- The problem
- 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.
- The risk
- In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, an inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. An underinflated air bag cushion may not properly protect the occupant. These scenarios increase the risk of serious injury or death.
- The 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.
Vehicle safety record
2002 Acura CL Problems, complaints & recalls
Owners have filed 61 complaints about the 2002 Acura CL with NHTSA, most often about the transmission & drivetrain (43) and the engine & cooling (8). Those complaints describe 1 crash and 1 death. It is covered by 2 recalls, the latest in January 2020 for the inflator module. For comparison, the 2001 has 270 and the 2003 has 79.
NHTSA data checked
CAbout as many problems as a typical CL year, for its age
#141 most complained-about 2002 vehicle
- Complaints
- 61
- Recalls
- 2
- Crashes
- 1
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 1
Most common 2002 Acura CL problems
Share of all 61 complaints. One complaint can name more than one area. Tap an area for its complaints and recalls.
2002 Acura CL recalls 2
Recall repairs are free. Your dealer fixes them whether or not you bought the car there - check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see if yours is done. What to do
- The problem
- 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.
- The risk
- Gear failure could result in transmission lockup, which could result in a crash.
- The 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 replaced if discoloration is not present, the dealer will perform the revision to the oil cooler return line. The recall began on april 21, 2004, for pilot, odyssey, and mdx owners. Owners of the accord vehicles will start receiving letters on june 28, 2004, and on june 29, 2004, for owners of the tl and cl vehicles. Owners should contact honda at 1-800-999-1009 or acura at 1-800-382-2238.
What owners say
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61 complaints about the 2002 Acura CL
Newest first, as filed with NHTSA by owners. Page 1 of 3.
UNKNOWN
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2002 acura cl. The contact stated the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed the front driver air bag needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been diagnosed nor repaired. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 20v027000 (air bags). The contact stated that keyes woodland hills honda (6111 topanga canyon blvd, woodland hills, ca 91367), exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The part was not available for the repair. Parts distribution disconnect. The failure mileage was 260,878.
Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2002 acura cl. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 20v027000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. Acura of escondido located at (1502 auto park way, escondido ca) was contacted and confirmed that part was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. Vin tool confirms parts not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 acura cl. When the vehicle was started, the "srs" warning indicator illuminated and remained lit all day. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing, but an appointment was scheduled with goodson acura of dallas (4801 lemmon ave, dallas, tx 75219) for september 11, 2019. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
I bought a used car from chicago suburb individual owner about 15 days ago. Clean title with no accident history. The gas tank during last 15 days was never little above half tank. Today I filled gas full tank and drove about 8 miles and parked in home garage. Liquid fuel leak from rear side of the tank was observed forming a puddle in garage giving strong gas smell in few minutes. When I looked under the car, I could continuous drop by drop liquid fuel leak. I confirm that I did not observe any leak in last two...
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weeks when gas tank was less than 3/4 or less full.In last 15 days I consider lucky that the leak did not take place over exhaust gas pipe while I was driving. I have towed my car to a repair center and will advise him to save evidence.
The car goes into neutral while driving almost been in a accident several times over this issue .I don't even drive it anymore
My son hit a pole and the air bag crushed him. He died! It ripped his aorta, his liver, crushed his lungs, head injury, metal in chest. *Tr
For a couple days my car would begin stalling while I was driving on the highway. I felt like it slowed down to shift out of gear but never completely shifted. Then, one day when I was driving, on my way home my car slipped out of gear completely and I couldn't drive forward. My car only allowed me to go in reverse. 2After allowing it to sit for a while it would drive but while trying to drive home it constantly slipped out of gear which was very dangerous especially when it happened at an intersection. *Tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 acura 3.2 Cl. The contact stated that after having the transmission replaced, the transmission malfunctioned and exhibited a hard jerk when shifting gears. In addition, the contact could smell transmission fluid burning. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer or mechanic for repairs. The failure mileage was 173,000.
Automatic transmission fails abruptly. Vehicle accelerates abruptly when gears shift. Potential safety hazard if failure occurs in highway. *Tr
Transmission failure car has only 45k on it. Minor trans repair by prior owner under warranty. Class action applied but past time limit. Acura offered 50% of repair cost not 100%. I believe time limit inappropriate. Time does not damage trans. *Tr
My business purchased two brand new 2002 acura vehicles, a cl and a tl in sept. Of 2001. The transmission on our tl was replaced 4 times free of charge because all of the transmissions on these make/models are bad and when they go out acura promised to replace them as long as we were the original owner. We traded in the tl years ago, but I kept the cl. When my first transmission went out on the cl it was replaced free of charge. Now the second transmission is going out and acura is saying that I have to pay for 1/2...
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the price of the replacement. I told them that was ridiculous that they gave me a trans that they knew was going to go out and now they expect me to pay for their bad product?? My husband was a master mechanic for acura for 10 years and knows that acura rebuilds these bad trans and replaces them w/ other rebuilt bad trans. They knowingly gave me a bad product and now expect me to pay for it?? I was told that as long as I was the original owner that they will replace these trans free of charge. Now I have an unsafe/a car that is not going to sell car.. Can you please help me? Thank you.. *Tr
2002 Acura 3.2Cl with defective transmissions. Consumer states that her 1st transmission failed while driving 50 mph. Dealer informed her that they knew the transmissions were bad. *Kb the first time the transmission failed, it would not go into reverse. Now, it is 2 years later and the transmission is slipping. The dealer stated there was an internal failure. *Jb
Acura is knowingly putting defective transmissions in these cars. When my first trans went out, I was doing 50 mph on lake shore dr. And if I weren't wearing my seatbelt, I would've gone through the windshield. They admitted that they knew all these trans were bad and replaced the 1st one @ 103,000 miles and said they would "good will" these trans as long as im the original owner. My husband was a master tech. Mechanic at acura for 10 yrs. And said they never came out with a good trans. For these cars. They just...
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keep rebuilding them and replacing them when they go out! Now my replacement trans is going out @ 30,000 less miles than the 1st and they refuse to replace it without me paying for it! Pay for another bad transmission? They wrote on my car work order "test drove vehicle found trans slipping - customer advised of trans operation, not recommended to drive vehicle!" They put me back on the street with their unsafe transmission. It's not right that they are putting 'accidents waiting to happen' on the streets. Is it cheaper for them to pay for peoples deaths than to take all these vehicles off the street? Hondas biggest settlement cannot replace somebody's loved one. There has to be justice somewhere. Please help save someone's life, thank you.. *Tr
2002 Acura cl has had the transmission changed out 4 times; the car is ending it's warranty, and again the transmission is acting up. *Tr
My 2002 mdx has 75,000 miles and needs the engine mounts replaced. It was reported by lots of people that acura's design flaws on the motor mounts for 2001, 2002 mdx. Lots of discussions may be found athttp://www.Topix.Net/forum/autos/acura-mdx/t54qbspdkrmccnv0a it is a disaster for consumers to pay for the design defects! *Tr
Mil comes on with dtc p1457 - signaling evap bypass solenoid failure. *Tr
Multiple engine mount failures on 2002 acura mdx. First failure occurred at 40,000 miles. Second failure occurred at 79,000 miles. Both failures were identified by an acura dealer as important mechanical and safety concerns. Both failures were remedied by an acura dealer. The first failure was covered under warranty. The second failure was not covered under warranty. *Ak
The 2001 acura mdx stalls at high speeds and then kicks back in gear. It's kind of dangerous to me. It seems to be alot of transmission problems and acura denies any problem with this model. *Tr
Manual trans/clutch - looses hydraulic pressure in low air temps and when car is sitting on a hill. Hard to shift only in 1st into 2nd gear. There were very few acura 2002/2003 cl 3.2 Type ss made, so even a couple complaints should warrant a review. I found numerous forums with owners complaining and asking for help from others on this problem. Ive driven manual trans cars and trucks for 22 yrs to include one honda that stil had the original clutch at 225k miles, so it is not a driver related problem. All the...
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focus has been on the auto transmissions for this car...That failed. Acura has a problem that needs to be addressed before someone get seriously hurt, when they try to shift into second when crossing a busy street and cant. It has happened to me and I just got lucky. *Nm
Transmission problem: erratic shifting, hard downshifts, shifts from 5th gear into 2nd gear at high speed: close-to-death experience on the highway!! This has happened 3 months after the recall service was done concluding nothing wrong. From my research I have found that the recall - "band-aid fix" does not fix whats actually wrong with the transmission because it is a trick to make consumers think that the car is fine. The recall was put out but does not work!! This matter should be looked into properly and...
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thuroughly again. I do not wish to injure or kill myself or others because my car is poorly designed. My car is out of warranty and will not be covered under recall since it was already provided. Furthermore, the symptoms of my problem are different than the recall symptoms. The honda motor co. Knows very well that all these symptoms are combined but does not want to recall the correct parts because it would cost too much and cover too many vehicles. Right now my choices are very limited but expensive: replace whole transmission with few other parts. Many consumers' transmissions fail multiple times so there is no permanent fix as the company claims with the recall service and I'm sure this is not the first complain. Please look into the problem again and make them issue a real solution to this problem or refer me somewhere that I could get help resolving this matter.
Since the second day of having my car, my car has been continuously plagued with problems. I have taken my car in for repair over 10 times for various and sometimes repeating problems. This all has occurred within a three year period. I have never had a vehicle that has had so many problems. Some of the problems have been so severe that I no longer feel safe driving my car. One of these problems was my transmission spontaneously downshifting from 5th gear to 2nd gear at highway speeds. This caused a...
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tremendous decrease of speed. Had someone been in back of me, I would have been seriously injured. The transmission was replaced, but it continues to act spontaneously. After making complaints directly to acura of america, I feel snubbed by them in that they have not sought to assist me other than warranty repairs.
2002 Acura cl 3.2 Experiencing problems with automatic transmission, seat belts, timing belt, electrical system, and the engine.***No answer required***. *Mr the consumer has experience numerous problems with the automatic transmission, electrical system, seat belts, suspension and engine. The consumer did stated there was a recall on the transmission and belt tensioner. *Jb
While driving at any speed transmission slipped. The part was replaced three times, however the problem recurred. *Ak
The transmission in my acura cl-s locked up for approximately 2 seconds while traveling on the freeway. It locked up again while trying to move to the shoulder. The transmission was subsequently replaced. The replacement transmission failed approximately 800 miles later. I am now on my third, which is beginning to show signs of inevitable failure. *Ak
Acura CL: every year compared
All CL years2002 Acura CL vs rivals
| Vehicle | Complaints | Recalls | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 Acura CL | 61 | 2 | C | |
| 2002 Acura TL | 350 | 7 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Acura MDX | 223 | 4 | C | Compare |
| 2002 Acura RSX | 93 | 4 | F | Compare |
| 2002 Acura RL | 59 | 2 | D | Compare |
| 2002 Acura NSX-T | 17 | 0 | C | Compare |
More sales usually means more complaints, so compare similar vehicles of the same year. The grade compares each vehicle with its own model's other years.
Questions about the 2002 Acura CL
Does the 2002 Acura CL have any recalls?
Yes - NHTSA lists 2 recalls for the 2002 Acura CL: inflator module (January 2020); automatic transmission (April 2004). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours has been fixed.
What are the most common problems with the 2002 Acura CL?
By the complaints owners filed with NHTSA, the most common problem areas are the transmission & drivetrain (43), engine & cooling (8), airbags (5).
How many complaints has the 2002 Acura CL had?
61 complaints have been filed with NHTSA, the first on June 15, 2001 and the latest on February 28, 2023. Of these, 1 describe a crash and 0 a fire, and together they report 0 injuries and 1 death.
Is the 2002 Acura CL a reliable vehicle?
Its Safety Index is 51 out of 100 (grade C: about as many problems as a typical Acura CL year, for its age). The index weighs complaints, crashes, fires, injuries, deaths and recalls against how long the vehicle has been on the road, compared with the same model's other years. It is not a measure of every repair - read the complaints and owner experiences, and have any used vehicle inspected before you buy.
Which Acura CL years have the most complaints?
2001 (270), 1997 (82), 2003 (79). See every Acura CL year compared.
What should I do if my 2002 Acura CL has a problem?
If it is a safety problem, stop driving it if it is unsafe and contact your dealer. Report it to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem - enough reports start investigations and recalls - and share your experience here so other owners know what to look for.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data