03max6spd

Hey Fellas! Finally picked up my car after almost two months of waiting. Initially i was getting a black type s but that whole deal was just shady then the night before picking up the car, the buyer backs out smh
Oh well the following day i found this one, went to check it out and took her home with a great deal! I joined the forums a month or so ago to kinda learn about these cars and gather info and advice!

This is what is done to the car so far.

2008 Acura TL type-S
155k
Inspected till 8/17
H&R sport springs
Progressive rear sway bar
Hybrid Racing shifter bushings
Comptech short shifter
Custom short ram intake
Rv6 pre cat deletes
Rv6 j pipe
Stock catback
Stop tech rotors and pads
Russell stainless brake lines
OEM rain visors
OEM mud flaps
OEM all season floor mats

Maintenence
Timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt at 108k
All new struts 10k miles ago
New axles 10k miles ago
New rear strut mount bushings 300 miles ago

Seller had work done at acura so i was confident in the purchase.

The other night though the P0174/ P0171 code kicked on and im seeing various culprits, i was considering changing the oxygen sensors, any other options? the gas mileage is a bit iffy, and i read those codes are correlated to bad MPG any other advice? thanks in advance guys
i cannot wait to start doing more to the car!

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

congrats man i know you've been waiting patiently for one, and you got some sweet mods to go with it!!

i know we already talked via email but here are my immediate suggestions:
- clean and condition leather (leatherique for both, or lexol for cleaning and griot's garage for conditioning)
- remove short ram (you're actually losing power)
- check valve delete and gm friction modified mtf

can't wait to see what you have done to it right around the corner!

BROlando

your codes indicate a LEAN condition.

May be related to your intake. Or you might have an exhaust leak between the engine and primary O2 sensors... or maybe a vacuum leak in the intake manifold.

Yes, those codes can cause bad MPG. If the ECU is told that the car is running lean, it will add fuel to try and compensate.

But it probably means that your O2 sensors are working fine. Unless they are aftermarket sensors that are reading out of range...which would be a very strange issue.

What type of MPG are you getting and how are you measuring it?


Nice car.

03max6spd

My man!! thanks so much. i actually have a bottle of lexol somewhere around here. ill definitely get on the conditioning of the leather when it gets a tad warmer. Its fucking freezing here!

As far as the intake, im gonna work on making a custom 4" as the 4" on my old car was a HUGE success, gained 26hp midrange and up top. but for now ill just rock this intake

and i gotta look into that check valve delete thing, is it hard to do?

highway 24ish, local like 17/18mpg? i know that cant be right and i thought i wasnt crazy cause the gas burns up pretty quickly, i was gonna change the plugs on the car til the code came up. i Might just pony up and buy a Aem cold air or something. Do those intakes come 3" in diameter?

My best friend owns a shop and has a smoke machine, should i go that route to find the leak? and i havent really measured it but it definitely burns quicker than i believe it should. i can erase the trip and start over and calculate how many miles i get on the tank.

I was thinking o2 sensors as well, think i should change em? car does have 155k previous owner claims it was changed during the servicing at 108k miles

Im gonna get some close up pics of the intake on lunch, it has some weird tape wrap around it, maybe theres a leak in the intake or something? also the filter is pretty dirty too. and thanks again for help! i really want to pass emissions asap as i just got the car

BROlando

18 around town and 24 highway seems fairly normal, depending on driving style and conditions.

Plus...you just got the car, so you're likely having fun with it.

Also...the dash usually reads about 2mpg lower than real life MPG.

Fill the tank. Reset the trip. Drive til you have about 1/4 tank remaining.

Then refill the tank. Preferably at the same station and pump.

Divide miles driven per gallons filled. Compare it to what the dash says.

Usually, if the dash says 18, your real life is like 16 or 17.

As far as searching for leaks...

Intake leaks:
Find a leak between the MAF and the engine. I believe this car has a MAF. The air filter is a big, hugeassed leak. Thats how it functions. So a leak in the actual pipe won't matter unless its leaking AFTER the MAF sensor.

The intake itself could also be introducing too much air. Modern cars are sometimes sensitive to mods. But that is probably not your issue since this car is a relatively low tech Honda.

Exhaust leaks:
Look for a leak between the engine and the O2 sensors.

A leak after the O2 sensors won't affect this code (obviously).

Check for leaks between the hashed brackets. That is all the metered air.

Hillbilly diagram below.

03max6spd

i thought these cars used map and not maf sensors?

i like that diagram you drew up im gonna keep that!

thats nuts though 16\17? with just precat deletes and a j pipe? and stock catback?!!?! cant be that horrific lol im gonna try this though



smmhhhhh

vietxquangstah

iTrader: (7)

Why would you automatically jump to conclusion and think of replacing the o2 sensors? They are doing their job and detecting a lean condition and your first thought is to replace them? The correct way to approach this situation is to start from the beginning and checking for any vacuum leaks or exhaust leaks before the o2 sensor (as mentioned earlier)

If your bestfriend owns a shop it's safe to assume he works on cars so I would suggest you taking your vehicle to him so he can help you diagnose it rather than throwing parts at it. Sometimes you get lucky throwing parts at it. Other times you just end up wasting a lot of money for nothing. Do the right thing and properly diagnose it first. It's safe to say it doesn't need o2 sensors. It would throw a different code if that were the issue.

Regarding your MPG, you seem to be getting better than what I got when I owned my 2008 TL Base model automatic. I would avg 16-18 city and 22-23 mixed (60% hwy, 40% city). I miss that gas mileage. My G37 now gets 19mpg avg with mixed driving. City only is in the low teens.

Btw I don't rely on the MID display for my average MPG. I use a gas fill-up app that keeps log of my mileage and fill-ups and calculates the exact MPG. If you have android I suggest trying Fuel Log app. I been using it for 5 years now.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

03max6spd

Youre absolutely right, thats what i was consistently told. But youre right, diagnosis first.

Yes he does work on cars, and i know how to work on them as well. Ill hook up the smoke machine and check for leaks, the code comes and goes on its own randomly. I am going to do a tune up on the car as well just to since i got it im unsure of when it was last done.

Yeah im definitely going to log the fuel, because i filled up last night did a 20 min drive out, then another 25 min drive home, and some spirited driving this morning and now im almost half tank LOL so that definitely cant be right.
ill download the app today, and thanks again for your input!

riceclout

dam good find with only 155k. been trying to get a black 08 type s but these people asking more than 15g's. for that money i would rather save up and get a better car

03max6spd

i mean for what it is, this is an absolutely awesome car man. I seen a few with high miles but swapped motors. This one black one i saw Omg i almost bought, hesitated then it sold weeks later, it was absolutely stunning black pearl, dropped on teins, had bolt ons, low miles RL motor swap. it was freakin awesome!

kbouchard1092

Did you resolve the codes?? Hopefully, you didn't waste time and money chasing this problem.

What you need to do is bring it to Acura and have them update the ECU Firmware. This is a known issue for Type-S models. I have attached the Service Bulletin to make things easier.
You might get lucky and they will update it for free, if not tell them its a .2 hour rate job. They quoted me $80, but after they completed it there was no charge. The codes never appeared again.

Just as an FYI for those who read this in the future. If you can monitor fuel trims with Torque pro, (or any OBD-II diagnostic software) i would do so. The data I had before/After the update is below:

-Before the update my Long Term Fuel Trims were 15-18% (over ~15% is what will throw the CEL in time if it keeps encountering that condition)
- Short terms were usually higher 18-20% which is what drives the long terms to increase.
After update (allowing Fuel Trim to relearn ~100 miles they are 0% rite after ECU Reset)
They never get over 3.8% now....sometimes even -0.8%, but in the normal range.

This validates the root cause stated in the service bulletin, "The PCM misinterprets inputs as a lean condition" No changes made other than Firmware update to ECU.
Hopefully this finds the eyes of a member before they start throwing money out the window chasing ghosts. We have all been there, and its a good learning experience on the bright side.

03max6spd

^^^ Hello friend, i tried the update twice. Acura had my car for almost a week and i had a loaner car in the mean time while they worked on it.

They did a smoke test and ran other diagnostics, but ultimately said a valve adjustment would fix my issue, but they werent 100% on that so I got the car back and my Check engine light was gone for awhile and i figured the issue was fixed.

Drove the car around more, did my inspection and passed then a few days later it popped back up again. I honestly dont know what it is at this point but the code comes on and goes away from time to time, i passed inspection already so i dont even care anymore lol.

kbouchard1092

Do you have a scan tool? Like a OBD II Bluetooth /Torque pro?

If you do, you can validate that the calibration ID was updated. They have a 4 different calibration files for 07 and 08 MT & AT models.

You're positive that they updated the ECU correct with the ID shown on the service bulletin I attached above?

When you say it popped up again, did you confirm it was the same exact codes? or just assuming?

03max6spd

Dont have a scan tool on hand at the moment, my friend has one of the fancy snap on ones at his shop.

Took it to the dealer twice, they said the update was done already, and they tried to do it again.

The code is always the same. Either P0174 or P0171 or both, no assumption. the codes just come and go, but the car performs and idles great.