ecruz122

Hey guys, I'm about to get a 2002 Cl-S in a week or so, but I'm kinda worried over everyone talking about the transmission. What is it that goes wrong? I heard that the warranty has been extended to 100K and that sounds good, but I'm still a bit worried. What do you think.

-Erick.

Scrib

It's a great car. You'll be happy with it.

However, there is a flaw in the design which causes some to basically self-destruct. Hence, Acura took the warranty out to 7yrs/100k miles.

It's a great car. And most people here have been trouble free.

CL P Diddy

A lot of transmissions on the CL/TL (mostly Type S model) have malfunctioned. Common complaints are from shifting feeling "a little funny" to "my car shifted from 5th to 2nd by itself". Although many of these transmission problems have occured, I still believe the CL/TL is a good buy (especially with the 10 year 100K extended warranty on the transmission). I feel OK with it as many on the board do, otherwise they would get rid of their cars. I bought my 2001 CL P brand new and traded it this year for a 2001 CL S. I have not had a problem out of any of them.

Check out the "Transmission Problems" Forum to find out more or do a topic search on it. Ultimately the decision is yours, but I will say one thing. The CL S is the best value in its class (period).

There is a slim chance you will encounter this problem. The question is, how lucky do you feel?

Hope that helps.

YuppieCL

basically.... yup.

doubt i'd buy another acura product again tho... kinda leaves a bad taste in ur mouth

Eggplant-EX

Buy one used with low mileage and you cannot lose. Get rid of the car before 100K though. That is my plan.

ecruz122

Thanks for the quick replies. One more question, will the persons driving style cause the tranny problem to become evident or will it come up regardless of driving style.

YuppieCL

although theres NO evidence proving anything that driving styles have anything to do with it... one would be compelled to believe that someone who's gonna drive their car hard would put more of a strain on the tranny. especially since the tranny's are driver adaptive... i had my tranny replaced at 40k miles... the first indications of tranny failure are usually small.... it started bucking at 30k miles. i'm at 53k now with NO problems....

Fabvsix

65,000 and running fine......."knock on wood"

whiteknight

I'm sure failures will occur no matter what the driving style is like. However, I pretty much drive like an old fuddy duddy and really only pushed it once on my way back from Vegas on open road. When I mean pushed it, we're talking 125 mph as quickly as possible with redline sport shifts. And guess what, the tranny needed to be replaced that week!! If you're a low mileage driver you can't go wrong with the extended warranty. If you're like me however, with 77K on a 2001 already, I'd think twice.

UNeeKLiNG

iTrader: (3)

wait...so do all dealers offer this extended warranty?!?...is it alreayd in the contract or do we have to purchase it separately?...if it's included..i was not informed or maybe my dealer did not offer it to me...

DivinDude

The 7 yr/100k warranty is provided by acura on all 2001, 2002 and some 2003 (from original delivery date). Reading over the report submitted by Honda to the Feds, the flaw in the tranny pertains to design, engine software coding and HORRIBLE quality control. It will ultimately destroy itself as it shifts between 2 & 3. Acura has released several updated trannies over the past year (the most recent last spring) and claimed the problem has been resolved. They also claim that driving habits have little to do with the failure. But keep in mind, contrary to other statements, this tranny is not 'adaptive' .. there is no learning mode on it (statement was made to me but the Acura district rep when I inquired about it as my 02 tranny started acting up)

The decision for you is .. do you feel lucky? Others on here who felt lucky ended up not being so lucky

CL P Diddy

Good question, I would say yes. I'd also go out on a limb and say that modding your CL to free up more HP can have a strain on your tranny too.

Not letting the tranny fully engage before pulling off from reverse all the time is not a good idea either.

I only use my sport shift to pass in a clinch, which is not that often or when a 330 Ci pulls up next to me