2002 Acura TL: stuck in gear or won't shift

Filed Sep 1, 2019 · Airbags, Engine · 210,000 miles · SD

Automatic/manually shifts, manual gears d4 shift stuck in gear and causing electrical and engine problems. Transmission failure occured.

Filed Aug 31, 2015 · Transmission · 103,500 miles · IL

Transmission failure for second time. First failed after vehicle was 4 years old with 30,000 miles in 2005. Acura stated the transmission was defective and replaced it with a new one under warranty. Second one failed after car had 103,500 miles on it 8/21/15 even though I followed the maintenance prescribed by the manufacturer. Acura refused to participate in any of the cost of $5,100 quoted by the dealer for a re-manufactured unit. When the unit failed the car would lose all power to the wheels presenting a dangerous condition in that vehicles behind could have easily rear ended me. In other instances the car would not shift up properly and then lose all power which if this occurred in busy traffic could have resulted in a serious accident. Acura is full aware of the defects in their transmission and have tried to present it as an incident that only affects some of their vehicles and that the problem was fixed with an update to the transmissions. I feel this is not true and you may agree with all the complaints being filed. Clearly although these are older cars at this point the problem remains and can pose a danger. I hope serious injury or worse does not have to occur before something is done. Also, acura should have covered this because the problem has not been cured.

Filed Nov 8, 2014 · Transmission · 162,400 miles · CO

I bought this vehicle used in september and it started having shifting problems shortly afterward. I then discovered there was a recall (04v‑176) on the transmission. The recall states in part that "the dealer will inspect the transmission to identify gears that have already experienced discoloration due to overheating. If discoloration exists, the transmission will be replaced." the dealer called and told me they had completed the recall work, but recommended that we replace the solenoids to fix the hard shifting. My wife picked up the car when the work was complete and it ran reasonably well for about a week. On the date noted above, my daughter drove it home from work and it would not shift out of 3rd gear. Note, it is a 5 speed automatic transmission. She told me she was scared to drive it because of the way it was acting. I drove it for a short distance the next day and verified her complaint. I am upset because I feel like acura let us take an unsafe car out of their maintenance department without letting us know there was a problem. I called the dealer back and told them about the problem and asked if they had done the gear inspection and what it had shown. The dealer would not confirm that the inspection had been completed and would not provide the results of the inspection. He just stated that "the technician knew what to do for this recall." I then called in a complaint to acura. They listened, gave me a case no. And told me that someone would call me back within 48 hours. When I hadn't heard from them for a week, I called and they told me the case worker was at lunch, but would call me as soon as she got back. I waited all afternoon, but no one called. Now, I feel I have no alternative, but to file this complaint as acura has been totally unresponsive.

Filed Oct 28, 2011 · Transmission · 65,406 miles · CA

Transmission does not shift smoothly anymore. It seems that 2nd gear is gone. The check engine light comes on too. It has the RPM go high before shifting.

Filed Sep 2, 2011 · Transmission · 110,000 miles · TX · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 acura 3.2 tl. The contact was driving 75 MPH when the check engine lamp illuminated and smoke was emitted from under the vehicle. The contact mentioned that he was unable to drive the vehicle since the gear would not shift. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission had overheated to the point that it melted all of the cables. As a result, the transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance since the contact had the repairs performed at an independent shop. The failure mileage was 110,000 and the current mileage was 110,300.

Filed Jan 8, 2010 · Transmission · 64,500 miles · AZ

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 acura 3.2tl. The contact stated that there was difficulty shifting gears and at times, it would become stuck in gear. He noticed that the problem occurred intermittently and slowly became more frequent. He took the vehicle to a repair shop and was informed that the automatic transmission needed to be replaced; the mechanic advised him to take the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer confirmed that the transmission needed to be replaced but that it was outside the warranty. The dealer offered to pay 80% of the repair costs. The vehicle was being repaired at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 64,600. The failure mileage was approximately 64,500.

Filed Nov 10, 2004 · Transmission · 57,600 miles · AR

In fall of 2002, my acura tl type s starting having trouble shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear. It progressed from there by not shifting at all while accelerating or downshifting into a lower gear while driving 45-50 MPH and causing the car to jerk. Finally, the transmission went out completely. I had to have it towed to the dealership where a new transmission was needed. It was fine for the next two years but I did notice it not shifting as smoothly as it had previously. In august 2004, the dealer informed me that a recall was placed on a part in the transmission having to do with 2nd gear. After this was replaced, my transmission was never the same. It began shifting very hard from 2nd to 3rd and then wouldn't go into gear. It would make a horrible grinding noise sometimes and the car would not go. The vsa lights and check engine light had come on also. This all starting occurring two days before our scheduled appt. With the dealer to have the car looked at. It had to be towed to the dealer (which is where it is right now as I type this letter) and it has to have a brand new transmission again! I am very concerned about this, especially since I have read all the other complaints other acura tl owners have written and most have missed having serious accidents only by the grace of god. Something seriously needs to be done about this.

Filed Dec 8, 2002 · Transmission · CA

At first the shifting on the car was very smooth, and car would jurk and it would try to shift. And later on, on the freeway transmission would not shift. Dt

Filed Aug 29, 2002 · Transmission · PA

The transmission had been exhibing some shifting problems a few days leading up to the failure. When it failed, it would not shift up to 3rd gear. I tried to turn the car around to head to the dealer and was momentarily unable to shift into drive or reverse because it would not engage. After about 5 tries I was able to shift into reverse and then back into drive and limped the car to the nearest parking lot where I waited for a tow truck. Had this happened on a highway it might have been much more serious. I have heard of people with a cl or tl (same transmission) that have had their transmission fail when doing 60+ MPH and it shifts down into 2nd without warning. Very dangerous!