DaveBlkCL-S

I managed to view a copy of the service bulletin for the pulsation in the brakes for the 2001 CLS- Just so u all know it applies to ALL 2001 CLS's...and the suggested repair procedure is to resurface the rotors and replace the brake pads.

DreamU

By pulsation do you mean the steering wheel shimmy which occurs when you apply brakes at 1/3 to 1/2 full pressure? I have taken my brakes in twice now to Acura to get the rotors done and both times they have done nothing - said they couldn't feel the pulsing or it was my tires. Is the repair free or do they charge for it?

dmcconnell

The repair is free !! The dealer gets paid by the manufacturer. If you cannot get the proper service from them, call the Regional Office listed in your owner's manual. I guarantee the dealer will change their tune after you call the regional office.

Mike

What is the SB #?

JRock

That is correct, and it is covered under warranty - 100% free.

DaveBlkCL-S

SB #01-017
October 29th 2001

BoostedM3

I got that done a few months back free of charge, but I feel the pulsing coming back.

icy CL

had mine done last tuesday. funny thing is i've felt this pulsating eversince i bought the car when it had 17 miles on it. thought it was normal for a big car. now i have 14k and it hasn't gotten worse. i still decided to bring it in. the dealer changed the front pads and resurfaced the front and rear rotors for free. i was able to talk to the mechanic who did the work and he said the old pads were not strong enough to withstand the heat.

DeLucCL-S

Thanks for the INFO everyone.,.......i thought it was just me, but my car, WITH ONLY 11K on it...is starting to show some brake fade and the wheel pulsates just enough to make me notice something that hasnt been there before.

I do alot of hard driving, so i know the brakes are gonna go bad fast..like in my old eclipse that had all brakes repaired and replaced at 15k.

SO...I called the dealership today, told them that i had caught wind of a SB that says the rotors and pads would be repaired and replaced in the event of brake problems......and the guy told me to just bring it in and they will do it...

but if i bring it in..i dont want to hear shit about just the fronts getting done and then have to go back 2 months from now and get the backs done..NO WAY..if they are gonna do it..do it ALL!

How long does it take to get all this done??...assuming that all 4 get done.....do i get a loaner??


help
thanks

Eggplant-EX

Are they upgradiing the pads ???

Simpleman

This is weak. I don't understand the inconsistency with this.

I'm on the phone with Acura of America (friggin' 20 min wait, and still waiting) and they said the TSB 01017 doesn't apply to my VIN. WTF? I thought this was across the entire CL model for 2001. And my dealer said this TSB was only for the RL.

I guess I'll keep holding and see what I can figure out.

I wouldn't be pissed, except for the inconsistencies.

EDIT:
So what the rep told me was all the repairs people have been receiving for their brakes have been under "goodwill" terms with their Acura service departments. The TSB does not warrant any work to be done, rather just present a protocol for the dealers to repair certain, more prevalent, "conditions".

This sucks.

Anyone know any "goodwill" dealers in the SoCal area that have fixed the brakes?

EDIT 2:
I called Keyes Acura and the service guy seemed pretty nice. He acknowledged this TSB for my vehicle, but he threw a different twist on it. He said Acura would only fix this under the TSB if my pads had more than 1/2 left. If it had less than 1/2 left, they simply consider that normal wear and tear.

But this doesn't make sense since there's an upgraded brake pad incorporated with this TSB. He said he couldn't talk about it any more until they diagnose my car. So I'm taking my car in on Monday and hopefully they'll be up front with me.

Bleh, another hour til check out time...

pgatour1

Just og down there you don't need to prove anything, just go to the dealerhip and they already have it on record that it is a service bulletin, They will do them for you right there. Shouldn't take too long.

TXCOUPE

Just got mine replaced today. Same bulletin referenced on repair ticket. 22,600 miles.

gobridge

I have 22,600 on mine, too! It's going in for the regular maintenance on Monday.

At 15,000 miles, I felt a vibration now and then and figured I might have a warped rotor or something, but it happened so rare, I forgot about it. But, as I got around 20,000 miles it started to happen more and more..... I'm glad to hear that it wasn't my imagination.

DaveBlkCL-S

Your dealer is full of shit. I physically saw the service bulletin and it DEFINITELY includes the 2001 CL and the TL...ask him to show you a copy of the SB...I bet he cannot..there is no mention of the RL on this SB by the way...frickin dealer trying to get over...pisses me off!

Caddy©

Check Chod's FAQ out on SB's. Then Look here:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/tsb/Index.cfm

Simpleman

So, Acura of America did send me the TSB on our brakes. I've scanned it and you can find it here-

<url>http://www.thelastonealive.com/img/p..._tsb_01017.jpg</url>

My dealer was full of crap (about the TSB only being for the RL), so I'm gonna take this into him and have him fix it as well as give me some extras for making me waste my time (free 30k service maybe?)

gobridge

Thanks for scanning that SB. I'm going to take it with me to the dealer tomorrow.

RaptorCLS

Thanks guys for mentioning this....I wasnt sure what it was...I would come down a off ramp and hit the brakes harder than usual and the steering wheel would do exactly as mentioned.....getting my oil changed today and will bring it up when I get there, thanx guys

Dave

osclude

Went to the Goodson Acura and they told me that because my front brakes have 20% pad on the front brakes, it's considered wear and tear. I will have to get a full brake job for $180, which includes resurface of the front rotors.

Is this correct?

osclude

Alright see if this goes though. Here is the section of the work log that says no work done because of my brakes.

osclude

Well I have another question.

If there are New and Better Brake Pads for our cars, should I assume it's just for the front or does it include the rear?

I really think it's bullshit about the front pads, considering I have complained about them on 3 diffrent occisions which I was told afterwards that they were fine. Now here I am several months later and they tell me I'm at 20% pad, and I have to pay for it!

Simpleman

Keyes Acura gave me ZERO hassle with my front brake pads & rotors service. They get my

Unfortunately, I guess it really does depend on which dealer you go to.

Osclude:
You might be able to print out the TSB and show it to your dealer. Or you could just try another Acura dealer?

EricL

Just the front pads...

For the long run, you would probably want to swap to KVR rotors with Porterfield (or other pads).

I've haven't had a problem YET. However, I "bedded the pads". (See Google)

If you still have problems, the best solution is to dump the stock rotors and pads for something like KVR rotors and Porterfield pads (Carbon-Kevlar) [or take your pick]...

MikeS 18

I agree. I think that they should fix your car and if the pads are worn so what. If your car is within the service bulletin range and experiencing pulsation it should not be a problem. Nothing in the bulletin discusses age of pad or mileage etc.

By the way, how many miles have you at this time?

I would suggest calling another dealer to see what their take on it is.

limuas22

I went last week to get that pulsation fixed, I took a print out of the service bulletin just in case, but I just mentioned it and they resurfaced the rotors and replaced the brake pads with the upgraded pads. I have 26,000 miles on mine and it was still warranty work.

Also that service bulletin doesn't mention mileage, so if that dealership refuses do it, find one that will. Either that or raise hell when you're at the dealership, I'm sure if you talk to someone high enough up the chain you'll get some action.

gobridge

I took mine to the dealer on Monday for my 22,500 service. I also had a copy of the SB with me. I mentioned it to the service guy and he took care of it with no debate. This was at Brunswick Acura in New Jersey.

dmcconnell

Use Your Leverage !

If an Acura Dealer refuses to do the work of the Service Bulletin under warranty, you should call the Regional Acura Office listed in your Owner's Manual and report them. The dealers get rated on their performance (read that Customer Service) and it ultimately affects them monetarily.

After the Regional Office contacts the dealer in question, the dealer will definitely repair it free of charge.

This is your best resource not to get dicked around by a dealer !

RaptorCLS

Thanx for the info all....I went to Pleasanton, CA dealership and asked about having them done because of the steering wheel wibrating way too much. He said that the "service bulletin was for when you slam on your brakes to hard, they can overheat, causing them to warp. Acura will extend it and pay for the problem on the first occurance."

They took care of the problem, and it works great now. Thanks again for the posts guys, and I hope that the peeps getting grief from the dealership they are at, get it resolved. Best wishes!!

Thank

Dave

osclude

Thanks Guys for all the info, my CLS currently has 50250 miles on it. When I took it in it had 49800, Dallas, TX is really big and you can rack on miles in no time. I am glad i got an extended Acura Warranty. For some of you wondering, if you plan on keeping the car, get the Acura Factory Extended Warranty, with no deductable. It's basicly an extension of your factory warranty to 7years or 100,000 miles.

I think my best action at this point is to do what dmcconnell suggested and call the Regional Office and explain to them my dissapointment with Acura Service.

If there were better pads for the CLS, why didn't the service advisor let me know?

Caddy©

What did your extended warranty cost ?

osclude

Ok guys I called 18003822238 and they told me that the Service Bulletin is only instructions on how to fix the problem. And warped rotors are not covered under warranty, this is considered normal wear and tear. He also told me that this tends to happen to all disc brake cars.

Seems I get the same level of stupidity from the 1800 as I do from the dealer

Squishy

When I complained of brake pulsation problems at 22k miles, I took mycar to Oakland Acura and they resurfaced or cut only my rotors (no replacement of pads or rotors).

Now at 32k miles, I feel them again and took my car over to Mike Harvey Acura in Burlingame, CA.

Mike Harvey replaced my rotors and brake pads (one time goodwill policy).

This was sweet.

osclude

Extended Warranty cost me a $1000 even. I still think it's a little high, but I get that extra peace of mind.

aciurczak

My car is going in for the 22.5 service on Saturday. My rotors just started pulsating about 3-4K ago. It's not horrible, but it is very noticeable. I spoke with the service rep just a few minutes ago. He knows about the SB, but one key point is being missed on this thread. The warranty for the rotors is 15K miles, not the 50K for the bumper-to-bumper warranty. That said, the good will policy does allow them to treat each situation on a case by case basis, and usually things can be worked out (his words, not mine). So by no means does this SB mean that the dealer is legally obligated to replace your rotors free of charge, and coming in with an attitude expressing that might not be the way to go. I'll see what my experience is Saturday, but I certainly want to go in there asking for help, rather than demanding "you must fix this now or I'm calling the regional office immediately".

BSK181

no f in way, stand your ground and show them the bulletin

aciurczak

Just picked up my car. They resurfaced my rotors and gave me new front pads; no charge other than the normal 22.5k service charge ($105). The shudder is completely gone; car feels great.

Kkranghkar

MODERATORS: There's a lot of good info here... Could this be moved to common topics? This brake issue is more common than the tranny one even, I think.