2003 Acura TL: shudder or vibration when accelerating

Filed Jan 27, 2010 · Transmission · 112,000 miles · UT

Faulty transmission in our 2003 acura 3.2 tl. We purchased this vehicle new. At around 80,000 miles it started to shudder when accelerating between 20 and 30 MPH. We didn't think much of it. We now know that it was the transmission. Acura extended the warranty from 50,000 miles to 100,000 for this reason, but we were never notified. Now the car has 112,000 miles and this week the transmission started slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear, and now between 1st and 2nd there is a bang and a lurch. Currently it is far too dangerous to drive the car. We took it to a transmission specialist who diagnosed the car and researched the problem. He said that acura has a recall for this exact issue and our car should be covered. We met with the local acura dealership and they say our car isn't in the "batch" of VIN's covered in the recall. They further say that since we don't have a maintenance record showing that we have serviced the transmission every 30,000 miles, we have lost our chance of them working with us at all. Our manual clearly states to do the first transmission service at 120,000 miles. We have records for having done all other routine maintenance, but never did anything about the transmission, because their information says not to. Not once has anyone from acura ever informed us that contrary to what our manual says, we should service the transmission every 30,000 miles. There was a recall on a part of the transmission that they did replace when the car had 50,000 miles, and acura says that is also a reason they don't have to help us today.

Filed Nov 4, 2006 · Transmission · 77,000 miles · NY

I have the above vehicle, purchased new on 1/27/2003. At 55000 miles the car was recalled to add a second pump (at least that what I was told) in the transmission. From then on I have had a shuddering problem with my transmission when it up-shifted at low speeds. I was able to finally prove to the acura dealer that there was something wrong with the transmission after 3 visits to the service department (curry acura in westchester county, new york). They claimed that the transmission was replaced and that all was well. This was in 9/21/2005. However, after another 20k miles, I am having the same problem at a lesser level and I am sure that the dealer will claim that I am imagining the symptoms because they cannot duplicate them. In addition, I was told that the car will only be covered up to 100k miles. I now have 99k miles.

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.

Filed Jan 3, 2004 · Transmission · 15,000 miles · NY

I leased an 03 acura tl-type s in 4/02. This vehicle is unsafe and the manufacturer is either unable or unwilling to correct the problem. He transmission began slipping, shuddering and bucking at 15k miles. The rpms would also rev without pressing the gas pedal . I brought the car in on 12/2/02, and the dealer reported that there were "no codes" and that the "problem could not be duplicated." at nearly 22k miles, the problem evolved into a high-pitched whining noise. On 4/16/03, dealer said the transmission needed to be replaced. At first the new transmission seemed to perform better, but differently and somewhat more slowly. At about 26,000 miles the shuddering and bucking at various speeds returned. I took it back to dealer on 7/21/03, and again they said "no codes" and the "problem could not be duplicated," precisely as had been indicated before the first transmission was replaced. They did flush the transmission fluid. On 10/22/03 during a roadtest with dealer's service department, the transmission did in fact exhibit the behavior I have been documenting. After the computer revealed no codes, the vehicles egr ports were cleaned and dealer believed that would fix the problem. However, the problem continued. I have taken the car back on a half dozen occasions and each time am told they can't duplicate the problem. Acura corporate management admits there is a problem with the transmissions and replacement transmissions have also failed. They are not sure why. They insist if there are "no codes" or if dealer cannot readily duplicate there is not a problem. I am unwilling to wait for a complete failure which can result in the transmission locking up at highway speeds and lead to an accident. I began at the end of november documenting the dates, times and speeds at which the transmission malfunctions and can provide this data. It is inconsistent and it is very difficult to duplicate, but that does not mean it is not a problem.

Filed Feb 16, 2003 · Transmission · 400 miles · WA

Transmission shudder and balking on new 2003 acura tlc type-s