Say it aint so....ohh but it is. I have not looked under the hood to check 100% that it is out but it has gone out 3 other times...I can tell whne it goes. :'( :'( WTF I just got this one put in about 3 months ago My warentee is almost up (43k) and I ahve NO faith that this will get fixed and stay fixed. I cant wait to hear what my acura dealer has to say about this becasue every time I have to have it fixed they give me shit. I will not pay for this part once my warentee is up....I will have to have a talk with them about this.

 

I belive if a problem is documented/established/reoccurring before the warranty is up, they are required to fix it after the warranty period. I don't know what the details are, I'm sure the dealer knows. I had a speed senor replaced under warranty in another car twice, once after the warranty was expired.



It may be a PITA, but I'd try another dealer.

 

No option to try another dealer...the next one is 1.5 hr away and they are just as blind...then after that its probably 3hrs or more I would guess to the next one.

Its not like after the first time I had to explane to them what was wrong I could just walk in and they fixed it....every time I had to go in there I had to re explane to them what was going on. They would try to blame it on something I did to the car and then they just would fix it. The last time they had it for like 3 days trying to figgure out what I was talking about...then fixed it and ran test to see why it went out and came up with nothing. So this time I expect it to be an all out battle to get them to fix it and to tell me that when it goes out again after the warentee is up they will still fix it.

 

Sorry to hear about this. I have not heard of anyone with this problem again and again. If the dealer gives you crap, ask to see a zone rep. They should take care of it under warranty and beyound. This has happened too many times.

 

Yeah I know the zone rep pretty well to bad its because I have had dozzens of problems with the 01 and now the 03.

I remember people having issues long ago but I have not really heard of anyone having issues now...and that makes me wonder wtf is going on.

 

1. Part is bad
2. It is under warranty
3. Take car to dealer
4. Tell them part is not working. Replace. Period.
5. Leave car
6. Pick up when fixed.

...you don't have to take any BS from the dealer. Don't set yourself up for it. Make the warranty request and that's it. Short and sweet. Period.

...keep all your paperwork (past and present) and if the part goes out again after the warranty has expired you will have a good case if it goes out again.

...as a consumer, you have a right to an in-warranty repair 100 times if that is what it takes to fix it...without any BS from a dealer.

...

 

I am not setting my self up for them to deny me and I will accept it. I know for a fact when I bring it in we are going to have to go through some crap to get it fixed...but it WILL get fixed. I also dont think it will stay fixed so I plan to talk to them about the warentee and what do they plan to do after its up. If they give me crap about it I will go higher.

 

what does the actuator do exactly for the car?

 

If that is the case automatic transmissions could be replaced whenever they went out beyond the warranty period for an indefinite period of time.

 

Turns the CLP into a CLS.

Its basically a secondary intake valve that opens up at around 4100rpms.

 

oh shit :spankme:

 

EEK :shakehd:

1. From the sounds of things, these guys are not very bright. Hit another dealer ASAP.
2. If you find another dealer that has an IQ above 100, here are some items to check:

a. See if the cable is binding or causing undue strain on the actuator.
b. See if there is just a loose connection that is causing an intermittent.
c. Ask if the full series of tests can be run as per the Acura service manual (HELMS).
d. Make sure to tell them you’ve been through a bunch of them.


3. Put a tiny mark on the part with a small tool to leave a little mark that you recognize. If you do this, you will know if the part has been exchanged, or if someone is just being lazy about an intermittent problem. IOW, I wonder if your "buddies" at the dealer are stupid and lazy.

My comments are based on the very low chances of getting FOUR bad actuators. I could understand if you dealer had 4 or 5 of them IN STOCK and they all came from a defective batch. Perhaps you can even be so bold as to ask for a NEW ONE from the factory.

Sorry, something just smells wrong on this one. The actuator is NOT the transmission.

 

Well...we all know you meant turns the CLS into a CLP.... when it's not working

 

hey listen to me me on this one....with one hand give the car gas with the other help the IMRC fire by giving the cable a boost...come back and tell me what happened

 

Exactly.

Haven't had a problem with mine yet so i ain't gonna jinx it.

 

Nah, it is something like 6 months / 12k miles. Have to read the Warranty Information booklet. If something is replaced after the warranty it probably has the 'Replacement Parts Limited Warranty.'

 

Thats what I am thinking also!! I had an 01 cl-s for a little over a year with the same mods and not one went out. Now 4 of them...no way! Also they are not in stock I can assure you of that...the first one I think they even took off a car that was on the lot (when they still were selling cl-s) The last one they had to "wait" for it to come in. I will be putting a mark on it to check this out. They supposedly did a string of "testing" the last time and came up with nothing. I will ask for them to do it again and I will tell them PER THE SERV MANUAL!

I could understand this if there were still a bucnh of them going out on the board...but there has ben nothing as far as I can tell. I just want the shit fixed for good for fuks sakes. I dont drive the car hard and I usualy shift right before vetec so I always know when this thing goes out.....its getting OLD!

 

What will this do? Also where do you give it gas from under the hood...I never tried that...I just always had someone push the gas from in the car.

 

tell the dealer since this has been a common problem that they should fox it after warranty

 

Just follow the two throttle cables to where they go under the plastic engine cover.
There’s a small plate at the end of the cables that you can work with your hand.
This is what I used to do to check my actuator.
Of course you don’t know what the RPM’s are when you’re doing it, but you can at least tell if it activates or not.

Since I removed my bypass valve on my CAI I can actually HEAR the tone of the engine change now so I don’t need to manually check it anymore.

Shawn S

You can see the cables near the top center of this photo.

 

Yeah I can hear the difference when it goes out thats why I dont really even bother checking unless I already know its out. I will be calling them in a little bit so I will let yall know what goes on...what a PITA

 

Just get the supercharger and intercooler and your problem is solved; no actuator to worry about.

 

3 ideas.

first the "new" actuator which was just installed should have a separate warranty on it. i believe the acura parts, installed by you or the dealer, have a 12 mo/12K mile warranty. so if it goes out w/in a year/12K miles from now it should still be covered. getting anyone at the stealership to admit it is another story......

second you still have the option of an extended warranty. either from acura or 3rd party. you'll have to decide if its worth it to you based on the frustration vs cost.

third i'd contact your state attorney general's office. they should have an office of consumer affairs which handles auto complaints. they get a ton of them every year. you need to write a letter identifying the problem, how many times its been fixed and how often, and that each time you have to have it fixed again you have to argue with the service manager to get it resolved. you MUST provide documented evidence of each repair (aka your repair bills). the attorney general's office will contact the dealership's attorney of record from their business license to record your complaint. then, when the part fails again, you have a record both with the attorney general's office and the dealership's attorney. when the service manager refuses to repair the actuator the next time you file a follow-up complaint with the attorney general's office. the attorney general's office has a record of your complaints and you have legal recourse for willfull breach of warranty.

this will get the attention of the dealer's owner. the dealer's owner will NOT ignore the attorney general's office. they can pull his ticket.

 

now that would be fun! I dont think I would do it tho...not to this car...not anymore. One day ill just take some $$$ and get a project car that it doesnt matter if something goes out and I cant fix it yet.

 

Very good info...I might have to do this.

 

good stuff!!

 

I went to acura today and it took them 35 min to check and figure out what I had already told them....its out. I did have to re-explain everything to the same guy that helped me last time. He kinda remembered but not really. So anyway they have a new one coming in and they will replace it. But they did say once my warrantee is up its up and I will only have the part warrantee that is 1 year 12k miles. Thats fine by me because the longest it has gone for so far was 5 months! He did ask if they could mark it with some yellow stuff to make sure I don't tamper with it and take it off. I told him to go for it and take a picture because the only time I think about it is when its out!

 

This is just a wild assumption, but after taking a close look at it, I cannot help but wonder that the actuator is being improperly installed. Yours seems to be an isolated incident, and its rarity seems to prove that out. Considering that it is occurring repeatedly, it is possible that you might have an actuator assembly misalignment. After checking the failed actuator for any sloppy motion and comparing it closely to the new part, the installer should remove the related major assembly and verify that the actuator rod is functioning accurately in the axis it operates in. Actuators are a wonderful way to transmit motion, but any misalignment can cause undue reactive stresses on the actuator rod, thereby causing it to fail prematurely.

I hope I have made myself clear, but my instincts tell me the installer is not performing a thorough diagnosis, when making the repair. In fact, I would even encourage you to insist that a different mechanic do the job, if only to cast a different set of eyes and experience on your chronic problem.

Just my 0.02 cents!

 

I think more than one person has done this install and the time before this they followed what the service manual said to check. I don't know what that included but I confirmed that again this time by asking the same guy who helped me "so yall did the check through the service manual last time right" and he said yes sir. So I don't know if that includes alignment of the unit itself...I will definitely bring that up next time I go in...it does seem that could happen.