When my second transmission went out on my Eclipse, I started looking around for a new car. One of the first lines of cars I started to look at were Acuras.

I liked the fact that they were almost all completely loaded, and fairly cheap compared to the other luxury models. I'm a kid who graduated from highschool last year, and although I have a great job, I still am pretty limited on what type of car I can afford.

Now I have my heart set on a CL. I thought that the look was a great balance between a luxury car and a sporty coupe. I was also impressed with the reviews and what seemed like, reliability in the line of Honda made vehicles...

Until I read this board. Now I'm a bit scared whether I should still be considering a CL or TL with the long line of problems the cars seem to have with their transmissions. I want a car that I can depend on, and not worry about breaking down or causing any bad accidents. As well, I can't afford to have it put in the shop for a transmission replacement as frequently as others on this board have mentioned.

So I'm asking you guys, since you are the experts on the cars. What is your opinion on the whole situation? Would you recommend this car to someone who is seriously considering an Acura but doesn't want to deal with a problematic car? What are the chances that I buy a CL and end up having it serviced and worked on more than I should have to or want to?

I read that Acura finally re-designed the transmissions, and that makes me a bit more comfortable about accepting that maybe I can have anything that goes wrong fixed while the car is still under waranty. But I don't like the fact that there might be a good chance I may be setting myself up for a big headache in the long run.

I know that I could pick any car and have it constantly have problems. I just don't want to make a bad purchase on a car that might not be at all reliable. Are all the models prone to tranny problems? Is it a solid chance that I'll end up having to replace the transmission because of these problems? Does anyone have an Acura CL that hasn't had any problems?

The car I'm inquiring about now is a 99 model 3.0 CL with around 40,000 miles.

If you guys could give me any input I would really appretiate it. I've come to really admire the Acura line, even though I now am finding out that their service record and reliability may be a bit less than what I had originaly thought. Now I don't know what to think, and I'm a bit stumped and let down by the idea that the car that I think is perfect for me may not be all that perfect.

Thanks,
A Confused Acura Newbie

 

I think most of the tranny problems occur in the 2001 model and newer cars. And I dont know that much about the older generation (OG) but have not personally heard that many sore things about them. Keep inquiring!