carquest

wind noise w/ windows down above 30 MPH. really sucks.
lack of adjustable pedals. major bummer.
lousy, unreplaceable, factory stereo. accord unit is way better.
no folding rear seats. d@mn-it
no keyhole in trunk & remote functions not embedded in key. double d@mn-it
no fog lights or kit from acura.
no telescoping steering wheel.
no heated steering wheel.
new max & altima offer this.
i wasn't too crazy about the nissans but i'm in love with these steering wheels.
only single stage bun warmers in 6-speed. sucks.
no traction control or stability control in 6-speed. tripple d@mn-it
only 3-channel ABS in most situations (type-S). cheap-o.
lousy headlights.
poor gauge illumination (type-S).
suspension too stiff on lousy roads (type-S).
manual gear spacing less than optimal for everyday driving.

i also think the acura quality is lower than honda's. sorry to discover this.

NSX-Tuner

^^^
no traction control or stability control in 6-speed really pissed me off at first, but I got over it... But it sure would have been nice...

lead_sled_dog

Other than the fact that I have changed transmissions more often than tires, I still love the car. Sure there are little things, as mentioned before, but all in all. It's a great car IMHO.

darrinb

ride height-fixed it with an eibach drop
body roll- fixed with comptech sways

can only change the track up and not down from the steering wheel, wtf

diori

Sunroof
No auto/up for windows
Little quicker off the line

That's it.

Dimcorner

Drivers window has a auto UP.

But i think the car needs more UMPH. Definately lacking there
And it handles kinda slushy, but prolly cuz the sidewalls of the stock tires suck ass

Oh last thin
THE PAINT SUCKS!!!! Too thin

BC2G

thats a list... why do u have an acura? ever consider selling it? and dude.. the traction control is a pest IMO

cmark

disclaimer: i love my car overall ('01)

dislikes: huge side mirrors

no trip computer

big turning radius

it's not AWD!!!

SleekSilver

There are a lot of things that I don't like about my CL. I don't hate my car but I wish I didn't buy it sometimes...

1. The turning radius is rediculous, its freakin nautical.
2. The car itself is a boat
3. RATTLES!!!
4. Stock suspension is weak for the Type S
5. Interior looks pretty dated compared to other cars in its class or around its price range.
6. The clutch on the 6 speed doesn't feel like it grips totally on hard shifts 1-2 and 2-3, I think this might be my biggest complaint.
7. Brakes suck
8. Thin ass paint

I have a long list just because I came from a car that I absolutely loved everything about (other than lack of power)... I had a 99 Integra LS with some stuff done. Overall the CL isn't a bad car at all, it just has some issues like all cars do.

Mike

hope i'm not cursing myself here but I've never had a rattle in 4+ years.

hate the dumbo mirrors and what everyone else said.

CL Type"S"1

Don't forget about the "sunroof"....Oh wait...... "sunslit"

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Weak Brakes and bubbles in the tires!

diori

The 01's don't have Auto/UP

NSX-Tuner

Well stop running over potholes. Yeh... I replaced two OEM tires on my 01 CLS and one on my 03 CLS because of bubbles (ruptures) on the sidewalls.

KahRupt-CL-S03

Damn, ya making me want to get rid of my sh!t, thats what I get for asking...
But nah, this is good, it's good to hear other things about our CL's other than the positive, a little negative is good so that we can be aware on our next. We love our car, if not we would of not paid that much for it!

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Today, I noticed a new small bubble on brand new Kumho ASX tire (less than 500 miles)!. Remind you, I did not hit a pothole. I drive to to work and cross a lowered rail road track. This is the roughest part of my commute. If The tire dealer does NOT replace the tire under warranty, then I will ask for 100% refund for the 4 tires and go with Eagle F1 DSG-3!.

Nashua.

darrinb

u guys can always cop the 03 mirrors, alot smaller

goldmemberer

Dear God,

Please give my CL:

- 1 more gear (and make it a manual)
- zero rattles and more of a solid feel

And in all honesty, I will be the happiest fuck around. Everything else is good enough for me/more than I need. The leather could be better but it's cool, I love the seats too much to complain. Same goes for nearly everything but I'm real happy with what I got.

Thanks, God.

GINge!

1. Seat belt return doesn't work like it should
2. OEM rims begging to be curbed
3. OEM stereo not as good as I expected
4. Clearcoat is weak

But the worst thing, and the one part that is making me think about trading it in, is the seating position. I have yet to find a position that is as comfortable as my Pathfinder or RAV 4 for long drives. My head brushes the roofliner with the seat at its lowest setting = very annoying.

akhbhaat

I'm a regular at the BMW boards since the BMW is my primary car. The CL doesn't get much use, and I haven't had enough time to discover all of the car's flaws. But here are my complaints thus far:

-Rotors bad within 1000 miles. Car has 4200 now, still haven't had time to get it in.
-Xenon as standard equipment is great (should be STANDARD on ALL cars in this price range...hello, BMW/Merc/Audi?), but no projectors? :thumbsdn:
-Trans won't hold first gear
-"SportShift" is a poor imitation of a true manual, seems like a marketing gimmick to me
-Engine powerband is too narrow; somewhat weak in the low and mid range, doesn't really seem to get going until 4500 or better
-Way too heavy, and too slow despite the power (but is the narrow powerband partially to blame?) The manual 323, driven well, will actually outrun it.
-Suspension is too soft/floaty...and the body roll, yikes!
-Stock tires are pure shit.
-FWD (ah, but I knew what I was getting into with that...can't hold it against the car)
-Large turning radius
-Too much cheap interior plastic and fake wood
-A/C controls are NOT intuitive, and the automatic climate control does a poor job! Even my BMW makes more sense, and that's sad! (then again, perhaps I'm just used to - and more comfortable with - German ergonomics)
-Standard xenon, but no fogs?

The CL is a great bang for the buck, especially the Type-S, but spend some days with the car and you will quickly come to terms with which corners Honda decided to cut in order to keep the price down and still load the car with appealing standard features. Upon close inspection, it is revealed that there is a lot of cheap plastic, fake wood and flimsy feeling body panels inside and out. The trunk lid isn't particularly solid feeling, nor are the doors despite their heft, and most of the switchgear is flimsy and cheapy feeling, as is some of the "hidden" plastic, such as that which surrounds the steering column. It reminds me of the plastic that the toy soldiers I played with as a kid were made of.

On the plus side, the leather is of fairly high quality (especially compared to the crap that they put in the 3 series...I got leatherette vinyl instead), everything fits together nicely, the shift lever has a solid feel to it, and the steering wheel is also covered in decent leather. I'm indifferent to the dash backlighting, although I would prefer it had a little more contrast to it, like a darker green, an orange or red, or white. In-dash 6 disc is a HUGE plus.

Mechanically, I love the sound of the engine, and the steering is well weighted if awfully numb. The car has very noticible understeer (but surprisingly little torque steer...the base isn't quite powerful enough, I don't think), but I bought it as a commuter, so that's not really an issue.

CLASSYCLS

I have to agree with those 4, adding the:
5. Stearing wheel positioning, which suxs!
6. Acura call those fog lamps that suxs too!

Besides that I love my CL-S, and the fact that I am becoming a Comptech Whore!

BEST BANG FOR MY $$$

Python2121

i drive a 1st gen so take that into concideration

theres way too much vibration from the engine at low rpm's
no auto up window for the left, no auto down for hte right (seriously, they have the correct switch right next to it, just use it again)
sunroof doesn't realize when its open, and will try to open more and make this unpleasant noise
a few rattles here and there
engine doesn't like to be revved (3.0) nearly as much as some other cars. 325i's engine is such a nice drive compared to mine every now and then because it sounds just as happy at 5000 rpm's as 2000
the right seat has the wierdest system for tilting forward
a lot of other things bug me i just cant remember them

i was basically given this car, i went from a peugeot 505 wagon to this car, so i never complain

i would like to add in the coolest feature about this car. though you cant roll up and down the windows through the key fob, you can silence the alarm (which i think sounds awsome on the '99 cl) for descreet exits

patek007

The MOST surprising thing to me was the LACK of better angled side mirrors - you cannot change lanes without looking back - not a bad rule... yet still, a nicely done side mirror with your decent perepheral vision can do the trick.

Noises that dealer cannot fix and pray to GOD not make worse when fixing - watch out when they replace with 'new' panels which 'better' fit 03s... but not necesarily 02's and 01's ...

Still at $14k less, better milege, more space and eating 97% of all non-pro-drivers in 32x/52x/530s for lunch as in bimmers - makes me forget all the anomalies ...

akhbhaat

I don't know about your CL, but mine gets under 20 in the city I live. My 3er gets well over 20 (sometimes over 25) in the same city and 30+ on the freeway. Both recommend 91+ for optimum performance and gas mileage (not surprising given the compression ratios on both engines), so there's no advantage there.

At the track, I'd be more than happy to run a stock 325 against any stock CL out there, Type-S or otherwise. Then again, I'd also be happy to run the CL against another CL, in the spirit of competition. Do we have any other serious road/club racers (please do not confuse that with street racing) here?

kevin79925

where? i wanna get brighter guages!!

Dimcorner

I did AutoX and Lapping days before, but i had my twin turbo RX7 for that. Best handling car in my opinion (after my suspension mods). Only thing i didn't like was that you have to always worry about your enging going kaputz. Mine never blew and was ticking in at 127,000 miles!

BTW i used to run the lapping events at the homestead speedway, awesome track!

And no i would never take the CL there. If i go back to that i'm going to get a cheap ass light car with better balance and RWD.

Guru

Driving around with a time bomb of a tranny.
I hated the fact that I didn't have an 03 with all the upgrades like aluminum trim, smoked headlights, new tails, etc. It would be nice if it was RWD too. When I had mine, it didn't really have any rattles to complain about, got the sunroof rattle fixed early on so wasn't bad. I still miss my CL.

G-UNIT

I wish my 01 ebrake was a handbrake......like the 03

diori

You took the word right out of mouth. That is probably my biggest compaint, although I listed others. I still love her and that car continues to turn heads, especially w/ the CAI, HEaders and CT exhaust.

paulff3

long front overhang
no pass-through rear seat
car sits too high
wheel and tire package too small and thin
6speed e-brake is very loose
no driving lights
2nd gear notchy
clutch is "different"

Still love the car though. Car has MANY, MANY positive attributes!!!!!

123456SPEED

I would say exterior styling is my biggest dislike with the CLS., should have been more distinctive. Some other minor issues but overall it's great. I have the 03 6 Speed Navi, (anthracite).

G-UNIT

I actually love the styling...but thats My opinion...

Chaptorial

Well you'd have to get the 6spd for that since the 03 autos still have the footbrake. Guess its just an added bonus.

If you like manuals.

G-UNIT

123456 FO SHO!

1killercls

wish it had a telescoping steering wheel.

123456SPEED

G-Unit, not sure what you're saying, but coming from 2 Legend Coupes I was expecting more, style-wise, from the 'new Legend Coupe replacement', the CL. Overall it's a handsome car, just not distinctive enough. If the 6 Speed had not been offered I probably would have gone to the 330Ci or kept my 95 Legend longer.

G-UNIT

All i meant was that when i saw the CL in the showroom, i had to buy it right away.....Love at first sight homey...

Rod

I don't know why so many people complain about the CL's styling, I really like the way it looks....very classy. Yes, I'd prefer an SL65, but for the price I really can't complain.

Joe5.0

- Stock tires are horrible, worst tires I've ever dealt with. They squeal like a pig just by thinking about taking a corner more than 5mph
- Seats are too hard, uncomfortable for me on long trips
- Seat position is waaaaay too high, feels like I'm sitting on the roof
- Steering wheel doesnt telescope and doesnt tilt down far enough
- Moonroof doesnt go all the way back and switch should be on the roof
- Paint scratches very easily
- Clutch is non-progressive, making smooth shifts near impossible
- Stock suspension too soft, too much body roll, way too much brake dive
- Radio could be a little louder


Noone can really bitch about the styling however. You knew what the car looked like when you bought it.

About everything I dislike I can fix. I have had mine for a year now and I still cant find a 100% comfortable driving position. Either the seat is all the way back which is great for legroom, but then my arm is stretched too far to the top of the steering wheel and the clutch pedal is kinda too far, or I put the seat too far forward and the steering wheel distance is perfect but I am right on top of the pedals. This car was definitely not designed for long-legged Americans. :sqntfawk:

DarkSithCL

iTrader: (1)

High off the ground
Thin paint
Thin sheetmetal...dents easily
stock rims are curbbed/scratched easily
Soft exhaust sound
But, I liked it more than a bunch of other cars...