1997 Acura CL problems
NHTSA has received 106 complaints about the 1997 Acura CL, and 16% of them involve electrical system. Next are transmission (15%) and air bags (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 106 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 16% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 0
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 122,000 miles 30 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 1 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 4 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 4 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 5 |
| 200k+ miles | 4 |
What the data shows
Of the 30 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 122,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 5 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1997 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Acura CL with enough data (47 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
When vehicle was involved in a crash with a 18 wheeler, there was no deployment of the driver's side or passenger's side air bags. Vehicle was hit in the rear first, which made rear end spin around. Vehicle was hit again on driver's side. Most of the damage was done to the driver's front. Please provide any further information.
Consumer states that while driving, vehicle was involved in a frontal collision and none of the air bags deployed.
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 was damaged. No air bags deployed in the vehicle. The contact sustained bruised ribs and separated collar bone, and other injuries that required medical attention as she was transported to the hospital by ambulance.
SRS light on the dash stays on. Dealer said wiring is defective. Airbag has never gone off and the car has never been in an accident. Dealer stated that it is the passenger side air bag. The diagnosis is that the wire shows high resistence. The module was reset, the light on the dash went off for three days and then came back on. The dealer will not repair. It is possible the air bag will not work according to the dealer. The wiring is defective.
Tl* the contact owns a 1997 acura 3.0 cl. The contact stated that the key could not be removed from the ignition while in park or drive. The contact noticed NHTSA campaign id number: 02v120000 (electrical system:ignition:switch) but was advised by the manufacturer that his VIN was not included in the recall campaign. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 152,072.