Acura 2002 MDX with 189,000 miles, automatic. The engine light came on had it scanned P0740. Torque Converter Clutch Solenoid Circuit / Open. I have talk to the Acura dealership and they said that this P code the transmission is dead. They recommended buying a used transmission from eBay used-jdm-engine-inc in Florida. The transmission is used comes from Japan has 50 to 60,000 miles $1,095.00 free shipping 90 day warranty. I can have it shipped to the dealership and they have quoted me the install $1,627.40. The Kelley blue book value of this car private sale is only $4,000. The SUV is in excellent condition. I am the one owner has been garaged and all maintenance has been kept up on this car. I want to keep this car. Do you think this would be the right thing to do?
I would not go this route. You're talking about taking a gamble here. I would junk the car and move on to something else.
they said that (...) the transmission is dead
And other jokes they can tell themselves!
right thing to do
Drive it as is.
If you want, ask a TRANNY shop to look into the control issue - probably needs one single solenoid.
(part numbers in the discerption)
When it will go out, probably in many tens of thousands of miles, then consider what's next.
And that mileage is not worth it to put in a new transmission
A friend of mine had a Mazda CX-9 with 200,000 highway miles and the transmission went he put in a new one and the head gasket ended up blowing a few thousand miles later
Which model year CX-9?
2008
Agreed with @dan on this one, check out a few other things that may be the cause, the torque converter solenoid being one of them.
I would also check the transmission fluid, it could be low, or in poor shape.
There are many codes on a car that can result in the owner thinking the vehicle needs a big repair when it really doesn't.
My 1998 F-150 threw a code for something like intake runner manifold stuck in open position, making you think it would be over a thousand to fix it. Turns out it was the battery ate a hole in a vacuum line running behind it, took me 5 minutes to patch for about $3.
