All,

With very little regret, I have disowned my CL-S. Thought I would offer some parting comments for those considering making the same mistake I made a year and a half ago.

My experience with Acura overall was dismal. Not quite as bad as a normal domestic make, but pretty close. Service quality is not at all uniform in the Houston area. Gillman Acura delivered a level of surly service and blinding ignorance on par with the worst Ford dealership. Eagle delivered decent service, but the quality of the work performed was less than adequate.

Service dept woes aside, the vehicle itself was a major disappointment. Squeaks and rattles were evident in the vehicle from day one, as was erratic transmission performance. A failed defroster became evident later, along with the inadequacy of the Bose audio hardware and the short life of the original factory brake pads. (The pads have been "redesigned.")

The crowning design failures on this vehicle are the transmission and the engine cooling fan. Until I had the misfortune to purchase the CL-S, I had never encountered a transmission that slammed from gear to gear in such a haphazard and basically unpredictable fashion. Other than a Saturn I owned years ago, I also have never had to contend with transmission whine from shifting in lower gears. The CL-S is definitely the first vehicle I have run across that attempts to lurch 3 feet from a stop every time the engine cooling fan activates.

Some will say that the CL-S price point somehow justifies the quality issues described above. I'll admit that the CL-S includes many, many options at relatively low dollar value. However, it is also evident that foolish compromises were made during the procurement and design phases to achieve a lower price point while preserving feature content.

Prospective buyers should take note: The CL-S is only a value if quality is not a consideration. The whole is definitely less than the sum of the parts.



QuickSilver
Former '01 CL-S owner

 

I love my Acura Goodbye QuickSilver

 

Bye!


I have 30k on my car and my front brake pads were just yesterday deemed to be 80-90% left. So much for fast wearing pads.

I haven't had anything break on my car, although I did get the A/C pulley something replaced because it was making a bit of noise.

I love the stock Bose system, except for the lack of good bass, but that is what aftermarket subs and amps are for. The sound positioning and clarity (at reasonable volume levels) of the stock system is simply excellent, compared to most other cars under $30k.

Anyway, sorry to hear you got a lemon. It happens.

 

Sounds like you had a few legitimate complaints but it also sounds like you had a problematic car. None of which can be attributed to design flaws. My front brake pad went till 56k miles; my rear brake are still going. Maybe it's the driver, who knows.

 

My car's been wonderful. No major problems whatsoever. An occasional rattle here and there, but nothing major at all.

You probably had a Lemon. Overall, our car is far better than the German (Audi/BMW's) cars my friends/family own

 

yah i love my cls too..and my jeep too..as i spend a lot of time in taking care of them

 

i've had my fair share of problems but my cl-s is a great car. sorry you had such bad luck.

 

There is always a car that sux.........Probably one that was made on a friday at 5:00pm

 

Adios amigo!
Sounds like your car really sucked hard huh... glad mine isn't that way!!!

 

Hate to see ya go, but what are ya going to get next? And what about all the goodies in your ride? Are we going to see a lot of black market threads initiated by you?

 

That's what we called Lemon car, and sorry you got one of the bad seeds. So good luck chief!

 

That's a bummer...my car has had a fair amount of little glitches, all of which have been taken care of my my dealer, but I will say that my 3 previous Integras were WAY more tight and well-built...I went in for rotors on my '95...that's IT. I'm sorry you had this experience with Acura, it's sad that a person's experience with one car can spoil their opinion of the brand forever, but it sounds like your dealers out there in the Lone Star State didn't do anything to change your mind!!!!

Good luck to you!

 

Sorry to hear about that. But good luck to you with whatever car you get next.

 

I love my CL-S as well, with no service or quality problems yet. Try owning a Nissan, you will get poor service and many rattles and problems. The Acura is very tight after 4500 miles so far.

 

peace bro! Hope you have better luck with the next car Just remember there are bad apples in every basket. Maybe the car had some bad mojo?

 

That is such an ignorant statement! I am sorry, you had a bad car, but that does not mean ALL Acuras are that way. If you replace your Acura, with a Lexus, Mercedes or an Infiniti you have the same chance on getting a lemon as you did with the Acura. It happens, but not to everyone! Good luck with your next car.


P.S. I currently own 3 Acuras- no problems. In the past, I owned an Integra, Legend and 2 Accords- no problems.

 

I too have had a bunch of trouble with my CLS. However my experience with Acura's service is completely different . I have never been to a better service center. I hope you have better luck with your next vehicle. If you bought 2001 keep in mind it's a 1st year car too. Compared to other manufacturers the problems could be worse. As I have owned ford/gm/chrysler products in the past. Acura needs to improve the transmission, but the other problems are minor IMO. However, they are very frustrating to deal with...

 

UI had a few probs with the Typs-S but I still like it..
My sis 98 BMW with half as many miles as my car had the brakes replace, the passender window broke 3 times and the cluster and AC section dont light up no more, so I guess every car has its probs.. Look at the new M3,s.. I will put the music up and live with the rattles!

 

Who's UI ?

 

Does this mean your not coming to the Houston meet? :P

 

My car too has been trouble free. I would agree that at least with the Acura service people I've come into contact with, their treatment of customers is only so-so.
I have 35k miles on my car with NO problems yet.

 

Buh bye.... It sounds like you had a pretty crappy experience with your car but I have had no major issues with my CLS and I've had it for 14 months now.. The only issue I've had was the sunroof squeak and that was fixed in 5 minutes by my local dealer.. I've said this several times but this is going to be my last Acura NOT because of build quality, transmission problems, or Acura service. I believe that Honda/Acura have lost touch with me as a consumer. I'm very disappointed that Acura is not coming out with a v8 for the RL or the NSX and I'm also extremely pissed and disappointed that they will be killing off the CL...

Acura, if you're reading this: Maybe more CL's would have been sold if you would have put more creativeness in the body style and offered more performance options like an underbody spoiler kit and mods... This is my second Acura and my last due to the inability of Honda/Acura to develop a midsized sport coupe with looks and zing...

 

That makes 2 of us. But since I plan on purchasing some realestate (house) in the next year. I'm going to keep her for a bit longer. (also why I just picked up headers/CAI)

I'll buy something again in 1-2 years And it'll be RWD. This is the 1st FWD I have owned. It's alright. But it sucks compared to RWD in terms of sportyness.

 

hasta luego amigo....

 

I'll be keeping my CLS until the end of this year but in 2003 I'm really thinking about getting the Infiniti G35 coupe or the FX45 rolling on 22's...

 

I thought everyone in Texas drove 4-wheel drive buggies....you know big 33 inch tires on a Ford buggie... Oh well, I guess I am just ignorant like that... Hey good luck with your new ride, but don't go American or you will regret that Chevy/Ford POS. AHHH who knows, you find me a problem free car for the first 100K miles and I will be the first one in line to buy one with CASH!! OHH wait a minute... I found one... and I paid cash.... what was it?... LOOK BELOW -----Acura did not want you as a customer anyways.. Peace outtie