2000 Acura CL Type S review from North America
"Another timeless classic sporty near luxo coupe"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The front brakes warped at 34000. Dealer resurfaced, and they of course warped again at 39000. New rotors under warranty which warped at 67000. Will get new OEM size Brembos in a few weeks. Is it really such a big deal when a performance-oriented car company can't put decent brake rotors on a car, year after year, model after model?
Plenty of rattles, which I fixed myself, with some direction from Acura-cl.com forums.
And of course, the ticking time bomb auto tranny, which was replaced at 49000. Dealer just installed some kind of jet fix kit at 69000, but this made it feel worse. Hope nobody gets killed rear-ending me when it suddenly decides to shift from 5th to 2nd. Remarkably, this is an epidemic for 99-03 Honda V6s pushing automatic 5-speeds: Accord, CL/TL, Odyssey, MDX. How is it kept so quiet? They even squirmed out from under a NHTSA investigation with some bogus technical mumbo-jumbo...
General comments?
I hope I didn't hammer in the last nail in the resale value coffin. On the other hand, I don't care: I really do love this car. It's roomy and comfy, agile, tasteful, solid, relaxed yet responsive. I plan to keep it for 244000 miles, which is the distance to the moon...
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![]() ![]() | Love hate car |
![]() ![]() | Comfortable, smooth, responsive! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model Year | 2001 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | 3.2 V6 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7/10 |
| Reliability marks | 8/10 |
| Comfort marks | 9/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 2/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 29000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 71000 miles |
| Previous car | Acura Legend |
| Date of Entry | 14th June, 2005 |

