Okay, this has turned into a horrible week for my car, yesterday I took the car in to a Flecthers to have the wheels balanced. Turns out that one of my rims is out-of-bend and can not be balanced, it has to be replaced. SO I pay $35 to find out that I need to be another damm rim.

But today as I am driving, my engine light comes on and stays on, then both the VSA light and the VSA triangle come on and stay on. The car kinda shakes randomly and nervously at idle and was also sort of "lunging" as I drove to work (highway), so I take it in and the Acura says that the cpu says that the pistons are mis-firing. He also says that the misfire "moves around" and it is isn't always the same piston but hops around between the different cylinders?? He then says that he thinks it is my spark plugs. I told him that if it was a spark plug problem that I would think it would just have problems with that cylinder, right? But he said the they think that the whole set is just giving out at the same time? (what are the odds of this?) I have been running Densos for about a year and a half now.
Bottom line, they have to rule out the spark plugs by installing a new set ( I have to pay for) of stock plugs, before they will continue to diagnose. But they don't have any. I was like: half of your lot consists of TLs and CLs, and you don't carry 1 set of plugs for them? He said spark plus aren't supposed to go out till 100K+, my car has 40K. So I have to wait, in a loaner, till monday for them to get in new plugs, and then I will proably have to hear that it wasn't the plugs at all, and that they are still trying to figure it out!!!

I am writing to ask your guys opinions on this. Acuraservice? I am thinking that my plugs are fine, this problem just started last night and was getting worse progessively. I am inclined to think that it is something to do with the ECU or timing controlled by the CPU if the misfire "hops around" the cylinder V. Because one cyclinder will be off and then it is okay, but I don't know, I just want my car back and working.

 

What does the VSA light have to do with misfirings ?

 

1st thing i thought of was tranny...lights combined with lunging and rough idle

 

Sound like a load of cr@p. Good luck.

If they claim that sparkplugs are good for 100K why is it that you are paying for them at 40K?

 

You replaced them with aftermarket right? Then Acura is just doing there job. I learned this. If you have the the stock plugs put them back in yourself, then go to another dealer. Or buy the plugs from somewhere. Your getting raped from the dealer for the plugs, & install.

 

Run away….. The car is POSSESSED !!!!!

 

They are going to make me pay for plugs, if when switched out on monday alleviate the problem, because I have Denso aftermarket plugs in and not the stock ones, otherwise it would be covered.

I was thinking the same thing about the tranny with the lights all on and having read about everyone else's descriptions of thier trannys dying. But I didn't feel any slippage or reluctance during shifts and the tranny held all of its gears, on the way to the shop I even mess around with the triptronic and it seemed to operate without flaw. I was really hoping it would be the tranny because I knew it would be fixable and was to be expected. But when the guy, who is the service manager, told me about the engine, I was horrified. I really hope it could be something as easy as switching out the plugs, but something in my gut says that it is going to be more complicated. Anything having to do with my pistons and timing scares the shit out of me because it is beyond my scope and I will always be worried about it, especially with the blower.

I have no idea how this all came about but it was completely overnight. I am depressed because I don't understand and feel like either do the people who have me car.

 

Did you save the OEM plugs when you replaced them?

 

I would have bet on bad gas? Oh, well..

 

how the hell did u bend the wheels? u dint even notice them? by lookin?

 

okay, first, Thanks guys for answering. If anything, this has just put me in a bad mood, if like myself, you guys have an attachment to your CL and loosing it just before the weekend really got to me.

I have been running 91 fuel from pump, but use different stations and brands, so you never know

Second an update: Aparently, they took some plugs from a lot car and swapped them out. And they claim that it is back to purring. They won't let me have the plugs though as the lot car needs them and they said Acura has them backordered and they aren't even giving them a time.

So then he asked me what NSXNEXT just did, and no, I swapped them over a year ago and have no idea where the old platinums are.

He thinks that two of the plugs went bad and explained the crazy firing on the ECU trying to interrupt and compensate for the carzy data the the o2 sensors and manifold pressure sensors were relaying. and hence what it did to try and get the timing back on created even more variation in the sensor readings. I don't know, but hell if that was all it was then I am happy.

SO a new question, or rather an old one revisited: Having bought a set of 6 denso iridium plugs and having to replace them after 34K, do I buy them again? I remember when this dicussion was raised it was proposed the the iridiums were delicate and would need more fequent replacing, well for the money I want a little more than 34K. Our platinum stocks go like 100K right? So what plugs would you suggest and where can I get them the cheapest and quickest (the service manager said that he would recomend buying them myself and bringing them in as it would be fster than the back ordered parts.

I did tell him to go to his sales manager and ask him for the lot plugs and have him back ordered them. Then he said well, he'll have one less car to sell then, I don't think he'll go for it. I asked him how many of the 5 CL Ss and 10 CL s that they had one the lot were sold in January and this portion of Feburary so far: he said none.

 

No, they don't have any curb rashes or chrome flaking on them??? And it was only one of the three that couldn't be balanced, he showed it to me on the machine and it had like a 3/4 of an inch hop in it

I couldn't tell by looking, only a slight vibration in the steering wheel (the bent one was and still is on the passsenger's back)
By the way I also need to know of any reccomendations on where I can get another (actually I want to be 2) Axis Muse 19x8 chrome with some rubber? Anyone? aparently like my damm plugs, Axis is backordered on the Muse. So I am going to have to find some shop with them in inventory.
When it rains, it pours, even in Tucson!

 

Yes, run to me - i'll be happy to take it off your hands.