bsprinker

Sorry to post in this section guys, but I performed a search and found no similar threads on my problem, and I wanted to get as much exposure to my thread as possible. 2003 CL-s auto with 81,000 miles.....

I was driving home (Pittsburgh) from Chicago last night and noticed a little light-colored smoke coming from under the hood on the driver's side on my '03 Cl-S (auto). I pulled over on the highway and smelled what seemed like burnt belt or rubber odors. My engine temp gauge read normal and I had no other problems. I let the car sit for 15 minutes and kept driving home. It continued to smell like burnt rubber, but with no other issues or smoke. Any ideas???

Also, as I was slowing down to pull over, it seemed as though my tranny slipped ONLY once. Then it was okay. FYI...I had my tranny replaced about 20K miles ago, at 62k miles.

Any help would be great; before I call the dealership and they give me a list of needed repairs totaling $1k. Thanks.

TripFontaine

Wow Bryan...thats a good one..Im racking my brain for possibilities..white smoke USUALLY means coolant ..as in a head gasket going...but our motors are not known for that issue at all...and..you would probably see white smoke coming out of your exhaust..but the accompanying burnt rubber or belt odor has me a little stumped....I know Baierl Acura in Wexford charges $72/hr..for a diagnostic fee...but they dont call them "stealerships" for nothin...This is killin me Brian...lol...im thinking long and hard here..and Im smelling strange odors...like my brain...lol..

DaInFaMMuS1

last time something like this occured to me, my radiator was about to explode on my 99 nissan altima. sure enough, maybe 2 hours after i checked under the hood, BOOM.

ms_cls

i had this happen to me on my ford ranger, it was a cracked head and burnt 2 of my spark plugs. i really cant think of what it could be since you said it didnt do it any more after you pulled over. was it alot of smoke or just alittle?

Zippee

It could be as simple as a bad belt causing the radiator to overflow. What did you see when you opened the hood?

bsprinker

I took my CL to a local shop and they said that the main case seal for the tranny is leaking fluid, and that the fluid is dripping down onto the brakes, possibly causing the white smoke and smell. NOT good news IMO.

I called Acura of Boardman this morning, told the service dept the alleged problem, and they said that my car is NOT covered under the tranny service bulletin because of my VIN and that the fix would be $700. Again, NOT goods news. After he told me that my CL is not under the transmission warranty, I asked him why they replaced my transmission at 58K miles then. He said it was a "good will" coverage issue. I told him to fax me the documentation that showed my car NOT being in the VIN range of warranty coverage....and that I would be calling him back....

Do any of you know if there is a legitimate VIN range for the transmission warranty coverage. I was under the impression that all 2001-2003 CL's and TL's with auto transmissions were covered. This could get ugly.

redsly

Here is a website for you to use and find out.

http://www.hondatransmissionsettleme.../php/login.php

cls413MA

i get a similar smell when i drive agressivly on a 10 monute drive or so. all thats been recomended to me is, new filters and royal purple. im planning on replacing all the filters this week and changing the oil in about 300 miles. which only takes me about a week. so ill let you know if that stops the smell. i really doubt it will but doing all this could never hurt.

bsprinker

Since being told that my "main case seal" for the transmission is leaking, I'm wondering if this is one of the major components of the tranny that has failed in so many of our CL's, including mine. Can anyone confirm this?

Or is this leaking part an isolated case that is unrelated to my previous transmission failure???.....I wish I knew. I will call the dealership today and try to talk to my salesman...he was not working yesterday, and the service dept gave me the run-around.

Starter

The salesman can't do diddly for you even if he wanted to.

Raise hell with the service manager, in person, and the owner of the dealership.

bsprinker

Actually, the salesman is the owners son. So I called him and he calmly reminded me that my car was Acura certified, and that the repairs should be covered under the 100K powertain warranty. I asked the salesman to speak with the service department. He did and told me the repair will be covered. I took the car into the dealership yesterday and they told me that I needed a new tranny....here we go again.

I take the car in today after work. Well...at least it's not costing me anything.

03silvertypeS

sorry to hear about the tranny, but noticed you're from Pittsburgh...which dealership did you take it to?

bsprinker

I bought it at Acura of Boardman (Ohio), so I took it there. At the time I bought it, it was the only CL-S around that I could find for the price I wanted to pay. The dealership is about 35 minutes from my house. I almost purchased a new CL-P from Baierl Acura in Wexford. Boy am I glad I didn't. There's just too much of a difference between the two cars.