I thought my car was one of the exceptions and wouldnt have transmission problems. My car was running fine yesterday but today when i was going to work it started feeling a little jerky. I got off the freeway and while i was driving on the streets my rpms would go up but my car wouldnt accelerate... this happened a couple times till i got to work. When i was parking the car i put it in reverse and it wouldnt get into gear and i had to wait like 5 seconds for my car to roll back.
This is really sad for me. I bought the car because i thought acura was very reliable and would last me a long long time. I cant imagine having to pay 5000-4500 out of my pocket when the warranty is over for a new transmission that is known to break and fail again and again. I know a lot of members here that have had their tranny replaced more than 3 times.
This is the first car that i ever owned and modded. I would hate to sell it but i guess i have no choice. I cant afford to spend 5000 dollars if my tranny fails again after 100k miles.
SO SAD..... I really hate Acura for not stepping up and fixing these PIECE OF SHIT TRANSMISSIONS!!!! I can honestly say im not buying another acura EVER!!!
Sorry for the long post, im just venting. I really liked my CL and now i have to sell it.

 

I wouldn't rule out Acuras just because your tranny bit the dust. You'd be fine with a 6 speed.

 

yea its just the 2nd Gens...acura is a great company and they offer great cars for great values...it was just the 2G CL and the 2G TL that had these issues because of bad tranny design due to not enough oil being injected so on and so forth....

 

thats why im considering getting rid of mines, im scared shitless about the tranny failing after 100,000
i got 13,000 something miles to get to 100,000

 

There is not a day I don't think about my beloved 2001 Acura CL Type S........

But at 74,000 precious miles, failed transmission and looking my service guy dead in the eye, he said "it could fail again on your way home or right after you flip to 100,000 miles and "you are on your own"......

That is when I bailed and bought the last of the good Acura 4 speed transmission.....

Old timers out..........

 

How many miles on the 03?

 

My car has 89,000 miles... And its not only CLs and TLs that have problems. If im not wrong its also Accords and MDXs and RLS>?

 

If you want me to dot the i and cross the T:
1998 Accord V6 models to 2002
1998 Honda Odd to 2002
2001 Acura CL and TL till ear;y 2003 production run models
2001 Acura MDX's to 2002 models

RL's have a simple 4 speed "Legend Technology" transmission with no known problems like the "compact 5 speed tranny's" mentioned above.......This has nothing to do with the 2005 & 2006 RL's either.......

By the way I've been a victum twice with regards to my 1998 Honda Accord Coupe EX V6 blown tranny at 78,000 miles and my 2001 Acura CL Type Slush box at 74,000.......

 

Wow, I cannot get over how many people have problems with the tranny. Mine started acting up last Thurs., 8/3/2006 - slipping as it shifted from 2-3 or 3-4 and then a "jolt" into the next gear up. It only happened a handful of times on the way to work, so I thought nothing major about it... Then, Friday afternoon I was scared that I wouldn't make it home, as the tranny refused to shift into third a couple of times. As I pulled into my apartment complex, the dashboard looked like a "Christmas Tree" with almost every warning light going off (inc. a blinking D5 indicator). I took the car into Tempe Acura and they are replacing the tranny. I am pleased with the Acura Customer Service, as they gave me a TL (not sure of the year, but only has ~5000 miles on it) as a loaner.

I do have to question the integrity of the tranny design, as mine failed at just over 48,000 miles. I say this because I drive the car extremely easy (A.K.A. "Babying the car") most of the time, with the tach. staying just below two grand during all shifts. I just hope that the second tranny will last, although I have been reading threads of people going on their third and fourth tranny.

I really love this car, but due to my fading lack of confidence in the car am planning to sell it in the near future... If my next car is an Acura, it will have a MANUAL TRANSMISSION.


Bill W.
Phoenix, AZ
Tranny Failure (First) - 8/4/2006 @ 48,000 miles

 

I was driving home at like 60-65 mph on the freeway and my car suddenly shifted to 2nd gear causing my car to stop so hard that my tires chirped (not a complete stop). The car behind me almost hits me but he barely switched lanes in time and missed my rear end. I immediately turned on my emergency lights and pulled over. It left me really shocked and my hands were shaking when i was calling the dealer.
Acura gave me a tow truck number but they were gonna take a long time to get to my car and the service dep was closing in 20 mins. I didnt feel like burning under the sun so I decided to try to make it home since i was like 5 miles away.
I had to drive in 2nd gear the whole trip home. If I shifted to third my car would start jerking hard making me stop again.

 

This is EXACTLY what was happening across the US ! You are NOT alone my friend.....These exact stories were MORE the reason to rid the car !

Glad you were not rear ended, seriously hurt if not killed !!!

 

This was a really crazy and dangerous experience. The thing that pisses me off the most is that about a month ago i took my car to the dealer because my transmission was feeling weird. It slipped on the 2nd to 3rd shift once in a while. I got a call from them saying they drove it around for a bit and didnt notice anything wrong and that there was nothing they could do. So i was left with my car slipping gears till this thing happened today.....

 

I completely understand and respect your actions, however, do you know how many transmissions those mechanics change a day ????????????????????? I sure they say, oh snitz another transmission job..........so as the jobs are done, they get sloppy, because it WORK!!!!!! Also unless it issues a "code" they ain't gonna do snitz until it fails on ya...........
If you give them an inch, they will take a mile.....................................

 

Ain't that the truth! When I brought my car in for it's third tranny, the guy told me that it would be done by Wednesday (two days) because he had to waite on a shipment of transmissions and there was already two cars waiting for the same thing ahead of me.

As I said, the third transmission!!! I bought it used, so there may have been a replacement before I bought too! After I bought it, the first was replaced at 86,000 miles (lucky it lasted that long) and the second was at 99,850 miles (the problem with the replacement tranny was the differential).
NOW... I hit 100,000 miles Saturday and the tranny is whining again (the differential again) and I know they wont replace the tranny even though it started before the 100k. My problem was that I had only 17 miles untill 100k and the dealership is 40+ miles from me! I guess now I know why they are always so far away!!!

 

Acura has always put out a good product, but these transmissions are chaotic. My tranny is holding fine, I had the Jet Oil kit installed and still runs great with over 106,xxx miles. No slipping, no nothing. If it goes belly up, Dr. Evil will be getting a phone call. I'm keeping my CL till it dies.

You guys are funny freaking out about the tranny and having to get rid of the car after something goes wrong. Smoke one of these and chill.

 

I've been trolling for threads on this dr. evil tranny guy, what exactly does he do, maybe someone can point a noob in the right (thread) direction.

 

One option would have been to tow it there on a flatbed.

 

I hate doing this...i just know saying something about it is going to cause it to fail tomorrow...

BUT, i've almost got 120K on the original transmission. I'd say i'm fairly easy on it, but usually never just leave it in drive. It's had the recall (oil jet install) done and it's never given me any problems. I just had the fluid changed by Acura about a month ago and it's been doing great.

I'd have to say the main reason these cars are going through all of these tranny changes is because they are being installed in a shop and not on the factory line. Even if they are new and have the jet kit, the fact that they are being put on by a mechanic and not on an assembley line is a huge factor for them failing. I've always lived by the saying, "anything NOT put on by the factory just ain't the same."

BUT, as far as mods go, i just push that to the back of my mind...

 

First off, we all agree that over all they make good cars and the tranny is a POS. I hated the fact that when my tranny failed, I told myself that there is no chance that I'll keep the car past 100K. Although, I would rather deal with the tranny issue with our cars than some of the issues other car owners deal with. Audi for instance.

 

I want to convert mine to a 6 spee mt.
Does anyone know if you can get this done at the dealership? Or if anyone is selling the entire setup?
Maybe I'll get a wrecked CLS 6mt and take everything and put it on my car to make it a type S clone...
I guess one can wish! LOL

 

I'm hopefully keeping mine for a long time, I drive it real hard and so far ( knock on wood ) no issues. I'm hoping to do a 6spd swap on this once it gets close to 100K or just upgrade to a newer 6spd TL. I love these cars and can't imagine driving another brand even with the bad trannys in the 2nd gen TL/CL/MDX/Pilot/Odyssey

 

fsttyms1 on the second gen TL forum converted his auto to the CL six speed. Its worth a look.

 

It will probably be cheaper to just get a 6 speed TL.

 

That is what I thought : Why bother?????????????????

 

how many miles are you pushin right now?

 

im pushing 165k on my 01 and im praying it will go longer

 

That's exactly what happened to me when mine failed. That is also what broke two of the engine mounts. When your tranny gets replaced (again), make sure they check your engine mounts.

 

damn 165,000... shhhhyt you doubled me lol

 

Sweet. I wouldn't mine keeping mine going til 165K. I just don't know if I'll bother with the tranny issue.

 

Would they have to pay for the motor mounts if they are broken?

 

how much does it cost to get a tranny replaced with labor included?

 

that is inspiring... Im at 90,xxx miles and had the oil jet kit installed a while back and have had no bad luck yet... I hope mine will last that long!

Today I am planning on replacing my tranny fluid and adding the smart blend protectant.
I hope it keeps me going.

 

I'm new to this Club and I bought a 2003 CLS with the automatic back in January 2006 it has 67,000 miles on it now when I first bought the car everything was fine but the past 2 month's every know and than and only in the morning's and the first time of the day that I hit 4 th gear with little on the gas as it shifts to 4th the Rpms drops quickly and it jolts briefly than it shifts and is fine the rest of the drive this only happens first thing in the morning on the ride home from Work the car does not act up? I have taken it to the dealer a couple of times about this they come up with nothing?? they said that they didn't notice it doing that, I experience it probably 2 to 3 times a week, But they said that they can't get it to duplicate this problem, So Now I am worried about this and feel like getting rid of it, I know that i have the extended warranty until 100,000 but I just don't want to hassle with it, I like the car alot, It has all of the options with navi, But it worries me, Is this a sign that not much longer the tranny will go out?? It seems like if I am on the gas harder it's not as noticeable?? What do you guys think?

 

I haven't read up on the recent transmssions failures, but I'd say you are better off with a 2003 than it predecessors! Beware of 03 inventory as left over 02 transmission probably made it into the first run of 03's as I recall some failures early on......Don't sweat it, you have an extended warranty. Sweat it when you approach 99,999 miles whether it purrs or not !

 

This transmission issue is ridiculous... I almost got hit by a big ass suv on the freeway when my tranny died. I could have been seriously injured in that accident or even killed and now they are putting the same POS transmission in my car again. What if it happens again? Thats why i have to sell why car and spend a lot of money on another one.
I hope there was something we CUSTOMERS could do about it.... I loved my CL-S every minute (im even considering buying a used 6 speed).

 

juruki:
That is why I traded my BELOVED CL Type S in the SAME day they installed the same problematic transmssion and the electronic part that "deployed" the air bags, another suprise issue with these cars.....that was over $400 and NOT covered under warranty......My car was in MINT condition, never abused, rarely did WOT, California clean, bought it brand spanken new too ! As I read postings about "failed transmissions" I would say to myself....."not me, not mine" I drive it like granny.....not true, it happened to me at 74,000 miles. And mind you I have my cars serviced by the dealership and by the SAME dealership by the book.....how could this happen to my CL ??????? This is why I bought that boring, conservative "bullet proof" RL..........haven't seen a dealership in over 2 years....
Gotta LOVE it.......Now the new RL 2005 plus is another "new" product that seems to be working.........we shall see.....

 

My CLS is doing great. I too have got the recall repair (oil jet) done a while ago. I have to admit though that story about it shifting into 2nd gear on the highway

I'm curious if this is completely random or if there is a bad lot of transmissions or if all of the tranny installs that happened on Friday (or something like that) are failing.

 

acura needs to extend the warrenty further....this is rediculous.... this is not how you take care of customers at an upscale level...we didnt buy headphones or a toaster or a geo metro..these are big investments for people, and all they do is put junk trannys in over and over causing near death somtimes...i mean come on W T F !!...5 trannys in 5 years...i mean W T F !! a tranny minus labour is $4 0 0 0 ...i cant spend that every year...maybe i should have bought a bike....

 

It should go based on years and not on miles. I travel on the highways every week, I am anal as hell about my tire pressure, oil levels, etc etc. If something happened and my car downshifted to 2nd gear while I was going 80mph, no lie, I will drive myself to Honda America in my rental car and drag someone out of the office and give them a piece of my mind.

 

I'm at 55K right now