My '06 5AT TSX has just over 1000 miles on it, and I've definitely noticed by now that most of it's power is above 2.5K or so on the Tach. If I'm not careful, the car will be doing 80mph before I even notice it. It's that smooth.

Unfortunately, I generally don't want to drive at that speed. My general cruising speed is around 70, and is even lower (55-60) in moderate traffic - especially at night.

The problem that I'm finding with that is that the engine apparently doesn't like to run at a constant speed of between 50 and 60 mph -- at least not in 5th gear. At that speed, the tach is at around 2000-2200. At that rpm, the engine struggles or bogs down a bit. My feeling is that 4th gear at that speed allows the engine to run smoother and provides instant power when I need it.

Sometimes, I'll go into manual mode to enter 4th under those circumstances, but I'd prefer that the AT would make that adjustment by itself.

I've been told that a modern vehicle's ECU will "learn" your driving habits and will eventually adjust to them (somewhat). If that's true, can I expect an improvement to this at some point and if so, by when? Or is this something that Acura service can adjust for me?

The car wants to go, but I want to slow it down a bit.

Thanks!

 

Well, this sounds like on a 6MT running in 6th at 50-60...Luckly I can drop to 5th if I need more revs. But crusing is ok at that RPM for me.

I notice this will all AT cars though...The wife's 06 Accord, which is 5AT seems fine to me...

 

I've never noticed this problem. At 2000 RPM my engine feels pretty smooth. There isn't that much pickup at those revs but it doesn't seem like its bogging.

 

The AT is designed to provide optimal fuel economy. Therefore, unless you really gun it, it tries hard not to downshift. This is why you are given the SportShift ability. If you need to downshift, you can choose to do so.

 

Yeah, I've done 2 long roadtips in my 2006 now and have noticed the same thing. It really isn't an issue at all, and requires more of a personal driving adjustment, which I gladly make for the tradeoff of the smooth ride and better economy the TSX offers me.

My last 2 vehicles were 14-22mpg clunkers. At 30mpg and smooth sailing, if I need power in my TSX I am comfortable with bringing my SS on and pulling back on the stick. If anything it actually gives an increased joy in driving vs. straight automatic D because I know I can easily access 4th or even 3rd for high revs to pass people to fly up a mountainside.

 

You should be at 2000rpm at cruise at 60mph. You appear to be on the throttle - affecting the rpm and torque converter, not cruising, to be reving about 150-200rpm higher at that gear.

People don't seem to understand something, being in the lowest rpm doesnt' necessarily get you the best gas mileage. If you on a bike and are in hardest gear and you want to acclerate while climbing a hill, you will exert much more effort than in the easier gear. The 5AT is better when wanting aggressive,instant accleration when in 4th than in 5th gear - its also more efficient when you want powerful accleration to downshift.
I don't think anythings wrong with your car. The engine lacks good torque at that rpm compared to most non-Hondas - that's probably why you feel this way.

 

Cruising doesn't include hills/fast acceleration (pos or neg). If you're cruising and a hill comes up, either slowly ramp up your speed before the hill to "coast" up and over the crest as you bleed off the extra speed (if it's a small hill), or downshift a bit before the hill and use the extra torque to maintain your speed going up.


On a side note... I hate people that go from 50km/h to 30km/h on a hill for no good reason because they don't realize that you have to add gas to make it up a hill.

 

 

You have a high reving 4 cyl. not a lower-end torque 6 cyl. After you break-in your engine (I think +/- 5K miles) you can really start to up & down shift agressively while still in Big "D". You have a lot of control with your right foot and this puppy will jump real fast into the 6.5K+ range. The engine pulls strong from 3.5-4K on up and you always have the SS option to REALLY control the shift points. It does take a little practice to "get it down." In my '04 I've never felt a "rough" spot in the curve other than at idle. As you add the miles you engine will only run smoother and more responsive to the point where you'll be thinking about upgrading the RSB and braking system if you get my point.

 

Thanks to all for the replies and explanations.

I guess that I shouldn't have used the term "bogging down". It's more like I'm used a higher rpm at a given speed -- so that around 50 mph in 5th gear, it feels that the engine is struggling just a bit due to the rpm's being a tad to low.

From how I interpret Still Water's response, this condition stands to improve a bit over time (and miles). But in the meantime, I'll make more use of SS in certain situations. I was a little hesitant to use it much because I thought it would lower my gas mileage. But the explanation from another poster (Sorry - can't recall the name) makes sense to me. Besides SS does kick up the fun factor.