Avoid: 2001 (lowest Year Scores on complaints per year on the road, crash reports and recalls)
Best: 2000
4 model years of NHTSA owner complaints and recalls · How we grade
Across 7 model years, the Acura CL has 618 owner-filed NHTSA complaints and 20 recalls on record. The most-reported areas are power train and air bags. 2001 drew the most complaints (274), 2000 the fewest (11).
Source: NHTSA complaints and recalls filed for Acura CL vehicles (US, public record). Typical used asking price $3,899–$10,150.
Complaint volume by model year. Raw NHTSA totals, not adjusted for sales volume or time on the road, so older and higher-selling years accumulate more. Every year links to its full breakdown.
Highest: 2001 (274 complaints). Lowest: 2000 (11).
Owners of the Acura CL broadly praise the car's durability and long-term reliability, with many reporting high mileage examples still running well. The manual transmission models, particularly the Type S, are held in high regard as fun and dependable.
Owners across multiple discussions report that automatic transmissions, especially in V6 models, are prone to failure and should be avoided. Manual transmissions are not affected.
Owners report rust on older examples, particularly in areas with road salt, and note that clean bodies are becoming rare.
Owners emphasize the importance of timely timing belt replacement, with some admitting to delaying it well past the recommended interval.
One owner reported replacing both window motors, with the passenger window failing for years.
One owner reported replacing the steering rack at around 200,000 miles.
Owner insights cover all generations of the CL. Individual model years are broken down above.
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