ok I'm plannin on purchasin an 03 CL-S very soon....but before I even test drive the car....I need to know one thing. Does this tranny problem affect all CL-S and TL-S, especially the newer ones? No offense, I love the CL-S....hell...i love acuras....but if the tranny problem is as bad as i expect...then for around the same amount of $$ that i would pay for a new CL-S with navi....I could get a loaded Ford SVT Lightning....wit 380 HP and 450 lb-ft torque....the performance specs on that are 0-60 5.8 secs and the quarter mile flies by at 13.9 @100mph...thas pretty damn fast for a ford, nonetheless a truck if you ask me....thnx for da feedback

 

You live in Kali.........M3 all the way!!!!!!!!!

 

Our car also has a big problem with tires and gas.
Everytime I drive it the tires get worn down. I also have to keep putting gas in it.
And the paint sucks. It keeps getting dirty and I have to wash it and put on some more zaino.
I also hate it when I open the sun roof and my hair gets messy.
The heated seats suck also, I put it on and my butt gets hot. The seat should have a temp sensor so I stay comfy. I also hate the power seats, there are too many adjustments I think it took me 5 months to finally get the seat right. The CD changer only holds 6 cd's, they should have taken out the cassette and added 4 more slots. The inside chrome door handles keep getting fingerprints on them everytime I open the door. I also thought it came with a maintenance free 100k mile engine, but I have to keep changing the oil every 3k-7k miles. And I hate the HID lights, they are so bright I can make out all the road kill while driving at night. And when I step on the gas hard, the engine goes vrooom vrooom, making me raise the volume on the radio.

I would not buy this car again with all the above problems I am having. Next time I am sticking with hyundi.

 

I saw an '02 have a tranny failure, can't say about the '03. My advice to you is the same as to my friends who might ask: don't buy an Acura CL/TL. Sadly thats a much different story than last year when a friend of mine test drove a CL on my say so. Thank God he bought an Audi S4.

 

baahah damn man it must suck to have such a pestimistic view!

 

if you get an automatic you might be taking a risk. Who knows Acura might have fixed the issue in the '03 5AT. You will be safe in the 6MT so get the manual and you'll be ok.

 

I HATE the car.
Every time it RAINS, the car gets dirty.

FREAKING ACURA !!!!
I bet BMW’s aren’t like this.

Shawn S

 

fast-daddy-car: I know you were being sarcastic but there is some truth hidden in there. My failed tranny has cost me nothing and taken a few hours out of one day. By comparison, there are many things I have spent more time and more money on with this car. In the grand scheme of time/money the tranny deserves less attention than it is getting. The thing that has made it more of hot button than it deserves is Acura's failure to deal with it openly.

 

What can I say , each time I drive my CLS I get hit by a flying rock... The CLS must be a rock chips magnent... It is surely Acura's fault, Can I say design defect?:P

 

DreamU, I know it sucks when its your car that has the problems. But all cars are problematic. If my tranny goes I would be more upset with the loaner I get.

Its amazing here that people would not recommend the CLS because of a limited number of tranny issues, yet everyone here wants an M3 which has high odds it will have major work done on it by its 3rd birthday. It is very rare any BMW that is 5 years old has not had several thousands of dollars in work done.