Driving on the highway at about 55 mph, all of a sudden there was no forward momentum from the car. Stepped on the gas and nothing was happening. Check engine light came on. I was able to coast off to an exit and park in a fairly secure spot on the side of the road. The car was towed to the nearest Acura dealer. I was told the next day that a new transmission was ordered for my car and it would be about a week before I would get my car back.

- Woodbridge, NJ, USA

Transmission abruptly failed at 56,000. This caused a dangerous driving condition as the engine would rev until the transmission would suddenly drop into gear causing the car to jerk wildly.

- Tonawanda, NY, USA

Transmission problems (slipping) upon acceleration. Automatic transmission has slipped a number of times (4 times) within the last week. It always happens at acceleration from a stop.

- Yelm, WA, USA

I am an owner of 2001 Acura Cl type S. VIN number [xxx], odometer 26,000 miles. I had a transmission failure today. At first car suddenly changed the gear from 5th to possibly 1st at 60 mph on the highway a few times. This is very unsafe, I was lucky there were no close vehicles behind me. Then at the end of 15 mile trip from home clutch started to slip and I could not even move from the stop. I had hard time getting car home, it shifted erratically and stayed in first gear. While I understand that transmission is a mechanical device and can fail, this particular behavior of sudden down shift at the high speeds are not safe and can cause major accident. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Alexandria, VA, USA

While driving 60 mph vehicle suddenly decelerated, and the automatic transmission stopped functioning. The cause of the problem had not been determined.

- Wantagh, NY, USA

My 2001 Acura Cl S type has transmission problems. It would suddenly jerk when going from 1st to 2nd gear. When it goes into 3rd gear there is a loss of power. The engine D5 light blinks.

- Westminster, CA, USA

While driving on the highway transmission would slip and jerk, causing the consumer to pull off the road. The consumer has made contact with the tire manufacturer.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Automatic transmissin failed to upshift properly while driving.this caused vehicle to jerk forward as if down shifting on its own. Would shift out of 2nd gear with rpms running very high.

- Washington, DC, USA

I was driving on the freeway at 65 mph and my 2001 Acura Cl type S downshifted into 1st or 2nd gear causing the car to slow abruptly and swerve. The people behind me almost hit me and I almost hit the car in the lane next to me (not ot mention the pain of the seatbelt cutting into my neck). Good thing the seatbelt did would or I could have sustained injuries slamming into the stearing wheel or windshield. The Acura is on it's second transmission with only 41,000 miles on it, this next one will be the 3rd. I was told that Acura is aware of the problem. I was also told that none of the replacement transmissions are "new". they are all "remanufactured" with a 36,00 mile or 3 yr warranty. Obviously with the same problems not being fixed. This vehicle is a danger to have on the road. Why doesn't Acura fix the problem. Perhaps a lawsuit would inspire them to correct the problem hopefully before someone dies.

- Los Banos, CA, USA

The automatic transmission fails to shift properly. Would jerk forward as if it was down shifting on its own. Transmission will not shift out of 2nd gear. Also, rpms would run very high. Recently was not able to shift in to reverse. Felt as if the brakes were on. The drive indicator started flashing. Traction light had came on with the engine light and stayed on. Problem had started on 7/7/03. Had taken the vehicle to dealership on 7/11, and had picked up vehicle on 7/18. Mechanic indicated the problem was not able to be duplicated. The problems with the automatic transmission still exists.

- Washington, DC, USA

Consumer states when vehicle is put into any gear vehicle response like it is in neutral. When in 3rd gear rpms rev up very high. Took to dealer, and he replaced the transmission.

- Exton, PA, USA

Consumer states that while driving and with no warning transmission locked up. Dealer notified.

- Waterford, PA, USA

Failed transmission in 2001 Acura Cl-S; approx 35,000 miles. I possibly noticed a discrepancy in shifting around 3rd gear maybe 2-3X over past 3-4 months, including the morning the car was taken in to the dealer for routine service, however was unable to repeatedly notice a problem. Dealer notified us that morning of the transmission failure & need for replacement under warranty.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Failure of automatic transmission in 2001 Acura Cl type S. I understand the sudden downshifting has been determined to not be a safety hazard, but in this case the transmission would not engage any gear while shifting between second and third. The resulting sudden loss of drive power almost caused the car behind me to hit me. The 2-3 shift is almost always under heavy acceleration away from a dead stop, to deem this not a safety hazard is absurd. If I were not able to pull to the shoulder of the road I would have been hit. Acura dealers have denied knowledge of this issue until the transmission actually fails. I tolerated 20,000 miles of erratic shifting before mine died completely. I now have 4,000 on the new transmission and it has been exhibiting the same behavior the original did, always between the 2-3 shift.

- Kennesaw, GA, USA

I have a 2001 Acura Cl-S and I've had the trans replaced once because of sudden down shift.(that by the way happen on an interstate and I almost lost control of the car) but that besides the fact according to palm beach Acura. Now my car does the same thing again and they will not change it unless it happens when one of there mechanics drives it.

- Lake Worth, FL, USA

2001 Acura Cl type-S - transmission failure at 28,900 miles. Sudden downshift while traveling on highway (I476). Car was in for standard service days before incident and the dealer found no problems when asked to look into the transmission slipping. 7 days later the transmission completely failed causing an extreme downshift at highway speeds with no warning. Due to the alertness of other drivers - no injuries occurred..

- Havertown, PA, USA

Acura-Cl type S transmission problems at 30000 miles. Transmission started slipping and engaged at random points. Accelerated to 60 miles per hour, at which the transmission down shifted abruptly without warning causing the tires to chirp. Warning lights came on after down shift in the form of a blinking D5 light, check transmission light, vsa light on with exclamation point. Would not shift out of gear until car was turned off and restarted.

- Grand Terrace, CA, USA

Transmission failure, this is the second transmission failure for this vehicle. This first failure was July 3, 2001. First failure vehicle blew smoke. Second failure resulted in transmission slipping out of gear and sudden, hard shifting. Vehicle was in questionable safety condition due to constant slipping out of gear during turns, acceleration.

- Austin, TX, USA

I have a Acura 2001 Cl type S. transmission failed at 25K miles, so I took it to the dealer. They said they would fix it and put a brand new transmission free of the defect. Then at 50K miles my transmission failed again. I got it replaced and it still feels like it is going to have the same problem again.

- Yuba City, CA, USA

2001 Acura Cl, 32000 miles,5 speed auto trans. While driving in heavy traffic at 45 mph, the transmission violently and erratically shifted from 5th speed into 1st or 2nd and back into 5th. This unexpected shifting caused the car to rapidly slow down, then accelerate. I turned off the highway onto a less crowded street and continued driving towards my destination. The problem recurred 5 or 6 times in the next 3 miles. Previously, the only indication of transmission trouble was earlier that day. There was some slippage when shifting between 2nd and 3rd speed. The Acura dealer examined the car and told me I needed a new transmission. Acura informed owners by letter that there are problems with some transmissions and extended the warranty on them, but I had no idea of what to expect. This was a frightening experience! it is fortunate that I had my seat belts on as the sudden lurching would have thrown me against the steering wheel with considerable force. I think there should be a recall on these cars to replace the transmissions.

- Huntington Station, NY, USA