CarComplaints.com Notes: The 1999-2003 Acura TL has a known & widespread defect with the transmission.
Honda fixed some vehicles with a recall in 2004 by changing the oil cooler return line. To settle a class action lawsuit in 2006, Honda extended the transmission warranty on some of these Acura TL's to 93 months / 109,000 miles.
Now these vehicles are past the warranty limit, so buyer beware.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 1
Average Mileage:
40,890 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Since December 2002 this vehicle has had three automatic transmissions replaced. Dealer replaced transmissions at no cost to consumer, who felt that transmissions should not have malfunctioned so soon in the first place.
The transmission on my 2002 Acura TL type S failed this week. From other sources, this appears to have happened with many more owners of the same vehicle model. I think a recall should be started to fix all the models containing this transmission and replace it with a better design.
I am one of thousands of owners of an Acura 3.2 TL with the 5 speed automatic transmission who has had his suddenly fail on them while driving. While driving, the car without warning slipped into a lower gear, and it is now consistently slipping while changing from 2nd to 3rd gears. Within the last week, Honda of America has recalled over 600,000 5 speed automatic transmissions in their Honda Pilot, Acura Odyssey, and Acura MDX models because of the possible safety hazard. The transmission found in the Acura cl/TL model is the exact same transmission, and clearly suffers from the same defect. It is as much a safety issue in the cl/TL, and other model lines as well, and there are over 2000 people who feel the same way and signed this online petition www.petitiononline.com/Acura/petition.html my only saving grace was that no one was on the road immediately behind me during this episode, or else I might had to report a crash with an injury or fatality.
The auto transmission slips from 2nd to 3rd gear. The car did not accellerate in highway. Check engine, vsa, and traction lights went on. The D5 blinking. The engine was running in 2-3rd gears only. Drove to the Acura dealer. They are looking at it right now.
- Brooklyn Park, MN, USA
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At approximately 35,000 my 2002 Acura TL 3.2 type S experienced major transmission failure - complete loss of third gear. The dealership where we bought the car replaced the transmission with a "new" unit. I specifically asked if the unit was new and they told me it was indeed. After one week, the shift pattern was still quite rough and we smelled burnt transmission fluid. We returned the car tot he dealership for evaluation - they discovered metal particle contamination in the transmission. The dealer advised us that the car needed another transmission - this time I verified that the replacement transmission was not new, but a remanufactured unit (the same as the previous replacement). Our vehicle had the third transmission installed - however, I am extremely disappointed in the level of customer service displayed by Acura and its representatives.
I own a 2002 Acura 3.2 TL that was brought in to the dealer yesterday due to some problems I was experiencing with the transmission. I was told that I needed a new transmission but they wouldn't explain why. It is astounding that a car this young would need a new transmission and I am frustrated with the persistant promblems with this car. This is one of multiple problems. They have all been under the warranty but it is extremely disruptive to keep bringing it in.
Transmission went 2X in vehicle before a year passed. First time Feb 2003 & second time Jan 2004. Acura do not want to give me another vehicle or end my lease. They just want to keep fixing this car. I am stressssing out over this. I just want everyone to know how Acura treats their customer.
My transmission died on 21 Nov 2003, @ 42,500 miles. The dealer replaced it. Again, I suffered a failure, on 23 Jan 2004...I thought it was the transmission again, but dealer stated it was the idle air control valve...which - he said...can mimic transmission failure due tio improper engine commands. I'm not sure I believe this. This is an Acura 3.2 TL/type S model.
Transmission failed without warning. When the consumer put the shifter into drive the vehicle would not move forward. The dealer replaced the transmission.
My 2002 Acura TL type S, with @ 41,000 miles on it lost its transmission within about 20 minutes of driving time. I noticed slippage and heavy revving on the way home from work on Saturday. Monday morning I got in the car, backed out of the driveway and could not put it into a forward gear without great difficulty. Within two miles, it revved heavily at stoplights and would not move forward. Tow truck was called after harrowing exit from six-lane highway.ealer reported that it was "an electronics problem with the third gear clutch bundle."
I have a 2002 Acura TL-S and have had to replace my transmission once already. I lost all power. I pressed on the accelerator but did not get any power to my car. I brought it into Acura in san jose, ca on a Monday and they could not find anything wrong with it. I let the service rep know that I would be down there that day to pick my car up. He said that he would like to keep it for a few days. He said that a mechanic took the car for a test drive on Tuesday and did not find anything wrong with it. And on Wednesday, he said that as his mechanic was pulling into the Acura lot that he experienced the problem that I was having. They replaced the transmission. I am at 42,000 miles now and I feel like the tranny shift rougher now.
The transmission issues in the 2002 Acura TL type S do not appear to be corrected by replacing the transmission. We purchased a certified pre-owned TL type S less than 3 months ago and found out afterwards (dealer did not disclose) that it had two transmissions replaced prior within 29,000 miles. After driving the car 3,874 miles the transmission began displaying problems. The dealer checked it and determined yet another transmission replacement was necessary. Less than one week after this third replacement, the transmission failed again. This vehicle is not safe for anyone to drive and Acura's attempt to sweep this issue under the rug by offering an extended warranty will do nothing in the event of a major accident.
Transmission failed after 27000 miles. Noticed slipping several months ago, brought car in and was told nothing was wrong. Transmission wouldn't engage while driving on a busy street. Towed car to dealer. Dealer said don't be surprised if it happens again. I'm very disappointed in Acura and the NHTSA. Rear view mirror also failed, will not dim. Cd player was replaced at 8000 miles.
The transmission in my Acura 2002 TL type S has been found defective 2 times. I am currently having a third transmission installed after almost crashing the car. The first time my transmission was replaced it had about 6K miles. It was an intermittent problem where it would slip in and out of gear. I had to carry it to the dealer several times before they kept it for a week before they finally found that the transmission was defective. This was dangerous because when I was at a stop, and hit the gas to accelerate it would jump into gear after a few seconds and sometimes when I was driving it would slip out of gear no matter the speed I was driving. The second time my transmission was replaced the car had 32K miles. This time I lost control of the car as the transmission abruptly dropped into a lower gear and my speed went from 75mph too less than 10 mph. I ran off the road and was lifted out of the seat because of the force from the car slowing down so quickly. This is a major safety issue because I had no control of the car as this happened and if there were a car or truck next to me I would have gotten into a accident because I was forced to swing the car toward middle lane on a 3 lane highway. The dealer has explained the problem to me with these transmissions and if I kids or currently pregnant wife in the car and crashed or perhaps the force from the seatbelt jerking them back into the seat caused physical damage to them will Acura be liable? this car is unsafe and I can and will no longer feel safe driving it. Acura has had my car for over 2 weeks and they have not been keeping in touch with me about my car.
Transmission has failed 2 times in 30,500 mi. It was replaced at 15,000 and now at 30,500 mi. I was assured the first replacement would take care of the problem. Both times the transmission failed up hill. Very close to an accident. I took the car in 5 months prior to fail to have the transmission checked. Acura said there was no problem.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Portage, IN, USA