Awkward Conversations - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Awkward Conversations - 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD Long-Term Road Test

The problem is real: Edmunds' long-term 2015 Acura TLX SH-AWD with the 3.5 V6 is plagued with a poorly calibrated nine-speed automatic transmission.

Read the full story here

agentorange

What does it take for you to go to the Acura dealer and tell them the transmission is broken? Two seconds of SFA when you hit the throttle? Really? Sure, that particular occurrence is probably difficult to replicate, but the 2-3 hard shift should be easy to demonstrate.

kirkhilles1

Agreed. Have you researched it to see if there is a fix? You guys just had at the dealership a few weeks ago. Why didn't you bring it up? At least get a semi-official response from the dealership.

guargum

I recently drove a TLX V6 for almost 2 weeks and I can't see why so many people have a problem with it. I did notice some of the odd behaviors described here but it was extremely minimal and outweighed by the the positive aspects of the drivetrain.

darex

Can you shift into reverse eyes-free? Seems like such an intuitively bad idea to replace a lever with buttons.

thecardoc3

The readers might be interested in seeing just what trying to solve problems is like for today's technicians. If someone is willing to put forth the effort the first step to be taken is here

http://www.nastf.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3823

You will need a compatible pass through device of which some will be able to be used for this same purpose with a number of manufacturers. This is the Honda pass through tool.

https://honda.snapon.com/HondaAcura/ItemDetail.aspx?ItemId=53561297

There are some J2534 tools that can run O.E. software, but they are not all created equally so there are risks that must be assumed by the purchaser. The 2015 Acura software "might" run on a CarDAQ Plus.

Once you have the MVCI you can then get a short term subscription for the Acura HDS scan tool. Being that this is somewhat repeatable, you might get away with just the one day subscription. Then, drive the car and capture the data during one or more of these events. Upload screen captures of the data in a graphical format with flags denoting the event. You will need both PCM as well as TCM data if they are separate PID groups.

Then we can let the sleuthing begin and see how the group does when faced with this kind of data.

allthingshonda

If they took it to the dealership the service department will just say that the transmission is performing normally because there are no trouble codes stored in the computer.

schen72

allthingshonda said:

If they took it to the dealership the service department will just say that the transmission is performing normally because there are no trouble codes stored in the computer.

I've read on the Acura forums that people are having issues with the 9-speed. I would personally stay away from it until the kinks are worked out.

cube1us

I test drove a 2016 TLX *THREE* times trying to decide if I could live with the behavior of the 9 speed ZF transmission, and the answer has been no. I don't think it is just "kinks" either - the ZF 9HP has been around for more than 2 years - plenty of time to work out kinks - and some mfgs have reportedly already thrown in the towel on it. I want all of the safety capabilities of the Advance package, and I'd love to have SH-AWD, and my 2009 TSX has spoiled me, acceleration wise. I am just hoping they come up with a suitable solution for me in the 2017 model, or it will be the end of a 30 year Honda/Acura relationship. ;(