blazerbob1

I've listened, responded(some time ago) to threads about our tranny failures and have one more thing to say at this time. Go to any other car site and believe me they are not complaining about their trannys failing like we are here on good ol acura-cl.com! Frankly, I think anyone who is defending this sad saga of tranny failures, truly is burying their heads in the sand and just aren't getting the point that "Transmissions on great cars do not fail this often and even on lousy cars! Cheers to the jjc001 for making the great effort he is to right this obvious mess with our trans! Sales are suffering and some saying Acura will even discontinue CL-S! When are the people who are burying their head in the sand going to see the point! Its how Acura is just replacing same trans after trans with some people here having 3!
Acura won't let Techs look into trans to see whats happening. We have theories of converter and carrier bearings being at root cause!
This smells bad and sounds like a cover-up by Acura! You bet Acura is viewing these boards to see that a few of us are standing on firm principals that putting bad trannies in any car is not exceptable!!! When will the birds on this forum realize that its this principal we are concerned and upset about! I'm out:::

acura_service

good point, but on the above quote you never dealt with chrysler did you? - we used to have up to 16 vans/cars a week towed in with transmission failures

EricL

I have no doubt that what you say is true...

My purchase of the Acura was greatly influenced by the opinions and experiences of friends who owned (or still own) older Acuras and Hondas. A number of them that drive their cars *hard* and never had a problem, and they just keep going.

I can only speak for myself, but I expect more from an Acura (regardless of where it is assembled) than a Chrysler!

Acura vs. Chrysler -- something about expectations....

flipwhip

it is hard to say what the extent of the problem is nation wide from this forum, the only way to ever really find out would probably be if courts forced acura to hand over the statistics (i am not sure?). does anyone have any clue on how to get some class-action lawsuit rolling if these trannies keep going bad. i have a bad feeling acura isn't going to step forward on their own volition. i am assuming there is probably some law stating that if a car is known to have a defect (and this could be one) it would be covered under lemon laws (varying upon state i guess).

my hope, is that it is manufactering problem that only affects some transmissions and not a flaw in the design.

flipwhip

BTW, just to note: so far acura service has been _great_, had a rattling problem in the sunroof, and a weak battery (car would barely start). both problems were fixed quickly, not a problem. So much better than ford service, which was always a hassle for me...

Zapata

I don't care what Chrysler does and doesn't do. It gives me no comfort and fix the problems with the transimission knowing how many domestic transmissions fail. I drive and Acura. Acura is supposed to a luxary car. Hence, have a better product.

Zapata

Acura service has been excellent at PAA. If i do decide to get rid of my car, i will miss the service at PAA.

Corporate is really screwing the pooch on this one!

Although i'm not suprised. It is a HUGE/MASSIVE thing in Asian culture to have to admit fault. Moreover, to do it publicly is even greater. I don't think the only reason why Acura is sitting on it's hands because of the culture thing. However, I know Acura of America wouldn't want to go back to the land of the rising sun and say the dropped the ball royally and need help. Especially, to a culture and bosses who expect perfection!!!!!

flipwhip

haha, doubt it is the culture thing! nobody wants to be responsible for a recall that is going to cost the company millions...head (jobs) will roll!

Zapata

Yeah American honda worries about $. I'm sure Japanese Honda cares but i'm sure pride and honor if something to do with it as well.

acura_service

zapapta, i was only responding to the quote of transmission problems in lousy cars

acura_service

and for the record, there transmission problems have done a complete turnaround at chrysler, they are making a better product every day

acura_service

actually flipwhip, when a mfg has a recall, the supplier of parts in question has to take part in the expenses

flipwhip

likely, but a court would likely decide that...

acura_service

no its part of contracts - you make 100,000 of one part for a car and it fails, your helping out with the expenses to make it right

majk00

I just signed up for this sight after surfing the net about my headache, oh I mean my acura CL type S. I read thru the postings and found that almost everyone is a beta tester for the type S trainny. I am on my third trainny and am disgusted with Acura corp.

My situation is as follows, I brought the car in for a sqeaky sunroof and that's were it went downhill. A week later it was in for the trainny, they told me it was some BS solenoid and they replaced it. Then 4 days later the whole damn trainny went. This time they replaced the trainny. The car ran fine for the next four months and then I brought in to get it checked out because reverse was banging into gear and once again they replaced the trainny. The car itself is not even a year old & only has 18,000 miles on it.

I called the dealership and Acura's main office the second time because hey the problem they said they fixed only lasted 4 days. They gave me an extended warranty after a little fight. They said it wouldn't happen again. Then this last time I called them both again and asked what's go on with a sport trainny that you can'y even use and there replies were the following:

The dealership said they can't help and I need to call Acura they only sell the car's they don't build them.

The main office said that's why you get a warranty, and he said we give you free repairs and WOW I was supposed to be happy with that answer.

So anyway I am going to try the NY lemon law even though in NY your car needs to be out of service for 30 days my car was out for 29 so he I'll see what happens.

IF ANY ONE KNOWS ANYTHING ELSE I COULD TRY PLEASE LET ME KNOW

EricL

Bummer


Comment 1: If "the wrong" soleniod was mucked-up bad enough (and long enough), it could toast your tranny (the sucker would work after the replacement, but would you be happy if you found out that someone had forgot to put the "right" lube in your engine and the "fix" was changing to the right stuff (even though the engine was basically "toasted"/"shot"). (What I postulated here may not be your exact situation, but does make me wonder about mechanics and the lack of OBDII codes for every nut, bolt, and widget in the car [if they don't find the code, it must be OK. If they serviced airplanes like they did “most” warranty work, there would be a plane crash every 2 hours ])

Comment 2: Your lemon law pursuit is worth checking, but unless you have a politico buddy, I bet they give you the, "letter of the law" speech... (justice == law, NOT!)

Comment 3: Man, I'm getting so tired of hearing about dealers off-loading the problem to the customer (what happened to the "customer is always right" these days) *and* Acura Care ignoring "problem" dealers ("We just take a report and send it to a survey firm...")



(You can tell I've had to deal with too many customer service reps [for various products and services] of late...)

ruski_RENAMED

speaking of Chrysler, I used to lease a 300M and drove it just as hard as my TL-S. No tranny problems with my 300M. TL-S' tranny broke after 6,100 miles. I thought Acura would be more reliable.

pnlop

If the tranny problems are so common, why does 2002 Consumer Reports annual car issue (April 2002) give the 2001 CL transmission its best rating mark? This means that less than 2% of the readership reported a problem. And, overall from their repair history charts, the repair record for Acura transmissions since 1994 has been quite low (and significantly better than some other luxury car makers).
Im sorry for the people with tranny problems, but these forums disportionally attract people with complaints--look at the other web sites for BMW. Mercedes, Volvo etc and the stories will scare you away from buying their cars.

ruski_RENAMED

you just wait.

Zapata

What happened with this lawsuit?? Was this guy yanking our chains the entire time??

QuickSilver

The Consumer Reports sample is confined to Consumer Reports subscribers that actually respond to the survey. Past surveys of new vehicle owners have shown significant bias when compared to later surveys conducted after a year or more of vehicle ownership. The owner reported maintenance record in CR is often perfect during the first year that almost ANY car becomes available. The results generally degrade over time as the sample increases, the warranty expires, and defects begin to materialize.

Historical Acura performance prior to '01 is not relevant since we are unfortunately dealing with a new 5 speed automatic mated to a new engine.


QuickSilver
'01 CL-S (No Mods)

flipwhip

perhaps as part of his settlement he couldnt publicize it

EricL

Various points are true...

The Flip side:

However, did you know that for every customer service complaint that is made to a company (when and if you can even get to the complaint department these days), there is an average of 10 additional people that didn't bother to complain...

foe

My tranny started slipping so they ordered a new one even before my car broke down

ftlaudnole

Just had my first tranny replaced this weekend. Got the car back on Saturday, and I'll be damned if I didn't feel a slight shudder this morning (Monday). I hope that was just my imagination (doubt it).

I wish I had found this thread sooner to go after that "acura_service" guy with his acura-"You shouldn't expect all cars to be perfect" crap! He wasn't in the left lane of a major 5-lane highway when the transmission slipped so hard I nearly shifted into reverse b/c my hand was on the shifter! Shifting into reverse at 80 mph with traffic right behind you is probably not a good thing, and now I get to worry about that every day driving my CLS.

Anybody have any luck getting out of a lease b/c of this mess?

Thanks for listening.

ruski_RENAMED

got my TL-S tranny replaced. Took a week and a half. It is smooth again now. But it is also back to its habit of locking/unlocking torque converter while cruising at 50mph. That is sure annoying - it feels like a sudden power loss for a moment. Does anyone else here have that?

Ruski
tranny replaced at 6,100 miles

EricL

I don't get that "effect". Can you find out if the "service guys" ONLY replaced/exchanged the tranny (and not the solenoids, PCM [Powertrain Control Module] and other parts)?

The fact that you have "funny" symptoms on your second tranny should point to a) you are very sensitive to some behavior that “we” don’t notice or b) the people who did your service/replacement might need a calm, logical argument from you on how the same problem (locking/unlocking) is still happening and is "bothering" you...


(If and when you “describe” the problem to the service folks, you might want to note one or more of the following: speed range where effect is felt [minimum and maximum speeds]; the gear and selector position e.g. is it only in D5, does it do it in D4 too, and/or in SS; the grade of the road [uphill, downhill, or level]; and any other tidbits that would allow someone else to replicate the “effect”…)

atlthinker

Ruski, your problem sounds like mine in my original tranny...and now my 2nd tranny in my '02 TL-S...like it's slipping out of 5th...happens anywhere between 50-70 mph. I got 400 miles on it before it started on the re-manufactured tranny. They just came and picked it up again. My 'replacement' took 23 days. Let's see how long they have it this time.

MattR97

Well i was at Acura today getting my auto window switch fixed and was inquiring about the tranny problem, they said they have had some 2002 cl-s with it and are handling it on a one on one basis, i told them it better not happen to mine. I know since i got mine from Rick Case, i would bitch and want the 3.5 upgrade since i havent heard any problems with those tranny mods. I am a law student and work for the state attorney i would love to see them put a fight up with me. Let me know how it turns out for all of you.

atlthinker

The dealer bought the car back from me...I am glad to be rid of all the headaches...I picked up my new G35 and am LOVING IT!

ruski_RENAMED

MattR97,

you better hope that your tranny does not break. If it does, you will get a nice rental Dodge Stratus from the Thrifty Rent A Car across the street from Rick Case. It can actually reach 90mph.

ftlaudnole

I got a nice rental Chevy S-10 pickup from the Enterprise down the street from Rick Case! But it only got up to 80. It was fun bouncing over every little bump in the road though!

LuxSport

To all the people that transmissions have failed. A G35 owner tranmission went out with only 203 miles on the dash! But he got a check for all his problems! Whoa! This was a very rare incident with his transmission. The G35 & Q45 share the same transmission. If Infiniti can do this so can Acura. He is what he said:

"ok, to refresh, I'm the one who'se tranny locked in 4th gear with only 203 miles on it. while it was down for 11 days having the tranny replaced, i called NNA [Inifiniti] consumer affairs to state my displeasure. outcome: besides having the car back for ~500 miles now with no further problems, I also recieved a check for $682 as a good will gesture from Infiniti for my inconvenience. I have to say that did help me have more faith in the company to want to make things right! "

http://forums.freshalloy.com/forum/u...;f=25;t=000761

EricL

That's impressive and refreshing!

Strange, I was thinking about this last night. I have had problems with various "services" and the ones that have actively "compensated" me for my time and hassles, are on my "great list." The ones that have had to be arm-twisted just to get a "I'm sorry from", have already been crossed off my "do business with list..."

There is something about a vender or service that actually does more than just say, "Sorry...." IMO, actions do speak louder than words...

BryanS22

I have a 2001 TL and I have a twin brother, Ryan, also has the same car. Both of transmissions went out last week at the same time. That sucked. anyways we want to be added to list, if there is going to be a lawsuit.

this reply back and i will give the info

Thanks
Bryan

calimike20

I have a feeling I am about to know what you are going through. My CL has been in the shop for a week now and the dealer is saying they may have to replace the trasmission if these parts they are replacing don't work. The car only has 25,000 miles on it. It is very disturbing to read that a $30,000 car is having this much trouble! I am definitly going to file a complaint. Hopefully your hard work will help Acura realize their problem and do something about it!

Thanks.
Mike
2001 silver cl-type s w/nav