I fired up my '04 TSX w/ 65K after it's been sitting since last Friday and it sputtered for about 5 seconds, then stalled. As I restarted it it cranked kind of slow and sputtered. I thought it was going to stall again, but it recovered. I let it idle for a minute (as my wife told me "we need a new car") and drove off. The next few times I took off from a stop sign it started to stall again, but then took off. After that it was fine. I've owned this car since '03 when it was new and have never had this happen. It does on occasion start and idle kinda rough, but not this bad. It reminded me of my wifes car she had when I met her that would keep running when it was turned off, sometimes for several seconds before it finally stalled.

Should I be concerned? Anything I should check?

 

Maybe time for a new battery? Not sure if a car stalls if it needs a new battery, or if it just doesn't start, though. I'm no expert on this.

 

I did replace the battery last winter when the thing would turn over really slow after sitting outside all day at work. Ever since then it's been turning over fine. And I did try to re-start it after I got to work today and it started right up.

 

The stock OEM battery sucks. I had similar problems with engine starting on my '04. Even after running the car, getting fuel, then restarting, the engine seemed like it wanted to die. Anyways, new battery solved the problem.

 

I guess try getting it tested just in case. Maybe it got run down somehow. Does anyone know if an bad alternator would cause this problem?

I'm also thinking about a new battery this fall. My car turns over so slow when it's chilly out, let alone really cold.

 

If the alternator is bad, then the battery won't get recharged...which would be

 

The first thing I would check is the spark plugs, then the fuel system (quality of fuel, fuel pressure, condition of injectors).

 

JTso has a new avatar! Woohoo!

I vote for the alternator, that would explain why it doesn't like to idle well.

 

I'm guessing it's not the battery/alternator as it started fine last night, no slow cranking or anything.

I'll keep a close eye on it to see if it happens again. Maybe it is just a bad tank of gas. If it keeps up after my next fill up, I'll dig in deeper (spark plugs/fuel pressure/etc...).

Thanks all!

 

just check the alternator or battery at kragen, it's free. Just ask the parts department. It would get two of the cause out the way.

 

I am guessing that it is either a fuel delivery issue or the idle is set too low. Does the TSX have an electronic idle or is it still regulated by the screw on the intake body?

 

Sometimes the O2 sensor needs replacement and it does cause rough idle and hesitation. Have the car tested and see what warning code pops up.

 

It's been running fine since the incident. Even with the same tank of gas (got 477 miles on 15.7 gallons). There was and is no check engine light on so not sure if there still might be a code somewhere. It's had a somewhat rough idle all it's life but the dealer refused to do anything with it saying it was the nature of a 4 cyl to run a little rough.