He is right. THey even add this to the 3rd gen 2004 TL, when they issued a recall for that car as well. It does not solve the problem.

 

yeah i also recall it's not the coolant. there are two problems. one with the 2nd gear or 3rd gear clutch, and the other one with some fluid which is "fixed" by the recall that honda did (they added something on the tranny). but the first problem about the clutch was never touched or fixed.

honda CLAIMED all the replaced trannies are good. personally i find it very hard to believe, reason being, if they are really problem free trannies, why am i seeing people with 3 or 4, or in couple of cases 5, trannies? 2nd tranny i can say coincidence, but 4?

 

The 3rd gen has NO tranny issues. Only the first 10,000 vin 2004 TL's had an extra oil jet kit installed by the dealer.

 

Sorry but the 3rd gen TL has had tranny issues, especially when I was given pictures of the new TL tranny all apart due to failure. I am not sure if I still have those pictures somewhere (they are lost in my 1 million of pictures!). But a simple search on acura-tl.com will prove that they have had issues.

 

I'm not crazy! You're crazy.

No, I'm not crazy! You're crazy.

No, I'm not crazy! You're crazy.

 

Because Honda fu#ked up on engineering the transmission. And you say that the replacement tranny's that Honda installs have been fixed...that is false, as evident by people driving TL's/CL's with as many as 10+ transmissions replaced under warranty. It is a HUGE problem and a huge mistake on how Honda/Acura has dealt with it. Those cars are all going to be worthless piles of metal once the drivetrain warranty is up.

On the other hand it might be a good idea to pick up a couple 6-speed CL-S's now, and sell them when they are at a premium because all of the automatic cars are dead on the side of the road.

 

Now it's 10+ different trannies.......

This is what happens on the internet....a lot of exaggeration and nonsense by a few that ruin it for all.

I think I've read PLENTY and I mean PLENTY of threads on this forum about transmission failures. I cannot believe Toyota/Lexus hasn't issued an extended warranty for these problems. All these Lexus's are going to be worthless after 100K miles

 

Go read this thread...read the whole dam thread. http://tl.acurazine.com/forums/showt...8&page=1&pp=25
And that is just one of many forums and threads talking about the problems.

Here is a quote from the last page:
"I am on my 10th tranny and it strated to go last weekend. I just order my new '06 G35 coupe. Acura can kiss my ****! Unreal how they dont seem to care about their customers! Give the money to Infiniti and BMW, since they seem to care more, I say!"

If you can find anyone in the history of the world that has needed a transmission in their lexus replaced even half that many times I will mail you out a cookie. I don't know what you are trying to prove... there is a problem, it is a BIG problem. What is the arguement here!? Don't even try to say that there are certain lexus cars with as big of a transmission problem as the Acura's.

 

Why are you kids arguing about a car that is not even built anymore?

The 3rd generation TL had a recall on the transmissions up to a certain VIN number for 2004 models. I'm sure that a few 3rd gen TL trannies DID blow because the recall work had not yet been done on the transmission. HOWEVER, the 2004 1/2 models and above tranies are working without any commonly reported problems. Lets stop acting like children here. Nobody has really bashed Lexus for not being able to design a tranny that shifts correctly (ES, RX?), nobody needs to stoop down a level and bash on Acura unless they have personal issues of their own.

FYI: The tranny in my cousins first gen RX blew twice aside for the shifting issues. Thank God MY Lexus is the most reliable car in the U.S. (aside for rattles galore).

 

Not everyone can afford brand new cars like yourself. People like me interested in USED Acura TL's need to know this information about the tranny problems. So I am very glad I have read about the problems and will not hesitate to spread the information so other people in the used car market know about this problem. Make sense?

 

DrUnBiased, consider this a warning. what makes you think you can call any of us here "kids"? most people in this thread (either for or against acura) have been very liberal and informative on the discussion. there are no rules saying that no discussions on old products. the car is discontinued or not that has nothing to do with how honda handled the issue.

and regarding tranny? well, by comparison i definitely find it rare to see a tranny blown in the gs

 

What is it about the 99-03 TL/CL materials that is so low quality or so much lower then a Lexus interior like a ES300 around the same year. I know SICKLEX that you are very biased for Lexus and most of your comments about Honda/Acura are negative but just because interiors feel and look different from a Lexus does not mean they are inferior. I am pretty picky when it comes to interiors. I looked at the ES300 and was not very impressed by the interior textures and some of the materials, I am not saying there were not durable or would last they just did not seem as nice as the TL/CL plus the performance/handling could not compare to the TL. The newer ES330 does have a much nicer interior then the older ES300.

Even comparing my 2001 GS430 I do not see or feel much of a difference besides the GS using real wood and the Acura using similated wood which I agree that the TL should be using real wood even if the similated does look okay. As far as switches, buttons, and ***** the Acuras have a better looking and feeling finish and material with softer more pleasing tactile feedback where my GS has harder less appealing plastic and feedback. The heated seat switches on the GS feel and look kind of cheap and only have one setting where the heated seats switches on the TL feel and look higher quality plus they have 2 different settings high low which heat much better then the GS. The turn signal and light stalks on the GS are thicker and seem higher quality then the TL/CL. The leather on the TL/CL is softer and has a nicer feeling then my GS which does not have as smooth or soft leather, I am not saying it is superior leather it just feels nicer on the TL/CL. The dash plastic around the HVAC and radio controls looks and feels better in the TL/CL where the GS is not as pleasing to the touch. The area around the door handles on the GS seems to have nicer materials and the fit and finish seem equal although I have not owned the GS that long to really determine. My GS has squeeks around the dash/windshield area and some other parts when going over bumps where the Acuras do not have these squeeks. I read plenty of car magazines and reviews and I have never seen where they critisized the TL or CL for having low quality materials or interior, they say the complete opposite that it is very high quality and better then many cars costing thousands more. I am saying both cars have nice interiors but for the prices of a GS over a TL to me it does not have a vastly nicer interior or quality of materials. The TL/CL does not have a crappy interior or materials.

There original poster asked opinions on the used TL-S and many people replied by bashing Acura and saying the transmission will fail and he will be replacing them several times like they know this for a fact when there is no way of knowing. Mainly whenever Acura or Infiniti are mentioned some people just post to attack and take cheap shots at the brands and when someone says they had an Acura or Infiniti with squeeks or any other issues then some say they are just POS and cannot compare to Lexus which is not true.

The majority of these Acura/Honda transmissions are not failing nor are going to fail. It is like saying don't get a 97-02Toyota/Lexus with a 1MZ v-6 or a 97-01 Toyota with a 5SFE 4 cylinder because those engines will blow from sludge build up. Toyota had to address this problem too by extending the warranty after many engines were blowing or required expensive repairs and after doing research it was not just cars that were not maintained with oil changes like Toyota said as they were also going when the proper maintenance was done. Just because some cars with these engines had failures does not mean that someone who buys one will have to replace their engines and the cars should not be recommended, they just need to look for a possible sludge build up and possibly having to have an engine replaced down the line when considering the car. Other then possible engine issues that need to be looked at those Lexus/Toyotas are good used cars as other then possible transmission issues that need to be looked at, the Acura TL-S is a good used car possibility especially for its standard features and performance. I have never read in any car magazine that said they had transmission problems with any of their long term TLs or CLs and I know plenty of people who own Acuras and Hondas none of which have had any problems or heard of them besides reading about it on the internet.

When looking over data for transmission failures there were more Infiniti G35 transmissions replaced during certain years then TL/CLs yet there was not a huge deal made about that over the internet.

For the person who claims to have replaced 10 transmissions from that web site I think that is completely BS. Who in their right mind would have that many transmissions replaced before getting rid of the car or taking some legal action. I don't know how anybody could replace 3 or 4 before giving up. I seriously doubt Acura would replace another transmission after number 4 or 5 and would look to see what was going on. The mechanics must be smoking crack who were replacing those transmissions or they were not replacing them but just doing some quick rig job. I am sorry but the transmission is not that weak and unless that guy had the car turboed or supercharged to over 1000 horsepower I don't believe it. He goes through ten transmissions yet most other owners have no problems with their transmissions lasting 50+ thousand miles. But since it is typed on the internet people will believe it.

The 2004+ TLs do not have the transmission issue that the previous car had and it was redesigned and corrected. Just because someones transmission blew who owned a 3rd Gen TL and posted it on the net does not mean there is an issue. All new cars have a handful of cars that have transmission and engine failures for whatever reasons which does not mean there is a major issue.

It is silly and a gross exageration to say that all 99-03 TLs or CLs are going to be worthless piles of metal after 100K miles. Many people have 100K+ miles with no problems at all. I guess you can say the same for Toyota/Lexus cars with engine sludge issues will be worthless piles of metal too when their warranty runs out or is there an excuse for these cars that makes it alright because they are Toyotas/Lexus but it is totally different and unacceptable if it is an Honda/Acura.

 

just a heads up before i see anything going down hill. be nice, be constructive, be liberal, or stay away

 

and imho, i have never said whoever gets a TL will get a free blown tranny down the road, that's plain silly. howeve, staitstically, the chance of getting a blown tranny is a lot more likely than other cars i have seen out there. and based on that SOLE reason, it's enough for me to make the recommendation of NOT getting the car.

it could well be the case that the TL someone buy will stay rock solid till 200k, i am not denying that. however how the hell would you know now? you can only go back all the numbers you can see and all the experiences people have.

so let's say (again, for example) you compare the TL and the gs/es. i would recommend the gs/es over the TL coz' the two lexus are more reliable statistically. that's all i can base on, and so does everyone else. i am not saying the gs/es are problem free, we know there are some common problems like the moonroof and the headlights. but the car wont' crash with those problems, unlike the TL/CL where if the tranny fails, it can kill you.

another example i can think of from yrs ago. we were talking about what tv to get and someone said just get those cheaper onces made in china, compared to toshiba / sony that are more expensive. however we went with japanese made coz' they are of better qualtiy and gave us better confidence. couple months later i was reading news and they said the particular brand of tv made in china, they are likely to catch on fire due to a defective internal circuits.

so, does that mean if we got the tv made in china it would have caught fire? no.... but is that good enough of a reason for us to refrain from buying it? oh hell yeah you bet.

personally i HATE anyone trashing certain brand for no reason. that's plain childish and silly. most of us are grown up adults and i expect everyone to be able to analyze things logically. i always hate to read all the hating and bashing posts, even here on clublexus, between different brands, and i mean it. that's why if i see those i get really serious and i give out serious warnings.

my goal is to have everyone being constructive and able to accept other people's views. no one has to make everyone out there agree with you, that's why we all voice our opinions here, so other people can JUDGE. same to me i try to do that. here you see me attacking honda/acura for their faulty tranny. in my taste of luxury event you see me talking bad about the new IS. it's all fair game to me.

 

First off, I am biased to Lexus, Read the sig. Unlike most though, I have experience with tons of cars. Hell I've changed the oil in your incredible TL before. I know the car inside and out b/c as stated, I have friends with it/had it and one that WORKS for Honda.

And I read a bunch. The ES while built off the Camry, is built in Japan. Lexus will not let quality suffer, even when it cuts costs. The TL was a failure until they started buliding them in America. Where it started selling but quality is average at best. The TL at that point shared 47% of its parts with the Accord. The car was priced cheap, 27k to start, 30k for a TL-S.

Don't you think SOMETHING had to give? Its common sense at this point.

You "feel" that way, but read ANY magazine review and the GS is credited for superior and top grade materials. You will never read or see that about the 1st gen TL, in ANY review. So, you "feel" that way, but its NOT that way, sorry.

And no one is bashing the TL/CL. Its a nice car. What we ARE saying to the prospective owner, is a FACT, you have to be VERY careful with this car, as the tranny is very weak.

Just b/c YOU think its 2% doesn't mean it is. You cannot believe anything u read and Honda tells you.

I am sure at this point you are on the Acura forums, and its CLEARLY obvious, the car has serious tranny issues.

And my buds are NOT on any car forum and they all needed the tranny replaced. So imagine the thousands like them.

No one has EVER said Toyota or Lexus is perfect. CLEARLY, they have issues, its a car.

But they are LEAST likely, especially Lexus to HAVE an issue. This is a FACT that can be supported by tons of data.