So, tonight I went out to start my '07 TSX and fuel went everywhere. The first two times I started it the car ran for a few seconds and sputtered out. The third time (had no clue about the gas) it finally stayed on but was running very badly. I started to smell fuel and noticed a river of gas flowing down my asphalt driveway. It was getting dark out so I couldn't really get a good look. What could have happened? What should I do from here? I guess I will have to wait until Tuesday and have the car towed.

 

Tow it to your dealer and tell him what you wrote here. You're still under warrenty so tell them to fix it and get the keys to your loaner.

 

Call the 800 number; the local dealer should come and pick it up.

 

Please let us know what the problem was.

 

Yeah, call Acuracare and have them pick it up. They should be able to get it day or night and provide you with a vehicle of some sort until its fixed. And definitely post back with updates!

 

Got a call yesterday from the dealer and they said the fuel lines had been badly chewed by some animal. I guess a mouse or squirrel. They had to overnight the lines and they say it could cost me up to $670 to fix. If they can get it done faster it might be a little less. GREAT! The car sat out of the garage one night and something eat my fuel lines. Oh, well. That's life I guess.

 

One night? Jeez. Someone was hungry!

 

Mmmmmm....fuel line

 

Guys,

Aren't the TSX fuel lines made out of steel and not rubber?

 

I'd be afraid of that varmit that chews through multiple fuel lines again and again! Not that I don't trust the dealer... but I'd like to see those lines and how they got chewed through to cause that much damage... our fuel lines aren't made out of titanium for pete's sake.

 

Got comprehensive insurance?

 

All of them? No. The flexible lines that connect to the fuel tank and fuel rail are semi-rigid plastic material.

 

I got the car back today and the bill says the fuel feed line was chewed through. What is that line made out of? The invoice also says something about a fuel pump access panel in the trunk....never knew you could get to it in the trunk. The car runs like normal but now I am getting all kinds of warnings on the dash. Both "Tighten Fuel Cap" and "Check Emissions System" came up on the way home. I called the dealer and they told me that was to be expected. I hope nothing is being damaged. The total bill including a 4 wheel alignment was $316 so that was a nice surprise. The dealer is also eating the tow charge even though it wasn't a warranty issue. All-in-all everything went well.

 

4 wheel alignment? Were you also having problems with your alignment, or was this a dealer suggested thing? I also don't see any reason for your fuel cap or emissions light to come on if all they did was change some fuel lines. Once your car is running and everything is pressured up again, you shouldn't have any warning lights.
The bill was cut in half, and you added a 4 wheel alignment, which probably costs $300 at the stealership and they're eating the tow charges which are $100 or more, so I'd be skeptical about it not being a warrenty issue. Something doesn't smell right.

 

Sounds like a goodwill gesture. Perhaps OP had asked for one indirectly, which then enabled the dealer to do it? If I were the person dealing with OP's case, I'd feel sorry for him because a hungry animal racked up a high bill for him.

 

Here's the thing with the alignment. The car went in for service back in July for an oil change and balance and alignment (I have no clue why I needed that the car wasn't pulling..I guess I thought I was saving my tires). I got a call from the dealer stating my rear brake pads were shot and needed to be replaced. I told the girl to proceed with the brakes but hold off on the alignment since I'm not made of money. They call me back the next day with the total bill including the alignment. I told her that I requested that service not be done and she said oh yeah I remember that. I get the car back and the steering wheel is cocked to the left when going straight. They basically told me that they didn't do it but I instantly realized they had. I was going to wait until the next service but this little issue came up. I told them about it since it was driving me crazy and they denied ever doing the alignment and if I wanted the steering wheel to be straight I would need an alignment. Oh, well it's back to normal now. It cost me $79.99 I believe.

As far as the warning lights....is it ok to drive with the emissions warning on? I know I have read somewhere in the manual that it's not good to continue operating the car with that warning. I really hope it goes away because it keeps coming up on the screen and bugging me.

 

With a dealership like that, you were definitely lied to. There was no animal that ate your fuel line, they found a warrenty issue and tried to charge you for it but decided against it. I would never go to that stealership again.

As far as your emissions light, you're ok with the light on. Even if the emissions are bad, you're fine driving the car if you don't care about your emissions. Since you're still under warrenty, I'd take it to a different dealer and tell them what happened and that you'd like them to find and fix the issue because of the horrible service at the other dealership.

 

Quite a bold statement there. So what else would cause a major fuel leak on a fairly new car? Pretty much unheard of in the 17+ years that I've worked on Hondas to see a major fuel leak that wasn't caused by accident damage, a rodent, or some other outside influence.

And without knowing what failure is causing the CEL to come on, it's pretty presumptive to say for sure that the car is "OK" to drive. I'd return it back to the dealer ASAP as there's no way it's "to be expected".

Also, depending on which section of fuel line was replaced, the fuel tank might have needed to be dropped, which requires lowering the rear subframe. This might explain the need for an alignment after the repairs.

 

I don't think the dealership is being untruthful about the fuel feed being chewed through. They know me well and the girl even stated she was leaning towards a warranty issue but then saw the line and had to charge me. They have treated me pretty well over the past 2 1/2 years. They are the only dealership in the entire state so I don't have much choice.

As far as the warning lights...I contacted the service manager both times the lights came on during the ride home and he said it was because of air/vapor in the system and it would be purged over the next few drives. Do these lights go out by themselves or does the dealer have to cancel them?

 

That's to be expected. The evap system will need to reset itself since the lines were depressureized and disconnected. You also got an air bubble going through the fuel lines into the injector from when they installed the new ones. That's what's giving you the lights. Depending on how much you drive, it could take a week for them to go away, but in the mean time I wouldn't be concerned about it. If the car's performing normally you should be fine.