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For all the people out there, who have these tranny problems, don't think that Honda/Acura is irreliable. I know that these problems might seem disturbing, but this is merely a small bruise into Honda's excellent reputation. They have recalled this problem, so it is not unknown. It is just like toyota, when it had the engine oil sludge problem, it affected all cars with that same engine layout. But it is still considered to be reliable.
EandOH,
I am glad they replaced your transmission, like they are supposed to. Don't think of this problem as anything really bad against the Honda Company. I know the transmission problems might be discouraging, but every company has its faults.
I used to manage a Honda/Acura shop with the same co that my sis still works with for 10 yrs. So I am NO dummy when it comes to cars! Suffice it to say that I know more than my husband does about cars. When I worked as a manager/svc mgr I gained a whole new respect for the industry and KNOW that you can't just be a dumb redneck and work on today's complicated cars!
No problems with the tranny until the weather got REALLY cold here in NC right before Christmas 2008 - 16 degrees. My husband noticed that car felt like it was in N after pulling away from a stopsign and barely going 30-40 ft. Took it into the dealer and they found that it was 1 qt low. They put dye in the system and we brought it back a week later to have it rechecked. They could not find a problem. (Are you surprised???)
Since then, he has had a few times where it did the same thing, with the hesitation - only in cold weather (under 30 degrees).
So last Sat 1/31/09, at 26,000 mi I told hubby that I felt we needed to get the ATF chgd (bec I am a FREAK about keeping the flds clean). I do the ATF every 15k on my 2002 Honda Accord.
He said that on the way to the dealer on 1/31 the tranny hesitated again. Of course, they didn't find anything.
I had to FIGHT to get the warranty on paper and even called Acura HQ and have a case#.
The dealer tried to act clueless.
At first, the dealer tried to tell me that we did NOT have a warranty. He read the notes and said that it stated R&R tranny to repl the rear main seal. I told him that I REQUESTED the rear main seal be repl while they had the tranny out bec you HAVE to take the tranny out to repl the seal anyway!
Acura mgr said "OH!! I think we can make that fly. That way you WILL be cov under the warranty."
I tell you... if I had been some dummy walking in off the street they would have just ripped me a new one!! I MADE the mgr create a dummy work order stating that we would be cov under the 36,000mi/3 yr warranty.
I also stated that there are only 3 reasons WHY the ATF would be low:
1. There was a leak (dye showed none)
2. Their tech did not fill it up all the way when the tranny was replaced
3. It is burning it.
Well, this week (on Wed 2/4/09) hubby said that the hestitation happened again in the same manner but this time he told me that the D5 light was blinking. I just about FREAKED! I told him THAT was important to note.
I talked with sis and she said that in order to ck the light it MUST be ckd before the car is turned off. Well, I didn't know that until it was too late.
Instead, I decided to go to my local AutoZone in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, there would be a code stored. NOPE!
Note: It was 35 degrees this morning.
On my way up to AuoZone I drove the car and tried to duplicate the hesitation problem. Nothing. However, when I got on the highway I noticed that the rpms were ONLY 1700 at 65 mph. Then at 55mph the rpms were 1500.
I know that is WAY too low!! I drove my son's 95 Accord today to compare and at 65mph the rpms were about 2600. My 02 Accord is the same.
Any suggestions here?
I read some of the other posts and think that it MAY be the ATF temp sensor or possibly the torque converter (that was supposedly replaced in March 2008).
Hubby has a friend who used to work at the Acura dealership as a tech (he now works at Lexus) so if that is something that is simple to try, maybe we should try that first. Anybody know the cost of the sensor? I read in a post here that it's a 15-30 min job (for someone who knows what they are doing).
Needless to say, the MDX is at the dealer right now awaiting a Monday morning diagnosis.
I am anxious to hear what they have to say.... we still have about $10,000 on the warranty. (hubby drives a lot)
Any comments? Suggestions?
I have an 05 MDX and drive the highway at 65mph (yes, I go the speed limit) almost every day. 1700 rpms is normal, at least for my MDX. In fact, I don't think my rpms are ever much higher than 2000 unless I am accelerating. Is your Accord a 4 cylinder? My 4 cylinder rice burner is at about 3000 (maybe a tad less) at 65 mph.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the comment.
We took it back 23,000 miles after the reman replacement and were told at that time that the fluid was about 1 qt low. My svc advisor friend said that since the transmission is a closed system, there is NO way for the fluid to burn. And since the dealer did not detect any leaks with the dye, the only conclusion we can come up with is that the ATF was not filled all the way. My friend said that if the MDX had the updated trans cooler line installed then the system would actually take MORE than normal ATF to completely fill the system. That makes sense.
We have about 10,000 left on the warranty of the reman. I pray that we don't have any more problems. But my svc advisor friend told me that more than likely bec the car was run when it was low on ATF we would most likely need another trans.
He said that the MDX trans tends to "act up" in extreme temps - either really hot or really cold.
I guess we will see... thanks for the input.
I have no clue yet what my choices are, if any.
My MDX has 95,000 miles on it and has the extended warranty to 100,000 miles. Three times in the last two weeks I've started the car in the morning and when it shifts to 2nd gear (going up a slight grade) it's like I put the car in neutral - no pwer but the rpms go way up. Twice it's caught and been fine, yesterday it didn't catch and I shifted down from drive to lowest gear before it would engage.
When I took it in, they say they can't replicate the problem so can't turn it in as a transmission problem as they don't think there is one. They will charge me $120 every time I bring it in but they can't find anything wrong with it - so I guess I won't be bringing it in every week like I'm tempted to. Any suggestions on how to get this to replicate so I can get it fixed
Also, something I didn't mention before, the torque converter had been replaced at 76,000 miles. This time, at 95,000 miles they told me it was an imput sensor and replaced that. Shifting is still rough, but it doesn't slip like before. However, at 98,600 miles all the lights came on again - AB, VSA, VMT-4, brake, etc. When I took it in, they said that it was due to a bad cell in the battery and recommended that I have my transmission flushed as the fluid looked "burned". I said that was odd since they'd replaced the fluid when they'd replaced the torque converter, and just changed the transmission fluid at 93,550 miles and that I was taking it to an independent dealer to have them look at the fluid and transmission. They then agreed to contact the Acura care and see if they could get them to agree to replace the tranmission. Today they said that they would replace the transmission under the 100,000 mile warranty.
Have you find out the jerky issue response from your dealership/
I had experiencing the same issue since I get my brand new car.
I am not familar w/ sport seadan concept but feel like you mentioned that someone s on brake and the speed suddenly reduced. It's really bother me all the times druing the low speed. I don't think we should keep step on accelerator to waste more gasoline, right?
I did bring in my 09MDX for technician to test drive regarding the transmission issue you have and I experience the same at first 4-500mi when I got my car.
This "jerk" issue had been less and less. I had 1300mi now and feel the transmission change gear when I slow down and speed up. Tenician siad it's normal. The harder you step the accelerator the transmission take more time to shift gear. The soft you step the quicker gear changes. It's the way to design to protect engine for damages due to suddenly speed changes. I am very gentle driver and not sure about this concept.
I did contact Acura Care and all they said is that my Warranty has ended. I sent it to Duncan Acura in Roanoke for them to check it out and see if I qualified for a "Good Will" Repair... they cam back with something about Acura is willing to supply a transmission and pay 1%(?????) Not sure what that meant but all in all, I am $3500 less in my bank account.
Just wanted to let everyone know that get rid of your 04 MDX before you hit 153000. I have a couple of more payments myself and I will be venturing over to Lexus or Infiniti after its paid off.
I really don't think my transmission should have went so quickly, especially when I took care of it....And I have a 05 TL and a 90 Legend...check this,,no issues with my 90 Legend at all, runs like a champ with 97000 miles on it...
Thanks
the trans. for $1000.00, its a $3800. job here in new york, so I had it repaired
from what I've read on the net, that's the going rate for this repair, I can't afford
to replace the vehicle so I had it repaired, I had 90,000 miles on it at the time and now have 98,000 its been 10 months now and no problems,
remember to get in writing the three year warranty which is mostly what you'll be paying for.
Best of Luck Bob
Acura called me today and said that it's giving code P1740 (it relates to a "pressure switch" and 4th gear). Also, my two motor mounts (front & right) are cracked. They cannot replicate the slippage and there are no codes to verify anything. Nevertheless they obviously reccomed a new trans and new motor mounts. They want $5,200 ($4,560 p/l for trans and $690 p/l for motor mounts + tax)! I then read these posts and are PO'd. I am going to ask the service manager to hear my case and pass my concerns to the district field representative.
Finally, I decided to "shop" the job with another Acura within the area and they're quoting me $3,979 ($3,654 p/l trans and $325 p/l motor mounts). So, it may be worth shopping the job around.
Thanks!
ChicagoE
I have 1900 mi on my 09 MDX and still have this issue today.
It is the feeling the speed suddenly reduced like someone step the brake when your foot off the gas paddle. Anyone have this experience? Tecnican can't dupicate it when I bring back to check last month.
I think that is to be expected. The (upside down) exclamation indicates a problem with tire pressure. A speed table will cause rapid compression and decompression of the air in the tires depending on how fast you approach the table and thay may trigger the tire pressure monitor.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
ChicagoE
Would you please tell me what dealership you went to for the repair?
does anyone has similar experience in New Jersey and can recommend a dealership?
Thanks much
That seems to be the way most dealers work the repair. Good Luck
Local dealer says it needs a new torque converter and an updated pcm module, total bill $2,500. Problem is... with 75,000 miles, the car is just out of the warranty period, so dealer says the repair bill is all my responsibility. Car has never been used for towing,etc. All normal maintenance done by me, with my own notes in manual. Transmission fluid has never been changed.
Called Acura (national) with an appeal for assistance. Still waiting to hear their decision as to if/how much they would be willing to assist me with.
Really curious, Is there anyone else out there with 2006 mdx with similar problems or experiences to share?? Thanks much, kobbe.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallprocess.cfm
or call the NHTSA toll-free number to make a REAL complaint!
ONLINE: Select the "Begin Form" button to the right.
BY PHONE: Call the Hotline, Monday-Friday 8am to 8pm at
(888) 327-4236 , TTY: (800) 424-9153.
Huh? At 75,000 miles it should have been changed at least once, I had our '04 changed @ 50,000 because I have been so paranoid that something was going to happen to the tranny.
Interesting the differences out there re changing atf....Crysler minivan manual calls for atf change at 120,000 miles (normal driving conditions). Neighbor's BMW manual calls for atf change every 100,000. Believe GM also 100,000 miles. Yet acura says at 45,000, then every 30,000 after that. Go figure???
Reading over past threads in this forum re those with mdx owners with tranny problems, doesn't seem to make a difference whether maintenance schedule has been followed religiously or not. I'd be interested in hearing from others on this issue. Along same lines, do tranny problems develop only on cars driven hard/trailering etc. or on those babied as well???
I think I am the latest victim of this transmission issue with Acura. My 2003 MDX has 88k miles and I took today to the dealer and they said I need a new transmission and they offer to charge me $3600 for it as being "nice". They said they would charge me only the cost of it I had repair warranty. I have to say that now learning this issue is so common they looked and sounded awfully suspicious to me.
I read several posts here but I am still confused. Is there a possibility to have this repaired for free or at least much cheaper than $3,600 because of the several transmission issues with this car? My warranty expired at 50k, so I no longer have it.
Is any good contacting Acura North America? Would they be any help?
How some of you approach the dealers regarding this?
My dealer is Kearny Mesa Acura in San Diego.
I appreciate with any of you can give me any guidance on this headache. Thank you very much!
The dealership knows all about it and yet they smile and deny. But, the fact that they made a good will offer shows the issue is clear. Let me save you some frustration. First, we declined Acura's "offer" to fix at an inflated price. They put on the paperwork "customer declined goodwill offer" to cover themselves. And, they did not put in our paperwork for a customer service survery afterwards like all dealership do. I had to fix the SRS sensor the next week and took it to a 2nd dealer. i told them they needed to fix it and not report other "issues" they somehow stumbled upon while fixing the SRS. The service manager called and i explained the entire issue with the other dealership and tranny. She said I was mishandled and told me to file a complaint with Acura in CA. Acura in CA said that it was a dealership issue since they are owned and operation independently of Acura. She said she would not my complaints in a file/complaint to the dealerhsip and that (after much prodding) it would basically amount to nothing and I would not get any feedback or closure. I told her why waste my breath and blood pressure. I gave up. You can ask to speak to the regional director who is over your dealership for the area. You may be able to talk him into more but don't hold your breath.
I guess many traded their cars just to get out from under the problem. If Acura does the repair, don't be surprised if other things crop up while they attempt to fix it. And get maximum warranty if you are keeping the car. The new tranny doesn't fix the old tranny design issues. some are on their 3rd tranny. Good luck!
To the person who asked if the cars had been babied or not, mine was babied. it took some road trips from TX to FL but never hauled anything and has been our 2nd car and garaged 85% of the time. It is treated better than me! So, it doesn't matter. they have issues and we are stuck with it.
I will take my car to an independent shop to double check the transmission. I just have a really bad feeling about the dealer.
I did contact Acura Care and they said only the dealer could help me, so they were not of much help at all. I mentioned that I heard many Acura's were recalled due the transmission issue and they denied my 2003 being part of the ones with this issue.
Then the dealer did contact me back and offered reducing the transmission job to $2500 and if I decide to fix my brake pads plus rotors they would do the whole thing for $3k.
I am not sure if I am going to do this. Since I lost a lot of confidence on the Acura brand. I just do not want to be in the vicious cycle of fixing one thing and another problems waiting to happen in a car with expired warranty.
I am weighting my options at this time but I feel I should move on sell the car and buy another brand WITH warranty. We'll see.
Thanks for the feedback!
Acura won't budge, they are basically saying they would take care of my transmission for $2500. I asked for a better deal, since I am appalled that a premium brand car with less than 100k miles need a total transmission replacement. They seem not to care.
I guess, I will just move on and trade it and say bye, bye to Acura brand forever.