Transmission problems

Maintenance/Repairs
1

Since the transmission of my Acura TL was replaced by a nationwide transmission specialist, I have been having problems. Unfortunately, the specialist claims not to be able to reproduce the problem and is not willing to take the transmission apart to fix it without knowing what the cause could be. I am looking for suggestions.

The problem appears in two different forms, which I think are related in some way:

  1. When the engine is cold and I have driven a very short distance (often less than 100 yards), the transmission sometimes does not shift out of idle. E.g. I brake for a speed bump and when I give gas again, the engine revs in idle. This happens intermittently and only once per trip.

  2. When the engine is hot, e.g. after having driven for an hour and I am in stop-and-go traffic, the engine starts revving up, even when I have my foot on the brake and don’t give gas. Yesterday, I shifted the transmission to Park and the engine was still going at 2000 rpm. I started having this problem when the weather got hot, but that could be a coincidence.

What could cause this behavior?

2

I must attempt to read between the lines and guess that “revs in idle” means that the engine speed increases but the car does not accelerate. Idle is not a gear. That would indicate that a clutch was slipping and under the conditions you mentioned it would seem to be occurring at a downshift while decelerating and if that condition is minor it may not be of any consequence.

The 2,000 rpm flare in the idle speed in park is unlikely to be caused by the transmission.

I will be watching for the transmission Guru’s reply. He trumps me on this issue.

3

What year is your TL?

Who was the “nationwide transmission specialist” who replaced it, and what sort of warranty did you get?

4

“a nationwide transmission specialist”

Avoid the chains like AAMCO (All Automatics Must Come Out).

Find a good independent shop: