Hi,
I just bought a 98 tl and i have been having problems ever since. Within the first month I had change my exhaust manifold and now the acura dealers told me that I need a new air control valve.

My car suddenly stopped working when I was in D4. I tried to accelerate and the rpm was going up and down and the car was jerking and not going forward. I put it in neutral and while accelerating the rpm went up. But after changing the manifold i just dont have enough money to go through another problem. The Acura dealers told me that it may be for the idle air contron valve but they were not too sure. And even they dont have the parts and it might take them 3/4 weeks to have the part.

I really need to know if anyone had this problem regarding idle air control valve and how much is the cost. Acura gave me an estimation of $550 (can) to get this fixed.

Help.......

 

Unless the idle air control valve is electrically defective, it can be cleaned and reinstalled. Many times they will stick due to excess carbon, dirt buildup in the valve. May not be cost effective to clean, unless you diy. time to learn.

Is this a 2.5 or 3.2 TL?

good luck

 

My car is a 2.5 tl 1998

 

Do I need to go to acura dealers to have it cleaned or any normal mechanic can do this cleaning on my 2.5 98 tl? Do I first see if cleaning will do the job and if still there is problem then i do the replacement or there is a way to say beforehand that it is really electronically defective?

Please advice.

 

Yes, it can be established if valve is electrically defective before the cleaning. In fact, unless the Check Engine LIght is or has been ON, the IACV is electrically OK. ECU detects an electrical fault in the IACV and sets code if electrical fault is present.

Same caveat still applies. Does cost of cleaning labor exceed value of replacement part?

I would estimate that IACV can be removed, cleaned, and reinstalled w/ 1 hr labor easily.

Note, this all assumes the diagnosis of faulty IACV is correct in first place. If your idle is low (< 600 rpm) and engine almost dies when AC is engaged, the IACV may be blocked.

good luck

 

Thanks for letting me know Texas. The check engine light did come up once and I had it checked by acura and they said that it was something with the air controll valve which was clogged. So they cleaned it and reset the check engine light and said it will be ok. But now it seems that the IACV has to be changed as it caused the car to jerk like hell and stalled but the check engine light is not on.

The valve is not costly but the labour charge for replacing is too high for me. Do you think that to replace the IACV is a very delicate job and needs much expertise.

Thanks for the help that you had given me. Now i know more.

Dave

 

What code was set? A code of P0505 is for mechanical problem w/ IACV, or other idle components. P1508 is code for IACV electrical circuit problem. The code would tell whether they were fixing an electrical fault or blocked IACV.

The position of the IACV doesn't look difficult from Acura shop manual sketches. I don't have my car at home now to take a look under the hood. It's in GA for body repairs due to a holiday accident. My daughter was hit in rear by a drunk at a traffic light. Nobody hurt, but $2-3K damage likely, and I won't have my car for several weeks.

good luck

 

I am sorry to hear about your doughters accident. I hope the insurance company of the guy who hit your car provides for the cost or repair.

The Acura dealers did not tell me the code number but said that it was clogged so they cleaned the air controll valve. They had ordered for a new part for IACV. It may take them 2/3 weeks to have that part. Do you suggest that I buy the part from them and then take it for reppair to another place which would be less expensive? Yesterday when i started the car it was shaking too much and I could feel it from my stearing wheel. But after 2 minutes of driving the car became very smooth. I love this car because of its good looks. It really is a very nice car. But when things such as these are making me to worry whether i should have it returned to the dealers or have this repaired. It has been only 2 months after buying and it had exhaust manifold crack and now IACV. I dont know what else is wrong with the car.
Thanks

 

I would ask for the installation cost. If more than an hour, you may want to get a 2nd quote from an independent.

Maintenance is cheaper than new car payments. New cars are sold every day because the buyer was unwilling to consider performing preventitive and required maintenance costing $1K or so per year on average, while more than willing to make car payments of $4K or more per year.

Acuras w/ 80K-120K miles are excellent bargains for those willing to perform required maintenance. No free lunch, but all in all a bargain compared to new car payments forever.

regards

 

Hi Texas,
I am now waiting for the IACV part to be available to Acura dealers. Today I had a very bad experience. As I started the Engine the rpm after going up, went down completely and around 600 rpm it stayed for couple of seconds and then the engine just stopped. This happened couple of times today. I was worried if there was any problem in transmission but as i accelerated in Neutral, D4 and in revearse, the rpm was going up and down before the engine stopped. I am very much sure that the problem is mechanical and as the Acura had told me that I need a IACV. I asked them to tell me the code number when the check engine light was on, but they could not give me as they did not keep record of the number. Strange........... I will take your advice and go see an individual.

 

Hi Texas,
The Acura called me today and told me that the code was P0505. They never heard of the problem that i am now facing like after starting the rpm going up and then coming down to stop the engine alltogether. They asked me to bring the car to them and leave it for 1 day with them so that they can diagnose the problem.

thanks for your help.
dave

 

This is a great example of why posters need to put up what actually fixed the friggin problem...

After a number of months of intermittent idle issues at startup, cleaning out my IAC motor (which seemed to fix it at first, and then the occasional rough idle at start up came back)

FINALLY - it threw a code last week - P0505.

Fired at 0 MPH
Engine at temp (190 ish, I forget)
90 degree intake air temp
RPM was around 3K

Basically it was at a light, just after starting it up warm.

I don't think Dave_29 is around anymore, but if you are - what was the fix, or did you get rid of it without fixing...

 

P0505 has a number of potential faults:
* IACV mechanical function
* FITV malfunction
* Throttle body, clogged port, improper adjustment (IACV passages upstream/downstream?)
* intake manifold gasket leak
* Intake air hose leak
* vacuum hose leakage
* ECT sensor incorrect output
* TPS incorrect output.

Looking at these I would first make sure the IACV is clean, the upstream/downstream ports to IACV are also clean. Clean the throttle plate and bore also (spray throttle body cleaner, allow to drain and wipe)

good luck

 

Did the above about a month ago:

- Took the IACV off, cleaned it out very well.
- Cleaned the throttle body, plate front and back and the bore.

Have done this on a number of cars over the years (Land Rovers, Fords, etc. etc....) and at first it seemed to fix the occasional stumbling idle (for a week) then it came back.

Now, it has not been around too much.

Cleared the code yesterday has not come back yet... Car was 189 Degrees water temp when it fired, air temp was 89. TPS was 10%, 0 MPH, I think 40% Load. Basically it was warmed up at a light and fired when the light went green. Was not getting on it too much at all.

One thing I thought of this morning was to confirm again the coolant level. If there is an air pocket in the line at the IAC, it would read an incorrect temp...

The other thing I was looking at in the manual is the assembly on the rear of the intake that also effects idle. I forget the name, it could be the "FITV". Not wanting to change/clean too many things at once, I left it alone when doing the IAC and the TB...

 

were did u get your manifold from..? and how much did it cost you do do that..?