other posted comments (like 200K).

Even though I checked the Carfax on this car, and did a lot of research before I purchased it, I did not check "Consumer Reports", which had a big solid black dot under the transmission category for the 2003-03 TL's. I will not make that mistake again.

9th Jan 2010, 16:26

OK, I hear both sides of the problem with this, and all I have to say is relax.

You can pay 500.000.00 dollars for a car, and some of them might go wrong; it's the nature of the car.

And also, my 03-TL type S is a dream. When I bought the car, I saved extra money for repairs. It's a sports car, therefore the engine is meant to be driven and pushed harder. The transmission works harder than in regular little cars; it's more brittle and is prone to have that happen to it. I think the problem is that people don't realize that just because it's a Honda, that it won't break. Every car is the same, that's what you get with sports car, you enjoy them because they are fast and beautiful, and make you happy every time you hit the throttle, but you prepare yourself to endure the consequences.

Just try it get a non sports car, and push it hard and see how much quicker it breaks down than this TL.

As for mine, there are no problems with the engine, nor the transmission. It runs like a dream. I have gone once on a track to 245 KM/H, and found it held the road really well.

20th Feb 2010, 11:46

I bought my 2003 TL Type S in 2006 with 27000 miles on it. The transmission went at 75000 miles and was covered by the class action suit, extended warranty.

I now have 95000 on the car, and the transmission is still doing fine, but just had to replace the motor mounts, not a cheap item.

Aside of these two issues, there hasn't been anything else wrong with this car. I love driving it, great pick up and handling, and a great Bose stereo. I plan to keep it for a least a year or two.

I would like to know how to get 30 mpg, though, as one person claimed. Best I ever got was 26 mpg, but usually 24 on the highway and 20 around town... and I do all the scheduled maintenance, and use high test 90% of the time.

5th Apr 2010, 15:10

I have a 03 TL Type S. I took it to the dealer and they told me two of the engine mounts are gone, which I find very strange, and now that I am reading the comments, it's scary. I also owned a 1995 Acura Integra, and the engine mounts are OK, not cracked or broken, so obviously there is a problem.

I think all of us Acura owners should take a law suit against Honda/Acura to be responsible for these repairs. These are consistent problems identified in the same line of cars.