2002 Acura TL Complaint Log

EVERY DAY WHEN I BACK OUT OF MY GARAGE WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD, THE IDLE IS ALL OFF ON MY CAR. IT WOULD FLUCTUATE BETWEEN 300RPM (ALMOST STALLING) TO 1000RPM. I TOOK IT INTO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED SOMETHING, BUT THE PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS.*JB

THOSE NEW "BLUE" HEADLAMPS ARE BLINDING AT NIGHT. THEY SEEM DANGEROUS.

TRANSMISSION FAILED AFTER SLIPPING TWICE. IT COMPLETELY STOPPED WHILE I WAS ACCELERATING TO HIGHWAY SPEED. ACURA REPLACED WITH RE-MANUFACTURED TRANSMISSIONS, WHICH ACCORDING TO THE DEALERSHIP IS CONSIDERED NEW. IT SEEMS LIKE THIS "NEW" TRANSMISSION IS SHIFTING IRREGULARLY AFTER 6,000 MILES. ORIGINAL FAILURE WAS AT 32,000 - MAKE/MODEL: 2002 TL TYPE S. *NLM

TRANSMISSION SLIPPING IN AND OUT OF GEAR. STARTED IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN ON A WINDY BACK ROAD... THEN IT HAD A HARD TIME GETTING UP A SMALL HILL. PROBLEM STOPPED FOR 5 MINUETS THEN CAME BACK IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC, I NEARLY CAUSED 3 ACCIDENTS. - VERY DANGERIOUS

SINCE DECEMBER 2002 THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD THREE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS REPLACED. DEALER REPLACED TRANSMISSIONS AT NO COST TO CONSUMER, WHO FELT THAT TRANSMISSIONS SHOULD NOT HAVE MALFUNCTIONED SO SOON IN THE FIRST PLACE.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 60-70 MPH MY TRANSMISSION FAILED. THE CAR DOWNSHIFTED FROM 5TH GEAR TO 2ND. THIS CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO SUDDENLY STOP. LUCKILY THE CAR BEHIND ME HAD ENOUGH TIME TO GET OUT OF THE WAY. I HAVE BEEN HEARING OF THIS PROBLEM WITH MY MODEL. ACURA IS REPLACING THE TRANSMISSION, BUT I HEAR THE REPLACEMENTS ARE FAILING ALSO. ACURA WON'T RECALL THE CAR BECAUSE THEY SAY NOT ENOUGH HAVE THE PROBLEM. THIS IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND SOMEONE WILL DIE SOONER OR LATER FROM THIS. DRIVING A CAR THAT CAN SUDDENLY STOP AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS IS A DANGER TO THE OWNER OF THE CAR AND EVERYONE ELSE ON THE ROAD. ACURA IS REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION BUT THE PROBLEM IS LIKELY TO OCCUR AGAIN. THIS SHOULD BE STOPPED. I DO NOT FEEL SAFE WITH THESE CARS ON THE ROAD. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF I COULD BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE. I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONE'S TO WALK AWAY FROM THIS BUT SOMEONE ELSE WON'T BE. DT

NO SUMMARY. DT

WITH NO PRIOR WARNING, THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION SUDDENLY AND TOTALLY FAILED WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 50 MPH ON PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE AT 11:30 PM IN SNOW ON 11/26/02. ALTHOUGH ON AN INCLINE, I WAS JUST ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE LINE OF TRAFFIC INTO THE BREAK DOWN LANE. TRANSMISSION WOULD NOT ENGAGE IN ANY GEAR TOTAL FAILURE. MANUFACTURER REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. DT

MICHELIN TIRE FAILED AT LOW MILEAGE. CONSUMER FOUND FRONT LEFT TIRE WAS LOW ON AIR. TIRE MERCHANT NOT WILLING TO DO ANTYING. *TT *NLM

TRANSMISSION DISENGAGES WHEN ACCELERATING. ALSO, TRANSMISSION FALLS OUT OF GEAR CAUSING UNEXPECTED LOSS OF POWER. DEALERSHIP ADJUSTED BASE IDLE OF THE ENGINE THE FIRST TIME I TOOK IT IN FOR THIS PROBLEM. TRANSMISSION TOTAL FAILURE AT 24000 MILES. REPLACED TRANSMISSION AND HAD THE SAME PROBLEM THREE WEEKS LATER. POWER LOSS WHEN TURNING LEFT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSECTION, BARELY AVOIDED COLLISION. I DO NOT TAKE MY CHILDREN IN THIS CAR FOR FEAR OF POWER FAILURE. *NLM

I HAVE A 2002 ACURA TL-S AND HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY TRANSMISSION ONCE ALREADY. I LOST ALL POWER. I PRESSED ON THE ACCELERATOR BUT DID NOT GET ANY POWER TO MY CAR. I BROUGHT IT INTO ACURA IN SAN JOSE, CA ON A MONDAY AND THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. I LET THE SERVICE REP KNOW THAT I WOULD BE DOWN THERE THAT DAY TO PICK MY CAR UP. HE SAID THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT FOR A FEW DAYS. HE SAID THAT A MECHANIC TOOK THE CAR FOR A TEST DRIVE ON TUESDAY AND DID NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT. AND ON WEDNESDAY, HE SAID THAT AS HIS MECHANIC WAS PULLING INTO THE ACURA LOT THAT HE EXPERIENCED THE PROBLEM THAT I WAS HAVING. THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. I AM AT 42,000 MILES NOW AND I FEEL LIKE THE TRANNY SHIFT ROUGHER NOW .*AK

WHILE SITTING IN VEHICLE WITH ENGINE RUNNING, THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED, GEAR LIGHTS STARTED TO FLASH, VEHICLE WAS MAKING A HIGH GRINDING SOUND. VEHICLE ALSO WAS NOT ACCELERATING. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. TS *DT

VEHICLE WOULD INTERMITTENTLY STALL AT LOW RPMS OR AT IDLE. THIS OCCURRED FREQUENTLY UNTIL DEALER IDENTIFIED AND CORRECTED IT BUT NOT BEFORE NUMEROUS VISITS TO THE DEALERSHIP. (I HAVE DOCUMENTED WORK ORDERS) BIGGEST PROBLEM WAS THE FAULTY TRANSMISSION I HAD PREVIOUSLY HEARD FROM OTHER ACURA OWNERS AND THROUGH A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE. I WAS HOPING AND PRAYING THAT I WOULD NOT BECOME A STATISTIC. THIS IS AN UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING WHEN YOU'VE PAID $33,000+ FOR A NEW LUXURY VEHICLE AND I FEARED FOR MY SAFETY SINCE READING ABOUT THE ARTICLE. ON 11/23/02, I WOULD FIND OUT THAT I HAD BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC, THANKFULLY I WAS DRIVING AT A REASONABLE SPEED AND NO ONE WAS BEHIND ME AS THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY STOPPED. THIS IS A SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESS BY ACURA. I AM AMAZED THAT NO ONE HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED. SADLY, IT WILL BECOME A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE THAT WILL HAPPEN. IT IS DOWNRIGHT WRONG FOR AN AUTOMAKER TO KNOWINGLY KNOW OF A PROBLEM AND NOT FIX IT. THEY ARE NOT PROTECTING THEIR CUSTOMERS AND THE OCCUPANTS OF SAID CUSTOMERS. I URGED YOU TO CONTACT ACURA AND IMPLEMENT A MANDATORY RECALL OF THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. I FEEL THAT I HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF AND THANKFULLY, NOT INJURED. WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS? DT

I CALLED ACURA CUSTOMER SERVICE TO EXPLAIN THAT MY TRANSMISSION WAS ACTING UP, AND THEY REFUSED TO REPLACE IT OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE A PROBLEM. THE SAME WAS TRUE OF MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, DAVID MCDAVID ACURA OF AUSTIN. ONLY WHEN I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND MY CAR DOWNSHIFTED FROM 3RD TO 2ND GEAR, CAUSING ME TO QUICKLY DECELERATE, AND CAUSING THE PERSON BEHIND ME TO ALMOST HIT ME, DID THEY REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION. THIS WAS EVEN AFTER ONE TECH AT KING ACURA OF BIRMINGHAM FELT THE TRANSMISSION PROBLEM. DT

TRANSMISSION ON MY 2002 ACUTA TL-S HAS BEEN REPLACED ON TWO OCCASSIONS. I HAVE NO REASON TO BELEIVE THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED, THE 3RD REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION IS NOW MIS-SHIFING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. DEALER NOR ACURA HAS PROVIDED ANY EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THIS MODEL VEHICLE NEEDS SO MANY TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENTS.

CAR WILL DOWNSHIFT ERRATICLY AT TIMES.

NO SUMMARY. DT

CONSUMER VEHICLE IS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY. CONSUMER STATES' THAT WHEN TRAVELING BETWEEN SECOND AND THIRD GEAR THE VEHICLE VIBRATES. TOOK TO DEALER AND DEALER REPLACED TRANSMISSION. TS

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILURE WHILE VEHICLE UNDER POWER. TRANSMISSION SLIPS IN 3RD GEAR AND CAUSES UNEXPECTED LOSS OF FORWARD MOTION. TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP 10/05/2002. CONTINUED TO GET WORSE UNTIL DEALER DETERMINED REPLACEMENT NECESSARY ON 11/01/2002. DT

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

TRANSMISSION HUNTING FOR GEAR, MAKING NOISE, BOGGING DOWN, RPM'S GO WAY UP, THEN SHIFTS, LOSS OF POWER, VERY DANGEROUS. *AK

WHILE DRIVING THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED FROM 5TH GEAR AT 45 MPH TO 1ST, CAUSING THE CAR TO SCRETCH THE TIRES AND TO LURCH FOWARD. *AK

WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTED TO 40 MPH. VEHICLE IS AT DEALERSHIP AT THIS TIME. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

TRANSMISSION FAILED ON MAJOR HIGHWAY. JUST LEARNED THAT THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 16,000 SUCH FAILURES IN THE ACURA AND HONDAS USING SAME TRANSMISSION. VERY DANGEROUS AND NEARLY HIT THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME.*AK

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

THE VEHICLE SHOWED A UP/DOWN SHIFTING INTO 3RD GEAR PROBLEM. IT WOULD SLIP WHEN TRYING TO SHIFT UP. WHEN SHIFTING DOWN TO 3RD YOU WOULD HEAR A CLUNK AND THE VEHICLE WOULD START TO SEARCH FOR A GEAR. NLM

NEAR ACCIDENT BECAUSE AT HIGH SPEED CAR DROPPED INTO 2ND GEAR CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL. VERY SCARY!!!*AK

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!*AK

TRANSMISSION FAILS (DISENGAGES) AT ALL SPEEDS WITHOUT WARNING. PROBLEM ENGAGING INTO REVERSE. NLM

I WAS ON HIGHWAY 280 DOING ABOUT 65 IN MY MORNING COMMUTE FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO CUPERTINO. WITHOUT WARNING, MY TRANSMISSION SHIFTED FROM FOURTH TO SECOND, SENDING MY CAR INTO A SIDEWAYS SKID AS IF I HAD HIT THE BRAKES...HARD. FORTUNATELY, THE CAR BESIDE ME ON THE RIGHT WAS ABLE TO AVOID HITTING ME AS WAS THE CAR BEHIND ME. LEFT WITH SECOND GEAR, I LIMPED BACK TO THE DEALER AND RECEIVED MY CAR, WITH A NEW TRANSMISSION, THREE WEEKS LATER. I AM LUCKY TO HAVE NOT BEEN INJURED AND DO NOT TRUST THIS CAR ANY LONGER. IT WAS BOUGHT FOR INSURING THE SAFETY OF MY FAMILY AND I AM WORRIED ABOUT A REPEAT FAILURE. THANKS, BEN. PH *NLM **DIMSII IVOQ ENTRY POSTED AFTER 12/12/02 CUT OVER TO ARTEMIS**768534

TRANSMISSION WENT OUT AND WAS REPLACED, THEN TRANSMISSION WENT OUT A SECOND TIME, AND TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED AGAIN. CONSUMER WAS CHARGED AND THE LABOR WAS REDUCED. *AK

THE TRANSMISSION MIS-SHIFT SEVERAL TIMES FROM 3RD TO 1ST GEAR AND WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 2ND GEAR AND 2ND TO 3RD GEAR SEVERAL TIMES. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT INTO THE DEALER FIRST TIME ON 8/19/2002 AND THE TRANSMISSION WAS FLUSHED 3 TIMES. THE PROBLEM WAS NOT CORRECTED AND I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE DEALER SECOND TIME ON 8/28/2002. THE DEALER REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. EVEN THOUGH, THERE IS NO ACCIDENT IN THIS INCIDENT. I AM REALLY CONCERNING THE SAFETY ISSUE CAUSED BY THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE AND I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE HAVING THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE PROBLEM IN THIS PARTICULAR CAR MODEL. I HOPE NHTSA CAN TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE THE FATAL ACCIDENT OCCURRED BECAUSE OF TRANSMISSION FAILURE.*AK

CONSUMER HAS LEARNED THAT THESE AUTOMOBILES HAVE A LATENT SAFETY DEFECT IN THE TRANSMISSION THAT CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO DOWNSHIFT WHILE TRAVELING. THE DEALER WILL NOT INSPECT THE VEHICLE UNTIL A PROBLEM OCCURS. JLG NLM

DANGEROUSLY FAULTY TRANSMISSION CAUSED ME TO CRASH VEHICLE, SLIPPED INTO "PARK" AT HIGH SPEEDS ON FREEWAY LOCKING-UP TIRES. FAULTY ROTORS/BRAKE PADS CAUSE STEERING WHEEL TO "SHIMMY" AT BRAKING.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY, THE VEHICLE SHUTDOWN WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. THE DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK THE CONSUMER STATES THAT THE DRIVING PERFORMANCE WAS SLUGGISH AND PROVIDED LITTLE TO NO ACCELERATION. THE RPM INDICATOR WOULD RACE TO 3000K+RPMS WHENEVER THE ACCELERATOR WAS PRESSED. THE AUTO BEGAN TO HESITATE AND LURCH VIOLENTLY. SHORTLTY AFTER, THE CHECK ENGINE AND THE TCS LIGHTS ILLUMINATED ON THE DASHBOARD AND THE GEAR INDICATOR (WHICH WAS ON D5 AT THE TIME) BEGAN TO BLINK. *SCC

CONSUMER WAS TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT WARNING AIRBAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY WHEN ANOTHER VEHICLE VEERED INTO CONSUMER'S VEHICLE.*AK

I ALSO GOT A REBUILT TRANSMISSION THAT WENT OUT ON ME AFTER ANOTHER 2,000. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND I WANT ACURA TO DO SOMETHING. THERE IS AN ARTICLE IN THE LA TIMES THAT SPEAKS OF THIS ON 9.13.2002. PLEASE HELP ME, I'M WORRIED I OR SOMEONE ELSE MAY GET INJURED OR KILLED. NLM

CONSUMER WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY DOWN SHIFTED TO SECOND GEAR. CONSUMER TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. NLM

TRANSMISSION SLIPPING AND REPORTED AT 14823 DEALER SAID THAT THEY DID NOT FIND A PROBLEM, ROTORS WARPED AT 14823 MILES REPLACED PADS AND RESURFACED ROTORS, CD PLAYER REPLACED AT 14823 MILES, SQUEAK IN REAR SUSPENTION DUE TO A LEAK IN THE REAR RIGHT STRUT AT 18933 MILES, BOTH FRONT SEAT BACKPANELS LOOSE, TRANSMISSION REPLACED AT 20322 MILES CAR WAS AT THE DEALER FOR 25 DAYS, VSA AND CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REMAINED ON AFTER TRANSMISSION REPLACED. REPLACED LOCK UPSHIFT SOLENOID VALVED ECU RESET, TRANSMISSION NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY AND SLIPS AT 23583 MILES, DOOR FRAME PEELING AT 23583 MILES REPLACED DOOR FRAME. CRUISE CONTROL NOT WORKING AT 23700 MILES, FONT SUSPENTION OR STEERING COLUMN MAKING SQUEAKY NOISES AT 23700 MILES. DT

TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SWITCH GEARS WILL DRIVING.

WHILE DRIVING THERE WAS SUDDEN ACCELERATION AT HIGH SPEED, AND DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF VEHICLE. CONTACT DEALER . VEHICLE HAD AN ENGINE FAILURE.*AK

GEAR SHIFTER GRINDS SLIGHTLY WHEN SHIFTING FROM 1ST-2ND AT ALL SPEEDS. *AK

NO SUMMARY. DT

I AM ONE OF THOUSANDS OF OWNERS OF AN ACURA 3.2 TL WITH THE 5 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WHO HAS HAD HIS SUDDENLY FAIL ON THEM WHILE DRIVING. WHILE DRIVING,THE CAR WITHOUT WARNING SLIPPED INTO A LOWER GEAR, AND IT IS NOW CONSISTENTLY SLIPPING WHILE CHANGING FROM 2ND TO 3RD GEARS. WITHIN THE LAST WEEK, HONDA OF AMERICA HAS RECALLED OVER 600,000 5 SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS IN THEIR HONDA PILOT, ACURA ODYSSEY, AND ACURA MDX MODELS BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBLE SAFETY HAZARD. THE TRANSMISSION FOUND IN THE ACURA CL/TL MODEL IS THE EXACT SAME TRANSMISSION, AND CLEARLY SUFFERS FROM THE SAME DEFECT. IT IS AS MUCH A SAFETY ISSUE IN THE CL/TL, AND OTHER MODEL LINES AS WELL, AND THERE ARE OVER 2000 PEOPLE WHO FEEL THE SAME WAY AND SIGNED THIS ONLINE PETITION HTTP://WWW.PETITIONONLINE.COM/ACURA/PETITION.HTML MY ONLY SAVING GRACE WAS THAT NO ONE WAS ON THE ROAD IMMEDIATELY BEHIND ME DURING THIS EPISODE, OR ELSE I MIGHT HAD TO REPORT A CRASH WITH AN INJURY OR FATALITY. *JB

TRANSMISSION WILL START TO SLIP OUT OF GEAR, STARTING FROM 2 TO 5TH. CONTACTED DEALER, AND THE DEALER WAS NOT WILLING TO DO ANYTHING.*AKDEALER TOLD CONSUMER TO BRING VEHICLE IN. AFTER INSPECTION, IT WAS DETERMINED THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED REPLACING. A REBUILT TRANSMISSION WAS PUT INTO VEHICLE. *JG

TRANSMISSION SLIPS OR HESITATES AT VARIOUS TIMES. *AK

TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS RANDOMLY IN AUTOMATIC, OR WILL NOT UPSHIFT. IN SPORT SHIFT MODE, TRANSMISSION MAY REFUSE TO UPSHIFT OR DOWNSHIFT WHEN SUPPOSED TO AND WILL ONLY SHIFT AFTER REPEATED TRIES. ALSO IN AUTO, TRANSMISSION WILL SOMETIMES TEMPORARILY SHIFT COMPLETELY OUT OF GEAR THEN BACK IN. *AK

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK

TRANSMISSION FAILED WHEN MERGING INTO A BUSY HIGHWAY FROM A COMPLETE STOP. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS. *AK

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE. *AK