2011 MDX having torque converter issues

mdx_newbie

I bought this as certified used car from the dealer (@45K miles), now I am out of the extended warranty, The car has 115K miles on it now. Recently started experiencing shuddering sounds when accelerating between 0 to ~45 mph, took to the dealer, and they recommended torque converter and transmission replacement for a total cost of $9800. I just got the timing belt + spark plugs changed 4 weeks ago from the same dealer and they did not catch this issue then, and the symptom was similar when I went for that service.
I was looking for such issues in MDX and torque converter issue seems to be pretty common in these MDX models. isn't this supposed to be covered by the manufacturer? I was looking for a service bulletin for this and could not find one. I would really appreciate if anyone can point me a service bulletin or any suggestion.

xwesx

Have you ever serviced the transmission (e.g., fluid replacement)? If no, I suggest you start there. If the fluid is in poor condition, is friction characteristics are going to be highly degraded and prevent the clutch plates from working properly. Unless the symptoms have been occurring for an extended period of time, you may not have significant damage in the transmission or torque converter.

If you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself, then before even doing that just pull the dipstick (if it has one) and see/smell the fluid. It should be bright red lightly aromatic oil smell (on the scale of vehicle fluids, gear oil is strongly pungent, engine oil is fairly unoffensive, and transmission fluid should be even more so). If it is dark or brown and/or has a burnt smell to it, you've let it go way too long and you need to swap it out ASAP.

After fully changing the fluid, you may be surprised at just how much better the transmission behaves.