Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Acura TL Transmission Questions
pedal_dancer
Member Posts: 1
OK, just got an '06 TL, no nav, 6 speed. I am having a devil of a time shifting it smoothly. I havent owned an automatic transmission since 1977 but this one is owning me. This is probably going to be long winded so pour a glass of wine and see if you can give me a hand here.
1-2 is the worst. I seem to have to wait forever for the revs to drop enough to re-engage the clutch. I find myself starting from 2nd just to avoid this. I'm don't like how much I have to slip the clutch to do this. I'm used to my '92 Miata where I can practically sidestep the clutch at idle to get moving. Even in 1st in the TL, I have to slip the clutch more than I like to.
2-3 isn't easy for me either. The revs just don't drop quick enough. I can't pull it off seamlessly even after a bunch of experimenting. Waiting an inordinate amount of time seems to be the only solution.
Downshifting is a whole 'nother story. I know double clutching is old school but I grew up in MG's, Jags, a Mercury Capri,a Fiero, an MR2 or two and such. It's a habit. This TL seems to want none of it. Tonite, as an experiment, I took my foot off the gas in 3rd at about 2500 and stepped on the clutch. The revs went up before coming back down and stopping where they were for a second and then finally dropping more. What the heck, I thought I was controlling this thing. Damn pollution control computers.
Up or down, I can't shift this thing smoothly. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks. John.
1-2 is the worst. I seem to have to wait forever for the revs to drop enough to re-engage the clutch. I find myself starting from 2nd just to avoid this. I'm don't like how much I have to slip the clutch to do this. I'm used to my '92 Miata where I can practically sidestep the clutch at idle to get moving. Even in 1st in the TL, I have to slip the clutch more than I like to.
2-3 isn't easy for me either. The revs just don't drop quick enough. I can't pull it off seamlessly even after a bunch of experimenting. Waiting an inordinate amount of time seems to be the only solution.
Downshifting is a whole 'nother story. I know double clutching is old school but I grew up in MG's, Jags, a Mercury Capri,a Fiero, an MR2 or two and such. It's a habit. This TL seems to want none of it. Tonite, as an experiment, I took my foot off the gas in 3rd at about 2500 and stepped on the clutch. The revs went up before coming back down and stopping where they were for a second and then finally dropping more. What the heck, I thought I was controlling this thing. Damn pollution control computers.
Up or down, I can't shift this thing smoothly. Anybody have any ideas? Thanks. John.
0
Comments
The TLs got a great clutch and shifter - the trick is to realize that it engages right by the floorboard. You need to fully press down to disengage the gearshift so you can shift, but then be prepared for it to re-engage as soon as you start to lift up your foot. It's actually a much better design than my last car which engaged in the middle of the clutch's stroke.
I think this early engagement has played with your mind a bit, so your reving really hard right off the bat. Here's my tip to you: when starting out the car - probably in your driveway or a parking lot where you won't be testing your 0-60 times, just gently release the clutch without using the gas pedal. You'll need to really ease into it to prevent stalling, but you can get the car going this way (as long as you're not on an incline), and it'll help you get a feel for when the clutch engages.
As for downshifting, you just gotta do it! If I'm above 50 mph, I'll downshift to 3rd before 2nd, but Idon't know if it's a necessity.
Anyway, it's worth playing with it a bit b/c the TLs MT is sweeeet!!!!!
On my TL, I notice that accelleration doesn't really kick in until about 4k. I'm not usually looking at the gauge during upshifts, but I try to upshift before it hits 7k.
When I'm looking to conserve gas, I usually try to keep RPms between 1 & 2k. I had been focusing on keeping it that way in general, but have started doing more everyday driving with the RPMs between 2 and 3.
It seems to me that 1k RPMs is too low. I think it may stress the engine, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know for sure.
I too have a very tough time with the 1-2 shift, for 2 reasons:
1) the clutch engagement is very abrupt; it's more of an on-off switch
2) the drive-by-wire throttle has no "feel" and since you can barely hear the engine, your senses are confounded.
I also start in 2nd gear unless I'm going uphill.
I'm most successful when I do the following:
1) after shifting into the next (higher) gear, press the throttle just a little bit sooner than is natural
2) of course, you are at the same time lifting your foot off the clutch. Pause for a nanosecond just as the clutch starts to "bite"
The gearbox itself is delightful and I find very little need to double clutch on downshifts.
In every other respect the car is terrific and a phenomenal value - it just shouldn't be this hard to drive.
http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118339&highlight=friction+modifi- ed
:shades:
In particular, the comment of the clutch being "abrupt" and acting like an on/off switch is exactly the opposite of my impression. It engages more gradually than I would prefer, compared to say, BMW or Porsche. That was also true - but not to the same extent - with my former Honda S2000. Maybe it's just misinterpreting semantics, but for anyone who thinks the TL clutch is "abrupt", test drive a Porsche or BMW and tell me how you would describe it.
I had a 93 Ford Taurus SHO, 5-speed and had some notchy shifts with the OEM fluid. Once I went to the Redline MTL, most of the notchiness (forgive my spelling if it's wrong) went away and even the shift mechanism felt smoother.
Of course, I know that Acura is going to recommend using the Acura fluid and to be doubly sure of the warranty, you may want to make sure that the Redline Synthetic MTL won't void the warrany or cause problems..
clutch in fully but after taking care to put the pedal to the floor with every shift,
the problem persists. I've had the trouble since I got the car about 10k mi ago.
I'm taking it in for an oil change in a few weeks and will tell them of the shifting
problem.
bob
If you research this on the web it is obvious that this is a common problem and Acura does not seem to have a solution.
Did you ever reach any kind of resolution with your dealer?
Previously, the dealer said that he couldn't duplicate the problem.
If he still can't, I'll be taking the car to another mechanic and demand that Acura pay for my diagnosis and repair costs, assuming that the problem is identified and solved.
They told me Acura has a service bulletin out on this issue and that is what the bulletin tells them to do.
I then let them keep it overnight to try shifting when the transmission was cool.
Again, they claimed they couldn't find a problem. I pointed them to the August 2006
Acura Service News, last page that announces "Acura Precision Crafted MTF: It's Better
Than Before" and asked that they swap out the MTF and put in this new stuff. They
did that at no cost, not under warranty but to ensure customer satisfaction.
At first there was no difference but after ~200 miles the car does shift smoother in
all gears but the 2nd to 3rd shift is not as smooth as all other shifts. Its been about
2 weeks since the MTF change. I'm going to give it another 2 weeks and then decide
if I need to pursue the matter further with Acura.
Bob
The dealer indicated that the clutch and flywheel had burn marks and upon inspection of the clutch assembly determined it was "driver history" that caused both the clutch and the flywheel wear. Possible causes. Riding the Clutch or just not knowing how to shift. Total repair cost $$2,300.
I have driven Manual for all the 27 years of my driving history (except for an occasional loaner/rental car) and I have never ever encountered a clutch issue.
Not satisfied with that decision, I called Acura client services to state my case and all they could tell me was it was a wear and tear item and that it is not covered under warranty.
Am I the only one in this? My vehicle as far as I am concerned is brand new. 7 months old and only 7,100 miles. Most of my driving is highway with very little stop and go. I just cannot believe that it was me that burnt the clutch and flywheel.
I contacted the BBB Auto Line as listed in the Warranty booklet, but all they can do is mediate between the consumer and manufacturer.
Can somebody please help, cause I am not sure what to do next!!
If they go for that deal, I'd take it if I were you.
As an analogy, let's say your new car busted a radiator because it was defective, but that you decided to drive the car without coolant for 50 miles to get home. That might make you responsible for the engine damage, but not for the radiator.
I'm not trying to blame you for anything, only trying to analyze what you've told me from a distance.
TIP: If you offer a very reasonable compromise to the dealer, and accept a percentage of responsibility, and they refuse this compromise, this looks very good for you in Small Claims, IMO.
Of course, you must be careful that they don't say "Sure we'll compromise" and then charge you $2,000 for a flywheel. :P
The Service department initially thought it was a transmission issue and they gave me the earliest appointment available. They did not ask me to stop driving the vehicle. They determined it to be the Clutch only after they ran a complete diagnosis and further determine burn to the flywheel and clutch wear only after tear down.
Reading something like this makes me have second thoughts about considering purchase of an Acura - very disappointing. Good luck.
-jaj
Is this normal for an Acura? The dealer said it was completely normal and that it was a sportier car/transmission which is why it does that. Any help would be much appreciated!
Is this normal? I don't remember this happening when I first got the car.
Also... don't know whether this is relevant. But I feel a vibration in the gas pedal a lot of the time. Is this normal?
Thanks for any advice you can give me.
Alex
You might not be as pleasantly surprised when the replacement breaks and the next one is on you.
I keep hearing that the rate of transmission failure of pre-2004 transmissions on the TL is "only 2%+/-". But anecdotally, of the dozen or so people we know that have TL's and/or pre 2005 MDX's, at least 3 or 4 have had at least one transmssion replacment and 2 have had 2 or more. One poor soul went through 2 failures on their their MDX and one on their TL, with the last MDX failure stranding his pregnant wife on the way to thier vacation house for 5 hours before Acura Roadside Assistance showed up. They have since sold both vehicles and have permanantly sworn off Acuras.
We own a 2004 TL 6-speed manual, the ONLY TL transmission I would ever own or recommend, even in a 2004+, both from a reliability standpoint and performance. Acura's "slushbox" automatics are clearly the weakest link in otherwise decent cars. Our 2005 MDX supposedly has a redesigned transmssion, but as it approaches the end of its warranty period, I am weighing the cost of an extended warranty with just trading it in. If the MDX came with a 6-speed manual, my wife would have me trade tomorrow.
In my opinion, anyone with a TL/MDX automatic transmssion out of warranty is playing Russian Roulette.
P.S. asv77 - rather than try to put a 2004+ automatic transmission in a 2000 TL, I would seriously consider selling the car. I know that wall is seriously dented from beating your head against it with 3 replacement transmssions, but why keep trying to knock it down? People go through less grief trying to keep a 1960's Ferrari running.
TL/MDX automatic transmssioncar out of warranty is playing Russian Roulette.Just some brands have more bullets in the magazine... :sick:
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
On the other hand my 1995 Nissan Maxima at 155k miles has still yet to have any mechancical issues that go beyond what I would consider routine or long term maintenance.
I have the Non-nav TL so I probably have fewer bullets loaded. My bro's MDX has given him no issues that I'm aware of. Nor has my Dad's Nav TL.
A
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Also, today after it reset the time, ABS, Brake and VSA lights did not go off.
When I stopped and restarted the car, those lights went off.
Any pointers? Thanks in advance for your help!
Next comes the legal notice in the mail about the class action lawsuit shortly before my TL's warranty was about to end. Soon thereafter, I took my TL to the Acura dealer (who's name I won't mention), and their mechanic ended up erasing ALL THE CODES FROM MY COMPUTER. Then he said, "we'll give you a 3rd transmission as long as you pay for the labor since you're 1000 miles passed the warranty". I refused his offer. This was the start of multiple problems and a lot of unnecessary stress in my life. You're right about the "Russian Roullete" comment.
After reporting the dealer to the DMV for investigation, I find out they can (and are) selling these TL's with the poor/dangerous transmissions without a "legal disclosure". Unbelievable! And the only legal recourse the consumer has is to either hire a lawyer to sue for fraud or take them to small claims court. I've chosen the latter and also sworn never to buy another Acura again. Their not worth the money. :mad: :sick: :lemon:
I'm a loyal customer to the dealer and have spent a signifciant amount with them in the past. Fingers crossed, going in the shop today to diagnose it
Now the car has 122000 miles on it and the transmission is out again. Acuras are poorly made cars. Dont be fooled.
I drive a 1997 acura TL with 168000 miles.
Got the same not covered by warranty story (even though the warranty book does not list the exclusion; it apparently is in the maintenance manual). Acura has offered to pay for the labor if I pay for the parts, around a $1000 dollars. Did you have any luck with your problem?
Yesterday while on the highway the transmission started slipping. I tried to down shift to 5th gear and the clutch was gone.... failed entirely.
I have driven a stick all my life and have never killed a clutch, I had a 97 Prelude with 155K on original clutch. Anyway getting same song and dance from dealer right now about driver error!!!