The Lemon Index
Acura CL reliability: problems and recalls.
Owners filed 400 complaints about the 2000 to 2004 Acura CL with the government, most about transmission & drivetrain.
No Lemon Index score yet: too few were sold in the U.S. for a fair per-car score, so here's what YouTube owners say, next to the raw complaint counts.
YouTube rank and complaints, by model year
YouTube rank: we read 176 YouTube videos about the Acura CL and ranked each year with 10 or more videos by how much they praise it vs. how much they talk about problems. It measures tone, not failure rates. Complaints are the raw number owners filed with NHTSA: popular years draw more partly because more were sold, and without usable sales figures we can't turn them into a per-car score.
What owners say on YouTube
2001–2003 CL · 176 most-watched videos
Owners praise
Owners complain about
Nothing stands out.
Before you buy, watch
Praise and complaints: the share of each generation's most-watched videos that mention a topic with a praise or trouble word next to it, in the title or what's said. YouTube rank: how positive owners and reviewers sound, compared with every car of the same model year. It measures tone, not failure rates. Videos belong to their creators; we link to them.
Complaints and recalls by model year
| Model year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11 | 0 |
| 2001 | 271 | 3 |
| 2002 | 44 | 2 |
| 2003 | 73 | 5 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
Popular years draw more complaints partly because more were sold. We don't have usable sales for this model, so these are counts, not a score.
What owners complain about
| System | Share of complaints |
|---|---|
| Transmission & drivetrain | 60% |
| Airbags | 10% |
| Electrical | 4% |
| Visibility | 3% |
| Speed control | 3% |
| Service brakes, hydraulic | 3% |
When problems show up
Half of the owners who gave a mileage reported the problem between 36,000 and 117,178 miles. The middle report was at 64,267 miles, from 254 complaints.
How serious
| Crashes | Fires | Injury reports | Death reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 2 | 14 | 3 |
As reported by owners to NHTSA. Not verified.
In owners' words
The transmission in the car went at 25,000 miles. It was replaced but the replacement also failed at 60,000 miles.
2001 Acura CL owner · NHTSA complaint 10048981
The transmission in my 2003 Acura cls hesitates during certain shifts and it has downshifted and upshifted at the wrong times.
2003 Acura CL owner · NHTSA complaint 10026056
The transmission downshifted by itself to a lower gear, causing the vehicle to decelerate in a dangrous manner. Soon or later someone is going to get killed if this problem is not corrected.
2002 Acura CL owner · NHTSA complaint 767028
Recalls 7
20V027000 Jan 2020 Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2001-2002 Acura 3.2CL, 2000-2003 Acura 3.5RL, 2000-2001 Acura 3.2TL, Honda CR-V and Honda Odyssey, 2001-2002 Acura MDX and 2000 Accord Coupe, Accord Sedan, Civic Coupe, and Civic Sedan vehicles. These vehicles may have received a replacement driver frontal air bag module as part of a vehicle repair. Due to a manufacturing issue, the replacement NADI inflator may absorb moisture, causing the inflator to rupture or the air bag cushion to underinflate.
Fix. Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bags in the vehicles, replacing the driver frontal air bag inflator with an inflator of a different design, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2020. Owners may contact American Honda's Customer Support & Campaign Center at 1-888-234-2138.
20V026000 Jan 2020 Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 1998 Acura 2.2CL, 1998-1999 Acura 2.3CL, 1998-1999 Acura 3.0CL, 2001 Acura 3.2CL and Acura MDX, 1998-2000 Honda Accord Coupe, Accord Sedan, Civic Sedan, Odyssey and Acura 3.5RL, 1999-2000 Acura 3.2TL, 1996-2000 Civic Coupe, 1997-2000 CR-V, 1997-1998 EV Plus, and 1998-1999 Isuzu Oasis vehicles. These vehicles were equipped with Non-Azide Driver air bag Inflators (NADI) and do not contain phase stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. Due to a manufacturing issue, the NADI inflators may absorb moisture, causing the inflators to rupt
Fix. Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver frontal air bag inflator, and replace it if necessary, with an inflator of a different design, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2020. Owners may contact American Honda's Customer Support & Campaign Center at 1-888-234-2138 or Isuzu customer service at 1-800-255-6727.
19V499000 Jun 2019 Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
Fix. Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Q5A and Y58.
19V182000 Mar 2019 Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator as part of a previous Takata inflator recall remedy or a replacement driver air bag module containi
Fix. Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.
15V320000 May 2015 Air Bags / Frontal / Driver Side / Inflator Module
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that, over time, could cause the inflator to rupture.
Fix. Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to Septe
04V176000 Apr 2004 Power Train / Automatic Transmission
ON SOME MINI VANS, SPORT UTILITY AND PASSENGER VEHICLES, CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS CAN RESULT IN HEAT BUILD-UP BETWEEN THE COUNTERSHAFT AND SECONDARY SHAFT SECOND GEARS IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, EVENTUALLY LEADING TO GEAR TOOTH CHIPPING OR GEAR BREAKAGE.
Fix. ON VEHICLES WITH 15,000 MILES OR LESS, THE DEALER WILL UPDATE THE TRANSMISSION WITH A SIMPLE REVISION TO THE OIL COOLER RETURN LINE TO INCREASE LUBRICATION TO THE SECOND GEAR. ON VEHICLES WITH MORE THAN 15,000 MILES, THE DEALER WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION TO IDENTIFY GEARS THAT HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED DISCOLORATION DUE TO OVERHEATING. IF DISCOLORATION EXISTS, THE TRANSMISSION WILL BE REPLACE
02V226000 Aug 2002 Engine And Engine Cooling / Engine
ON CERTAIN MINIVANS, SEDANS, COUPES, AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH V6 ENGINES, A TIMING BELT TENSIONER PULLEY ON THE WATER PUMP IS MISALIGNED AND COULD CAUSE THE TIMING BELT TO CONTACT A BOLT ON THE CYLINDER HEAD. EVENTUALLY THE BELT COULD BE DAMAGED AND FAIL.
Fix. DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE WATER PUMP AND IF IT IS ONE OF THE DEFECTIVE PUMPS, THE WATER PUMP AND TIMING BELT WILL BE REPLACED. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 30, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009 OR ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238.
Recall repairs are free at any dealer. Check the exact car's VIN for open recalls.
Quick answers
What are the most common Acura CL problems?
In owner complaints to the government, the top areas are transmission & drivetrain, airbags, electrical.
How many recalls does the Acura CL have?
7 safety recalls on record for the 2000 to 2004 models.
Source: NHTSA owner complaints and recalls, YouTube videos (titles and channels link to them). We don't give this model a Lemon Index: too few were sold in the U.S. for a fair per-car score (5 of the 9 years we have sales for were under 20,000, sales source). Complaints are owner reports, not proof of a defect.
Updated · Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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