NHTSA Complaint #10554277 — 2003 ACURA TL

DEAR SAFERCAR.GOV, I HAVE A 2003 ACURA 3.2 TL NAVI. IT HAS APPROXIMATELY 132,800 MILES ON IT AS OF 30 NOVEMBER 2013 (CAR IS IN SHOP, SO I CAN'T VERIFY EXACT MILEAGE). ON SATURDAY, 30 NOV 2013, I TOOK IT IN TO ACURA, BECAUSE THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT IS ON. I ALSO ASKED THAT THE TRANSMISSION BE CHECKED, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ENGAGING CORRECTLY. THIS MODEL AS WELL AS OTHER ACURA MODEL VEHICLES, ETC, HAD A PREVIOUS RECALL ON THE TRANSMISSION (2004). I ALSO PREVIOUSLY HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED (26 AUG 2004) TO ACURA BECAUSE THE TRANSMISSION FAILED WHILE DRIVING AND THE CAR BROKE DOWN. THE CAR HAS BEEN WELL-MAINTAINED - BODY AND MECHANICALLY, I HAD THE 120K SERVICE PERFORMED ON 22 OCTOBER 2012, WHERE MILEAGE WAS 125,226. ON 11 MARCH 2011, I HAD THE TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSH SERVICE PERFORMED. THE SERVICE RECORD STATES "FLUSH ENTIRE UNIT OF ALL OLD AND SUSPENDED DEBRIS USING A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE CLEANER TO DISSOLVE THE VARNISH AND GUMS IN THE TRANSMISSION & TORQUE CONVERTER. INSTALL NEW TRANSMISSION FLUID TO FACTORY SPECIFICATION. TODAY (01 DEC 2013), I WAS TOLD THAT THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION AND SOME ASSOCIATED PARTS NEED TO BE REPLACED AND WILL COST ME BETWEEN $4000 TO $5000 (ESTIMATED NOW, BUT COULD GO UP). IT'S DIFFICULT FOR ME TO FATHOM THAT THIS TRANSMISSION WAS VERIFIED TO MANUFACTURER SPECS IN 2011 AND NOW A COMPLETE FAILURE AT 132800. I BELIEVE THIS TRANSMISSION FAILURE IS THE RESULT OF THE PREVIOUS PROBLEMS, AS STATED IN THE RECALL. THE RECALL I'M CITING IS FROM NHTSA IN APRIL 2004. THE NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER IS: 04V176000; RECALL DATE: 13 APRIL 2004; COMPONENT: POWER TRAIN: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION; POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED: 1,099,796. AS A RESULT OF THE HISTORY OF PROBLEMS WITH THIS TRANSMISSION, AND THE RECALL, I'M REQUESTING ASSISTANCE IN HAVING THIS TRANSMISSION REPLACED BY ACURA AT NO COST TO ME. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR