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Honda was hit with a class action lawsuit by an Oregon man in a California federal court alleging that 2015 Acura TLX i4 cars are made with defect transmissions, which the automaker hid from its customers.
Plaintiff Roger Kornfein claims in his Acura class action lawsuit filed against the American Honda Motor Company, Inc. that the alleged “defective transmissions cause Class Vehicles to hesitate while shifting gears, shift roughly and noisily, and leaves drivers unable to reliably control their vehicles’ speed.
“In some instances, the defect causes Class Vehicles’ transmissions to act as if they had shifted into neutral, leaving drivers unable to accelerate at all (even when the vehicle is in operation),” Kornfein’s Acura class action lawsuit states.
In addition, the class action lawsuit alleges that “Honda knows about the transmission defect, and is aware that consumers are experiencing shifting and hesitation problems.
“Nevertheless, Honda has not disclosed the defect to current owners and lessees of Class Vehicles, and instead continues to sell vehicles with defective transmissions and promote the transmissions as reliable and smooth-shifting,” Kornfein claim in his Acura defective transmission class action lawsuit.
Kornfein claims that he purchased a brand new 2015 Acura TLX 4i from an Acura dealership in Portland, Oregon in September 2014.
“About two weeks after his purchase, Mr. Kornfein was making a turn through an intersection when the vehicle’s transmission acted as if it had been shifted into neutral: the engine revved but no power was delivered to the wheels and the TLX was unable to accelerate through the turn,” the Acura class action lawsuit states. “Had there been oncoming traffic, this could have easily led to a collision.”
Kornfein claims that since that incident, his Acura TLX continues to have “shifting and hesitation problems on a daily basis,” in which he says that it typically takes one to two seconds for the transmission in his vehicle to fit between gears and if he tried to put more gas on the accelerator, it merely causes the engine to rev up like it would if it were in neutral.
“When decelerating below 20 miles per hour, the transmission intermittently downshifts very suddenly,” he explains in his Acura defective transmission class action lawsuit. “The vehicle also often seems to ride in an inappropriately high gear for its speed.
“When accelerating at low speeds or from a stop, the vehicle often takes one or two seconds to shift into gear, and there is a ‘grab’ that causes the vehicle to feel as though it is jerking forward,” the Oregon man claims.
“When shifting between Park, Drive, and Reverse, it always takes two to three seconds for the transmission to shift after the stick has been moved,” the class action lawsuit states. But “most alarmingly, Mr. Kornfein’s vehicle continues to experience the issue where his vehicle’s transmission acts as if it had slipped into neutral, which occurs at least once a week.”
Kornfein says that he contacted Acura about the problem and was told to take the TLX to his local dealership. However, the technicians were unable to “replicate the issue where the vehicle acted as if it had slipped into neutral.
“Although the technicians could replicate the vehicle’s other issues, they were unable to pull any error codes and declined to perform further diagnostic or repair,” the Acura TLX class action lawsuit claims.
When the Oregon man made more visits to the dealership, he says that the staff there did say that others had complained of the same transmission problems with the TLX “and that there does appear to be a problem with the transmission (as measured by customer feedback).”
However, “Kornfein has followed up with Acura Client Relations, but Honda’s corporate representatives refuse to admit that there is a problem and say that there is no further information available on the matter,” he adds in the Acura class action lawsuit.
Kornfein sent a “pre-litigation notice to Honda,” which was received by the automaker on Jan. 22, 2015. The Oregon man had “asked that Honda notify all current and former owners and lessees of Class Vehicles about the defect and pledge to repair the defect at no cost to TLX drivers.
Honda responded with a letter on Feb. 11, 2015, stating “that the dealership had identified and addressed Mr. Kornfein’s complaints and that there were no reported outstanding issues at this time.”
However, Kornfein says that he still faces driving difficulties and potential safety hazards due to the alleged transmission defect.
Honda’s U.S. headquarters are located in Torrance, California.
The Oregon man is looking to represent a nationwide class and an Oregon class anyone who has purchased or leased a 2015 Acura TLC i4.
Kornfein alleges in his Acura class action lawsuit that Honda has violated the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, Oregon’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, and breaches of express and implied warranty.
The plaintiff is represented by Eric H. Gibbs, Dylan Hughes, and Steve Lopez of the Gibbs Law Group LLP.
Attorney information for Honda is not yet available.
The Acura Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit is Roger Kornfein v. American Honda Motor Company, Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-01295, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
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40 thoughts onHonda Faces Class Action Over Acura TLX Transmission Defect
I have a 2016 TLX V6 FWD. The shifting is horrible, VCM caused the car to vibrate, and experience shuddering/hesitation on acceleration. I brought it to three dealerships and had a New England technician look at it, and they all say the same thing….. car is operating as designed. I had a 2010 TSX and loved it. So I went with the TLX. I think all Acura reaps are trained to tell customers the car is operating as designed because Acura does not want to take ownership of the problem. I should have went with another car brand.
Own a 2015 Talx, had identical issues since I purchased it. Every claim above is exactly what I’ve experienced, including the responses from my dealership. I’ve had it in no less than five times to be worked on.
I have a 2017 ilx that is the worse driving car I ever had. Having had many Acuras I’m so suprised and disappointed . When I come to a full stop the transmission bangs so hard I’ve looked back thinking I’ve been reared ended. Scares the life out of me. Random down shifting and not going into gear . Engine reviving. Now the radio randomly goes out. With only 2,500 ml on it I don’t even want to drive it.
Been to dealer 5 x to have them tell me nothing is wrong.
Ms. Kim,
I have the 2016 TLX, And my car does the same. I hate this damn car.
Obviously no one at the dealerships own an Acura TLX otherwise they would be familiar with these problems. I purchased a 2016 acura TLX 4 cylinder brand new a couple months ago. Was never told by the dealer that there is a class action suit regarding this vehicle. I experience all the same problems described by the plaintiff. I previously owned a 2005 tsx manual transmission and drove it 240,000 miles. Never had a transmission problem. Smooth as can be. Now with all the jerking and lurching forward at stops, I don’t feel that this car is safe to drive my two kids in. I decided to check tonight if anyone else is having problems and very surprised and concerned to see so many others having the problem. And it appears to have been a problem for about 2 years now. How do I join this class action lawsuit? Is it too late?
Unfortunately, this particular case has been voluntarily dismissed. We offer a submission form on our website for you to fill out if you are seeking class action legal help. Attorneys will then review your submission to determine if you have a case. If they feel you qualify, they will contact you directly. You can submit your information here: https://topclassactions.com/start-a-class-action/.
I bought a pre owned 2015 TLX 4cyl and have taken it back to dealer three times for same complaints and they keep saying or they are told to say they can’t find anything wrong when obviously there is. Too many people are experiencing the same thing for them to ignore the problem and keep selling LEMONS!
I have experienced all of the above and would be interested in contributing to the class-action lawsuit in order to have it include the 2015 V6 FWD. I purchased a 2015 TLX V6 FWD in November and have driven it less than 7K miles. I experience the rough/jerky gear changes in 1-3 range. When downshifting on the paddle shifters, car feels like it speeds up quickly for 3 seconds before lower gear kicks in and starts to slow the car. This doesn’t happen with my wife’s MDX and hasn’t happened with any other car I’ve ever driven. Sorely disappointed in this car, but trading it in will cost $$ due to the depreciation hit. I’ve also had the engine not respond after I came to a near stop to turn a corner–similar to plaintiff, I was lucky there was no oncoming traffic or it would have been a close call. Have also occasionally felt like I got hit in the back from another car rolling to a stop. Wish I had leased this car so I could get rid of it in 3 years. Hope the lawsuit forces Acura/Honda to make this right.
Add me to the list of unsatusfied 2014 v6 tlx texh pckg. Had software update and not any better. Call into dealer again to see whats next…i feel like i need to sell before its widespread knowledge of these issues and it become valueless
So you would simply pass it along to an unaware buyer and fix you immediate problem, right? What you said is a clear example of the same practices by the dealers. Put on a poker face and pretend there’s no problem.
Seriously… You’re questioning this person’s integrity for trying not to take an additional loss? Acura and its dealership network are all up on this scam.
2015 TLX SH-AWD with transmission issues as well as the the shaking above 60mph problem. I brought up the TSBs related to the shaking and the service manager laughs and says, “well, you said you see all of these complaints on the owners’ forum…it’s just a characteristic of the car. It’s not a safety issue so it’s not going to be covered.”
Taking the dealer’s and manufacturer’s side in this matter seems awfully rich…almost like you are Acura affiliated.
I have a 2016 Ilx with the same issues. Acura has changed the transmission however the issue still persists . Acura told me that this is the normal characteristic of this automobile. Hopefully a class action lawsuit can be started on this modelection.
2015 TLX. I am having major issues with my transmission as well. 4 times in 4 months the car starts cycling through 6 system failure warnings. Two of these times have been in the last two weeks. It seems to downshift into a gear that will not accelerate and I barely make it to a safe location. We have had 6 Honda products and always been very pleased with the product. I am very afraid to drive this car. It is at the dealership right now and they cannot duplicate the problem and are at a loss as to how to repair this dangerous problem.
I too am having transmission problems. My car downshifts as if it is going to stall out. Last time I was in a construction area. The car lurched forward and hit a concrete barrier. $800.00 in repairs. Acura says it cant find anything wrong with the car.
I have been thoroughly disappointed in my 2015 TLX 4 cylinder. I have had more problems with the downshifting. Sometimes when traveling at slow speeds, it will downshift and leave you with a feeling that you were rear ended. The issues are very intermittent and unfortunately the dealer has never been successful in replicating or fixing the issue. Sadly, this will likely be my last Acura. I will take my 2012 TSX over this car any day!