Hi all,

I'm considering the purchase of a 2003 CL-S (auto. trans) for my HS-age daughter to drive. Before you cringe at the thought, the game plan is to let her drive it the next two years, and then I'll take it back when she goes off to college. I figure if I'm going to have to maintain it and detail it while she's driving it, it might as well be a vehicle that I would want afterwards.

I spent hours last night reading the 2G CL FAQ section, as well as the rest of the site. I have to extend my thanks to everyone that had a part in creating the information that is on this site. I post to a lot of different forums, and I'm not sure I've seen one that has this much detailed information, considering the CL is no longer produced.

At most, my daughter will probably be driving less than 5k a year. School is within 2 miles to the house, and her job is 1 mile from the house. I'm more concerned about the few posts I read where the transmission (and wheels) locked up, resulting in some injuries to the posters.

My questions/concerns are clearly around the transmission. Did Acura get any better at fixing the early issues? I'm looking at cars that have from 50k-80k on the clock. I realize that Acura extends the warranty on the trans., but if it just keeps happening every 20k or so, it seems like I might be better off purchasing another car. I've test-driven several '03 CL-S's in the last month, and am really sold on the bang for the buck. You're basically getting a completely loaded, very sophisticated car for under $12k, which is a great deal in my book.

And are there any other areas of concern on these vehicles other than the transmission? My other thought is to pursue a 3rd party warranty for the car, but I'm not sure if they exclude any transmission repairs, due to the known issues with them.

Any thoughts/comments/guidance is most appreciated. I'm looking to finalize a deal probably in the next 5 weeks or so.



Thanks in advance,

ntwrkguy1

 

the transmission replacements have been sketchy. some people have 150k on their first transmission, some only got 50k on it. others have had the replacement transmission go out within 1k miles and others have done great on their replacements. i would say the majority of replacements transmissions are doing better than the original. just make sure the car you are purchasing is going to be covered so that you don't have to add another $4000 to that $12,000.
other than that it's a great car and offers good safety.

edit: is a manual transmission a possibility?

 

If you find one that still covered under the 7 year/100K tranny warranty then replacements will be done for free, so that might not be a big issue for now. Just rememeber, not all of the 03's are covered by the extended warranty because acura falsely beleived they "fixed" the issue (they didn't). I'm not sure what the VIN cutoff is, but if you're seriously going to buy an 03 auto, it would be prudent to call a dealer to check the VIN.

CL's are a great bang for the buck for people buying 'em used... Us original owners are cringing since they depreciated so quickly...

I wouldn't have bought a CL unless the 6spd was offered. I had transmission issues with the last car I owned, and didn't want to go thru that all over again.

 

Distorted/GreenMonster,

Good advice from both to check to make sure that the '03 I purchase is covered. I'll definitely check with the dealer to see, as well as to check on the history. I'm hoping to find an '03 that the original owner still has, and can show me the maintenance history as well.

The manual transmission is a possibility. My daughter was very much against learning how to drive a manual when her older (by 2 years) brother got a '97 Nissan Pathfinder 5-speed a couple of years back. She's almost 17 now, and has been driving on her own for a full year. Part of her resistance to learning was (I think) the fact that she was really concerned with concentrating on 'driving'. Which has worked out for me, since she is really a good driver. The only part that concerns me about a 6-speed is that there are just enough hills in my part of NC (near Raleigh) to make things interesting at certain stoplights for a MT newbie :-)

Are the manuals less prone to failure? And kind of a dumb question, but is the extended warranty on the transmission a one-time repair? Or if it fails 5 times before the warranty period expires, do they fix them all?

 

i have only heard of 2 6spds failing, but both were from excessive abuse.

 

Ive had my 01 typeS for about 10 months now, original transmission was replaced fall of 06. just as you mentioned, it comes fully loaded and has a strong motor for a very good pricep- everything i needed. for the same money your just not going to find anything close IMO- 350Zs and S2Ks are still high$.

 

Just see if the tranny has the oil jet installed if it was one of the affected VIN numbers. This seems to have done the trick for the majority of the failed trannies and should not cause you to have much concern.

I bought my CL-S with 60k miles on it and have 160k on it now and have not had a tranny issue. (knock on wood) The car was traded in to a dealership and the tranny was changed at the 60k period right before I bought my car.

And yes mine has the oil jet installed and I have only changed my tranny fluid twice in the 100k period Ive owned the car and there hasn't been a spec of metal or any material that is a cause for concern.

 

The manuals are pretty smooth. I have had 2 honda manuals and everything I have read about them is that they are great. My Honda accord I have has 147,xxx miles and still on original clutch and perfectly smooth.
I learned to drive a stick on my dad's 3G TL. I thought it was a little tricky compared to other cars but if she can learn to drive the CL (which I think she can) then she should be able to jump in in any car.

 

The auto's are a complete toss up. Your never going to know what will happen till it does.
That little driving will put the odds in favor of a great trouble free car.
The 6MT is very rock solid. I've had 2.

 

If you have to go with auto, I will have to tell you to consider a different car. I would hate to constantly have problems with my transmission. So either go with the manual, or search for a toyota or 03-07 accord.

 

Well it might be a toss up with Auto's but I have had 2 auto's and haven't had a tranny problem with either. If I do eventually have a problem I'm covered under the warranty and even if I wasn't given the nature of the transmission issue and hearing what has happened with some other owners who were out of warranty with their transmission I think Acura would at least help with the cost if not cover all of it.

 

My '03 A/T has the oil jet kit and I haven't had any trouble with it.

 

pits200/CL-slick,

Is the oil jet kit installed by the dealer? or is that an aftermarket trick that you guys found? I tried searching on the tranny FAQ forum, but "oil jet kit" didn't return any hits.

As much as I'd like to have a 6-speed, I'm probably going to wind up with an AT just because there are more of them currently for sale right now.

 

The dealer installs them when taken into the dealership for the recall. Some of the later 03's come from the factory with the kit.

 

I love Acura, I even sold them for a few years, but I bought a 6 speed.

 

The dealer installed it under a recall for the previous owner. I pulled my service history, thats how I found out I had it.

 

The dealer installed it under a recall for the previous owner. I pulled my service history and found out I had one.

 

I have had my tranny replaced under warranty at no cost, if u end up buying a auto get a extended warranty or see if the tranny has been replaced as stated from other members by VIN. Also in my opinion I would not buy a CLS for ur daughter for her first car. I will tell u as bad as the cops are here in NC,and with the HP in these cars spells trouble. These cars are like a magnet to cops for going a little over the speed limit, and I know u would not want ur insurance to shoot up. This car in my opinion is not a first timers car.

 

i've had 2 tl-s in the past no transmission problem. first one was at 90k on original tranny till i got in an accident, the other 160k on original tranny. It's just how you treat it if you dont smash on it everyday there should be no problems. The TL-s was my first car.

 

My transmission went at 50k and sent my head flying towards the windshield when it shifted from 5th to 2nd at 60 mph but I was seatbelted and I was OK. It got replaced in 3 days for free and has been rock solid since with almost 70k on it.

 

First of all welcome to the Acura Family:

I brought a 03 cl-p auto 6 months ago and I'm loving it, however, I was past the warranty and my vin was not included for the extended warranty. 2 weeks ago my transmission slipped on me causing the down shift and before I noticed hard shifting so I brought it in to the dealership. They were very nice and gave me a rebuilt transmission with a 3 yr/36,000 mile warranty for only 250 bucks, and gave me a free 2008 tsx while they did the work ( car was the dealership for 8 days).

If you can talk to the dealer and mention what they would do if your transmission failed on you. If they are willing to provide service, buy the car. If not, I would consider an extended warranty because as stated earlier, its hit or miss with these cars. I thought I would not get the transmission problem since my car was an 03 and it was not covered under the vin settlement, but it happened, I was thankful the dealership worked with me. If you cannot get an extended warranty, I would suggest looking at another car, because you do not to be stuck with the bill for a new transmission (around 2500). Well best of luck in your search, hope to see pics of the cl-s!

 

I have 85K on my 01 tranny still purring like the first day I got her.
Like many have said its a toss up...luckily I haven't had any problems.

 

The oil-jet kit is what we used to call a "patch". I worked at an Acura dealership for little over a year. When the cars first came in with shifting problems but still driving, we would see if the jet kit would fix the problems. Sometimes yes other times no. The oil jet kit reroutes some fluid to better cool the trans down. The design flaw was basically too much power for that trans, which was an old design anyway. The transmissions on these cars was the only major failure for the whole brand. (At the time) We were replacing 7-8 a week on average for Tl, Cl Mdx. Other than that these cars fair very well with engine, electrical, and suspension components. Most often Cl's came in the shop for maintenance, and services.

Acura is well aware that this has been an on-going problem. Even if you end up out of warranty and have a failure they will most likely work with you. You can always climb the corporate ladder if the dealership wont budge. So good luck your research should pay-off because you know what to look for.

 

I have a 97 CL, the transmission failed at about 32k in 04and the rebuilt trans has been fine, the car now has 60k I bought an 01 in April with 150k and a redesigned transmission that was installed in 06, and is fine (so far)

I love both of them but the 01 is better and cost me 22k less.

 

I've had two 03 6speeds, the manual tranny is the main reason why I got the car, but I've driven Acura coupes since the 80s. I'm at 57k miles, and this car is very solid. Honda makes some of the best manual trannies on the market.

I had to replace a headlight and some other minor work under warranty. the engines are super reliable. the auto tranny is the only maybe about this car.
I have no experience with that, but in all other respects the car is great. I'm sure prices are too.

 

yeah my tranny was done around 55k and now I have 78k and it still does great...

 

Other than the possibility of a trans. issues, you will be buying a very safe, reliable vehicle. Aside from that, it's a great looking, sports, and somewhat luxurious car. If you take care of it, ie. service, you really should not have any issues with it.

 

I had my tranny replaced at 35K and 99K on my 01 cl type-s. I now have 150k and the tranny is holding up well. When i first got the car i abused it and used the sport shift alot which i know helped the tranny go out! now i dont use the SS my tranny works fine and engin pulls like day one. I work at a car dealership and drive alot of cars and out of all the cars i drive with over 100k mile my acura feels supiorior compared to alot of cars .

 

Would everyone agree that the key to long tranny life is frequent tranny flushes?

Does Acura call for 30k intervals on those? I know I shortened that to 15k on my '01 Ford Taurus 24v, and I now have 144k on it and it's shifting smoothly.

 

Can't hurt. If your willing to put in the time and $$. The trans fluid does get dirty so why not?

 

I did a 400 mile round trip yesterday in the CLS. I averaged 28mpg at an average of 85, the car is solid, rattle free and great fun to drive,at 156k it is as solid as my 06 Lincoln LS which has 9k on it