Acura CL
Owners filed 586 complaints across 8 model years of the Acura CL. The 2001 drew the most (271); the 2004 the fewest (1).
Model years8
Complaints586
Recalls20
Fires3
Deaths3
Every Acura CL model year compared
Complaints per year| Year | Complaints | Relative volume | Recalls | Fires | Crashes | Most reported | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | — | — | Air Bags | Routine | |
| 2003 | 73 | 5 | — | 5 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Fatalities reported | |
| 2002 | 44 | 2 | — | 1 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Fatalities reported | |
| 2001 | 271 | 3 | 2 | 13 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Fatalities reported | |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 | — | 1 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 1999 | 49 | 3 | — | 4 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine | |
| 1998 | 55 | 5 | 1 | 2 | Electrical System | Routine | |
| 1997 | 82 | 2 | — | 5 | Power Train › Automatic Transmission | Routine |
Which Acura CL years should you avoid?
On raw complaint volume the 2001 is the weakest year on record, with 271 complaints concentrated in the power train › automatic transmission. It carries 3 recalls.
Read these numbers with sales volume in mind. A model year that sold in huge numbers naturally accumulates more reports than a rare one, and older cars have had more years to fail. The stronger signal is the severity columns and whether the same component keeps coming up year after year.
Data: NHTSA complaint and recall files, September 2026. Complaints are unverified owner reports.