Ok..

We've had quite a few trannys go recently so lets track it acuratly. Please answer this poll.

 

Actually. I want to add a little something. For people that have had the tranny fail also post a reply with the following:

1. Where is the majority of your driving done? Highway or city streets?

2. Average traffic conditions, a lot of time standing, lot's of stop and go?

3. Accelration, are you a lead foot? Percentage of time accelrating voer 3/4 throttle?

4. Any other relevant information you may think of.

 

Well... Mine is gone (Waiting for parts), I drive mostly in the city and don't abuse it most of the time... WOT about 10% of the time!

 

someone should make this a sticky.

 

Wish I could... Where's Soopa Doopa Poopa Scoopa?

 

Topside Bump!

 

Another... make this a sticky please MODS!

 

1. Highway driving
2. alot of stop and go, those fking rush hours
3. ~25% above 3/4 throttle
4. driven aggressively, 70+ on freeways. Raced only a couple of times. Tranny went out ~11500, 6.5 months of driving

 

1)Mostly Highway.
2)Pretty much a smooth flow.
3)I cruise most of the time, but average about 80~100 on the freeway...I'd say 40% of the time WOT.
4) 37K....10 months....tranny fluid changed at 15k and 30K
oil changed every 3K....

 

The numbers are kind of shocking... over 30% failure rate for trannys so far..

 

1. city streets
2. some stop and go some not...id say about 50/50
3. i floor it from time to time...maybe 30-40% not too much tho
4. i had the tranny fluid flushed and it didnt help one bit...it went out at 11500 and 6 months

 

This is a great topic to have for information.

 

they would be shocking if these numbers could be extrapolated to the population of same type acura trannies as a whole.

still, at least we'll have a better idea of how many instances of failed trannies we have within this particular population...

 

1. Where is the majority of your driving done? Highway or city streets?

Both, but most of my highway driving is in rush hour traffic.

2. Average traffic conditions, a lot of time standing, lot's of stop and go?

The majority of my 30 mile commute to work during the week is in stop and go traffic, which basically describes most Miami driving.

3. Accelration, are you a lead foot? Percentage of time accelrating voer 3/4 throttle?

Yes, even in traffic I'm always trying to pass people. I accelerate over 3/4 throttle every chance I get, which I say happens about 45% of the time.

4. Any other relevant information you may think of.

I don't race and have never torque braked the car!

 

1. Where is the majority of your driving done? Highway or city streets?

Highway.

2. Average traffic conditions, a lot of time standing, lot's of stop and go?

Mix of stop and go and cruising.

3. Accelration, are you a lead foot? Percentage of time accelrating voer 3/4 throttle?

cruise at 70-80. 25% 3/4 throttle.

4. Any other relevant information you may think of.

My tranny died at 32k miles.

 

1. Where is the majority of your driving done? Highway or city streets?

50/50

2. Average traffic conditions, a lot of time standing, lot's of stop and go?

I would say that only 5-10% of my highway driving is stop and go. Most of the time it's 80mph.

3. Accelration, are you a lead foot? Percentage of time accelrating voer 3/4 throttle?

I am a lead foot most of the time. I'll engage VTEC at least a few times on every trip I take. I like to accelerate fast.

4. Any other relevant information you may think of.

Tranny replaced @14,000 miles. Repair done in two days. Never torque-braked. Did use the tranny to slow down before, but don't now. Just broke 20,000 miles and the new tranny is doing great.

 

Definatly some stats Acura can use!

 

This statistics is biased, there is no way that 64% = 1/3 of people have tranny problems. Probably because mostly people who have problems vote,

 

I tell you what acura really needs to know about: this disparity in turnaround times for transmission repair/replacement that have been reported by the affected owners. some guys are getting them in a couple of days, and others are reporting multiple month waiting lists. this scares me more than any potential tranny failure does, as the transmission is generally covered under warranty, while the requisite loaner car is not.

maybe you should also ask about quoted turnarounds for these repairs...

just a thought.

 

My tranny was one of the first ones to go out and that is why my transmission only took two days to replace.

 

it just shows you how hard it is to keep up with all of the tranny complaints... I thought yours was one of the most recent ones...

 

And that's not an unreasonable expectation: to get pleasure from a $30,000 investment.

I think Acura is at fault for making weak transmissions that can't handle the stock power of the vehicle.

As long as you aren't obviously abusive, the car should be able to handle your driving style without a problem. That is called build quality. That is lacking in the CL transmission. I thought Honda was known for quality.

 

You're reading the stats wrong dufus! 64% of people are problem free....it's just the other 36% who are experiencing some sort of problem (either replacement or symptoms)

 

Hmm...I havne't really been keeping up with this issue until now. My tranny kicks a bit in 1st and 2nd gear and I step on the pedal harder than normal. Is this a sign?

 

1. city for the most of my ownership, recently has been more freeway since moving to irvine

2. nowadays has been a lot of stop and go traffic (fuck the 405 and the 5 freeways!)

3. yes, i've got a lead foot

4. none

 

Sure is... It's going......

 

the point he was trying to make before you started name-calling was that your statistics are going to be biased if a higher proportion of those folks with tranny issues respond than actually exists in the real world.

got it, dufus?

 

How the hell is it biased? This board represents a fair mix of CL owners.... the question is if they had any tranny problems. We are taking a sample out of the market and making them fill out a survey! Very simple.




:o

 

you would think...

bear in mind that I think you are doing a good thing, and I'm not trying to get you to stop the poll or anything. I'm just playing the devil's advocate here.

this board absolutely does not represent a fair mix of cl owners. to wit:

(1) the user base for this site is primarily made up of (aggressive driving) twenty-somethings, contrary to the owner demograhics acura has showing a much older typical buyer,

(2) the typical user on this site would generally characterize him or herself as an automobile "enthusiast," which may or may not represent the population of cl owners at-large, and

(3) not everyone on this site owns a cl or tl of the type with the questionable 5 speed auto tranny, which may result in spurious responses. (some folks may have a 1st gen cl or tl, or a 2nd gen tl with the 4 speed, or an accord or bmw or mustang, or whatever)

In addition, there may be overreporting of transmission problems, particularly of the "hasn't failed, but I think it will soon" variety. this is particularly troubling as that response automatically assumes the owner:

(1) has enough automotive knowledge to tell that his transmission is experiencing the symptoms of impending failure and that this impending failure is of the same type as other owners have been experiencing and

(2) isn't just imagining these symptoms

before we even get to the question of malicious/misguided voting.

at least with a complete failure (or when a qualified service technician tells you of impending failure) there isn't as much of a possibility of a mistake of some kind. furthermore, there may be underreporting of correctly operating transmissions, as those who have problems are generally more motivated to be vocal in this matter than those without. there would need to be a way to check the validity of the votes, and someone would have to take the time to do so.

consequently, this poll will tend towards being nothing more than a popularity contest for acura transmissions, with folks casting their vote based on whether they think there is a problem, rather than whether they actually have a problem.

but other than that, should be a piece of cake.

 

It should be narrowed to who is getting a new tranny, has one or has no problems. The real problem is getting everyone to vote...there should be around 1500 or so votes, if everyone on the board voted.

 

You make some very valid points and I am starting to see things your way....the only thing I would kind of disagree with are the demographics of this board. I remember there was a thread posted a while back in regards to age...while the board DOES have many 18-25 year olds, it also has a fair share of some more mature folks who drive more conservativly and who have also had their transmissions fail.

 

I remember this discussion, too. I guess I'm also recalling what acura said about the target audience of the cl being much older than 18-25, and I doubt they've picked up enough in that younger group to really skew the demographics in that direction.

after going back through the previous postings on the trannies, I don't think driving conservatively or not has a major impact in these failures, either. but my point by bringing up the age thing is that this board is not a representative microcosm of the acura owning world.

like I said, I don't think you should stop your quest, I just think you should be aware of the shortcomings of this particular method of accounting for the failures (which is head and shoulders above the other methods I've seen tried on this board so far) when making your case to acura.

if we could track by tranny serial number we could prevent duplicate counting and such, but those who've already been through the process aren't likely to have access to the failed tranny serial numbers anymore.

at least we are getting a reasonable number of the reported failures on this board (even if we can't relate this number to the total population of transmissions), and this information has really turned around my perception of this situation...

 

Tank,

This is not a "quest", nor am I planning to make a case to Acura, I bet you they already know damn well there is a problem and have instructed dealers to not argue with customers and have trannys replaced. In my case, I went to the dealer, advised him that I am concerned about the shifting. They test-drove the car and ordered a new transmission assembly. The backorder situation is a different story (recent model vehicle, lots of unexpected replacements...I guess mass production of assembly line and replacement trannys is not in the production plan)

What I wanted to see is the "extent" of this problem. Obviously, looking at the poll numbers (which by the way, each member can vote for only ONCE), there is a considerable percentage of owners who have experienced transmission problems (and i am not counting those who have symptom - If you think you do, go see your service advisor).

 

FYI, my CLS was towed to the dealership on October 11. It's still there waiting for a new tranny. That should give you an idea of the current turn around time.

 

haha so? my car has been there since september 20th, and it's still sitting there collecting dust :sqntfawk:

 

My friend, if you had ever staudied the statistics, you will know that the "sample population" has to be complitly random. Most of the people whose tranny works fine will not even vote in this poll. Why should they? Their tranny works fine, and they are not so concerned with the issue.
I would suggest to administrators to make this question mandatory for EVERY member on this board, then we could make more send out of the stats.

 

Wow....19.09% have actually failed... that's 1 out of 5 cars

 

1 out of every 5 car owners *responding*...

(that makes a bit of a difference, you know...)

 

i would hope someone makes a case, this is unacceptable to me...

 

Why, Do you own a CL?


What case can be made? There is a defect, Acura recognizes it and replaces trannys....We can warn some potential buyers about this problem.....that's it...