The 1997 Acura Cl has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,124,875 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 106 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN SEDANS, COUPES, HATCHBACKS, AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, ELECTRICAL CONTACTS IN THE IGNITION SWITCH CAN DEGRADE DUE TO THE HIGH ELECTRICAL CURRENT PASSING THROUGH THE SWITCH WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STARTED.
Consequence
WORN CONTACTS COULD CAUSE THE ENGINE TO STALL WITHOUT WARNING, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JUNE 14, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT HONDA AT 1-800-999-1009 OR ACURA AT 1-800-382-2238.
SUSPENSION99V0690001999-05-10124,875 affected
Defect
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. CERTAIN VEHICLES WERE MANUFACTURED WITH BALL JOINTS THAT CAN PREMATURELY WEAR OUT AND, IN THE WORSE CASE, THE BALL JOINT WOULD SEPARATE CAUSING THE FRONT SUSPENSION TO COLLAPSE.
Consequence
THIS CONDITION WOULD RESULT IN VEHICLE DECELERATION AND A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER. ALSO STEERING CONTROLLABILITY WOULD BE REDUCED.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT SUSPENSION LOWER BALL JOINTS.
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
13
AIR BAGS
7
1crashes1injuries
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
5
2crashes3injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
5
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
5
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
4
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
4
SUSPENSION
4
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
4
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
4
Total complaints106
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Tl* takata recall. The contact called on behalf of his mother-in-law the owner and driver of a 1997 acura cl. Contact stated that while his mother-in-law was stopped and waiting to make a left turn a semi- truck turned running over her vehicle. The front passenger to the driver side of the vehicle…”
“Airbag recall was issued in march 2020. Honda advises that no replacement parts are available as of 8/14/2020.could be up to a year (from march 2020) before parts are available.”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 acura cl. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 20v026000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact reached out to norris acura (8559 baltimore national pike, ellicott city, md 21043; [REDACTED]) where it was…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 acura cl. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 20v026000 (air bags) however, the parts to do the repair were unavailable. Pikes peak acura (655 automotive dr, colorado springs, co 80905) was contacted and confirmed that parts were not available…”
“I am on my 3rd transmission since I bought the car in 2012”
“The 1997 acura cl harmonica balencer bolt snaped off had to get it replaced and three weeks later happend again in the middel off the street trafic almost casing an acedent”
“The 1997 acura cl harmonica balencer bolt snaped off had to get it replaced and three weeks later happend again in the middel off the street trafic almost casing an acedent”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Acura Cl as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.