Acura CL

Acura CL
2nd-gen Acura CL
Overview
Manufacturer	Acura
Production	1996–2003
Assembly	East Liberty, Ohio, United States
Body and chassis
Class	Personal luxury car FF
Doors	2
Chronology
Predecessor	Acura Legend (coupe)
Successor	Acura TL

The Acura CL is a

brand across two generations from 1996 until 2003.

All Acura CLs were manufactured at Honda's plant in East Liberty, Ohio with the Honda Civic. The second generation TL and the Honda Accord upon which the Acura CLs were based, are manufactured at Honda's plant in Marysville, Ohio. The CL was the first Acura to be built in the United States.

With the release of the TL and 3.5RL in 1996, Acura transitioned to

and/or two-letter names.

The Acura CL-X is a concept car built by Acura (in conjunction with its parent company Honda) for the 1995 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. It was designed in Honda's R&D North America studio in Los Angeles. It is a two-dour coupe with a wheelbase of 106.9 in (272 cm) and a track width of 63.2 in (161 cm). The concept was shown to preview the styling and body style of what would become the CL. The particular car shown had special carbon fiber and aluminum composite wheels designed for performance, with a staggered wheel setup of 18 inches in the front and 19 inches in the rear.^[1] It was reported to have a top speed of 140 mph (225 km/h).^[2]

First generation (YA1)
Curb weight		3,064 lb (1,390 kg) (I-4) 3,285 lb (1,490 kg) (V6)

The Acura CL entered production in February 1996.

Both the 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder CL offered a "Premium" trim level which offered leather upholstery (with heated front seats in the 3.0), and in the 3.0, an Acura/Bose stereo. For the 1999 model year, the "Premium" trim level was eliminated, and leather upholstery became standard on all models, as was a trunk

body panels which helps to prevent rust.

• 1996–1999 Acura CL 3.0 L
  V6
  – 200 hp (149 kW)
• 1996–1997 Acura CL 2.2 L
  I4
  – 145 hp (108 kW)
• 1997–1999 Acura CL 2.3 L
  I4
  – 150 hp (112 kW)

Second generation (YA4)
Curb weight		3,450 lb (1,565 kg)

For the 1999 model year, the Acura CL's sibling, the TL, was redesigned. The CL, however, was never produced as a 2000 model and instead in March 2000 the completely redesigned Acura CL was released as a 2001 model featuring a 3.2 L

In 2002, the CL Type-S was offered, as a 2003 model, with a close-ratio 6-speed

.

The 2003 model year also brought cosmetic changes to the CL. The 5-watt road/fog lamps found on the 2001–02 models were deleted, and non-functional air vents were installed in their place. The grille surround and door handles were now body color, as opposed to being chrome on the 01–02. The side mirrors were also redesigned (for both the 2002 and 2003 models) by having a more square shape, full-body matched paint, and tinted glass since customers had complained about excessive wind noise coming from the mirror seam. The 2003 models also saw new headlights which now featured a blacked-out interior, and the taillight lenses had a cleared turn signal and reverse light. Type-S's now included updated 17 × 7" 12-spoke wheels. Revised thicker exhaust tips were also a new addition. Canadian CLs offer

and a windshield washer fluid level sensor as standard equipment (USDM CLs do not have these as an option).

• 2000–2003 Acura 3.2 CL – 225 hp (168 kW), 217 lb⋅ft (294 N⋅m) mpg: 17 city/27 hwy. (5AT)
• 2000–2003 Acura 3.2 CL Type S – 260 hp (194 kW) at 6,100 rpm, 232 lb⋅ft (315 N⋅m) at 3,500–5,500 rpm. mpg: 19 city/29 hwy (6MT),^[11] 17 city/27 hwy. (5AT)

In 2002, Honda Access America developed a performance package for the CL Type S, which was built in concert with tuning firm

was coupled with numerous suspension, exhaust, braking, and drivetrain enhancements. 0 to 60 mph times of the coupe were reduced from 6.0 seconds on a stock Type S to 5.7 seconds with the modifications. Output was claimed to be 369 hp (275 kW) at 6,800 rpm and 302 lb⋅ft (409 N⋅m) of torque at 5,400 rpm (both measured at the crank), with a fuel economy rating of 19 mpg_‑US (12 l/100 km). The complete tuning and appearance package added $22,412 to the $31,050 base price of the CL Type S. ^[8]

Problems have been seen with the second-generation CL models equipped with automatic transmissions (manual transmission models are unaffected). Reports say that after an average of around 40,000 miles, the transmission experiences gear failures, such as downshifts, slipping, flaring and not shifting, and leaking.

One main cause is excessive wear of the 3rd gear clutch pack, resulting in large amounts of debris blocking the flow of transmission fluid. Many owners reported problems with the replacement transmissions as well. Similar transmission-related issues exist in the Honda Accord, Acura MDX, Acura TL as well as the Honda Odyssey.^[12]

Due to many failures, the manufacturer extended the warranty on the automatic transmission on some CLs and TLs for 7 years, 100,000 miles (160,000 km). Many replacement rebuilt units had problems. A class-action lawsuit later extended the warranty to 93 months or 109,000 miles (180,000 km). Despite the conversion to kilometers, the class action settlement applies only for persons and entities residing in the United States.^[13]

In addition, there was an unrelated transmission recall for safety reasons. One gear tended to overheat, break and cause the transmission to lock up. Since this failure would cause the car to come to a sudden stop, this might cause accidents. Further information on the transmission issue was available on enthusiast forums^[14] and at the official Acura Service Bulletin.^[15]

Calendar year	Total US sales[16]
1996	16,740
1997	28,939
1998	26,644
1999	20,968
2000	24,677
2001	18,993
2002	12,072
2003	6,593
2004	283

• Media related to Acura CL at Wikimedia Commons