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Last post on May 06, 2013 at 9:22 AM
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#371 of 967 bad replacement transmission
by 02mdxwoes
Aug 27, 2010 (11:01 am)
hello. i have an '02 mdx that was having the transmission recall issues, which started about 1.5-2 years after i bought the car in September of 2002. i kept taking the car in for servicing, describing the issue, which was basically that the car jolted into gear between 4th and 5th, like it was having a seizure, and everytime was told that there was nothing wrong. one mechanic tried to tell me it was my air conditioner that was causing the problem(i am woman, i must be dumb!). then the same thing started happening between 1st and 2nd gear. when i got my recall notice in 2006, i took my car to the dealer and asked for a replacement transmission, when my call was still under warranty. they told me they could "fix" it, which didn't work, and back i went in january of 2007, after my warranty was up, and was told that the transmission had to replaced(duh!).
acura and the dealership did eat the cost and replaced the transmission. of course it was a remanufactured transmission and only came with a 1 year warranty. and now i am having the same problem all over again, this time in 1st to 2nd only. has anyone else had the transmission replaced and then started having the same problem start over in the replacement? is there any class action pending that anyone is aware of for this problem? any info would be appreciated. thank you!
#373 of 967 Re: 2002 Acura MDX Transmission Issue [jmarti80]
by 02mdxwoes
Aug 27, 2010 (11:17 am)
from the day that i dropped off the car, a decision was made THAT day about acura covering the cost of the replacement transmission. after that, it took 2-3 days to get the transmission in and then it took anther 2 days to install the replacement. they wouldn't provide a loaner-gues they already felt generous enough.....
#374 of 967 Re: bad replacement transmission [wallabyguy]
by 02mdxwoes
Aug 27, 2010 (11:23 am)
is that the only way to access your info? i am not a face-booker. did you have your transmission replaced and get another bad one? i cannot tell you how bummed i am, i paid cash for my ride and it was supposed to last for well over 200k miles-i only have 85k on it now. i checked out the bmw x5 and the lexus rx330 when i was shopping and decided on the acura for 2 reasons-best bang for the bucks and reliability record for honda/acura. now i wish i had splurged on the lexus.
Aug 31, 2010 (5:27 pm)
Last November the torque converter on our 2006 MDX with 55K was replaced under warranty. It never seemed right. Two months later, we took it back and the same problem was the conclusion. When the dealership was doing the work it was determined that is was actually the transmission. Corporate pushed back to replace the TC and update the software (does software go bad?). This still did not fix the issues and after some discussion the transmission was replaced along with the EGR valve as a "precaution." We are now six month is and - IT'S BACK. With all of these experiences and Honda, Acura and the MDX still get great reliability reviews in the mainstream. I guess as long as that's true it will be easy to dump when I have had enough pain.
#376 of 967 2003 MDX transmission problems + what to replace it with
by sam91320
Sep 04, 2010 (10:28 am)
I too am now having problems with my tranny. The light came on 4 days ago. I went to my independent Acura mechanic that I have used now for 3 years as the dealership is pretty far away. Thinking it might be just an error, we reset the light and it came back on in the same day. I took the car in for a fliud check to "diagnose" the issue. He did find metal in the the fluid and stated that the car could have 5 or 50k miles left on it...who knows when the tranny would fail. So I am working with the dealer to see what they can do for this car and also looking for another vehicle - most likely used car. In my research, I am finding similar issues with several vehicles in this size range. Pilots seem to have some similar tranny issues, Toyota as a brand has their recall issues. Friends with Acadias and Enclaves have had their first year car bugs and issues. So I am curious to see what other autos the folks on this thread have identified as the replacement for your MDX. Thanks.
#377 of 967 Re: 2003 MDX transmission problems + what to replace it with [sam91320]
by jslivon
Sep 04, 2010 (1:01 pm)
Acura paid 90% of the cost for our new transmision in our 03 MDX. It failed with 107,000 miles. The replacement transmission has a 3yr/36k miles warranty. When the warranty expires, my choice for a new car will be Ford. They are the car company of the future. Within the last few years, everyone raves about them (disregard the "old" Ford company, I think they were forced to do better then the competion in order to survive). I was a fan of the foreign companies but they are living on past reputation. Their new stuff has gotten cheaper quality.
#378 of 967 Re: 2003 MDX transmission problems + what to replace it with [jslivon]
by tpulak
Sep 05, 2010 (9:22 am)
I am sorry to hear about the failure. Although Ford is very good in my opinion, we shouldn't go to hard on Acura. The 5-speed transmissions on Honda's and Acura's had a design fault, meaning that regardless, at one point, a transmission will go wrong. It was a mistake, but of course, a big mistake. But Acura and Honda still make quality vehicles.
#379 of 967 Replacement Quality
by bekeatts
Sep 08, 2010 (9:18 am)
My wife and I just purchased (Labor Day!) an '05 MDX Touring with approximately 78k miles on it. We didn't notice any problems on the test drive but my wife (primary driver) tells me she hears a "noise" at around 30-40 mph. Well, my family owns our own automotive shop so we had my father look at the car and drive it. His conclusion was the torque converter (he came to this conclusion without any outside influence from blogs or anything). As a precaution my dad had my VIN run by an associate at Acura and was told there weren't any recalls for my particular model, so he started to research the problem and found postings like these.
Last night I called the dealer that we purchased the car from and explained the problem we encountered and fortunately they (so far) are willing to work with us. The car is being checked out today and we'll know if their mechanic comes to the same conclusion. If so, I would really prefer that a certified Acura mechanic to the work. It seems that people have had this problem for years and that it's re-occuring despite replacing the parts (with OEM or re-built).
I guess I have a few questions:
-Are the replacement parts the exact same configuration as the original faulty part? Have there been any advancements in these parts' original design to prevent this from happening every 6 months or so?
-Typically, if the diagnosis is a torque converter does that automatically lend itself to a full transmission replacement?
-Lastly, is it really a trifecta consisting of torque converter, transmission, and code updates?
I am really just trying to get a feel for the situation I'm seemingly about to walk into and compare your answers with what my 6 month warranty actually covers.
Thanks for your advice in advance!
#380 of 967 Re: Replacement Quality [bekeatts]
by madmommy3
Sep 08, 2010 (9:39 am)
you are lucky you are still in some warranty. our xmission failed first but last week the car started a vibration/buzzing sound sort of intermittedly. it seems from reading that torque, transmission, etc. are all common problems (one or the other and then the other so to speak) along with metal in the radiator. I would print out all that you can on the subject and try and negotiate a return if that is even possible. you are potentially headed for disaster. We finally took ours in and traded it on a new Pilot and got fair trade b/c it was running. I am sorry that they will turn around and sell it to someone who will think they are gettting a beatiful car for a fair deal. If you get anything fixed, try and get a 3 year warranty on the fix so at least you will have a chance to drive the car for 3 years...but be prepared for a transmission outage if you are like many of us. good luck!