2003 Acura Cl problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train:automatic Transmission (17) · Power Train (14) · Air Bags (7)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Acura Cl model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
52 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-06-27 · campaign 19V499000 · 3,947 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2003-2006 MDX, 2001-2007 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot and 2006 Ridgeline vehicles. These vehicles are equipped with driver frontal air bag inflators assembled as a recall remedy part or replacement service part, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term e
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began August 12, 2019. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's numbers for this recall are Q5A and Y58.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2019-03-06 · campaign 19V182000 · 1,101,534 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling specific 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2013-2016 ILX, 2013-2014 ILX Hybrid, 2003-2006 MDX, 2007-2016 RDX, 2002-2003 3.2TL, 2004-2006, and 2009-2014 TL, 2010-2013 ZDX and 2001-2007 and 2009 Honda Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2003-2005 Civic Hybrid, 2001-2005 Civic GX NGV, 2002-2007 and 2010-2011 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2007 Fit, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, and 2006-2014 Ridgeline vehicles. The affected vehicles received a replacement driver air bag inflator
Risk: An explosion of an inflator within the driver frontal air bag module may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver, front seat passenger or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's air bag inflator with an alternate inflator, free of charge. The recall began April 10, 2019. Honda owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Honda's number for this recall is O41. Acura owners may contact customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Acura's number for this recall is U40.
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2015-05-28 · campaign 15V320000 · 6,281,043 vehicles
Defect: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain model year 2001-2007 Accord, 2001-2005 Civic, 2001-2004 Honda Civic GX, 2003-2005 Honda Civic Hybrid, 2002-2006 CR-V, 2003-2011 Element, 2002-2004 Odyssey, 2003-2008 Pilot, 2006 Ridgeline, 2003 Acura 3.2CL, 2003-2006 Acura MDX, and 2002-2003 Acura 3.2TL vehicles. The affected vehicles are equipped with a dual-stage driver frontal air bag that may be susceptible to moisture intrusion and other factors, including manufacturing variability that
Risk: In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver's frontal air bag, the inflator could rupture with metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver frontal air bag inflator, free of charge. The recall began on July 1, 2015. Owners may contact Honda customer service at 1-888-234-2138. Owners may contact Acura customer service at 1-800-382-2238, select option 4. Note: Vehicles that have had their driver frontal air bag replaced previously as part of a recall remedy prior to September 12, 2014 need to have their air bag replaced under this recall as well. Vehicles that, on or a
Service bulletins (177)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Power Train 2021-05-28 · B21-022 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - case v. american honda motor co., inc., case no. bc 424169 (third clutch transmission settlement - $25 credit vouchers).
Air Bags 2020-03-10 · B20-008 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects in the replacement driver's airbag inflator only.
Engine And Engine Cooling 2018-08-09 · BBOM08092018901 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
dealer message - today, acura is notifying dealers of a voluntary noncompliance recall for a small number of acura vehicles due to an error on the replacement (service part) underhood emissions labels. american honda previously notified carb and the epa for this action.
Equipment 2018-08-09 · B18034 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - emission certification labels that were replaced on a small number of vehicles may have been replaced with a label listing incorrect information. the affected emission labels are replacement service parts, and were not installed at the factory; they were installed during postmanuf
Equipment 2018-05-24 · B18-017 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin - this bulletin is a notification of a class action settlement relating to airbag inflators. american honda is offering a customer support program (warranty extension) to cover any manufacturing defects to the replacement driver's airbag inflator only.
Equipment:electrical:navigational System(Global Positioning System) 2018-01-10 · B18010I · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
servicenews article - is the navigation screen clock reading 00:00? we?re aware of this issue and have it under investigation.
Showing the 6 most recent of 177 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-10-02 · Power Train“i purchased this vehicle in march 2021 and noticed the issue with the transmission the first time i operated the vehicle. there is a grinding sound whenever the transmission is placed in third gear. i brought the car to acura by executive in wallingford, ct at some point in 2021 to enquire about the issue. i was informed by the service advisor that…”
2024-09-05 · Steering“there is a major issue with the relay under the steering wheel blocking the fuel from the pump going to the engine. this also affects the security system as well as the rack and pinion. the vehicle security turns itself on and off as it pleases, often leaving driver/passengers stranded and sometimes with the alarm not shutting off. this is after ha…”
2024-04-01 · Air Bags“my 2003 3.2cls acura had an airbag recall in in 2016. my vehicle was supposedly repaired at this time. however, recently my srs light has been on requiring me to take my car to an acura dealer. the dealer believes my steering wheel air bag has a faulty air inflator, which they claim is out of warranty and may require me to pay $3000 to repair. i do…”
2023-08-15 · Seat Belts“i have an srs light illuminated on my dashboard. upon researching this, it is apparently a sensor issue which, when the light is on, indicates that the sensor in the seat - belt is malfunctioning, and this will keep the air bags from deploying. this of course is a serious safety issue. also, in reviewing the warranty information, it states that all…”
2022-02-04 · Unknown Or Other“subframe rusted through on the passenger side where the cause is a manufacturer defect of condensation from the air conditioning dripping directly above onto the subframe on the passenger side, which created a perforation of the passenger side subframe. subframe holds the suspension and steering components together and if the passenger side frame f…”
2019-11-04 · Power Train · 1,054 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 acura cl. while driving 45 mph, the contact heard an abnormal grinding noise coming from the vehicle. also, while the accelerator pedal was depressed, the vehicle shut off. the contact pulled over, turned the vehicle off and on, and it resumed normal operation. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnos…”
2019-10-26 · Structure:body · 214,450 mi“i am unable to open drivers side door from inside or outside. car still locks and unlocks like normal, so i don't believe that the actuator is at fault. the control arms for both handles are intact & seem to function as normal. i am assuming that either the latch mechanism is stuck, jammed, or otherwise dysfunctional. the vehicle was stationary whe…”
2019-10-08 · Seat Belts“acura says they guarantee all parts of the safety belt for the use of a lifetime of the car. car has 120000 miles on it. i have intermittent buckling issues and srs airbag switch is bad inside a sealed safety belt. could easily be remedied if it wasn't a sealed unit. they say they won't fix it because it's a canadian car even though it's spent 100%…”
2019-08-21 · Suspension · 236,700 mi“upon removing my front right (passenger side) wheel to check my brake pads, i noticed the rear portion of the sub-frame (which holds up the engine and transmission as well as the steering rack and sway bar) had rusted away allowing the sway bar to come completely loose on the right side. i researched this problem and found that many late 1990s and …”
2019-04-23 · Electrical System · 278,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2003 acura cl. the contact stated that the vehicle intermittently shut off without warning. the contact had to add starter fluid to the vehicle in order to get it to drive. the dealer was not contacted. the manufacturer was notified. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign number: 02v120000 (electrical system). the veh…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.