Problems with 2001 Acura CL POWER TRAIN

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 acura 3.2 cl. while driving 70 mph, the vehicle shifted from fifth to second gear. the speed of the vehicle decreased to 40 mph. the dealer stated that the transmission was slipping and that there was an erratic upshift. the dealer referenced recall # 04v176000 (power train:automatic transmission), however, the vehicle exceeded the coverage for the recall repair by 9,000 miles. the contact notified the manufacturer who provided the same information as the dealer. the current and failure mileages were 118,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2001 acura 3.2cl. while driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle intermittently down-shifts. a technician stated that the failure occurs between the second and third gear. he also noticed that the transmission fluid was discolored; however, since the warranty expired they would not provide a free remedy. no repairs were made. the failure mileage was 98,090.

While in traffic and moving at approximately 1- to 20 mph, the wheel caved in and tilted sideways, damaging the left front fender. the car was undrivable and was towed to the nearest auto repair shop. paul's motors 845 471-4240. the ball joint and axle were replaced. the fender damage will be repaired at the body shop. the tire was also damaged and was replaced.*jb

Dt*: the contact stated the vehicle was taken to the service dealer for a transmission recall 04v176000 in december 2004. the service dealer greased the transmission and performed no other work to the transmission as described in the recall. one week ago, while accelerating the vehicle, the transmission would not switch gears. the service dealer stated the transmission needed to be replaced and the contact expressed as part of the recall, the transmission should be replaced. the dealer told the consumer gear 3 and 4 were inoperable not gear 2 as stated in the recall. updated 11/21/06. *jb

Complete transmission failure. the dealer will not repair the problem. *nm

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 30 mph on a dry highway, the transmission failed suddenly without warning. the contact coasted to the shoulder. the vehicle was towed to a dealership where they determined the transmission failed. there were not any problems with the vehicle prior to the incident. there was a prior recall, nhtsa campaign id # 04v176000, regarding power train: automatic transmission performed on the vehicle in 2004. the consumer stated the incident was reported to the police. updated 10/04/06. *jb

Transmission slipping 2-3 transmission replaced. *nm

I am the original owner of a 2001 acura 3.2 cl. i have had my transmission replaced 3 times since i have owned it. acura has admitted to making a faulty transmission and as extended their warranty to 100k on the transmission, however, my vehicle is now at 134k and they will not cover the latest replacement transmission up to 100k which i believe they should. they can give me no guarantees of the expected life of the newest transmission and will not cover any further replacements. this means that if it goes out again, i will be paying $4,000 for something that is their defect. i am extremely concerned that it will go out again while i own it and cause an accident or will leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere as i travel alot. i have not been able to find anyone to assist me with this issue. if you can provide me with any help, it would be greatly appreciated. thank you. *nm

Transmission failure. while driving on the i-95 interstate the automatic transmission, which was in 5th gear would downshift into a lower gear as soon as i remove my foot from the accelerator. the problem got worst, in that even with my foot going up a hill, the transmission downshifted into a very low gear which caused the rpm to reach 5,000 and the speed to rapidly decreased. i was able to get to the shoulder of the interstate and stop the vehicle. the acura dealer said that the transmission needed to be replaced. acura had extended the warranty for this transmission but my vehicle had over 100,000 miles, putting it outside the warranty period. they were able to partially cover the cost of the replacement by not charging for the parts but i would have to pay the labor. i read of similar problems occurring as part of odi action # pe02-081. *nm

Dt: consumer has a 2001 honda acura 3.2 cl the recall was for an inspection of transmission 2nd gear. the more miles heat build up may cause gear tooth chipping and may cause gear failure and cause the transmission to lockup. the dealer replaced the transmission in the vehicle with a remanufactured transmission and 40000 miles later the transmission locked up. the consumer says this is the same problem he experienced before. consumer says that he had a hard time with the manufacturer and he feels that they failed to remedy the defect in the vehicle with out charge, because he will have to pay for labor and a loaner vehicle to have his vehicle repaired. *jb

I purchased a 2001 acura cl in june of 2003. within the last 18 months, i have replaced the transmission 4 times. there is currently a recall of this vehicle for transmission issues, and as a result, the transmission has been replaced at no cost to me. however, i am tired of taking the care in every 7500 miles for both service and a new transmission. it is obvious that there is a serious problem, and instead of continuously getting the car fixed, i would like to just get rid of it altogether and save myself the headache. i have contacted acura directly, and i hope to get this issue resolved asap.

Acura 3.2 cl type s has had 4 total failures all related to transmitions problems. the failures occured while driving in the insterstate highway at 65mph. dealearship has replaced four transmitions causing time loss at work and placing my self in a hazardous situations while the failures occured leaving standed in unsecure areas and far away from any kind of help or assistance even in areas with cell phone coverage. the date of the incident registered below is the last one.

Nhtsa campaign id number : 04v176000 - recalled the transmission on my 2001 acura cl-s vehicle. at the time, it already had it's 3rd transmission. this was in august of 2004. now in may of 2005, my transmission has failed again and has been replaced again. (i now have my fourth transmission.) this is to advise you that acura/honda's repair prodcedure as indicated in their recall (nhtsa campaign id number : 04v176000) is flawed and has not resolved the safety issue.

My vehicle has been regularly serviced and maintained as suggested by acura. however, i am currently experiencing great difficulty with my 2001 acura cl type s because the transmission system is malfunctioning. the transmission will abruptly shift into higher gears while the vehicle is traveling at low speeds. the car has lost power when ascending steep hills and presents great danger to other vehicles because of the need to pull-over or stop. although acura warranty covers this problem and applies to vehicles in the us virgin islands, they have not expeditiously dealt with the problem. already, after one month, acura has not sent the necessary parts to the dealer or made accomodations so that i would not be driving an unsafe vehicle. after numerous attempts to inform acura and their customer service department, i have received very little assistance. i hope this complaint will help build the record showing that acura is manufacturing a faulty, unsafe product and is failing to adequately remedy the problem.

My 2001 acura cl with only 45k miles on it had the transmission go out in a very dangerous manner. the car without notice would down shift into second gear when you were going about 50 mph. it would start shifting on its own causing the car to rapidly slow down. the car was very hard to control at this point but because i was only a few mile from the dealership i was able to make it there and got a new transmission. when i drove into the dealer with in 10 seconds they said "you need a new transmission". i thought this was a bit odd and did a little research on the web and found out what bad transmissions these cars had. acura told me they had fixed the problem. now, less than 5k miles later the same thing happened with my "new" transmission". i bought an acura for reliability and quality. i feel this problem is not being properly addressed (just putting same bad transmissions back in cars with small modifications). all over the net you read about honda and acura owners having similar stories but there is very little "official news" on the problem. until honda gets some heat for this mistake i think they will not properly fix the problem. *jb

I was driving on the freeway going about 55 mph. i pressed on the gas pedal to increase speed to get in the other lane. my car suddenly slipped from fifth gear into first gear causing the car to lurch forward then backwards. i was shocked and my hands left the steering wheel but i regained control. it felt like i ran into a barrier. i had whip-lash but did not report that. my 2001 acura, cl 3.2 type s had started to "stumble" between gears just lately so i was going to take it into the dealer. when this experience occurred on the interstate, it was very unsettling. that is a dangerous defect. my car is at the dealership waiting for a "new" transmission. i hope this never happens again. i only have 48,700 miles on the car. *jb

My 2001 acura cl s had the check engine light, vsa light, and ! light come on. thinking the problem was related to the emissions, i continued to drive car. the next day i took car to dealer, to have problem diagnosed. the service manager couldn't see me to the following day. the next day he ran test and told me the transmission was bad (grinding in torque converter), and to take it to his other dealer. the dealer confirmed the previous diagnosis.10-26-04. however, he wasn't sure about warranty because car was brought over from canada. i was told to contact acura customer relations, and i took car home. the next day i went on the web and found numerous complaints about exact problems i encountered. the differences were that the transmissions were downshifting from 3rd to 1st while people were driving on expressways, almost causing serious accidents. the problem with the warranty was ironed out within 2 days, and acura is replacing my transmission on the 3rd of november. however, the dealer's service mananger never warned me of the danger of driving the vehicle. the car has 53200 kilometers (33000 mi). the transmission fluid was changed by dealer about 2 years ago, when i complained of burnt smell. the oil jet recall for the 2nd gear was done in august 2004. the obvious problem with the transmission according to other owners hasn't been addressed. now i'm going to revceive a rebuilt transmission, that may be a time bomb waiting to happen.*ak

The vehicle's transmission problem became worse after the recall repairs were made. *nm the consumers vehicle had problems changing into second gear. campaign id number : 04v176000 *tc *jb

Consumer received recall notice for transmission second gear. consumer informed the mechanic that the problem recurred, and had not been resolved. *ak after recall vehicle not restored to original condition. sluggish in shifting gears and performance not the same. *tc

Consumer received nhtsa recall 04v176000 regarding automatic transmission: consumer noticed that the mechanic did not inspect the transmission to see whether transmission was discolored or not. mechanic revised the oil cooler return and replaced it. *ak

Transmission was defective. consumer had to have the vehicle towed back to the dealership after transmission work was done. consumer contacted the manufacturer. however, the manufacturer was not willing to assist the consumer. prior to transmission's work being done this vehicle did not have a transmission problem . *ak the check engine light illuminated and the vehicle would not go into reverse. *sc

Recall (04v176000) performed, 50 miles driving, the transmission started violently down shifting in traffic to 1st or 2nd gear at speeds of 40 to 60 mph. acura replaced the transmission. *jb

Transmission continued to fail. a recall was honored. however, dealer was unable to remedy the defect. *ak

The vehicle was taken in for a recall. the repair was made on the transmission. after the repair was completed, the vehicle stalled. *jb

I was speeding up approaching 50 mph. i went over a hill and saw a yellow light. i suddenly lifted up on the accelerator at which time, the transmission downshifted to second gear (1500rpm to approximately 5000rpm). the next acceleration had a slipping of the clutch effect. i had to accelerate gently to be able to speed up. i arrived home about 5 minutes later at which time the engine idle kept "wanting" to die, came close a few times, but managed to keep running. had the same problem 5 days later with the downshifting. i did not witness the slipping clutch effect after the second time i felt spontaneous downshifting. they both happened under similar circumstances. small shocks are felt sometimes when transmission changes gears. was informed by my local mechanic to report problem to acura. a few months earlier i spoke to acura at which time they informed me there was a part needed to be changed (recalled) in my transmission and that they would contact me after the part came in. i never received a follow-up. the reason i am following up this now because my mechanic told me that i needed to or that i may be stranded because the transmission may suddenly go dead. *jb

I was speeding up approaching 50 mph. i went over a hill and saw a yellow light. i suddenly lifted up on the accelerator at which time, the transmission downshifted to second gear (1500rpm to approximately 5000rpm). the next acceleration had a slipping of the clutch effect. i had to accelerate gently to be able to speed up. i arrived home about 5 minutes later at which time the engine idle kept "wanting" to die, came close a few times, but managed to keep running. had the same problem 5 days later with the downshifting. i did not witness the slipping clutch effect after the second time i felt spontaneous downshifting. they both happened under similar circumstances. small shocks are felt sometimes when transmission changes gears. was informed by my local mechanic to report problem to acura. a few months earlier i spoke to acura at which time they informed me there was a part needed to be changed (recalled) in my transmission and that they would contact me after the part came in. i never received a follow-up. the reason i am following up this now because my mechanic told me that i needed to or that i may be stranded because the transmission may suddenly go dead. *jb

Sudden automatic transmission failure. *jb

Sudden jerk on the highway, jerk in changing gears and sometimes does not change to the 5th gear. a delayed and hard gear change between 2-3, 3-4. driving on the freeway at 65 mph and sudden down gear change may cause to lose control of car. probelm reported to acura, and a refurbished transmission was replaced. month and half later the same problem occured. acura then again replaced with another refurbished transmission. and again similar problems occured at this moment. acura is looking at the car. i hope that nhtsa force acura to recall the car for the public safety. this problem remains uncorrected and can cause injury or death. acura should replace with new cars. *ak

First made complaint about transmission problems in 01/02, dealer diagnosed no problem. transmission failed 03/03 and was replaced by the dealer. transmission has apparently failed again 07/04.*ak

While driving 20 to 40 mph transmission failed. as a result, vehicle will not shift gears. *ak

Transmission began to slip at 36,000 miles. vehicle was taken to dealership and transmission was replaced. *jb

2001 acura cl type-s, requiring fourth transmission.*ak

The transmission failed prematurely. the part had been replaced three times, however the problem recurred. *ak the transmission would slip and delay shifts. the downshifts were sometimes harsh. on at least two occasions when downshifting to pass other vehicles on the highway, the vehicle would feel as if the transmission had gone dead and then shift. *sc *jb

2001 acura 3.2 cl. consumer writes in regards to transmission problems *tgw the consumer stated the transmission would slip at times while driving. when the consumer contacted acura, he was informed their records indicated the transmission was replaced on or about april 12, 2004. the consumer stated he has no record of the transmission being replaced. the consumer stated his wife did take the vehicle to the dealer on march 29,2004 because she was experiencing problems with the transmission, but the service report read no problem found. *jb

While driving transmission produced a clanking noise. the part was replaced twice. however, the problem recurred. *ak

I have a 2001 acura cl type s. the transmission failed at 56000 miles.

Transmission failure. gears began to "slip", particularly between 2nd and 3rd, seemingly during upshifts and downshifts. the transmission felt as if it was searching for the right gear, and as it was engaging it, would slip. the engine would then rev freely. after completely letting it rev down to idle, gear would reengage some of the time. other times had to stop and restart the car to get moving again.*ak

My transmission failed on my acura cl for the second time. i had it "replaced" after the first failure @49k miles that nearly cause an accident if it hadn't been for good driving skills. now the same problem almost caused me to loose complete control @ 91000 miles after the dealer "enhanced the fix" with a new pcm @ 88000 miles.*ak

Dt: the contact states there is nhtsa recall campaign 04v176000 concerning the automatic transmission. this vehicle has the same problems as indicated in the recall, but it is not included in the recall. the manufacturer will not honor the recall due to the vehicle's registration having a branded title. the contact's insurance company provided authorized documentation witnessed by a notary stating the vehicle was not a salvage vehicle. *ak

Automatic transmission erratic shifting, flare at upshifts, it shifts suddenly from 5th to 2nd gear, casuing extreme deceleration at high speed. causing vehicle almost out of control, almost into an accident.*ak

Intermittently at any speed transmission slipped from one gear to another. vehicle cycled through the gears randomly. also, vehicle vibrated and stalled. vehicle had been to the dealer eight times, but the problems recurred. *ak

Acura cl type s five speed automatic transmission failed at 25,560 miles while driving on the freeway. no previous indications that there was a problem with the transmission. *ak

The transmission on my 2001 acura cl-s failed on dec. 31, 2003 at 35,000 miles. *ak

Transmission failed with a sudden downshift while driving 50 pmh *ak

2001 acura cl type s transmission failure at 32000 miles. *ak

The transmission has been replaced once already and is about to be replaced again. after the first tranny was replaced the quality and performance level of my car dropped greatly. the 2001 acura cl type s i am driving now is not the car that i bought, nor want to drive. it is now sluggish, the transmission is stil acting up, it is louder, does not hold itself in a gear for more sporty drive. if i wanted a honda accord, i would have bought one. now my car drives just like one. *ak

Transmission faliure. *la

Driving on the highway at about 55 mph, all of a sudden there was no forward momentum from the car. stepped on the gas and nothing was happening. check engine light came on. i was able to coast off to an exit and park in a fairly secure spot on the side of the road. the car was towed to the nearest acura dealer. i was told the next day that a new transmission was ordered for my car and it would be about a week before i would get my car back. *la

Transmission problems (slipping) upon acceleration. automatic transmission has slipped a number of times (4 times) within the last week. it always happens at acceleration from a stop. *la

I am an owner of 2001 acura cl type s. vin number [xxx], odometer 26,000 miles. i had a transmission failure today. at first car suddenly changed the gear from 5th to possibly 1st at 60 mph on the highway a few times. this is very unsafe, i was lucky there were no close vehicles behind me. then at the end of 15 mile trip from home clutch started to slip and i could not even move from the stop. i had hard time getting car home, it shifted erratically and stayed in first gear. while i understand that transmission is a mechanical device and can fail, this particular behavior of sudden down shift at the high speeds are not safe and can cause major accident. *la information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr