Transmission may be near end of its warranty

Q We are the original owners of a 2001 Acura 3.2 CL with 65,000 miles. The problem: It's on its fourth transmission. Acura has been great and replaced them without a hassle.

Got any idea of what the problem is and whether it has been fixed? We normally keep our cars for 100,000 miles or so, but we're wondering if that's a reasonable target for this car given its history.

A My Alldata database pulled up recall 02-027 that extends the warranty on the transmission in your vehicle to 93 months or 107,000 miles, whichever comes first. Ninety-three months is 7 years 9 months, so your extended warranty either has expired or soon will.

The problem appears to be a lubrication issue with second gear, and when a vehicle with more than 15,000 miles on the odometer suffers this failure, a remanufactured and updated transmission is installed along with a new PCM (powertrain control module).

I'm not sure why you're continuing to experience transmission problems, but the key question for the dealer is how long the transmission is covered by the extended warranty. If the warranty expires, it might be time to trade in the vehicle in for something new.

Q I have a 2006 Corvette purchased new. When we picked it up, the battery was dead. The dealer charged the battery and away we happily went. Unfortunately, the battery keeps going dead. Since the purchase, the dealer has installed two new batteries and reprogrammed the onboard computer. The explanation is that there are so many electronics on the car, the battery will go down if it is not driven regularly.

I mark it down on my calendar to start it every three weeks, and the battery still goes dead. Is something wrong, or do I have to start it up more often?

The solution is to use the GM service computer to reprogram the remote control door lock receiver. If the car is still covered by warranty, this would be a warranty repair.

Motoring note Have you checked out the nearly 1,000 new vehicles at the 2009 Greater St. Paul and Minneapolis International Auto Show? My friend Bill Abraham, president of the Greater Metropolitan Automobile Dealers Association, continues to enlarge the show year after year.

From its humble beginnings in the early '70s, our auto show is now the seventh-largest new-car show in the country. And that means carmakers bring their A game to the Minneapolis Convention Center. Prototypes, new technology and all the new models offered by 37 automakers from around the world are on display. The show runs through Sunday, and discount tickets are available at new-car dealerships.