October 10th, my tranny died. I had the the car towed to the dealer and for the next 48 days, I drove a Chevy Malibu. Fortunately, I sent the appropriate Lemon Law letters. Of course, no one at Acura could tell me what's wrong with the trannys, only that the "rebuilt" tranny has fixed the problem. This didn't exactly inspire confidence in my car, so I contacted Acura for a remedy. They offered to pay my payments while the car was out of service and an extended warranty on the tranny. NOT! They then offered a new CLS since I clearly qualified under the Lemon Law. I would have considered it, but they still can't tell me the problem has been fixed in the new CLS's.

I offered to trade my CLS and additional funds for an base MDX. The regional rep for Acura checked into it for me. He then came back and tried to screw me. They wanted my car, plus an additional $9,000. I should only be paying the difference in price between a CLS and an MDX, plus an offset for the miles on my car, around $5,500. I could do better coming in off the street and trading in my car.

I have had enough of Acura. I've selected that Acura buy back my car under the Lemon Law.

More people should avail themselves of the remedies available under the Lemon Law and we'd have a lot less delay in getting new trannys out.

 

Im not familar with this, But when they buy back your car.. do they only give you whats its worth now, or what you paid for it?

 

I just check the IL lemon Law and this is what it says...

The Lemon Law Does Not Cover:
Altered or modified vehicles
Motorcycles and boats

So if my cars tranny goes out, and it sits at the dealer for more than 30 days, then i cant file a Lemon Law because I have mods?

 

Depends on the mods. If you had NOS, super charger or something equivalent, you'd probably be out of luck. If you only had intake, headers, etc., you'd probably be fine. At the very least, you can always initiate a Lemon Law action. It doesn't cost anything and the worst that can happen is that they rule against you and you have to keep your car.

 

Here is the url for lemon laws:

http://www.nationallemonlawcenter.com/

 

When they buy back a car under the Lemon Law in Florida, they have to give you what you paid for the car, including taxes and the interest you have paid on your car loan. From this amount, an offset for milage is deducted. It's a great deal for the consumer. It's much much better than trading in or selling the car.

 

How many times did your tranny break down?

 

Trade for a 6-speed... That will fix it

 

My tranny broke only once. It took 41 days for the tranny to come in and another 7 days for the dealer to put it in. Normally, it takes 1 day to put the tranny in, but it takes 7 when you take it to dealership that's clueless.

 

wow, it only broke once, and you filed the lemon papers already? doesn't it have to break more than once in order for it to be considered a lemon?

 

my car has been out almost a month now. i bought it less than a year ago but have put 28,000 miles on it. do i qualify for a new car too? a californian just wondering?

 

Or it has to be out of service to you for 30 days for the same problem, and they don't have to be consecutive days, in Florida at least.

 

If I'm reading that right, NY has similar laws. Looks like they have 27 days to fix it (7 days originally, then 20 days after that if problems arise) and the problem only needs to happen once. At that point they'll either give you a new car, or buy it back plus fees (registration, interest, etc) minus mileage for the first 2 years or 18k miles..... good to know.

Oh and good luck with your car BTW......

 

I had a major oil leak in my engine just after 3000 miles. Waited 6 weeks to get a new lower engine block. My engine was rebuilt at the dealer!!!

I went to Acura, asking for a new CL-S but they refused and offered 1 month payment ( $980 ) and 100,000 miles/ 6 years powertrain warrentee, or arbitration.

Due to the lengthy procedure to go throuh arbitration or filing a lemon law case, I opted for the deal: 1 month payment ( $980 ) and 100,000 miles/ 6 years powertrain warrentee.

I was qualified for sure, ever since the car just runs fine. At the drag it's not a ringer, but I would say an average CL-S.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

Sorry about all of your broken trannys and the clueless dealerships you have near you but it is not all of Acura's fault. Blame the dealer that probably ordered your new tranny after your car sat there for 25 day cause they could care less when they fix it. But it is not like your tires are blowing off and you get in an accident(Ford). Or your engine catches on fire and either burns itself up or the house or garage that it was parked in(Ford V8/ BMW V8). Just hang in there and if anyone could find out if the 2002 CLS tranny is good or is it the same one from the 2001, let us know.

 

Actually you're wrong. If the dealership is letting the car sit there for 25 days as you stated in your example, then tough sh!t for Acura, and it is there problem. That's why there are laws like the Lemon Law.

The examples you gave for Ford and BMW are recalls which are totally different then the Lemon Law. Basically if your tranny goes and the dealer, incompitent or not, is a representative of Acura. If it's not fixed within 30 days (or whatever your state laws are), it qualifies as a lemon..... period.

 

$980/month? How long is your lease?

 

 

During the Lemon Law process, I'm trying to find out what I can with respect to the tranny problem. I'm sure they'll want me to take a new CLS instead of buying back my car. I'll simply tell them that I wouldn't even consider a 2002 CLS if they can't tell me specifically what's wrong with the tranny and what they have done to repair it. The regional rep I was dealing with has already put a call into the design engineer for the CL/TL model line looking for info. Of course, I'll be sure to post every detail I get.

I hope my taking the lead Lemon Lawing my car will encourage the rest of you with tranny problems to do the same. In most states, it really is a very simple process, even the arbitration. Most cases settle before the arbitration takes place. However, I won't settle before arbitration because I want as much info as possible for you guys. Also, they may be surprised when I show up at arbitration and know exactly what I am doing. As a lawyer, I've handled numerous arbitrations.

 

Uhm, being without your car is being without your car. Just because the effects of being without your car might involve fire or rollover instead of the tranny shitting itself, has no bearing on the fact that you are still, in fact, WITHOUT YOUR CAR. :-\

 

Fl-TypeS,

Keep up the good work. You are doing a great service for CLS owners. Honda had transmission problems for years and have done nothing about it. Good luck!