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Acura CL Transmission Problems

140 messages,  Last post on Mar 16, 2013 at 9:14 AM

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What is this discussion about? Acura CL, Coupe

Messages Page 11 of 14

#101 of 140 Re: Acura's handling of the transmission issue [dmarcelino] by roger83

Sep 01, 2010 (8:58 am)

Replying to: dmarcelino (Feb 01, 2010 8:15 pm)
Hi - I own a 2001 CL and just replaced the transmission for $3,500+. Purchased new, the warranty shows 114,000 miles or 7 years. The dealer would not honor the warranty even though I have just 60,000 miles to date on the car because of the car's age. Did you have a warranty issue? Do you know if there is a way to get Acura to respond to honoring the mileage part of the warranty? Thanks, Roger

#102 of 140 Re: Hard change from 1st to 2nd gear [averyd1 [averyd1] by luckytom

Sep 19, 2010 (9:45 pm)

Replying to: averyd1 (Feb 28, 2010 12:59 pm)
I own 2001 cl(110K) and transmission went bad this week...limped in..and they did "their analysis" for $138...they called to inform me that I need new transmission....and the total cost at approx $8900!!!!!!!.........we talked and they quickly agreed to go to bat for me with Manu. to try to get them to reduce the costs/share the pain 50-60%...hummn 40-50% of $8900 sound like a good deal to anyone??

#103 of 140 Late 03 TL transmission failure by acurapains

Oct 11, 2010 (5:51 pm)

How do they do it? Just made the last payment for my (2nd owner) 2003 TL-S September 1, and October 8 my transmission goes bonkers. I had read in horror about these problems but since my VIN wasn't included in the recall thought I'd dodged the bullet. Then Friday evening, as I headed out of town on a holiday weekend - wham! Downshifts from 5th to 1st gear at highway speed. Keeping my foot on the brake seems to help. After a few more miles it would no longer shift above 2nd gear. I found a tow truck before the !#$ thing completely seized.
Also ironic that in August I spent $500 for "maint." mainly fluid replacement using expensive Honda trans. fluid. (according to the service techs) Also of interest, I had the front rotors replaced Sept. 7 - the day before. Leaving town the next day the first hint of a problem was the service lights came on: the ! alert, VMS light and the engine diagram. I have to wonder if the problem could be related, somehow....
The dealer just called to tell it needs new transmission, and is not covered.
I used to really love this car, and let people know. Now the thought of all my kudos makes me want to puke. A ticking time bomb that wipes out any value you might have (thought you) had in your Acura. This mfr has managed to retain a "high quality" image in spite of the devastating plague - they deserve a class action.

#104 of 140 01 CL-S by cheamang

Oct 24, 2010 (7:03 pm)

I have a 01 CL tpye S and it has about 190,000 kms. At about 160,000 kms the tranmission started to act up by getting kicks while i was in D5. So i took it to a transmission shop and they said that the gears were slipping and chattering. Also steel chipps that were grinding when it was slipping was shooting into the transmission fluid. I havent fix it yet but the ppl at the transmission shop said that they will re-build my my transmission for $2500.00. When i first bought this car i didnt know that this problem would happen but a few months after i bought this car, i heard so some infor about the 01-03 CL's and the TL's will have tranny problems. So what i heard about it all came true

#105 of 140 Re: Acura's handling of the transmission issue [roger83] by yuma1

Nov 18, 2010 (10:05 am)

Replying to: roger83 (Sep 01, 2010 8:58 am)
Roger, Acura warranty is 109,000 or 7 years whichever comes first. After the class action lawsuit Acura bumped the warranty 9,000 miles to 109,000. Unfortunate but you have exceeded the length [years] so no warranty.

#106 of 140 Re: Hard change from 1st to 2nd gear [madchen20] by bobcov2

Nov 20, 2010 (1:21 am)

Replying to: madchen20 (Feb 28, 2010 12:48 pm)
Trying to work out a pattern here. What month and year was your 1999 3.0CL manufacturered? That information is on the driver's side door pillar.
Mine, which I bought 4 days ago, was made May 1999. A recall I found for transmissions applied from July 1999 to August 2000. The claim I heard is that there was a significant change made in July, including moving to a five speed transmission. I was told not to worry about my 1999 because it has a four speed. But I am worried. It has 60,000 miles on it and I'm planning to install a transmission fluid cooling radiator on it as soon as possible.
Does anybody know what exactly causes the failures? Is it heat?

#107 of 140 Re: Acura CL 3.0 - TRANSMISSION DISASTER! [stevebri] by mr1999cl30

Dec 18, 2010 (10:32 am)

Replying to: stevebri (Jan 16, 2007 11:07 pm)
OK, for all those who have the 1998-1999 3.0 Acura CL..(and basically anyone with a high performance FWD automatic..). Here are a few tips to preserve what you drive and/or put off a repair until a later date.
 
1) Only use the Acura trans fluid. Do not use Dextron not even as a temp replacement.
2) If you have not changed the trans fluid then do so. Afterwards you should do a drain and refill of the trans at every engine oil change (6 months).
 
*NOTE* The drain and refill mentioned above only amounts to 3 qts. It is easy to do. The idea is to keep a constant supply, over time, of fresh fluid coming into the transmission. The system holds more fluid than 3 qts but only 3 come out when you pull the plug. DO NOT have it power flushed. This transmission does not have much of a filter and said filter is not serviceable without the complete tear down of the transmission. A power flush will likely move particles through the system in a way that will cause plugging and blockage! To change the majority of the fluid, Acura suggests drain 3 and add 3 - three times. ie: drain then add then drive five minutes. Then do that again and again to a total of 9 qts. Then continue nd draining the earlier mentioned three qts at each engine oil change. If you are trying to nurse along a damaged transmission then you may need to do the 3x3 two or the full three times based on how it drives. The damaged transmission really cooks the fluid and shortens its life. In this scenario a synthetic such as redline or amsoil may help handle the heat. Shifts will not be as smooth using the sythetics on a "good' transmission. At some point getting it repaired will be cheaper than all that fluid.
 
3) If you are an aggressive driver then put an oil cooler on the transmission and or stay in D3 while driving that way. Cuts down on the heat generated by 3 to 4 shifting at high HP. Actually the Oil cooler is recommended for regular drivers too...cheap insurance.
 
A smooth shifting transmission computer with high horsepower engine, small transmission and especially an aggressive driver (but not always) creates a lot of heat. Heat breaks down the fluid. Bad fluid causes damage to transmission and creates even more heat.
 
I hope this helps someone. I really like my CL and properly cared for it can provide many miles of service.
 
Be sure to recycle used fluids and oils

#108 of 140 1999 Acura CL automatic transmission problem by devmarc210

Jan 18, 2011 (9:36 pm)

I was having hard shifting between gears, and there was a strange sound while idling. The Acura dealer said it was probably the transmission. I spent $3,600 at Aamco in April 2010 for a new transmission,and when I got the car back, the hard shifting was still exactly the same. Aamco checked out the car and said it was fine. For 6 months, it got worse and worse, with additional problems of a weird burp forward after I would put on my brakes, and speeding up while coasting on a flat surface. Since I had a 2-year warranty at Aamco, I took it back and said there was definitely still something wrong. They diagnosed it as bad front and rear transmission mounts and said it would cost me $1500, and that this wasn't part of the 2-year warranty because mounts were separate from the transmission. My car is currently getting fixed, but this all seems very suspect to me. Comments?

#109 of 140 Re: Acura in early 2000 by margiedavis

Jan 24, 2011 (8:21 pm)

The automatics in the early 2000's Acura TL/Honda Accord/Odyssey are really junk yet people recommend them away on this board as a good reliable cars. You may find an independent repair shop who can do it much cheaper. When you call they should have an answer for cost, it is a very common repair.
 
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more Acura repair questions

#110 of 140 Report Acura 2.3 CL Trans problem to Acura by scraw33

Feb 21, 2011 (1:04 pm)

There are several models in 1997 to 2001 and possibly others that are having unusual transmission problems with low mileage and regular upkeep. My Acura is a 1999 CL 2.3 136k, I'm the original owner and have had regular maintenance done. The car was babied for it's entire life, looks new inside and out, yet has a transmission that surges at start and stop. While researching the issue it appears Honda dropped the ball on the owners that purchased these vehicles knowing they had problems with these transmissions. The advice I've been given is call Honda Corp at 1-800-382-2384 and report the problem. Make sure you have your VIN # available. The other is to take it to Acura Dealer and have the service tech right up consumer complaint regarding the issue. Possibly they will respond with some sort of solution so that our cars can live longer without paying more for a transmission than the value based on the poor reliability report on resale value.

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