2003 ACURA TL Complaints

SUDDEN DOWNSHIFT OF AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION WHILE DRIVING IN D-5 (5TH GEAR) AT APPROXIMATELY 60MPH WHILE MERGING ONTO HIGHWAY. MOMENTARY LOSS OF CONTROL, REGAINED WHEN 5TH GEAR RE-ENGAGED. MOTOR SUDDENLY REVVED TO NEAR RED-LINE CAUSING TORQUE STEER FEEL AND DECELERATION. REVIOUSLY NOTIFIED DEALER OF TRANSMISSION-RELATED ISSUES, WAS TOLD "NO PROBLEM FOUND" AT GETTEL ACURA IN SARASOTA, FL. PLAN ON TAKING VEHICLE BACK TO SHOP AGAIN.*AK

PAINT ON REAR TRUNK LID EXTREMELY THIN AND PEELING WHEN CAR IS WASHED. DESPITE HAVING 5 COATS OF WAX ON THE CAR, WASHING THE CAR (BY HAND WITH MAGUIAR'S SOFT CAR SOAP AND SOFT TERRY TOWELING) PEELED SECTIONS OF THE PAINT OFF THE TRUNK LID. CAR HAD SAT FOR TWO WEEKS (STANDARD WASH INTERVAL FOR THE CAR DUE TO MY WORK SCHEDULE) OUTSIDE (CAR IS COVERED WHEN FIRST CLEANED). NO REASON FOR THE PAINT TO HAVE COME OFF. NO RESPONSE TO MY LETTERS FROM MANUFACTURER. DEALER REFERRED ME TO ACURA CUSTOMER CARE SO NO HELP THERE. *CB

BURNING SMELL EMANATING FROM EXHAUST AREA INTO CABIN AT 9800 MILES. TERRIBLE - CAN SMELL IT ON THE OUTSIDE FROM 25 FEET AWAY. THE STENCH INSIDE THE BACK SEAT OF THE CABIN IS ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU GAG. CAR IS ONLY 100 MILES OVERDUE FOR AN OIL CHANGE (3100 MILES) RUNNING MANUFACTURER RECOMMENDED OIL WEIGHT. CAR HAS HAD TROUBLE SINCE I BOUGHT IT - BUT MOSTLY EXTERNAL UNTIL NOW (PEELING PAINT). *CB

MY TRANSMISSION LITERALLY LOCKED UP OVER 6 TIMES WHILE DRIVING AT SPEEDS OVER 65MPH CAUSING MY CAR TO TRY AND COME TO A COMPLETE STOP WHILE DRIVING THIS FAST ..I HAD NO WARNING PRIOR ,THAT ANYTHING WAS WRONG WITH THE TRANSMISSION . IT LITERALLY WAS ABOUT TO THROW ME THROUGH THE WINDSHEILD ,IT LEFT BALD ARES ON MY TIRES FROM THIS AND THE SERVICE GUY WHO DROVE IT STATED IT ALMOST THREW HIM THROUGH THE WINDSHEILD AND HE WAS ONLY DRIVING 30MPH ...THIS HAS INJURED MY NECK AND ARM ,LEFT ARM AND I AM NOW SCARED TO DEATH OF DRIVING THIS CAR AS THIS WAS SUCH A SCARY EXPIERIENCE ,NEVER KNOWING WHEN IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN .. I AM INVOLVED IN A FORUM ONLINE FOR OTHER ACURA OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR TRANSMISSION REPLACED UP TO 4 TIMES.. I WANT OUT OF THIS DEATH TRAP!

THE ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON SUDDENLY AT 11,000 MILES MAKING A CLUNKING NOISE. WAS IN REPAIR 15 DAYS. REBUILT AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION & TORQUE CONVERTER WAS REPLACED AS WELL AS BROKEN ENGINE MOUNT. AT 19,713 ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AGAIN FAILURE VSA & ECM UNITS REPLACED. AT 25,596 MILES ENGINE LIGHT GOES ON,TRANSMISSION DOES NOT GO INTO REVERSE DUE TO INTERNAL FAILURE, REPLACED PCM & TRANSMISSION (REBUILT)LOCK-UP CONTROL SOLINOID ASSEMBLY, REPLACED LOST TRANSMISSION FLUID.LEFT DEALER'S SERVICE DEPT & UPON REACHING HOME, ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, HAD TO RETURN BACK TO SERVICE DEPT. ON THE WAY, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY & WITHOUT NOTICE LOCKED 6 TIMES AT 50 MPH, DECELERATED DOWN TO 30 MPH MAKING BOOMING NOISES, CAR BEHIND ALMOST CRASHED INTO MY VEHICLE, HAD TO PULL OVER, SLOWLY DRIVING TO DEALER SCARED TO DEATH AS THE VEHICLE WAS SO ERRATIC & MAKING BOOMING NOISES. MY SON WAS DRIVING, CALLED ME ON HIS CELL PHONE AS TO HIS EXPERIENCE, FINALLY MADE IT TO THE SERVICE DEPT. HONDA/ACURA VOLUNTARILY EXTENDED WARRANTY IN 2002 ON THE TRANSMISSIONS DUE TO DEFECTS AS WELL AS IN 2003 OFFERED ENHANCED PCM POWERTRAIN SERVICE DUE TO DEFECTS IN ANOTHER NOTIFICATION. NHTSA CONDUCTED INVESTIGATION & SHOULD HAVE RECALLED THE 3.2TL TYPE S VEHICLES AS WELL AS OTHER MODELS AS THEY CAN POTENTIALLY CAUSE SERIOUS INJURIES AND/OR DEATH TO EVERYONE CONCERNED WITHOUT NOTICE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ESPECIALLY. THESE TRANSMISSION DEFECTS WERE KNOWN BY HONDA/ACURA YET VEHICLES WERE BEING SOLD TO THE PUBLIC ANYWAY. HONDA/ACURA NOW CLAIMS THE 2004 MODELS WILL BE REDESIGNED. DOES THIS INCLUDE THEIR FAULTY TRANSMISSIONS? WHO CAN YOU ASK IF NHSTA ALLOWS THIS TO OCCUR YEAR AFTER YEAR. LEASING THIS VEHICLE REQUIRES PRAYERS THAT NO ONE GETS KILLED. YES, I'M ANGRY!! A VEHICLE SHOULD BE ENJOYED & NOT A HAZARD THAT CANNOT BE CORRECTED.

2003 ACURA TL TYPE S EXPERIENCING TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS. *MR THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED ROUGHLY IN ADDITION TO MISSING WHEN THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS ENGAGED. WHEN THE CONSUMER PRESSED THE CRUISE CONTROL TO INCREASE THE SPEED THE ENGINE SURGED ON TWO OCCASIONS BACK TO BACK AS THE CONSUMER TRIED TO DISENGAGE THE CRUISE CONTROL. (FAULTY TL TRANSMISSIONS WERE A WIDELY KNOWN PROBLEM FOR ACURA) *SC

VEHICLE TYPE: ACURA 3.2TL MODEL YEAR: 2003. VEHICLE PERIODICALLY FAILED TO START. VEHICLE PERIODICALLY STALLS IN TRAFFIC. *AK

PROBLEMS WITH HIGH BEAMS ON ACURA 3.2 TL. *MR THE HIGH BEAM'S WERE DISTRACTING. (ERRANT HIGH BEAM REFLECTION) *SC JB*

TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS WITH 2003 ACURA TL TYPE S. *PH THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTED ROUGHLY IN ADDITION TO A MISSING CRUISE CONTROL. THERE WAS ALSO A TIME WHERE THE VEHICLE HAD NO REVERSE GEAR. *SC

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. *AK