stogie1020

What the hell does this thing do and why the F&CK did the dealership not re-attach it after testing my battery?

Anytime I sit still in the car for more than 2 minutes idling, the temp gauge rockets for the "H" line. As soon asI start moving, temp drops to normal-ish.

Dealership, which is about 20 miles way (because the close one treats me like shit) is sending a tech TO MY HOME at 8:30 AM to see if they can fix it without causing me delay.

While I appreciate the extra effort, it does not negate the fact that this is their screw up in the first place!!!


OK, the pics:


The one between the battery (Now NON HONDA!) and the headlight adjuster:




Is it supposed to be empty?:




In relation to the rest of the stuff nearby:




Looking down the vast and nebulous hole:

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

LOL i like that line.

it prevents things falling into the vast and unknown. it kinda snaps into place. near the headlight adjuster.

MrOtocinclus

My automotive knowledge is limited, but what I see in your pictures is the intake air duct, and the loose part is the piece the redirects air into the duct. I believe if you put your hand there while someone was revving the car, you would feel air moving into that duct.

I also do not believe that the loose part is affecting your cooling system. There may be some other issue with the water pump or radiator fan, but I'm sure someone with more knowledge of that can chime in.

Edit: it could also be the thermostat.

Ken1997TL

Isn't that part of the resonator chamber?

MrOtocinclus

Yep, I would say OP needs 3 clips (17) to clip part 12 back on. Here's another view:



Oh, found out that the loose part is called a "cowl".

stogie1020

Good catch Ken! Thanks!

So, any idea if this not being secured would cause significant fluctuations in either the actual coolant temp or the coolant temp sensor?

AMUA6

iTrader: (7)

^^^ Negative. That tube under the cover goes straight into the airbox, then out of that box goes another pipe into the main airbox. You just need two push pins to put it back in place. Nothing to worry about.

stogie1020

Would this cause the coolant temp needle on the dash to spike? Too much engine stagnant air at idle?

MrOtocinclus

Even if there is too much "engine stagnant air" at idle, it's the job of the cooling system to keep the engine cool, regardless of how hot it is. As the engine heats up the so does the coolant, and a thermostat determines whether the radiator fan turns on, thus cooling the coolant that circulates through the radiator. In turn, the coolant draws heat from the engine, gets hot again, and flows back to the radiator for more cooling. It's very much like liquid PC cooling.

Now, the radiator fan (your TSX has 2 fans, the one closer to the battery is the radiator fan) is electric so if battery work was done recently, something could have affected it. They could have blown a fuse or something and that would prevent the fan from turning on.

^Above is all speculation based on researching online, but despite that I am 100% sure the pictured items are not the cause of the temperature spike.

Edit: One more thing, does this happen with the air conditioner on?

xaznperswaesonx

turn your ac on .. both fan should kick in .. if they don't .. then fan either disconnected or not working .. which might be causing your heating issue. if both fans kick on .. then thermostat might be failing or not enough coolant.

I believe our thermostat is a thermostat housing type. not where you can just buy the thermostat itself for like 10 bucks.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Thats the proton jubilator shroud....they left it off? Holy Moly....that thing is surely gonna explode!



I kid. No....that isnt going to cause your temp to spike at any time whatsoever. The temp issue lies somewhere else undoubtedly. Sounds like possibly you only have one fan working...and when you start moving...the air movement compensates for it and cools it down anyway? Just a wild guess.

stogie1020

Thanks guys. Tech should be at the house in an hour...

stogie1020

Well, somehow during the part of the dealer service called "Inspect and top off all fluids", the dealership removed 2/3 of my coolant and thought it would be funny to not tell me.

Hence the overheating.

The part that is loose is simply a cover to an air intake to prevent copious amount of water from getting in, and is not necessary in Arizona, although I will swing by the dealership and have them re-attach it when I can.

My real concern is the significant lack of attention to detail.

The part was left unattached, the coolant was left dangerously low. What else did they forget to do/replace/inspect? It was in for an oil change and an outer drive belt replacement.

GWEEDOspeedo

Having a dealer not realize how little coolant is in your system is pretty crazy. Glad it's taken care of for you. It was nice of them to come out and make a house-call.

The picture of the stock intake box is also crazy. I knew a tube went down and then came back up but i never realized there was something like that resonator in between.

stogie1020

It was nice of them to do, at my convenience schedule-wise. However, and it's a big however, they REALLY push the customer to give them perfect marks on the Acura corporate follow up call, and I have to say that perfectly fixing a problem that they created to start with does NOT equate to a perfect score in my book. Not creating the problem in the first place does. There was NO quality control of the service work done to my car. None.

Whiskers

I forget that this is a car forum...

Ken1997TL

LuvMyTSX

Yikes. I agree. That is pretty poor attention to detail.

stogie1020

I rarely venture out myself...

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

Didnt everybody already tell you what that peice was? Telling them what they already knew now? lol.

Removed 2/3 of your antifreeze? This doesnt even make sense whatsoever. A better question would have been what happened to 2/3 of your antifreeze and why didnt the dealer catch it. Fail on their part. BUT...just to refill your coolant doesnt necessarily mean you addressed the underlying problem. Did you have a coolant service or ANYTHING done besides normal general BS when you were there? If your car is using antifreeze....THERE IS A DEFINATE PROBLEM. Antifreeze does not evaporate (to that degree...lol...I am sure if you left it out open in a bucket for a year it might a minute bit? dunno...) and cars dont normally use antifreeze unless its got a bad head gasket issue or something else.

stogie1020

No service, no leak apparent, and no reason the fluid would be low except that it was seriously overheating on the way home from the dealership. On the way TO the dealership, no problems at all. Something they did resulted in my radiator suddenly having not enough coolant. I don't check it regularly, but using the obvious symptom of overheating as the indicator of when the problem began, something happened at the dealership that caused the car to overheat, and upon inspection the coolant was 2/3 low.

My guess, they tried to top off the fluid, were in a hurry (obviously, they forgot to re-attach a part) and failed to bleed air out of the coolant system. Large air bubble, car overheats, spits out coolant on the road via the overflow... I.E. sloppy work on the dealership's part.

stogie1020

Got the email survey from Acura corporate last night. Gave the service adviser high marks but bagged the tech who did the work. Let's see what they do with all my added typed comments...

GWEEDOspeedo

Really odd to lose fluid without a leak. I guess logic puts it on the dealer.

I think that's a good way to handle it. As you stated, Acura tries to service the hell out of people so they aught to take it to heart

stogie1020

You are correct, but the possibility exists (as explained by the tech who came to my house) that someone adding coolant may not have bled the air out and this caused the overheating, which in turn caused the loss of coolant. Still on them...