stray_pube

I currently have ~ 105k on it. To give you an idea of how hard I've driven the vehicle over the last 3.5 years last week my maintenance code was B134, and that was the first time I was ever prompted to change my front diffs/tranny fluid. I actually did that at my previous scheduled service ~ 98k because I thought it might be good to finally change those fluids before I hit 100k. So what I had done last week was routine oil, plugs, brake fluid, and valve clearance adjustment.


This may be a complete coincidence but since then I've noticed the turbo 'whine' to be much louder. The turbo "whoosh" is just fine. (know what I mean?) Whine=louder, Whoosh= typical.


It's especially more noticeable under hard acceleration, like when merging onto a busy freeway. In fact, just today I did that and the turbo needle went all the way up and the RDX actually did a 'stutter step' or a 'chug-chug' or like something was choked off briefly (I have no idea how to put this into words) I'm not getting any lights on the dash or anything, and wondering if it could be something as mundane as a cracked intake hose or something? I have no idea when it comes to this kind of stuff..... Going to the dealer on Monday to have it checked out but would there be any reason for them to have messed with the turbo when I had it in for the service I described above?

Tomtwtwtw

Sometimes an abnormal whistling sound coming from a turbo can be compressor surge, but hard to imagine the stock turbo on this car experiencing that, especially in a stock set up. Can't say for certain what is causing the whine - what RPM / throttle input is it most noticeable at? That might lend some insight.

The stutter, if not related to the turbo, might have been a misfire. (and one misfile will not throw an engine light) At 105k have you ever changed the spark plugs? I know they are supposed to be long life plugs, but they're at least worth a look-see at that mileage.

protoRDX

Check if all clamps on the hoses that are going in and out of the intercooler have been tighten properly. It sounds like some of them was not tighten up completely. Also check all clamps on your blow-off.

stray_pube

As stated the plugs were replaced last week....odd if a brand new one mis-fired like that..? I have no idea what that was but will certainly explain it to the dealer on Monday.


Hopefully it does end up being something as simple as loose hose clamps on the inter-cooler, which they did have to remove last week to do the plugs and valve clearance check.


Pisses me off.....car has been flawless up until this point. Still have over 40% on the original brake pads too.

Tomtwtwtw

My bad, I missed that the plugs were part of the maintenance. In that case, maybe ask the dealer to check and make sure the gap is correct on them. I would think oem plugs would come pre-gapped, but you never know. Bad gap on a new plug can cause issues.

Good luck man, but hard to think that this would be coincidence considering you just had the i/c and intake parts off when the plugs were changed. Hopefully it is something as simple as a loose hose.

protoRDX

Guys, incorrect gap on the plugs would have nothing to do with the turbo whine.
It can cause a misfire but would not change anything in turbo or intake sound.

Tomtwtwtw

I know, I was mentioning this in regards to his comments about the car stuttering.

stray_pube

Loose hose clamp. Sounds much better now.


As far as the "stutter" we agreed if it happens again to bring it back in and they'll check the plugs. OEM plugs come pre-gapped so who knows what that was all about. It happened with a full turbo-boost and ~ 3500 - 4000 rpms, a condition I rarely find myself in anyway.

Tomtwtwtw

Awesome, good to hear it was an easy fix. If you do get any more ugly misfires the next thing I would check is the coil. My wife's Fit used to have a nasty stumble but only at load and low rpm (say, idle when the a/c is running or on the highway up a slight incline). After plugs didn't do a damn thing I inspected each coil up close and found a rather large crack in one of them. Swapped them all to be safe and has been great since.

Of course, yours could have been related to your loose hose and potentially air getting into your intake post-MAF which could play all kinds of tricks with your other sensors. If that was the case, you're unlikely to see it happen again.

protoRDX

Told you ))

P.S. And I absolutely agree with Tomtwtwtw in regard of the gaps. The guys who performed pugs change for your car had to check the gaps manually.
BTW, what kind of plugs had they put? We have the NGK plugs but we also have a Denso option. And I heard that Denso pugs are the reason of the torque drop in the range between 3k-4,5k rpms.