The 2001 Acura Cl has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 3,415,603 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 317 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
AIR BAGS20V0270002020-01-17875,966 affected
Defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2001-2002 Acura 3.2CL, 2000-2003 Acura 3.5RL, 2000-2001 Acura 3.2TL, Honda CR-V and Honda Odyssey, 2001-2002 Acura MDX and 2000 Accord Coupe, Accord Sedan, Civic Coupe, and Civic Sedan vehicles. These vehicles may have received a replacement driver frontal air…
Consequence
In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, an inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. An underinflated air bag cushion may not properly protect the occupant. These scenarios increase the risk of serious injury or death.
Remedy
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the air bags in the vehicles, replacing the driver frontal air bag inflator with an inflator of a different design, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2020. Owners may contact American Honda's Customer Support & Campaign Center at…
AIR BAGS20V0260002020-01-171,439,841 affected
Defect
Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 1998 Acura 2.2CL, 1998-1999 Acura 2.3CL, 1998-1999 Acura 3.0CL, 2001 Acura 3.2CL and Acura MDX, 1998-2000 Honda Accord Coupe, Accord Sedan, Civic Sedan, Odyssey and Acura 3.5RL, 1999-2000 Acura 3.2TL, 1996-2000 Civic Coupe, 1997-2000 CR-V, 1997-1998 EV Plus, and…
Consequence
In the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment, an inflator rupture may result in metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants. An underinflated air bag cushion may not properly protect the occupant. These scenarios increase the risk of serious injury or death.
Remedy
Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the driver frontal air bag inflator, and replace it if necessary, with an inflator of a different design, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2020. Owners may contact American Honda's Customer Support & Campaign Center at 1-888-234-2138 or Isuzu customer…
POWER TRAIN04V1760002004-04-151,099,796 affected
Defect
ON SOME MINI VANS, SPORT UTILITY AND PASSENGER VEHICLES, CERTAIN OPERATING CONDITIONS CAN RESULT IN HEAT BUILD-UP BETWEEN THE COUNTERSHAFT AND SECONDARY SHAFT SECOND GEARS IN THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, EVENTUALLY LEADING TO GEAR TOOTH CHIPPING OR GEAR BREAKAGE.
Consequence
GEAR FAILURE COULD RESULT IN TRANSMISSION LOCKUP, WHICH COULD RESULT IN A CRASH.
Remedy
ON VEHICLES WITH 15,000 MILES OR LESS, THE DEALER WILL UPDATE THE TRANSMISSION WITH A SIMPLE REVISION TO THE OIL COOLER RETURN LINE TO INCREASE LUBRICATION TO THE SECOND GEAR. ON VEHICLES WITH MORE THAN 15,000 MILES, THE DEALER WILL INSPECT THE TRANSMISSION TO IDENTIFY GEARS THAT HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED…
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
171
2crashes1fires3injuries
POWER TRAIN
30
2crashes1fires1injuries1deaths
AIR BAGS
27
3crashes2injuries
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
8
2crashes1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
7
1crashes
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
6
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION:CONTROL MODULE (TCM/PCM/TECM)
5
2crashes1injuries
SEAT BELTS
4
2crashes1injuries1deaths
SUSPENSION
4
VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR
4
Total complaints317
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The contact owns a 2001 acura cl. The contact stated that while driving on the highway at approximately 60 mph, the vehicle stalled. There was no warning light illuminated. On another occasion, while making a left turn on a city street, the vehicle stalled and experienced a loss of power steering…”
“I have a safety concern. When my vehicle was assembled, someone decided to have the workers not remove the protective film from the plastic screen on the navigation system that would typically be released. I assume this saved money and time during production. However, that film has deteriorated…”
“In and around july 2024 my acura cl started to have erratic shifting and locking up at highways speeds the vehicle is so unsafe to drive I cannot get the air bags fixed it shifts from 5th gear to 2nd gear in 2004 a remedy was applied to the transmission to aid and fix the downshifting issues and…”
“The contact owned a 2001 acura cl. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, there was a vehicle driving toward the contact's driver's side that ran the red light and crashed into the front of the vehicle. The entire front of the vehicle was damaged. The air bags did not…”
“The contact owned a 2001 acura cl. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 45 mph, there was a vehicle driving toward the contact's driver's side that ran the red light and crashed into the front of the vehicle. The entire front of the vehicle was damaged. The air bags did not…”
“I was stopped in heavy traffic. The traffic light turned green and the cars in front of me started to move. I tapped my accelerator with my right foot and the gasoline was delivered to my engine with maximum force. I could not stop the car with my foot on the brake. I steered the car to the right…”
“I was stopped in heavy traffic. The traffic light turned green and the cars in front of me started to move. I tapped my accelerator with my right foot and the gasoline was delivered to my engine with maximum force. I could not stop the car with my foot on the brake. I steered the car to the right…”
“Frank let us acura would not preform my transmission recall after it locked up “stating the recall has already been doneâ€� but they “don’t have any record of itâ€� they claim someone didn’t file the paper work on it but my trans locked up going 70 miles and hour and threw me off of the road”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE02081 Opened 2002-10-28 · closed 2003-03-05
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2001 Acura Cl as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.