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2015 Acura TLX / 8 DCT issues

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42K views 45 replies 23 participants last post by  gusflorent  
L
#1 ·
Hi,

I have a 2015 Acura TLX Tech with 8/DCT. I have 7000 miles and I've been noticing so odd behavior from the transmission.

1.) At times when coming to a complete stop, the transmission will jerk into 1st gear, this jerk rocks the whole car.
2.) When accelerating from say 2nd gear, I notice that the RPM's drop slightly as I am accelerating, as though the car loses power.
3.) When downshifting with paddle shifters, car will jerk me into the specified gear.

I took the car into the dealer and they stated that there weren't any TSB's available for my VIN, they also stated that Acura is looking to a fix into the transmission jerk. Has anybody else experienced these issues?

Thank You
 
#6 ·
I would suggest that there is still some troubleshooting to be done before the transmission is replaced.

Is there any way you could drive another TLX with the same configuration to see if your car is different from the others? If it is, have a tech drive it to see if he notices the same. That's a start at least.

Let us know how it goes.
 
M
#7 ·
My dealer also told me there were no updates l/recalls for my DCT. I told them that I had a TSB for the DCT break in procedure and that my car fell into the range of the TSB. They still told me that there were no updates/recalls for my car. It wasn't until I told them that it wasn't a recall, but a TSB for customers having the issues that they decided to perform the TSB.
 
L
#8 ·
I drove a loaner 2015 TLX with 7,700 miles from the dealer and it did not exhibit the same behavior as my car, it was as though the loaner car shifted quicker and didn't have that drop in RPM while accelerating from 2nd gear.

My car does not meet the VIN requirements for the TSB 15-021 nor 15-024. :(
 
L
#10 ·
So it looks like I can duplicate the problem of the car dropping the RPMs slightly while in Sport + (paddle shifters).

While taking off at a traffic light in 1st gear, I have no problems, the issues occurs when I shift into 2nd and accelerate slowly (around 1,800 - 2,500 RPM), the car drops RPM's slightly (slight loss of power).

Can anyone try this on their car, this does not seem normal at all.

I am going to take the car back to the dealer. I am unsure if this is a transmission or engine problem.
 
#11 ·
I have a 2015 w/ the 8 DCT -- I notice my car very occasionally does the jerk/lunge forward on the braking when downshifting to first gear and I think it's only in Sport Mode. The first two times I thought I got hit from behind. I'm in the same boat as you as far as no updates on my transmission (just had it serviced for B1). However, I don't think I have the drop in acceleration or the other jerkiness issues (if I do it's not very often). I would bet it's the transmission, not the engine, solely based on the fact that the transmission is the only real part of each model that has major issues.

I'm glad that they told you Acura is working on it -- I know there was a lawsuit early on over the 8 DCT; not sure if that's settled or what.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Sorry to hear it. Is this all the time or is it intermittent? If it's frequent, may be worth it to have a friend sit in the passenger seat and record while you are driving and the issues are present. That way you can have clearer evidence to present to Acura to help pinpoint the issues. EDIT (Duh): You could also have the service tech ride w/ you, but to me that is a guaranteed "car is working great" scenario, ha.
 
L
#14 ·
Yesterday experienced something pretty scary.

I was attempting to make a left turn from a side street to a main street. I saw cars coming from the right but I felt as though I had enough time to make the turn. As I tried to gun it, the car did not move at all, it was though it was in neutral, eventually the car came to but I almost got t-boned. This isn't correct that the car is exhibiting these behaviors. Anyone else experience this?

I'm taking the car back to the dealer tomorrow. I'm going to demand they keep this car till they can resolve these issues.
 
A
#21 ·
2016 i4 TLX purchased in March 2016 still does the same thing as OP. 2 & 3 sound like inherent behavior to DCTs with #2 being specifically related to the torque converter they threw in to smooth out shifts.

#1 is annoying to scary because it feels like I've been rear-ended at a low speed.

Also, I have also experienced the delay when accelerating. Sometimes, not often, it feels like it takes up to 2 seconds for the car to actually respond to me pushing it a little bit harder than normal, which can be bad if you are trying to accelerate quickly from a stop.

Overall, the transmission seems great for hard driving (0-60, very quick shifts, rev matching, etc) but it seriously lacks refinement for day-to-day cruising.
 
#22 ·
aggybong said:
2016 i4 TLX purchased in March 2016 still does the same thing as OP. 2 & 3 sound like inherent behavior to DCTs with #2 being specifically related to the torque converter they threw in to smooth out shifts.

#1 is annoying to scary because it feels like I've been rear-ended at a low speed.

Also, I have also experienced the delay when accelerating. Sometimes, not often, it feels like it takes up to 2 seconds for the car to actually respond to me pushing it a little bit harder than normal, which can be bad if you are trying to accelerate quickly from a stop.

Overall, the transmission seems great for hard driving (0-60, very quick shifts, rev matching, etc) but it seriously lacks refinement for day-to-day cruising.
Click to expand...

This is what I found when I had the i4 out. I'd be stopped at a light just waiting for the car to move.
 
#23 ·
Odd -- maybe a transmission relearn would help?

I have experienced these issues maybe 5-10 times in the 16,000 miles and 11 months I've had the car (I commute and drive it a lot). Most of the time, no problems.

The other day, just because, I put it in Sport+ mode while waiting to turn left at a light. When I got the green arrow, I just hit the gas and let it shift at redline (didn't manually click the upshift paddle). There were absolutely no issues accelerating.

Perhaps there is somewhat of a timing issue with the transmission when the accelerator is mashed in the automatic modes, but, in my experience, there is no power issue (unless you are like me and just want more power anyway).
 
#26 ·
I've experienced the coming to a stop jerk kinda in my old 2011 TSX, 2014 TL and the new TLX. It was actually more pronounced in the 2 older cars than the current but then again, the TLX is barely a month old. And so far I think my TLX slight jerks are bc I'm a bit soft footed on the brake pedal. Going to try to see if there's some sort of a pattern to when it does happen. It's not something I would go back to the dealer. It's soooo slight and it's not like I'm in danger of hitting the vehicle in front of me.
 
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R
#27 ·
^ i had 04 tsx, and 3 other acura/ 1 honda, never had a this kinda of lunge action (similar to being rear ended), i has happened 2 twice since a month of owning this car, always coming to a stop. and i can't think in any situation this is considered normal for a transmission to do.

, i will be taking it to the dealer, hopefully they would know, whats happening.
 
#28 ·
Slight update: As I was driving home yesterday, I realized that the '11 TSX jerk was actually more brake being suddenly applied and yourself being pushed forward bc the vehicle is slowing down faster than anticipated, not the other way around. So sorry about that.

I also tried to replicate the jerk in the new TLX and I could not so I'll have to wait to see if it ever happens again. It was very slight though and nothing alarming when it did happen.
 
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#30 ·
mines is having similar issue, i thought it was only me. and that my mind was playing tricks on me.
mines have a hard upshift from 2nd to 3rd, also has a jerky motion if coming to a red light and it change while braking then i put my foot on gas.
I always have it in either "Sport" or "Sport+".
imma take it the dealer friday see what they have to say about this..
 
J
#31 ·
I have the same issue of the transmission jerking in lower gears with my 2016 4 cylinder TLX purchased in August of 2016. When I googled it, I found many others who have reported the same issue. I took my car into the dealership and was told it was a known issue and there was nothing they could do about it. They said I needed to wait until Acura comes out with a software update fix to alleviate the problem. I noticed it immediately after purchase but did not get around to taking it in for servicing until the car had approx 3,500 miles on it. I now still have only 5,000 miles on it since I do not drive it very often, and am still waiting for them to contact me for a fix, but at this point from what I read here I don't think it will be coming anytime soon. I now only use the car in "economy" mode since trying sport and sport + it was much more notable. I have always owned Acuras and have never had any maintenance issues like this in the past and find it very disheartening that I just have to live with this issue with a brand new car. Had I known about this potential problem I never would have left the showroom with it. Any suggestions for how to address further?
 
N
#32 ·
Hi, Joe:

Bought my 2016 TLX 2.4 w/ Tech last September. My experience these past 12,200 miles has been very positive: no jerking, very smooth shifting. I drove manual transmissions from 1961 to 2000 and can say from my experience that the TLX 8-spd DCT is excellent. Most of my driving, however, is in warmer weather.
Suggestion #1 : I almost always drive with NORMAL as the IDS setting, not ECON. ECON is too lame for safe passing, too slow in urban traffic, in my opinion.
Suggestion #2 : From others on this forum, your dealer can help you with a "transmission re-learn" where the transmission adjusts itself to your particular driving habits. See page 1 of Service Bulletin 15-021, attached, where they can reset the dual clutches if they are not broken in properly, for example.

Hope these suggestions help.
 

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