NHTSA Complaint #10098150 — 2001 ACURA CL

MY 2001 ACURA CL S HAD THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, VSA LIGHT, AND ! LIGHT COME ON. THINKING THE PROBLEM WAS RELATED TO THE EMISSIONS, I CONTINUED TO DRIVE CAR. THE NEXT DAY I TOOK CAR TO DEALER, TO HAVE PROBLEM DIAGNOSED. THE SERVICE MANAGER COULDN'T SEE ME TO THE FOLLOWING DAY. THE NEXT DAY HE RAN TEST AND TOLD ME THE TRANSMISSION WAS BAD (GRINDING IN TORQUE CONVERTER), AND TO TAKE IT TO HIS OTHER DEALER. THE DEALER CONFIRMED THE PREVIOUS DIAGNOSIS.10-26-04. HOWEVER, HE WASN'T SURE ABOUT WARRANTY BECAUSE CAR WAS BROUGHT OVER FROM CANADA. I WAS TOLD TO CONTACT ACURA CUSTOMER RELATIONS, AND I TOOK CAR HOME. THE NEXT DAY I WENT ON THE WEB AND FOUND NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT EXACT PROBLEMS I ENCOUNTERED. THE DIFFERENCES WERE THAT THE TRANSMISSIONS WERE DOWNSHIFTING FROM 3RD TO 1ST WHILE PEOPLE WERE DRIVING ON EXPRESSWAYS, ALMOST CAUSING SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. THE PROBLEM WITH THE WARRANTY WAS IRONED OUT WITHIN 2 DAYS, AND ACURA IS REPLACING MY TRANSMISSION ON THE 3RD OF NOVEMBER. HOWEVER, THE DEALER'S SERVICE MANANGER NEVER WARNED ME OF THE DANGER OF DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THE CAR HAS 53200 KILOMETERS (33000 MI). THE TRANSMISSION FLUID WAS CHANGED BY DEALER ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO, WHEN I COMPLAINED OF BURNT SMELL. THE OIL JET RECALL FOR THE 2ND GEAR WAS DONE IN AUGUST 2004. THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE TRANSMISSION ACCORDING TO OTHER OWNERS HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED. NOW I'M GOING TO REVCEIVE A REBUILT TRANSMISSION, THAT MAY BE A TIME BOMB WAITING TO HAPPEN.*AK