2003 Acura TL: engine overheating

Filed Aug 7, 2012 · Transmission · 142,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 acura tl. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, he noticed that the second and third gear shift would take longer to engage. The contact inspected the vehicle and advised that the transmission would usually respond slower when it was overheated. In addition, he noticed that the transmission coolant was low and the contact replenished the coolant, which repaired the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The approximate failure mileage was 142,000 and the current mileage was 144,000.

Filed Aug 27, 2010 · Transmission · 178,304 miles · NC

1. The gears in my acura 2003 tl begin to slip between 2nd and 3rd gears on a saturday morning at the end of a family beach trip and soon there after on the way back home which was over 200 miles away the check engine light came on. 2. About halfway home(100 or so miles), the transmission completely failed on the open highway, and my wife and I was left stranded in the rural north carolina with a 1 year old and a 5 year old. 3. After all this happened, I learned of a recall on the acura tl 2003 transmission. According to acura.com and the dealership, this defect was fixed by installing an 'oil jet kit' or 'oil cooler return line' to help lubricate the 2nd gear and keep the transmission from overheating. I do not think it was fixed because of the symptoms of my transmission failure. I have called the honda\acura corporate office, the nearest acura dealership and the dealership of the original purchase of the vehicle. I have gotten the same answer from all of them, "there is nothing we can do". I think this is unacceptable and very frustrating. I have also become aware of a warranty extension that was made on 2003 acura cl and tl models because of a class action lawsuit filed against honda of america. The extension was for 93 months or 114,000 miles. My car is under the 93 month extension but outside on the 114,000 miles.

Filed Feb 4, 2010 · Electrical, Transmission · 52,900 miles · FL

There is a known transmission issue with acura 2003tl version, even though acura have put it in recall, to do the work the dealer charge anywhere from $350-600. The vehicle chokes up in between the road because of overheating in transmission. The headlights flickering is one another issue which when taken to the dealer called it as computer system mess up in the car and this is not in the recall, the dealer charges about $800 for such repair which is not reasonable for the faulty equipment of acura.

Filed Jan 19, 2008 · Transmission · 73,900 miles · NJ

My automatic transmission was slipping into 3rd gear on my 2003 tl-s. I had it rebuilt at 73,900 miles. The torque converter had failed and was loosing hydraulic pressure & overheating. I bought this car new in 2003. It's a late 2003 VIN and acura would not cover it under warranty. My dealership wanted $3,750 plus tax to replace it. An independent shop did the work for $2,600 incl tax with a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty.

Filed Mar 16, 2007 · Transmission · 28,753 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 acura tl. On july 1, 2004, the original transmission was overheating. The vehicle hesitated, and made a grinding and clanking noise when shifting gears from park to drive. The mileage was 28,753. The dealer attempted to repair the transmission by inserting a lube kit. The transmission was replaced on january 24, 2007. However, on february 6, 2007, while shifting gears the vehicle was making excessive noises. On february 14, 2007, a rebuilt transmission was installed in the vehicle. The contact stated that the transmission inserted in this vehicle had the same failure. The dealer advised the contact that although there was noise present the vehicle was operating normally. The noises he was currently hearing from this vehicle was normal. The contact stated that he was currently waiting for a regional manager to test drive the vehicle at the end of march 2007. The current mileage was 31,000. *ak update 4/9

Filed Jun 16, 2006 · Transmission · 36,591 miles · FL

Complete transmission failure resulting in disengagement of drive train. Acura help line requested VIN number for car, so I exited vehicle to get the number from the window. Car was in park, however car rolled backwards down hill into path of oncoming vehicle. I was able to run after it and jump in to apply brake just before collision would have occurred. This is similar to the issue under pe02081. Acura is replacing the transmission, and claim that this issue as highlighted in pe02081 has been resolved and that my vehicle is not covered in the extended warranty program. My concern is that acura know about this potential problem, they have not contacted any owner to alert them of a problem, there is no indication such as engine warning light on the vehicle to indicate transmission overheating they are waiting to get some one killed... Thank heavens it wasn't me.

Filed Aug 5, 2005 · Transmission · 55,000 miles · NY

Dt: consumer states he has an intermittent shuddering when the transmission shifts. The dealer cannot duplicate the problem. He says acura knows there is a transmission problem/ they have extended the warranty to 100,000 miles. He has 66,000 miles on the car. He states this problem started happening around 55, 000 miles. Consumer states he is afraid that the problem will get worse and the car will break down while he is far away from home. *nm the vehicle was recall prior to this failure for the transmission overheating. The dealer installed and addition pump to rectify that problem. The consumer believes this problem is related to the recall repairs made.