Last month, I purchased a 2003 Acura 3.2TL from my local Acura dealership. It only has 60k miles on it and is in immaculate condition. The car was traded in by a co-worker/friend who purchased the car new from the same dealership. The car was only serviced at this dealership and I have a complete record of everything that has been done to it. Additionally, the dealer went through the car before putting it on the lot for sale and I have a complete service record for that as well. In talking to my friend, the only thing he hadn’t done was to change the transmission fluid which he had planned to do. When I bought the car, I had the transmission flushed at the dealer’s recommendation, rather than simply doing a fluid change.
My concern is this. After they flushed the transmission, I’ve noticed a whine that happens when you start to accelerate. The whine increases in pitch, then drops when the transmission shifts…then increases in pitch again and drops at the shift. This happens with each shift. I can’t tell if the whine is present after the final shift. I returned to the dealership with my concern and they drained the fluid and checked for metal and contaminants, but found nothing. I do know that some Acura auto transmissions from 1999 to 2003 had a recall, but my VIN # was not included in that recall.
Should I be concerned and if so what should I do additionally at this point? I should tell you that I drive only about 7.5k miles per year, mostly at speeds under 50mph, with a couple of 60 mile jaunts per month @65 to 70mph. Thanks for any input.
Did you get any responses? I have same whine with my 2001 Toyota 4Runner since I had the transmission flushed a couple of weeks ago.
Other than what you’ve read here, no. I still have the “whine” and it hasn’t changed or gotten any worse. The tranny works flawlessly. I now have 66K on the car. I have checked with other sources as well and no one has been able to come up with an answer. Let me know if you find any solution. Thanks
Sounds like I have the same issue:
http://community.cartalk.com/posts/list/2132509.page
This started happening recently at 70k miles. Haven’t had the transmission flushed but I have changed the fluid 3 quarts at a time 3 different times as recommended.
Just turned over 66,666 miles and no change in the whine or operation of the tranny. I did find out that my car was one of the cars recalled for the tranny problem, but that it was repaired with the modification by Acura at the dealership back in '05.
Update. At 70k miles, the whine started to be more noticeable, so I contacted my Acura dealer Service Manager. He drove the car with me and heard the whine. He gave me a new Acura loaner and kept my car for evaluation. He called about 4 hours later and told me that they were going to put in a new transmission…at no charge to me. According to him, it was a balance shaft problem. He said Acura and the dealership were going to absorb the entire cost. This was on a Thursday. He said the transmission would arrive on Friday and I should have my car back by Tuesday or Weds of the following week. I picked up my car on Weds and they not only replaced the tranny but had washed it and cleaned the interior as well. The car runs beautifully and no whine. Very satisfied.