Cjones955

Hello all. Quick intro.

We are a couple from Black Hills of SD, Just today I went to show my wife a Civic that a local dealership (she has been driving a family Park Ave...cough) but she spotted this Blk/Tan CL from across the lot and fell in love with it on sight. We drove it and the condition was exacerbated. Price was right, we scored the car. Usually I do plenty of due diligence when buying but I have a great deal of faith in Honda and Toyota vehicles. I did no research, simply took home a very comfortable, excellent running vehicle for a very reasonable price. It reminded her of our former 05 SAAB 9-5 with the great handling and un-Buick-like driving dynamics.

So here we are with a runs like-new 2003 CL with the Automatic transmission. 163k miles, a few dings and scuffs but overall nice and very presentable, even somewhat sexy. I get home and start reading only to find out the transmissions have historically been an issue, reminding me of the Oddy, Asias Taurus/Sable haha. I have read many people only get 35-45k per tranny but so many of the posts are old and many conflicting from site to site. I have no service history on the car and have chosen not to worry it much because at this mileage if It had a weak tranny I'm sure it would have been evident by now. It *appears* to be same age as the rest of the car, but unsure. It does function perfectly and the fluid looks/smells fine. I have no idea what the actual percentage of 2nd gen CLs were afflicted with transmission troubles, have read some vastly different guesses and a few when-not-if articles. I have driven AT equipped Hondas well over the 300k mark so optimism lingers.

I see a great deal if information here and hope to learn a lot as we hope to keep this sweet car for 5-10 years. My hope is that it will need very little aside from routine maintenance.

The stereo sounds fairly crappy for a Bose so we'll probably see if we can ad some upgraded speakers with the factory head for adequate sound, maybe a light tasteful window tint and repair a few dings, drive and enjoy. We look forward to enjoying the endless miles of country roads here with this car. The Lexus is a touch big for canyon carving so this Acura is perfect in size and power. I did have to have 4 new studded snow tires put on before I could even get it up my 3 mile driveway.

Others we own:
2003 Acura CL, AT.
96 Lexus LS400 blk/blk. RWD = bad winter car.
87 Samurai 16v 1.6L/toy axles, lockers, etc. Rock crawler and my winter DD.
88 Samurai bone stock, will be toad.
98 Park Ave to be retired. Replaced by the CL.
Recently gone 87 300 SDL and 05 Turbo 9-5.

Anyways, I have read quite a bit and will continue reading but ears sure open for any pointers or suggestions for this bone stock beauty. Our goals are simply to keep it reliable and running like a top. Maybe address small things to make it more enjoyable/functional. Not looking into performance mods unless proven/cheap/easy/tasteful. It really seems like Acura got this one right but I will sure listen to anything anyone has to say about the trans for preventative measures or any other aspect of this car.



-/rant mode off

Thanks all.

Tony & Jade.

Scottyknows007

Welcome and Congrats on the new ride! You are correct that it is a known problem that these CL's with AT go out. I personally got a 6spd to avoid this problem, but with that being said from my digging on here it seems like some individuals with AT will have them replaced up to 4 times, and others have had it changed once and it has been fine ever since.

I'm not sure if there is anything that you can really do anything preventative wise, but anyone else chime in if you think other wise! None the less it is a fantastic car and will be worth it and you wont be disappointed.

My advise would be if you both truly love the ride and feel of this car; if or when the transmission goes out, have it replaced with one known not to have this issue, and keep logging the miles!!

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

welcome! As you might know there was a recall for this autos. It is very hit or miss with if/when they die. Some people have multiple failures and some are still on their original trans. Keeping the trans. oil clean and changed often should help a bit. There is still a design flaw in the transmission that doesn't allow enough coolant to the 3rd gear clutch pack. Many people have put in the accord 06-07 auto trans with great success. So if the worst happens, you have a reliable replacement option.
I understand you want to keep this car fairly stock, but here are some options.
-beefier rear sway bar will help handling. Progress, Eibach
-DC headers, really wake the car up (~20whp)
-a slight drop will help with handling and makes the car look much better in my opinion.

Cjones955

Thank you for the response. I was thinking trans cooler but I do give special consideration to not fixing things already working great. I would have chosen a 6 speed in a heartbeat. This car is primarily for the wife so she could ditch the Buick and get an actual quality automobile so it had to be an automatic as she has only been driving for a year and has little experience. When I took her out in the SAAB to learn clutch two things became immediately evident.

1. Shes not quite ready for a clutch.
2. She really does go Guy Martin with an angry turbo and gears so... yea, no more of that.

I figured shes happy, Buick is gone (something breaks every time anyone touches it). I no longer have to share my Lexus, everyone wins. This car drives nicer than I thought and rivals the Lexus so I think now we'll have two cars to fight over.

I looked and didnt find but is there a database anywhere by VIN that I can find out if this transmission was ever handled under any recall or maybe get other service history if it was done at Honda/Acura? The nearest Acura dealership is a good days drive from here.

Cjones955

Headers you say, good for 20hp. Those factory manifolds must be pretty restrictive. I'm never opposed to more power, especially if it doesn't adversely effect MPG. I see a header/DP set on ebay that seems impossibly cheap, Manzo it looks like, at that price maybe Chinese stuff. It does sound like a worthy in regards to cost vs benefit.

I cant lower it, we have a 3 mile driveway that is unpaved and fairly nasty. I will consider some rims though as we just had the snows put on the OEM rims, figure we'll mount the other tires on something cool, maybe blacked out to match the black car. I have yet to research what other rims will fit. Not looking to pour tons of money into it but would be nice to find some touches to make it our own. I think this one will be with us for quite a while if it proves reliable.

Scottyknows007

The stock headers are very restrictive. I would have purchased DC headers for my car but they don't make a set that fits the 6spd transmission. I went with the brand SRS and paid about 200-250 for, noticeable difference in power. On the flip side, with my stock headers in place I was getting about 21-22 mpg in the city and now i fluctuate between 18-20

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

that's surprising. I would have guessed you'd get better mileage with better non-restrictive headers. Or maybe you're putting those headers to use more now

DC headers are quality headers. Ebay are questionable quality and fitament.
Check out the 3rd generation TL rims (not the waffle ones). They are 17x8 so i bit wider and look great. You'll probably want to stick with 17s and a full size tire since your roads are not great.

Cjones955

At this point its wearing 16" tires. 205/60/16 I believe.
I would be fine sticking with this as the summer tires have lots of life left in them. The headers sound enticing, that's something I may do after we get a few miles on it.

I will be combing CL looking for some decent rims, even if they are 17.

Thanks.

Cjones955

I finally got to spend some quality time with this car, wow! More than anything else it has balance and it's fun. I have very little chance of overing on this particular car as the wife has fallen in love with it. I have to have a 6 speed version of this vehicle.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful responses, time for some more reading and searching.

Thanks all!

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

keep your eyes out for a 6speed. They are rare, but a fun and reliable car.

I forgot to say check out the black market section on this site for members selling car stuff.

Scottyknows007

Haha very true! When I first got it I was driving the hell out of those new headers. But I have backed off substantially but still have the same gas mileage as if I was driving it hard

Cjones955

The MPG is ok now, probably don't want to do anything to worsen it. Is increased fuel consumption normal with headers assuming same driving style?

I found some service history in with the manuel.
It had a new transmission and timing belt 8000 miles ago back in 2013, I'm the 2nd owner of this car, looks like all maintenance was done.

So the trans is new-ish and working perfectly, I hope to keep it that way.

I have decided to search out a 6 speed version, it will be a couple months before I can pull the trigger but its definitely in the works.

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

Any breather mods should help mpg as the air is getting in and out of the engine easier. Thing is you might be more tempted to drive agressively after.

Accord316

congratulations dude on your new ride CL...I might be selling my eibach lowering spring if you want it because switching to coilovers...

Accord316

I thought new upgrade headers will increase mpg? Unless you were race driving the CL like it's daytona 500

Cjones955

Thanks for the warm welcome.
We are really excited about this car, I'm seeing only a couple very minor things that might need attention.

I think the ride height is good where it is, if we lower it any we stand to loose chunks of the car on the crappy roads around here. It probably handles well enough as it sits to, although I have not ruled out headers if they really do make a noticeable difference. Want to keep the car quiet and don't want to do anything to deteriorate ride quality or MPG.

It's just a very pleasant car to drive as it sits. It will have to spend some time with PDR to lessen a few of the exterior dings. I have searched several states on CL for a 6 speed and found nothing. I would also be receptive to a Lexus SC but would much rather have the silky smooth Honda transmission.

I think first will be having the windows tinted and see what we can do to improve the sound quality of the stereo, that may really be all it needs to be a totally enjoyable car. I do wonder how an extra 20hp or so will effect the transmission longevity.