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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.
9.6
really awful- Typical Repair Cost:
- $3,060
- Average Mileage:
- 148,200 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 11 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- replace with rebuilt transmission (5 reports)
- not sure (4 reports)
- replace transmission (2 reports)
transmission problem
Helpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2002 TL problem yet. Be the first!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I bought this car in December for a reliable way to take my kids to school and to get myself to school. On the freeway going about 75 and the transmission started to slip and I had no power. I couldn't get the car to go over 50 mph in the middle lane I was slowing down traffic and there was nothing I could do. I pushed the gas on and off multiple times till I felt the car start to regain speed again because it slipped into gear. I checked the transmission fluid thinking maybe it was low but it wasn't. After that day it was running fine again.
Then driving on the freeway once again going to school and the car started jerking and slowing down it wouldn't go into gear. I took the next off ramp and fiddled with the gas again. I tried manually shifting it into a lower gear and then shifting it back in drive. After a couple of times moving the shifter back in forth and messing with the gas pedal, it slipped into drive and started running ok again. Until the next day when taking the kids to school it started cutting out and making a jerking movement once again. It felt like it was slipping out of gear and not wanting to accelerate correctly. I finally made it to his school and dropped him off and got the car home drove it to school and it the gears where slipping once again.
I got home after class and proceeded to go across town to pick up the boys. It was driving somewhat fine at the time. Picked up my other son from his school, still running ok, until about a mile and a half from my house. It slipped in and out of gears, jerking and not wanting to accelerate. Some how made it to almost the top of the hill before my driveway and it wouldn't go any further. It stopped going into gear completely. With the car still running my son ran home to get my boyfriend, who towed the car the rest of the way up the hill and down our driveway.
The car still starts fine it just won't go anywhere. No drive, no reverse, no nothing. We cleaned and replaced the filters on the transmission solenoid, the transmission filter system, drained the transmission fluid and replaced it. Put that transmission liquid in there that will normally help the gears work again, but nothing.
Then reading the comments on this site about everybody else's experiences with the same kind of car pissed me the hell off. How can Acura get away with putting a faulty vehicle such as this one, out on the road. Faulty transmission, faulty seat belts that could cause instant death in a high impact accident, throwing metal fragments throughout the car because of the makers of this vehicles stupidity.
How can Acura not be liable for the transmission failure on this vehicle. Manu of the people on here have had to replace their transmissions numerous times. Obviously t hey are not making the transmission correctly. I don't see how they are getting away with ripping people off in this way.
- Kristine B., Petaluma, CA, US