How Long Will My Car Last? 265,000 Miles and Counting
 

Hey Peeps,

I have had my 2001 Acura Cl Type S since new-way back in 2001! I have used it as an everyday car and as a road trip car. It has taken me to and back from work as well as through all of the Midwestern States. It has survived wintery blizzards, hail storms and even driven through a shallow pond...not that I think this is an off-roader but the land around my garage was flooding rapidly and I had to move it quick! No water damage inside though...

So far, nothing major has gone wrong except for recurring vibrating steering, warping brake rotors, air bag light goes on and off-lately it just stays on, the driver door sensor is wonky so when the door is open, it does not sense it and has had a habit of dining on expensive tires. It also has the "Spring Stall." The car stumbles when warm in the spring months because of the fuel we use here in the Midwest confusing the computer. Believe it or not, the transmission is ORIGINAL! I change the transmission fluid-never flushed-every other oil change. It is not that expensive really so if you want it to last long, change the transmission fluid-do not flush!!! I have only ever done whatever is recommended in the manual-nothing more and it has not been moded or raced.

How much longer do you guys think it will last? The engine runs as strong as it has always and the transmission shifts fine. I have noticed a whine that has developed-it happens when driving on the highway...seems to be coming from the engine. Sounds like a spaceship now...but nothing in terms of driving has changed...just the same old trusty Acura.

Nice man, keep on going.

You have the highest miles on a CL i have heard of so far, so don't stop now!

Maybe just fix those other issues you mentioned and drive it till the wheels fall of.

Keep us updated :thumbsup:

-Jake

if u keep ur car running like that. im' sure it'll go up to 350k until the internals start wearing out. at this point, if u start stepping on, everything is gonna start breaking down.

dude u are my HERO... I was thinking I could get 3-400 thousand kms out of mine also... SWEET

keep it UP man.

you are a true example of how crucial a fluid change is on the auto trans.

nice f***ing job!

Your motor has the right potential to go over 400,000 miles, your tranny is the only thing that might stop you, but as long as you replace/maintain your transmissions, i don't see anything else that could prevent it. These motors are extremely reliable.

Acura engineered these cars to last exactly 266,391 miles, and not one mile over. So you have about 1300 miles left before it dies.



/red text.

&_& ^

Thanks for the comments! The Acura has worn extremely well-you would be surprised but there are no rattles whatsoever in the interior. The only rattle comes from the rear struts/bushings which need replacing.

I think another thing that contributes to its good relative running condition would have to be the fact that I warm the car up in the mornings. I usually idle the engine for at least 5 minutes before driving the car. I have always done this because it allows the oil in the engine to warm up to better lubricate the parts. I would have no hesitation driving this car to Florida if I wanted. The only thing I am concerned about would be that high speed engine whine but I will have that addressed shortly. Let you all know what it is shortly.

Ah man, I might be catching up to you, 210,203 miles and counting. I put about 40k per year on my car but Im getting a new car in two months so the CL won't see as many miles.

But congrats on getting your money outta the car, not many people do that nowadays.

replace your iacv to fix the stalling problem. its not the fuel its your idle air control valve. its 100 dollars online and it helps.

the steering shaking is either an axle or wheel bearing. both under 100 dollars.
jack the car up and if u can shake the wheel, its the bearing. if u cant..its the axle or your tires need a balance.

the whining is something to be concerned about. does the whining get loud when u are standing still and turning the wheel? if it does then its your power steering pump--it has air in it.

if it only happens when you are moving, its the transmission

The whine sounds EXACTLY like this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioSzp...eature=related

What do you guys think it could be?

That's a myth and actually worse for the engine. Because it's at idle, the oil pump is not moving the oil as fast, and it's recommended to actually drive the car slow when you are warming it up so it allows the oil bump to circulate the oil faster.

that noise sounds fuckeddd lol... any chance it could just be wheel bearings??

I know when i had my probe it got louder the faster i drove and so did the car in that vid.

Is it speed related or RPM related?

Damn, and I thought I had a lot of miles with over 180,000

Great to hear you have gotten so many miles from your CL. I have 142k on my 6sp right now. But just getting broken in. Need to do a valve adjustment soon and probably a clutch one of these days this year. I don't have any interior rattles other than the sun roof (which was self induced). I need to fix the side motor mount and eventually shocks as they are becoming clunky. I wish the paint has help up as well as the interior. My dad is past 235k on his TLS and on tranny #2.

All in all have to say I'm really happy with how my car has performed and held up over the years. When people drive it they always say "I can't believe this car has over 140k miles on it!". The local Chevy dealer picked up my dad's TLS for a tire change and he bashfully commented how tight his car was with over 200k miles on it!

Acura has the potential for great things, I will be interested to see what will be available to replace the CL with, when the time come.... (2door, RWD, MT and not even close 4000#!!)

Nice to hear.. I'm at just over 200k right now and would like this thing to get me through a couple more years of grad school, lol.

IMO theres no turning back after 150k, your resale value has gone to shit anyway.. Might as well get some cheap use out of it

That whine sounds like it is coming from the trans.

+1
if you let off the gas and it goes away, should be the trans.

Yea, Im thinking transmission as well. Check the tranny fluid.

And I agree with the above comment about keeping it once resale shits the bed. If its already paid off, why not just drive it until it dies?

Good luck with it though and definately keep us posted.

Nice story! At least another 50k.

Cool! As long as you take care of the car, it will take care of you. As for the whine sound I asked a mechanic and he said it was the tranny, and was normal.

That sounds pretty crazy--in a good way! I have an 03 with 79k miles on it, and if I have your luck then well... :D

Also, see if you can get it to a million miles. Maybe Acura will bring back the NSX and give you one for doing that. Kind of like that episode of Married With Children, except with an Acura, not a Dodge.

EGR Valve Passage
 

I got someone to look at the whining sound issue with my car and I was told that the EGR valve passage was clogged up. Not quite so sure that is the issue...What do you guys think? Could a clogged EGR valve passage the culprit of that whining sound?

So far, it seems like the consensus is that the transmission is the source of the whine.

i dunno the answer to that but I got a question for you!!

How many valve adjustments did you get on ur car so far???

p.s funny how ur name is newbster when u'r the longest CL owner around hehhe

Nice to see someone keeping a car that long. My last winter car had 315k miles when I donated it. 2nd engine but original transmission and motor mounts, etc. Had another car with 140k on it when I got it, 160k when I did a performance build, supercharged it, and had the transmission built up (rebuild, upgrades, shift kit, cryo, etc). Had about 220k when I got rid of it. We'll see how long I keep the CL-S.

I'm closing in on 180k miles on my cls 01. What would be my next major maintinance? Thanks fellas!

Lol when you're that high, you've done everything considered regular maintenance and are just re-checking everything again. But at that mileage, I'd check all rubber related items on the suspension like bushings and things like that because they may really be losing their rigidity. I have 210k and I just do regular check-ups on my car, nothing special.

At 210k, isnt that the next timing belt change?

I would assume so. 105+105

I had a question but did not want to start a new thread at the risk of boiling the ocean...ie-discussing something already discussed many times and then looking stupid...

Today, it was raining hard and when I went to my car, I was shocked to notice my headliner dripping wet. Around the part where the plastic of the A-Pillar meets the fabric headliner is where it is dripping the most. I could not find any obvious signs of damage on the outside roof panels for which water could penetrate. Wondering...whether anyone knows the cause of this problem?

Almost forgot to ask-I basically do all the work on my car myself nowadays but when it came to the rear struts, I needed someone to do those since I do not have the skill to do them yet. (Actually it is really hard because you have to remove the back seats to access the bolt points!)

The person working on the struts seemed surprised that I still have the original transmission in the car...he had a 2002 Acura TL, and it had eaten 3 transmissions already with lower miles...He probably drives too fast though...I scarcely take my car over 3000 RPM...

I was wondering-how many people are still driving on their original trannys? My had the recall done on it but it was only the oil jet kit replacement, not the entire transmission replaced.

not many at all.. especially those on this forum in particular.

Hmm barely take your car past 3k rpm, i find that crazy. So you dont even know what vtec sounds like. My car goes past 6k rpm every time it is driven but it is manual.

oh newbster, punch it brother!
 

Never take it over 3000 RPMs?! Holy cow! I go higher every single day I've ever driven my CLS since I bought her in 2000! I have 160K+ Engine still very strong and runs like a champ. Replaced first tranny around 120K.


Please before the engine dies, rev that puppy up some and make her growl! :thumbsup:

how many valve adjustments did you get? or have you even gotten any

wow, more miles on some of these 2nd gens than my 1st gen. Leaking sunroof could be the sunroof casket assembly, or it could be just blocked drainage tubes from the sunroof backing up.

If memory serves me correctly, I had one done @ 11X,XXX miles (not sure the exact mileage) and the latest one @ 220,XXX. I had the dealer do this more technical service and they just said that it needed to be done so I did it. However, I have learned, now that I am doing most things on my own now, it should usually be done if you hear a ticking sound from the top of the engine...my engine has not ticked if memory serves me well so it might have been a waste of money but do not quote me on that.

Now...if we could get back to my leaky roof. It is definitely not from the sunroof because it is too far away. It is basically leaking right through the headliner by the pillar...anyone have that problem before?

BTW-I think my car tried to eat me...as I was checking the tranny fluid in the car, the hood shut on my back. Maybe the struts are getting weak or the car is simply hungry for more...

That NSX video always depresses me.

But x2 on checking the sunroof drainage tubes. They may be clogged.

+1

there is no word that can describe my feelings now... :whyme:

You'd be surprised, I've seen many a case where a sunroof is leaking and exits exactly where you're mentioning.