First Time CL Owner... Hope it's not the last
 

Hey all,

I recently just became a first time Acura owner when I purchased a 2001 Acura CL Type-S with 75k miles about three weeks ago. I bought it from a retired couple who just had it sitting in the garage most of the time. I was really impressed by how well the car was taken care of and how little miles it had for that year.

Anyways, the first drive home and about a day after I purchased it the car ran flawlessly. Since it is just an extra car I have, I don't need to drive it daily which is why I didn't realize this problem sooner. Yesterday I took it out for a spin and about 35 miles in to the drive, while stuck in rush hour traffic, I noticed that when the car would downshift back to 1st gear it would be clunky and lurch forward. As I proceeded to drive it back home, that problem kept happening but I also noticed that when shifting from 2nd to 3rd it would slip in an out of gear and soon after the CEL, VSA, hazard light, and flashing D5 happened. I pulled off into a parking lot and at this point the car was in limp mode so I turned it off and back on again and all lights turned off except for the CEL. When I did a u-turn to get back on the road the car was performing as if it never had the problem in the first place- the gears were shifting smoothly, downshifts weren't clunky, and no slippage. As I got closer to home, about 5 miles after I restarted the car I noticed that it started slipping again so once again I pulled off and restarted it and it performed better.

Once I got home I used a scanner to scan the engine code and got back a "P1750" code. I looked it up online and it could either be a problem with the hydraulics in the transmission or simply low transmission fluid. Now, onto my concerns- I've read that I can also drain up to 3 qts of ATF from the drain and replace it. If this problem is the transmission and it is on its way out I plan on getting rid of it ASAP with some sort of bandaid solution. Do any of you guys have any tips, or have been though this mess before? I really hate that my first Acura is turning out to be a headache, especially since it was really nice at the beginning.

Well you bought a car with cancer... It's probably gonna need a tranny soon... If it's otherwise perfect, it's worth the work, given you can fund it...

It may run for a while like this, but if it's jerking and slipping and celebrating with Christmas lights, that's the car asking you weather you're commited or not, others should chime in soon with better advice...

Otherwise, hope you're enjoing the new ride!!!

Agree, Trans is on the way out. You can swap the trans out for an Accord 06-07 transmission which many have had great luck with, including myself, for quite a bit less than a rebuild of the poorly designed original unit. Do a search for "AV6" swap here on Azine and you'll find tons of info

All HONDA/Acura V6 transmissions from 1998 to 2003 had a bad 3rd gear design and it will fail and replacement will fail. Mine failed me at 74K after having it serviced by the book and same dealership. Known issue is when you are cruising at 70 mph it will suddenly shift to 2nd gear!!!!! Thus a major recall from HMC. I got rid of mine even though it was in mint condition. so you have all the early signs of a failing transmission....

I would modify your statement a bit; "All Honda/Acura V6 5-Speed transmissions..." The 4-Speed units in the Accords had a bad 2nd gear design.

the topic is about the CL Type S V6 5 speed glass box transmission woes..... Never heard much about the 4 speed failing..... My 04 RL 4 speed has been flawless...…

HS: I stand firm on my statement..... I had my 1998 Accord V6 5 speed Coupe fail at 78K and then my 2001 Acura CL Type S at 74K. both were serviced "by the book" by the same dealerships.... BOTH PLAUQED with the same GLASS BOX 5 speed transmission. Not to mention the many folks I know with the same failures..... 4 speed auto's are not in the same fuss as the 5 speed auto's..... Just my observations

I beg to differ, hop over to the Honda Accord forum of your choice and look for the reliability of the 4-Speed unit; they have an early mortality rate as high, if not higher than the glass box 5-Speed units you are talking about. Think about what you wrote above, your 1998 V6 Accord Coupe did not in fact have a 5-Speed unit, it had the older 4-Speed unit, and per your statement, that sucker failed at 78,000 miles.

One other data point, the Honda/Acura 5-Speed automatic didn't even make it's production debut until the 2000 model year.

I don't where you got your information as the 1998 Accord came with a V6 ……. https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/l-Used...V6-Coupe-t6166

And MOBIL One oil works great in Honda/Acura's...…

Yes, a V6 and a FOUR-SPEED automatic transmission. I never said otherwise.

So does pretty much every other high quality synthetic oil on the market; so what's your point?

Point is my 1998 Accord coupe had a V6...… family still has it running on mobil one oil too !!!

FABVSIX (Fabulous Vsix motor) ……. Das Original buddy..... 1998 Accord coupe V6 5 speed transmission ….. Zoom in on badges …. Don't you SEE V6 FABVSIX ????? LOL
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...282686b83b.jpg

Yes, and it has a glass box 4-Speed automatic transmission which, per your post, failed at 78,000 miles. As for the Mobil One, who cares? My 2001 V6 Accord (yes, also with a 4-Speed automatic) has been fed on Castrol Edge and at 201,000 miles it still runs great and doesn't use more than about a half quart in a 10,000 mile oil change interval; no one cares about that little factoid either.

Clearly you have no idea which transmission is in your 1998 Accord, so I fixed your post for you.

Given the likelihood of you not believing me (I mean hey, this is the internet, why should you), I just grabbed this screen shot from the Honda Owner's web site (https://owners.honda.com/vehicles/information/1998/Accord-Coupe/specs#mid^CG225WJNW ), so, unless you have the only 1998 V6 Accord Coupe in the world with a 5-Speed automatic transmission, you in fact have a 4-speed unit in there.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...7372b37e5a.png

I have NEVER heard of a 6gen Accord with a 5AT...

Too bad, because that would've been badass!!!


After 20 years, it's still a great design, minus the tranny, that is...



O.P. - Just do the 2007 AV6 tranny swap... That CL will be a total beast!!! It'll be reliable from then out pretty much... I'd honestly rather have the CL with the AV6 tranny retrofit over almost any new car!!!

I guess I am wrong.... CL Type S had the Slush box 5 speed auto...… both failed...… Why doesn't the KA9 4 speed FAIL in volumes?????? Because its NOT an Accord...… LOL