I just wanted to let you guys know that I filed a claim with the BBB auto line, http://www.bbb.org , and I won my case. My tranny on my 01 CLS went out at 18K and was replaced. It went out again 3 other times (2 plus it failed when I went to pick it up at the dealer after they "fixed" it.)

The California lemon law states that if the issue could cause "serious bodily injury or death" then you could claim it as a lemon.

A transmission failure on the freeway falls under this category. My tranny still worked but was stuck in 1 gear, like 3rd. You have to have a hearing with the arbitrators and a guy from Honda and BBB. They wanted me to attend in person, but I chose to conference call like the Honda and BBB guys. The arbitrators were in Oakland. I faxed them all of my paperwork, service docs, and argued my case based upon the lemon law which I found on the Web. You can also get a lawyer.

What really pissed me off though was my passenger side lock started making a horendous sound, and the service writer gave me a hard time about fixing it, because they didn't want to give me a loaner while the car was being fixed so I stuck it to them. It felt like they were penalizing me for the transmission failures and they didn't want to fix anything else after the tranny. Since the tranny was a dangerous problem that they hadn't proven they could fix I had to file.

Suffice it to say, I won, and I was given the option to have a replacement or buyback. The buyback was the value of the vehicle at the first repair. It was the "normal" life of the car which was 120,000. They divided 18000 by 120,000 and that was my usage price per mile up to 18,000 miles.

I took the replacement, a 2003 CLS nav, because besides the tranny issue I really like the car. Got the same color too. I didn't have to pay taxes, license or anything, and by the time I got the new car I had 34,000 miles on my old car. By the way they gave me the option of an Auto or 6sp.

Anyway just wanted to let you know that if you are through with dealing with the dealer and tired of having problems with this issue you do have options, and you can win. I am proof. Sometimes a little perserverance and work pay off. It wasn't even hard.

I filed my case in November '02 before the tranny warranty was extended. I just got the new car 3 days ago 2/12/03. I didn't want to publicly talk about it until I had the new car in my possession.

congrats!!!

yah, congrats. good luck with the new ride!

thanks for sharing your story.

good luck with the new ride.

hmmm i wouldve taken the 6 spd, sadly my tranny hasnt gone out yet, its at 11k miles, trust me just driving it in d5 doesnt kill mine

I used to drive always in sportshift oh wells

Nick out.

do not tell me yet get another Auto!!!

that sucks that you had to take the replacement because I can see that even with the buyback you got stuck by honda. you would lost like $3-4k on the car. couldn't you get the 6sp manual instead?

As I see it I got a brand new car with no taxes, license and zero miles, brand new tires, brakes, etc for the use of a car to 18,000 when I drove it to 34,000 miles. I also got a 03 instead of a 01 and as far as I can tell there have not been any issues with the '03 trannies. It isn't even part of the ext. warranty. Let alone the resale value on a '03 will be better than a '01.

I didn't get stuck by Honda, because it was my choice to have a replacement or the buyback, but since I like the car, I chose the replacement. It was less hassle considering I would have had to go out and buy/negotiate a new car. It didn't make sense, since I like the CL. The 6 sp was an option, but I don't really like to be tied to the clutch. I can see if a 6 sp is important to you then that is cool, but I've had enough manual trannies in my life.

Sounds like you made out well.

Good...Maybe if a few more guys get a newer ride/$$ they'll make an attempt at addressing the problem.