My "Check Emission System" light has been on now since Monday night. I was VERY low on gas (light was on, down to about 2 miles left on tank). I gassed up at a little, sketchy, out-of-the way place that probably doesn't sell a lot of premium grade gas. On the way home, less than 3 miles from the gas station, my car started doing this rumbling thing, like sputtering a bit, but not losing a LOT of speed... just a sort of rumbling. I drove it the 30 miles home, and it did a few times on the way home, and the engine light blinked each time. The next day, Tuesday, almost as soon as I turned my car on, the light came on and stayed on, saying "Check Emission System". I drove the car the 2 miles to work, where it did this rumbling thing once. I did some searching and hoped that it might just be the gas cap. So I retightened that, but to no avail. On Wednesday night, thinking there might have been some water in the gas, I put in a bottle of Dry Gas and filled my tank at a my normal gas station. Since then, I've driven the car approximately 65+ miles, and while it does seem to be getting better (i.e. - less frequent), it is still doing this, and the light remains on. Any suggestions?

 

FYI, 2006 TSX with 40,000+ miles. My nearest dealership is 6 hours away, so I'd like to be able to diagnose this issue on my own before resorting to going to the dealer.

 

Ew, that sounds like some really bad gas. Hopefully it wasn't leaded or anything. It sounds like it's causing issues with your O2 sensors. Leaded gas would ruin those sensors and your cat too.

 

If you have an Autozone close by, ask to borrow their scan tool. Then post up the code here. Some things come to mind, but the whole 'rumbling' kinda sounds like you're running too rich cause the primary O2 sensor is failing.

 

I agree with the bas gas theory. You may have fouled a plug or two and that's what's causing the rich condition (which will give the O2 sensor fits hence the check engine light). If you can't get the diagnostics scanned, a start would be to clean or change the plugs, and see if that makes any difference. Even if it does, you may have it happen again because you'd still have the crappy gas in the car.

 

Thanks for the info. I don't, as it turns out, have a nearby Autozone. I do live in the sticks, for real. I'll try the plugs as well as the fuel filter, in case that's got some water in it now, too. So far I've driven 70 miles with a mixed tank (old gas/new gas/ bottle of dry gas) and it's still doing it, although to a lesser degree. Hopefully once I get this tank emptied, it will get better.

 

I had that error a few weeks ago. It was the 02 sensor. (Air/Fuel ratio sensor)

You should really get it checked ASAP as you could potentially damage the car driving it around like that. The error code mine was giving was P0135.

 

Slight thread drift here, but if you use the dreaded ethanol blended gas (10% ethanol)(all we have here in Mass.), I've been told that dry gas is the worst thing for it; it reacts just like water in the gas.

 

Did I read on here somewhere that I could buy the diagnostic tool myself to find the code? Costly?

 

I've seen em as low at $60 and as high as $350. That was Canadian.

 

Is this something that a Honda dealership can diagnose for me, or at least pull the code?

 

Yes. Every Honda I've ever owned has had a 2 wire connector somewhere in the dash with nothing connected to it. When you connect those two wires by putting a paper clip in the connector it makes various lights on the dash blink in manner that can be translated to the codes.

Does any one know how to do this on the TSX?

 

Ethanol is hydrophilic, meaning it mixes readily with water. Ethanol will always have some water in it as it it's constantly absorbing it from the atmosphere. It wouldn't contain enough to cause a problems unless it had been significantly contaminated. Dry gas is a chemical that converts to an alcohol when it is exposed to water. When the water is bound up in this form it stays that way until the alcohol is burnt in the combustion chamber. The water then passes harmlessly out the exhaust as a vapor. The main problem with water in your gas is that it blocks the flow of gas through the various small passages since it's heavier and the two won't mix. When it's dissolved into the gas it doesn't present a problem. There's always some water that's the byproduct of burning hydrocarbons.

I don't know what the result of dry gas and ethanol mixing would be. My instinct tells me that it shouldn't be a problem since they're going to be pretty chemically similar.

 

Yes, there are inexpensive scan tools. Try hitting up ebay (for ex: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Actro...spagenameZWDVW
What you want is OBDII (the II = 2) scan tool. The OBDII port in the tsx is located underneath the dash on the drivers side near the hood release lever (located on the bottom of the dash). If you can get the code, post it up here and we'll let you know.

 

I get P0135 at least 1 time every 2 weeks now. But that has more to do with my RT Cat than anything else. I think this is a situation of bad gas that might have damage the O2 Sensor.

 

Just called a guy I know at VIP (I guess equivalent to an AutoZone, PepBoys, etc.) and he has the OBD scan tool and can get the code for me. I'll do that today.

 

Isn't that what could have happened to me? I had to replace the 02 sensor. P0135 is the error for a bad Primary 02 sensor.

 

Just in case you get the same code I had, have a look at the thread I started a few weeks ago. Pacman posted the part I needed to replace. Fairly easy to do so as well.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40663

 

We'll, my 02 may be ready for a coffin, but at the moment, I clear the code with my OBDII and it stays cleared for a while.

 

So, presumably, even if this is bad gas, and I do get it all cleaned out of the tank after awhile, the light will remain on even after the problems (rough idle, rumbling) have stopped?

 

If the problem is fixed, the error still has to be reset. You can do this with the OBD scan tool.

 

Thanks for the input from someone who obviously knows WAY more about this than I do. I was just passing along a warning I got from my marina actually. The blended gas here has been a much larger problem for the marine community than it has been for cars. I've been told this is mainly due to fuel systems that are open to the atmosphere (virtually any boat) as opposed to the close fuel systems required in cars. The vented systems allow moisture to migrate into the fuel tank and as you stated, burned off relatively harmlessly as long as the fuel was 100% gasoline (it also fell to bottom of the tank since it's heavier than the gas, so as long as you didn't run of gas you'd probably be OK)(also, water separating fuel filters are pretty popular and work quite well). The introduction of ethanol into the mix means that the water now can mix with blended gas and it can mean trouble. I live on the water, and I can't tell you how many boats we watched being towed in the first summer the blended gas was sold. (Sorry for the thread drift)(again)

 

Yeah, boats are going to have a harder time with ethanol gas for a couple reasons, the most obvious ones being all the water around. Also, ethanol only contains about 80% as much energy per unit volume as gasoline. Fuel injected cars automatically correct for this by richening the mixture when the O2 sensor sees the lean condition but carburetted engines need to be rejetted after a certain point. Also, ethanol is a lower pH than gasoline so plastic materials (gaskets and hoses) in older engines can be damaged by it.

10% should be within the operating range of vehicle designed for gas to run without modification. They will just run somewhat leaner and have maybe 2% less power. Ethanol has a much higher resistance to predetonation than does gasoline so even though those motors will be lean, they still won't knock.

This is an often discussed topic on motorcycle boards. That's the reason I'm so well informed.

 

omg my car is having the same issue!!!!......guess i gotta dig deeper in my wallet for gas....just so expensive where i live

 

If you get stuck having to buy gas under those conditions buy just enough to get back to civilization so you don't get stuck with a tank full of crap. And another tip: don't run the gas level low because gas cools the fuel pump which is in the tank.
If the pump fails, it's time to call the flatbed ...

 

My car has the same problem. I let the light stay on for almost a month becus eI kept putting it off, and wound up getting stuck with the car and paying $1400 for repairs. You better take it to the shop before something breaks and gets more expensive

 

Well, after a week of trying to fix the problem with fresh gas fill-ups and bottles of dry gas, my car finally died on me yesterday morning. It's at the garage right now and hopefully will be better if they change the fuel filter... By the way, the 5 codes the scan tool came up with were like (remembering off the top of my head right now) 5 codes that all ended in the 300s... like 301, 302, 303, 304, 309... not sure if those were the same exact ones, but I know for sure the 301 and 309... which all relate to combustion, firing in the cylinders, etc. The guy cleared the codes out and the car ran fine all day Friday and Saturday, but it was VERY cold overnight Saturday night, and Sunday it died less than a mile from my house, presumably froze up from water in the gas lines and now in the fuel filter.

 

Well, after searching on here, and a call from my garage, evidently the TSX doesn't have a changeable fuel filter??? I'm not sure now (nor is the garage) what the problem might be, or how to fix it.... any suggestions?

 

You're still under warranty. Option - call Acura Total Care and have it towed to your dealer. Call the dealer ahead of time and notify them in advance describing the ordeal you're going through. Request a loaner.
Emissions warranty is (I think) 7yrs/70K miles, but you're '06 at about 40K+miles, you're still covered under the general warranty. (Don't mention you added dry gas when you're talking with the dealer, just in case).

 

Unfortunately, this scenario has to be my last-ditch effort... There is not an Acura dealer in the entire state of Maine, and the dealership where I purchased (Acura of Boston) is a 6-hour drive... so although they are obligated to come get the car if it's not driveable, I'm sure I'd be without a vehicle for some time.

 

At very least have your local guy verify that you're getting fuel pressure and flow. Start at the fuel rail and if it fails there, work backwards towards the tank. A quick look online suggests the only filter is in the tank itself.

The pump may have been damaged from overheating or possibly sucking junk through it (rust from storage tank most likely). The injectors could also be potentially gunked up. I think that would be the most likely scenario to cause misfires too.

Have the O2 sensors tested too.

 

is there a honda dealer near you. I would call acura customer service and explain the problem-not about the gas or that you drove it that way for a week or so. I not 100% sure but warranty work can be done at the honda dealer.

 

Cal your Acura dealer or Acura Total Care and explain that the vehicle is inoperable. Let them make the call on how to repair. I think under extenuating circumstances you can get the car repaired and bill Acura; I'd try to work with a local Honda dealer as a first option. The owner's manual outlines the process.

 

As of right now, the car is running, and running well. The problem has not resurfaced. My garage didn't do a thing to it aside from warming up the car in their garage... The encouraged me to run it and see if the probem recurrs. If not, I can assume that all the water in the gas has been contained with dry gas. If it does come back, they will completely drain the tank and see if it truly is water in the gas... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's fixed.

 

Hope it works out!!