Problems with 2001 Acura CL POWER TRAIN

While driving 60 mph vehicle suddenly decelerated, and the automatic transmission stopped functioning. the cause of the problem had not been determined. *ak

My 2001 acura cl s type has transmission problems. it would suddenly jerk when going from 1st to 2nd gear. when it goes into 3rd gear there is a loss of power. the engine d5 light blinks. *jb

Transmission abruptly failed at 56,000. this caused a dangerous driving condition as the engine would rev until the transmission would suddenly drop into gear causing the car to jerk wildly. *la

I owed 2001 acura cl type s. last year the transmision when out on me. while i was on the free way. it would not shift gears.all the sudden the vehical slow down to 30 mph. on the freeway i all most lost control and got into the accident.i when to the dealer they replaced it with a new one.*ak

I was driving on the freeway at 65 mph and my 2001 acura cl type s downshifted into 1st or 2nd gear causing the car to slow abruptly and swerve. the people behind me almost hit me and i almost hit the car in the lane next to me (not ot mention the pain of the seatbelt cutting into my neck). good thing the seatbelt did would or i could have sustained injuries slamming into the stearing wheel or windshield. the acura is on it's second transmission with only 41,000 miles on it, this next one will be the 3rd. i was told that acura is aware of the problem. i was also told that none of the replacement transmissions are "new". they are all "remanufactured" with a 36,00 mile or 3 yr warranty. obviously with the same problems not being fixed. this vehicle is a danger to have on the road. why doesn't acura fix the problem. perhaps a lawsuit would inspire them to correct the problem hopefully before someone dies.*ak

The automatic transmission fails to shift properly. would jerk forward as if it was down shifting on its own. transmission will not shift out of 2nd gear. also, rpms would run very high. recently was not able to shift in to reverse. felt as if the brakes were on. the drive indicator started flashing. traction light had came on with the engine light and stayed on. problem had started on 7/7/03. had taken the vehicle to dealership on 7/11, and had picked up vehicle on 7/18. mechanic indicated the problem was not able to be duplicated. the problems with the automatic transmission still exists.*ak *ts

While driving on the highway transmission would slip and jerk, causing the consumer to pull off the road. the consumer has made contact with the tire manufacturer. *ak

Failed transmission in 2001 acura cl-s; approx 35,000 miles. i possibly noticed a discrepancy in shifting around 3rd gear maybe 2-3x over past 3-4 months, including the morning the car was taken in to the dealer for routine service, however was unable to repeatedly notice a problem. dealer notified us that morning of the transmission failure & need for replacement under warranty. *nlm

The transmission in the car went at 25,000 miles. it was replaced but the replacement also failed at 60,000 miles. *ak

Sudden downshift into 3rd gear - near accident. *ak

Acura-cl type s transmission problems at 30000 miles. transmission started slipping and engaged at random points. accelerated to 60 miles per hour, at which the transmission down shifted abruptly without warning causing the tires to chirp. warning lights came on after down shift in the form of a blinking d5 light, check transmission light, vsa light on with exclamation point. would not shift out of gear until car was turned off and restarted. *jb

Consumer states that while driving and with no warning transmission locked up. dealer notified.*ak

I have a 2001 acura cl-s and i've had the trans replaced once because of sudden down shift.(that by the way happen on an interstate and i almost lost control of the car) but that besides the fact according to palm beach acura. now my car does the same thing again and they will not change it unless it happens when one of there mechanics drives it. *nlm

Transmission failure, this is the second transmission failure for this vehicle. this first failure was july 3, 2001. first failure vehicle blew smoke. second failure resulted in transmission slipping out of gear and sudden, hard shifting. vehicle was in questionable safety condition due to constant slipping out of gear during turns, acceleration. *nlm

While driving the vehicle, gears slipped out and go into a different gear or went into neutral, preventing the vehicle from moving while on the road. taken to the dealer three times to replace the transmission, but the problem recurred.*ak

2001 acura cl, 32000 miles,5 speed auto trans. while driving in heavy traffic at 45 mph, the transmission violently and erratically shifted from 5th speed into 1st or 2nd and back into 5th. this unexpected shifting caused the car to rapidly slow down, then accelerate. i turned off the highway onto a less crowded street and continued driving towards my destination. the problem recurred 5 or 6 times in the next 3 miles. previously, the only indication of transmission trouble was earlier that day. there was some slippage when shifting between 2nd and 3rd speed. the acura dealer examined the car and told me i needed a new transmission. acura informed owners by letter that there are problems with some transmissions and extended the warranty on them, but i had no idea of what to expect. this was a frightening experience! it is fortunate that i had my seat belts on as the sudden lurching would have thrown me against the steering wheel with considerable force. i think there should be a recall on these cars to replace the transmissions. *jb

Failure of automatic transmission in 2001 acura cl type s. i understand the sudden downshifting has been determined to not be a safety hazard, but in this case the transmission would not engage any gear while shifting between second and third. the resulting sudden loss of drive power almost caused the car behind me to hit me. the 2-3 shift is almost always under heavy acceleration away from a dead stop, to deem this not a safety hazard is absurd. if i were not able to pull to the shoulder of the road i would have been hit. acura dealers have denied knowledge of this issue until the transmission actually fails. i tolerated 20,000 miles of erratic shifting before mine died completely. i now have 4,000 on the new transmission and it has been exhibiting the same behavior the original did, always between the 2-3 shift.

I was driving my 5-year-old son home from school. after more than half of the stops, upon acceleration, the car's engine would race up to as high as 7,000 rpms. while maintaining 45 mph on surface streets, the car would down shift erratically, as if i had slammed on the brakes suddenly for no apparent reason. luckily, we live in arizona, where the landscape is flat and the weather is warm year-round. according to acura client services, cold weather and uphill/downhill driving could instigate the trouble we've had. they'll need to come up with something better than that for us. we have owned honda vehicles since 1989, so for the past 14 years, we have been loyal. now, the priciest purchase is what i would call a lemon, since we are now without a car for at least a week and they are replacing the entire transmission with a refurbished one. this is not acceptable. plus, no recall was ever issued? why not? are we the 2% of the acura-buying population that does not matter? all i know for sure is that if we owed the american honda motor company something, they'd be all over us like white on rice. what about the little guy? who's going to give us what we deserve? not mr. yakamikimoto-son living large over there in california. *jb

There is a huge space of time in 3rd gear when the transmission basically feels like it's in neutral and won't respond to throttle. the engine revs higher but the car does not move while in middle of motion. the rev range when it happens is between idle (700rpm) and 1300 rpm. it happens all the time.*jb

In march of 2002 my 2001 acura cl type-s had its transmission replaced with a factory rebuilt one. not even a year after the replacement the rebuilt transmission went out(2/19/03). fortuantely i was not on a highway as i lost a lot of engine power to the car.

After several abnormal gear-shifting patterns (as was described in a letter from acura that extended powertrain warranty due to such potential transmission problems, affecting only certain car models) being noticed, the car's engine abruptly died while the car was traveling on i5 at about 65 mph with all warning lights suddenly lit on dash panel. luckily, there was minimal surrounding traffic at the time and we were able to coast maneuver the car to the right shoulder before it stalled out completely. we feel that acura by extending the warranty was acting responsibly. however, after our harrowing experience, we strongly feel that acura should have taken more initiative in addressing this problem perhaps by doing a full recall so as to prevent such life-threatening situations from occurring. it is irresponsible for anyone to promise a fix after imposing life and death situations onto their consumers.

My car is 2001 acura cl type s 35000 miles. been driving for less than a year. my transmission was failed past saturday. was travel at 50 mph suddenly transmission failed and won't accelerate. the car behind me almost hit me. i received a recall statement from acura back on dec. 2002 about the transmission. i took my car to local dealer to have the transmission replace but they refused cause my car warranty has been cancelled since feb. 2002. because of the recalled, should my car cover under this warranty even my car have savage title?

Transmission failure while driving.

Upon normal acceleration to enter the highway at about 50 miles per hour the automatic transmission locked up. the effect was a serious skid and inside the car it felt like i had hit a brick wall. if i had not been wearing my seat belt i would have been launched through the windshield. the car at this point was 1 year old with about 14,000 miles. the transmission was replaced. the new transmission slipped and shifted inappropriately and was also replaced on nov. 6, 2003. this trasmission is not much better. there has been three transmissions in the car and i am fed up. this is my third new acura since 1997 and i had no problems with the other two.*ak

Transmission failure

I have a 2001 acura cl type-s with 69,855 miles. the transmission failed on wed jan 29,2003 while i was leaving the parking garage from the court house in downtown ft. lauderdale. i was on the road going about 35 miles per hour and the car wanted to shift into third gear, but the transmission failed resulting in my rpms to redline. the car started buckling violently; luckly i wasn't going very fast, but i did swerve into the other lane partly due to the buckling of the car. i was able to make it home albeit very slow and only in third gear with my hazzards on. had the car towed the next day to the dealer (rick case acura) and they are currently replacing the transmission. i will be selling this car because i no longer feel safe. imagine if this had happened while on the highway.

Bought car in 11/2002, thought i had bought a reliable car and all i have had is trouble, first the car had a ticking noise in motor and had problem with brakes brought it in 2wks after bought car. brought it to dealership and they adjusted the valves, that was 1/2003,also we had noticed problems with tranny at that time also. brought car in 4/2003, then brought car in 8/2003 because tranny was still downshifting or not shifting at all besides the ticking of the motor. we brought car in several more times and each time we complained about tranny and ticking of motor they say they can't deplicate the problem or fix the motor. finally in sept 2003 they fixed the valves , but not tranny. can't find problem. i know that when u go up and incline the car will be going only 25 mph and car shakes violently, when i drive car on highway she shakes between 2nd and 3rd gear, also in 4th and 5th gear, the car has even stalled on me so now what? we've asked dealership so many times to fix problems but they have there mechanic drive it and he says there is no problem with tranny or engine and computers in car are fine. one day my wife and i could be seriously hurt, besides other people who will be near us. we even called up headquarters in california, they assigned us a project manager, he said he hasn't heard about the problems we are having, but we called another dealership a bit further from us and they know about the problems with the tranny and valves besides the brakes too. so who is lying to whom??? all i want is my car fixed. i know they aren't honest with paperwork, they use previous paperwork or never give us the paperwork, we have brought this car into the shop over 8 times since 11/2002, its a 2001, my chevy is better then this and its now 11yrs old, go figure! someone is going to get killed, i know there was a recall that i just found out about in 2002, i was never notified!!!!

Failed transmission in 2001 acura cl 3.2 at 38500 miles. would not shift from 2nd to 3rd gear and transmission revved in neutral as this was happening, putting me in a dangerous position as i was driving in rush morning rush hour traffic.

2001 acura cl type s transmission failure.this is the 2nd time i have been through this.today the trans shifted from 5th gear down to 2nd.if i did not have my seat belt on,i would have been put into the steering wheel.this happened on route 1 going north in edison.

Transmission failed due to a design flaw.

I own a 2001 acura cl type s. on january 5th the transmission of my car failed to engage while i was travelling south on hwy 101 in ca, at approximately 70 mph. no one was injured. the situation could have been drastically worse if i had been travelling in heavier traffic because there was no warning before the transmissions failure.

Driving home doing about 65 in a line of traffic when my car decides to go from 5th gear to 2nd w/ no input by me! even though i was belted i thought i was going thru the windshield since the nose of the car went straight down.

The vehicle transmission failed at 18700 miles. *nm the consumer received a notice that the manufacturer was extended the warranty on the transmission. a little over a year later the consumer transmission failed and was replaced with a new one. the consumer then received a recall on the transmission and had it replaced a second time. now the transmission is starting to slip again. *nm

Purchased 2001 acural 3.2cl s-type with 32k miles. at 38k miles, car began to slip in 3rd gear. transmission would completely disengage in 3rd, and i would have to shift it to adjacent gear to re-engage transmission. over the course of the next week, slipping became increasingly more frequent. i have read many similar such complaints, and i am seriously concerned about the reliability of the cl transmission.

Transmission not engaging fourth gear and revving-out on third gear. check engine dash indicator stayed on and traction control indicators come on intermittently. second transmission replacement with less than 40 k miles on the car. *jb

Nar 02/25/2003: while the consumer was driving at approximately 75 mph the car suddenly shifted down into 1st or 2nd gear, instantly dropping the car to 40 mph and then shifted back up to 5th.the consumer feared that it could have caused a severe accident and acura needs to address the issues of these defective transmissions. *cb *jb

Transmission shifted down automatically at freeway speed

2001 acura 3.2 cl type-s transmission failure. transmission failed at approximately 20,000 miles w/ little warning signs. any signs my wife felt were attributed to traction control engagement due to inclement weather. the vehicle failed while driving on the highway, obviously a potentially dangerous situation. acura has replaced the transmission, but the replacement is beginning to fail also. the first signs were transmission slippage when attempting to cross a busy highway, again a potentially dangerous situation. only reporting this due to obvious nature of issue and the fact no recalls have yet been issued...fixing this problem on an occurence basis is not sufficient. even barring direct accidents due to loss of control, it is still a potential safety issue to have your vehicle lose velocity on a busy highway or intersection.*jb

I have had surgery fusing 7 vertebrae in my neck and back. this was a result of a sudden and severe down shift of my acura cl 3.2 while driving on the highway.*ak

My 2001 acura cl suddenly downshifted while i was driving on a highway and i caused a injury to me. this happened while on my way to the dealer to replace a defective automatic transmission. in the course of that trip it sudddenly downshifted in 1st gear 4 times.

2001 acura cl with transmission problems (slipping)**nar**cc the consumer stated he was not having problems with the transmission at the time when a letter was received regarding possible automatic transmission problems with certain 2001-2001 acura's, however he was experiencing srs wiring problems in dec 2002. the transmission problems didn't began until december 2003, which resulted in having a re-manufactured transmission installed. the consumer stated there was never a mention of engine mount problems or replacement in the notice that was received in 2002. 4 years later the consumer began to experience more problems, the transmission was replaced, 11 days later more problems had surfaced with the second transmission and upon inspection, the front engine mounts needed to be replaced. the consumer believed there was a direct relationship between the front engine mounts and the transmission problems he experienced. the engine mounts should have been replaced the first time the transmission started to exhibit a problem. *jb

I have a acura 2001 cl type s. transmission failed at 25k miles, so i took it to the dealer. they said they would fix it and put a brand new transmission free of the defect. then at 50k miles my transmission failed again. i got it replaced and it still feels like it is going to have the same problem again. *nlm

Transmission failure 2nd. *jb

My 2001 acura 3.2 cl type-s with 5-speed automatic transmission shifted from 5th gear to 1st gear on her own while my car was going 40mph on the highway, which caused a sudden pause. luckily the cars behind me were able to veer away, otherwise it would've been disastrous. few minutes after that my car lost 5th, 4th and 3rd gear, i had to drive home using 2nd gear... when i got home, i realized the car also lost reverse gear. now i am on my 2nd transmission, and somtimes it would also start surging a bit during shifting which is early sign for another transmission failure. i am just nervous everytime i sit in that car. especially after i learned that so many people had the same problem.

I took my car to the dealer at 16,000 miles, because the transmission was slipping and jerking. they said they couldn't duplicate the problem. the transmission totally failed and was replaced at 25,000 miles. the replacement transmission started acting the same way. it failed at 44,000 miles. acura claimed that the solenoids needed to be replaced this time... not the whole transmission. 1,300 miles after having the solenoids replaced the transmission has begun slipping and jerking again. acura won't do anything until the transmission fails again. this is rediculous. acura (and honda) must be forced to do something about these transmissions. both of my failures have happened in traffic, and the first time my car had to be towed to the dealer on a flatbed. please help! dt

The trans started to act strange. hunting for and missing gears. i contacted the dealer for an appointment, and had to wait 4 days to get in. all the while the trans is getting worse. the day before i had to bring it in, i was coming home from work when all of a sudden, without warning, at 65 mph the trans dropped to 2nd. no lights, no indicators nothing. i was almost rear ended by a cadillac escalade. since the trans locked up there were no brake lights. i had a heck of a time keeping the car under control. needless to say the driver in the caddy was very upset with me. and proceeded to perform "road rage" manuevers in order to show me his disdain. he cut me off, gave me the one finger salute, challenge me to pull over. luckily i was able to avoid him and continue home. the next day i took the car into the dealer, all the while the trans is missing gears, hunting and pecking, and downshifting for no reason. i stayed on slow surface streets and side streets all the way to the dealer. 16 miles away. i did not want to give the car to lock up again at freeway speed. the dealer claimed that the failure was do to an aftermarket air intake and springs. they would replace this trans but no others should the case arise due to the modifications. i explained to them that i know of several other owners who have had a similar problem. including one gentlemen who has been through 4 transmissions. they still insisited that they would only replace this trans. acura client services said the same thing. "you modified the car, therefore the failure is because of that." that statement insults my intelligence as a consumer and human being. both the dealer and acura took this stance. the dealer even went so far as to say that people with "my type" of accessories. drive the car hard. which is ludicrous. this car could have caused a serious accident, it has been fully maintained and taken care off. the trasnmission failure is not the fault of anything i did to the car. dt

It appears from talking to many different acura owners, acura has had a major problem with their transmissions. the 5 speed in the 2001-2002 tl/cl series. i was lucky enough to be on residential streets when my transmission failed. thus driving slowly. i hate to think what could have resulted if i was on the freeway traveling high speeds. i believe acura needs to address this issue. thank you mr

Transmission has shown not to engage in third gear (when in sport shift control) causing strain on the engine also it may not shift down from 3rd gear to second on "sport shift". this has happened continously servicer since 10000 miles and i learned to live with it (not using the sport shift). further more in august/september of 2002 i have started hearing a sound which has ben diagnosed by a third party garage as indicative of serious transmission "problems". ol (dt)

I was driving at 65 mph on i-476 (pa), when i slowed slightly to check exit sign. upon deciding to proceed to next exit, accelerated midly fom 60 to 65. transmission slammed into, what felt like, 1st gear causing vehicle to pitch forward. this was so sudden, that it threw my hands off the steering wheel and caused me to almost loose control of vehicle. had someone been behind me, the road been wet, or had i been on a curve, i would not have been able to regain control. transmission showed signs of poor shifting before this incident, so i took the vehicle to acura. they failed to fix the problem. i was very lucky, this condition could have caused a major accident. mr

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak