2001 acura cl type s automanual transmission went from 5th gear to I believe 2nd with no warning or input by me as driver. Thankfully roads were only wet and not slippery as they usually are in buffalo this time of year. There were vehicles behind me that were not pleased with my "driving." incident date: 1/8/03
2001 Acura CL transmission complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 206, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a 2001 acura cl type s. While driving on friday afternoon, jan 3, 2003 my transmission started to falter. I was just a few minutes from my home so I decided to keep driving the car till I got there. The tranny would jerk the car into second gear and then slip into third. At one point I was going about 50 MPH and the car shifted unexpectedly into second gear. I felt a big jolt but was able to maintain control. The shift lasted about 4 seconds when suddenly the tranny upshifted to third gear. This made me think what would have happen if this had occur in the highway when the average speed is about 65mph. The car did give me advance warning that the transmission was failing but I never thought that it would downshift like that. I really believe that the tranny may someday cause an accident that results in injury or death. My acura cl has only 21,400 miles. Needless to say, I had the car towed to the dealership.
Transmission shifted down automatically at freeway speed
Transmission problems
Transmission has shown not to engage in third gear (when in sport shift control) causing strain on the engine also it may not shift down from 3rd gear to second on "sport shift". This has happened continously servicer since 10000 miles and I learned to live with it (not using the sport shift). Further more in august/september of 2002 I have started hearing a sound which has ben diagnosed by a third party garage as indicative of serious transmission "problems". Ol (dt)
Transmission was used in a normal fashion. This vehicle was never used any harsh conditions. For such a well made vehicle it's ashame for such an expensive piece of equipment to fail. Dt
The original transmission failed and downshifted into 1st gear when I was traveling on the highway at 60 MPH RPM's went well past the red line and speed reduced to 35mph. I nearly went through the windshield but I was buckled. Then I had the transmission replaced and the same thing happened about 15-20,000 miles later. I am on my 3rd tranny now. Dt
2nd failed transmission on 11/21/02 at 30000 miles. Dt
Complete transmission failure while driving. Vehicle suddenly throws you in second gear and starts to jerk and swerve. Transmission was replaced, and now 10k miles later the replacement tranny is leaking atf fluid again and slipping which are early signs of another failure. Dt
Transmission failure nearly resulted in loss of vehicle control and possible collision. Dt
Transmission failed two times and was replaced. The third time while the consumer was driving on the highway transmission failed, consumer lost control of the vehicle and hit a cement divider damaging the vehicle. The brakes and rotors have been replaces several times. The brake failure caused pulsation in the front end. The air bag casing popped out twice and the air bag has been replaced twice. *yh
I took my car to the dealer at 16,000 miles, because the transmission was slipping and jerking. They said they couldn't duplicate the problem. The transmission totally failed and was replaced at 25,000 miles. The replacement transmission started acting the same way. It failed at 44,000 miles. Acura claimed that the solenoids needed to be replaced this time... Not the whole transmission. 1,300 miles after having the solenoids replaced the transmission has begun slipping and jerking again. Acura won't do anything until the transmission fails again. This is rediculous. Acura (and honda) must be forced to do something about these transmissions. Both of my failures have happened in traffic, and the first time my car had to be towed to the dealer on a flatbed. Please help! Dt
The trans started to act strange. Hunting for and missing gears. I contacted the dealer for an appointment, and had to wait 4 days to get in. All the while the trans is getting worse. The day before I had to bring it in, I was coming home from work when all of a sudden, without warning, at 65 MPH the trans dropped to 2nd. No lights, no indicators nothing. I was almost rear ended by a cadillac escalade. Since the trans locked up there were no brake lights. I had a heck of a time keeping the car under control. Needless to say the driver in the caddy was very upset with me. And proceeded to perform "road rage" manuevers in order to show me his disdain. He cut me off, gave me the one finger salute, challenge me to pull over. Luckily I was able to avoid him and continue home. The next day I took the car into the dealer, all the while the trans is missing gears, hunting and pecking, and downshifting for no reason. I stayed on slow surface streets and side streets all the way to the dealer. 16 miles away. I did not want to give the car to lock up again at freeway speed. The dealer claimed that the failure was do to an aftermarket air intake and springs. They would replace this trans but no others should the case arise due to the modifications. I explained to them that I know of several other owners who have had a similar problem. Including one gentlemen who has been through 4 transmissions. They still insisited that they would only replace this trans. Acura client services said the same thing. "you modified the car, therefore the failure is because of that." that statement insults my intelligence as a consumer and human being. Both the dealer and acura took this stance. The dealer even went so far as to say that people with "my type" of accessories. Drive the car hard. Which is ludicrous. This car could have caused a serious accident, it has been fully maintained and taken care off. The trasnmission failure is not the fault of anything I did to the car. Dt
I was driving on the highway, in morning rush-hour traffic, at about 60 MPH when the transmission started to shift erratically for a number of seconds. Without warning, the car downshifted and I nearly hit my head on the steering wheel. Fortunately, I was in a stretch where traffic was somewhat lighter, reducing the risk of being rear-ended. The transmission was completely uncontrollable for the remaining mile-or-two of my commute. Once I was off the highway, the engine was running at about 4,500 - 5,000 RPM although I was doing only 15 MPH. Finally, reverse was inoperable once I reached my office park and tried to back into a parking space. I called acura roadside assistance, which dispatched a flatbed. The car was towed to acura of boston. Eventually, I was told I would be receiving a "new" transmission. However, I believe it is a rebuilt transmission from another failure. I had noticed a strange humming noise almost immediately upon having the car returned to me from the dealer. I spoke to acura of boston and sunnyside acura (nashua, nh), and was told no noise could be heard by the techs or the advisors. This is, apparently, very similar to the experiences of other acura cl owners. And, it appears that acura knows about the defects/problems, but is unwilling to acknowledge it publicly by issuing a recall. I could have been seriously injured or killed, and others have said the same thing. This is very disappointing for any car, never mind a car(maker) with this "reputation" and price tag. Dt
There is a serious problem with the acura transmissions. There have been numerous failures and my biggest concern right now is that the failures are so random, that injuries or even fatalities are possible. The transmission fails and there is nothing we can do but hope no one rear end us or that it does not fail on us while we are on a highway. Which could become an extremely hazardous situation. Acura needs to fix the problem rather than just offer us an extended warranty. Dt
It appears from talking to many different acura owners, acura has had a major problem with their transmissions. The 5 speed in the 2001-2002 tl/cl series. I was lucky enough to be on residential streets when my transmission failed. Thus driving slowly. I hate to think what could have resulted if I was on the freeway traveling high speeds. I believe acura needs to address this issue. Thank you mr
I was driving at 65 MPH on I-476 (pa), when I slowed slightly to check exit sign. Upon deciding to proceed to next exit, accelerated midly fom 60 to 65. Transmission slammed into, what felt like, 1st gear causing vehicle to pitch forward. This was so sudden, that it threw my hands off the steering wheel and caused me to almost loose control of vehicle. Had someone been behind me, the road been wet, or had I been on a curve, I would not have been able to regain control. Transmission showed signs of poor shifting before this incident, so I took the vehicle to acura. They failed to fix the problem. I was very lucky, this condition could have caused a major accident. Mr
Consumer states while driving the transmission down shifts automatically from 5th to 2nd causing the car to almost stops instantly.
Consumers vehicle has been into the repair shop several times for replacement and repair of the transmission. Consumer requests that acura follow through with the offer of switching out the vehicle with the least possible loss to consumer.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Transmission will slip and fail to shift into gear. Dealership is aware of problem.
Transmission started slipping and got progressively worse for several weeks. The day before it failed, I was driving along at a steady speed of about 45 MPH when the transmission decided it wanted to be in first gear. The car jerked violently and slowed down very quickly while pulling me to the left (nearly losing control with the front wheels locked) until it shifted back out of first gear. It felt as if I had slammed on the brakes and if someone was behind me, I would have been rear ended. This happened again shortly after but not as violently. When the transmission finally failed, it would take several seconds to shift gears and would rev up high (as if in neutral) while between shifts. When it did shift it shifted hard. Then, as pulling away from a stop light, several of the lights on the dash lit up including the check engine, vsa, and d5 lights and was stuck in second gear. Also, the car would not shift into reverse. I understand from the dealer that this is not an uncommon problem and most people report symptoms similar to mine. I find this scary because I could have been killed had I been in different circumstances when the transmission shifted into first and caused me to slow down and swerve all over the road until I got it under control. The dealer claims that they think they know what the problem is and have fixed it but I've heard from people that are on their third transmission and are again having problems.
While driving dashboard lights came on and vehicle was stuck in one gear.transmission went out. Had transmission replaced, but problem happened again within 4000 miles. They replaced wiring transimission, and it went again.
This vehicle is equipped with 3.2 litre engine. While traveling 55 MPH transmission went into neutral after changing into 3rd gear. Driver had to coast to side of the road due to loss of power. *akjlg
At 50 MPH consumer applied accelerator, vehicle would not accelerate. Dealer determined thattransmission had to be replaced.
Replaced first transmission at 13596 miles, second transmission at 25223 miles, third transmission at 27648 miles, while the first two transmissions failed on local streets, the third did not. When the third transmission failed I was traveling on a major hwy and was almost rear ended by a large SUV. I was trying to motor up to the next exit when I was losing speed fast. Thats when a large SUV was skidding behind me and trying to switch lanes to avoid an accident. This SUV almost sideswiped the vehicle along side as well. This all happened in moderate traffic conditions.
While driving vehicle will decrease in speed while applying gas. Contacted dealer. Transmission was slipping, had part replaced, but problem reoccurred. *ak 8jb
Acura customer care (800‑382‑2238) has been contacted about the transmission failure and acknowledge on the phone that there is a problem/flaw with the transmission on some acura but will not explain what the flaw is and how they are resolving it. My car is under warranty till it reaches 50k miles or 4 years and having no information about the issue I don't want to have a similar problem in couple of month, not knowing if what has been done will stop the problem from re-occuring again. It seems there is no technical bulletin nor recall published on this issue as of today. I found documentation on other owner still having similar problems with their transmission after it got replaced 2 or 3 times at a low mileage (check www.acura-cl.com). I would like an investigation launched on this issue about the hazard it creates and force acura to issue a public statement about the transmission flaw. The dealership replacing the transmission (oakland acura in oakland, ca) told me they had to replace transmission at such low mileage on other acura and were not surprised about the failure. They told me acura has a "fix" but will not give me details on what the fix is and the root cause of the problem. I am afraid acura will just change the defective part with the same new part which will go bad again in couple of weeks or months.
While driving at 25-30 MPH transmission will go out, causing consumer to lose control vehicle. Consumer has had transmission replaced five times. Contacted dealer.
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