| ccarlson@ghs.or |
I won't bore anyone going into detail with the transmission problems with my 2001 MDX because they are idenitcal to all of the others. I have the chatter at low speed and jumping out of 5th gear every once in a while, etc... My MDX has 88,000 miles on it. The problems started around 75,000 miles and is slowly getting worse.
My question is how to pursue this with the dealership so I will not have to pay the entire cost to have it replaced. Does anyone know if I will have a problem getting it covered with the high milage on it? I do not have any extended warrentees on the car, however all of the recalls were completed as soon as they came out.
Any help or suggestions would be great! Thanks! |
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| Markedoc |
| Educate yourself by reading the threads on transmission failure here, gather your service records (hopefully you have done the services as required) and go to the dealer. Tell them that you believe your car has the well-known transmission problem, that it has been acting this way for quite some time, and that you are aware that Acura has typically been covering the cost. If you have done business with them previously, remind them that you are a loyal customer. |
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| dj-mdx2 |
| It's like persuading your date to have s*x: be polite, intelligent, have a sense of humor, but be firm, and you will get your way. :D |
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| ROTORRAY |
| ..that Honda/Acura has been quite arbitrary in the settlement of any claims. Some get all labor, some get all parts, some get both and some get NOTHING! If you had the recall done they might argue that that solved the problem so it's YOURS (bring your checkbook). If you haven't had the recall done they will most likely pay 100% (there's something to learn here, folks). I went thru this recently with my son (who's 34 years old) and his '03 Accord EX-L. They paid 20%. He was original owner, had maintenance records, 104k highway miles, car looks NEW. Didn't matter. When I called to question their arbitrary settlements I was told they look at "loyalty" to Honda (we have SEVEN of them in the family and my son races Honda dirt bikes, of which there are SIX in the family, so I guess loyalty doesnt matter). They also told me about the recall issue and doing it vs not doing it so I didn't make that up. It's a crap shoot on what you get, if anything, so PLEASE keep us posted because there are a lot of us on this site who have a need to know. Thanx. |
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| Markedoc |
| I agree, Rotorray - the arbitrary nature of the resolution process and the fact that Acura will not step up to the plate and extend the warranty in this situation has really soured me on the brand. Yes, they covered mine 100% but my gosh, total tranny failure at 56k miles? it's the first transmission problem I have had in 12 cars I have owned. |
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| ROTORRAY |
| ..a DESIGN flaw. I'm sure it's your mileage that gave you the 100%, but you got a rebuilt 2002 unit with "updates", whatever they may be. This won't guarantee that you are out of the "trouble zone." Some owners with early mileage failures have had 2 and 3 subsequent trannies installed. Cross you fingers, get the fluid changed regularly (I do a 3 quart change every-other oil change on my '03), and hope for the best. You can do a search on this site, and other Honda-related sites, and gain a wealth of knowledge on these abyssmal trannys and Honda/Acura's "consideration" toward their customers who expect more than 56K miles out of a tranny in a $40K vehicle! |
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| Markedoc |
Ray -
I have read all the threads and agree with what you say. I have a friend who has a 2001 and got "replacement" tranny #1 at 50k and tranny #2 at 110k.
I have 72k on my car now - 16k on the replacement transmission. Tranny could go again tomorrow, but with what the car is worth on a trade in, I'll take my chances for another year or so. I really don't want a car payment right now. |
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| ROTORRAY |
My son's tranny cost him $2500 out of pocket, with Honda putting in the additional 20%. In making the decision we thought about a replacement car, etc, but what can you really get for $2500? His car was like new (other than the tranny) so we went ahead and replaced it. Hopefully it will go another 104K, but I'm not a gambler. Fingers are crossed.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours!! |
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| acurasandiego |
| I brought in my 03 b/c I too was having problems with the transmission and I was also doing my 100,000 miles maint service (had 98, 100 miles). I was told b/c I did all my services with Acura, they would replace the transmission but there would be no warranty, however, if I paid for the cost of labor ($700), I would have a 3year/36,000 mile warranty. I choose the latter figuring I would have the car for a couple more year s. |
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| ncelk |
| The trend continues to be that Honda/Acura want to see that the vehicle was serviced at the dealer before they contribute to the out of warranty repairs. Not always, but I have seen this trend quite a bit over the last several years. However, the transmission fluid change is so easy, I can't see paying the dealer labor to do it. Plus from what others have seen with the condition of the fluid, I would prefer to drain and refill the transmission at least 2X when changing it, and dealers certainly do not do that. |
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| Markedoc |
I didn't get the 30k service done at Acura - had a Honda dealer do the fluid changes. I thought for sure they would want to see the service records at Acura, but it never came up.
Now I just have the fluids changed at Acura (for disposal purposes). I do the filter changes myself.
As far as the extended warranty for $700, that's an interesting offer. I THINK I got a 12 month warranty with mine, but nothing in writing. I am past the 12 months anyways. Tough call, but I might keep the $700 and hope the replacement lasts 36 months. |
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| ROTORRAY |
...the 3/36K mile warranty but we also had to pay $2500 for the tranny. No other offer ever came up. Everyone seems to be getting something different which is why I say Honda/Acura is quite arbitrary in their settlements. You really don't know what you're going to get. My Acura dealer destroyed my '03's engine on a warranty water replacement job at 36K miles (I've talked about that before on this site) so I'm not too interested in going back there for ANYTHING!
Take care, everyone, and Merry Christmas to all!! |
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| dj-mdx2 |
quote:
Originally posted by ncelk
Plus from what others have seen with the condition of the fluid, I would prefer to drain and refill the transmission at least 2X when changing it, and dealers certainly do not do that.
You can ask the dealer to do a 3x drain and fill, which I've done at my local dealer, and I've also had the ATF changed more often than the suggested times, just so that if the tranny ever fails, that will show up on their records. |
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| ccarlson@ghs.or |
| I just wanted to follow up and keep everyone informed of my experience and progress. I took my car to the Acura dealership on Thursday. I test drove the car with the Assistant Manager. The car was very hesitant to act-up, but it finially made the rumbling sound on the way back. The assistant manager heard the sound. He said that he had never heard that sound before out of a transmission. He had me schedule an appointment for this Tuesday to bring the car back in and leave it with them. I will let you know what they found after that appointment. |
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| ccarlson@ghs.or |
| The Acura Dealer said that the torque converter is going bad. They offered to take 10% off of the $2500 bill. However, I told them that I was in contact with Acura, so they changed it to have Acura pay for 1/2 of the parts. That lowered the bill $750. |
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| Markedoc |
| so the old tranny was fine? My rumble strip noise = new transmission |
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| ccarlson@ghs.or |
| They said the transmission is okay, but the torque converter is going bad. My fear would be to fix one and have the other one break! |
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