zoltanh

So, my 6 speed CL-S has been at the dealership for 5 days now getting the sunroof rattle, dash rattle, and window rattle fixed and ive been driving this TL around. Why the hell does it seem a shit load faster then my CL-S when the 0-60 on the TL is 6.7 seconds and on the CL-S its 5.9 seconds? I dont know if its just the automatic tranny or if it really is faster? Anyone else thought/felt this? or my car is screwed up? The TL seems to pull a lot harder in 2nd and 3rd gear.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

The 04 TL has a little more power, & the auto gets that power to the ground better then the stick does.

Warren803

say what? Can someone explain to me why auto tranny would get the power to the ground better than a manual tranny?

zoltanh

It only has like 10 more hp, but that still doesnt explain why it seems so much faster with a .8 second discrepnecy in 0-60 times. I am sure the TL is also heavier then a cl-s

03 CL TypeS

I guess what he's referring to is that the auto hooks better from a dig.

But on the dyno, the auto will dyno less.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Check the IMRC on your CL-S6

zoltanh

whats the imrc? and how does one go about checking that?

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Do a quick search and you'll come up with the answer.

It has to do with the dual stage intake manifold. If it is busted you're losing alot of power. Not uncommon for them to fail.

zoltanh

I found a thread you replied to but it says the imrc is in an enclosed box on the '03 and u cant see it working. How am i supposed to check if its functioning?

03_3.2_type-s

i have an 03 and it was not a closed box one, i dont think acura changed the design on the 03's
i had mine replaced and it still was the same design.

have someone rev the engien till 4,XXX rpm and check to see if the thing moves.

if you still dont know what the actuator is and how it functions check out this http://www.geocities.com/gamesmgr/chod/acura/

scroll down and youll find the part about the actuator

zoltanh

hey thanks for the tip guys, i just picked up my car and had my girlfriend rev it to 5000 rpm like 5 times, the actuator was not moving. Ive had my car for like 3 months now and i guess it has been broken the whole time! I thought it was odd i never heard this vtec sound everyone talks about. Gonna call tommarrow to get it fixed, its gonna be like putting headers on!

03 CL TypeS

Glad to hear you found out what the problem is!

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

IMRC = Intake Manifold Resonance Chamber

Fabvsix

The dealership should have found this problem....

My 2001 Acura CL Type S when new.....the actuator died thus leaving me with a car that a Hyndai could beat. Thank goodness for the site cause the STEALERSHIP were CLUELESS back the early days of production. WE, this group specifically the CL group made the dealerships aware of this issue as their computer found NOTHING WRONG !

Be prepard when you RETURN to your dealership with this issue as it WILL NOT show up on their comuter !

zoltanh

what kind of hp gains does getting this actuator fixed get you?

Fabvsix

broken actuator is like driving a sluggish CL-P ! Got it ? You like getting a 4 cyl. performance with a heavy car !

zoltanh

damn im excited to get it fixed, I cant belive i was driving it this whole time broken.

Fabvsix

you will get better gas mileage believe it or not......it will make a big difference ! I often wonder how many folks that have bought these cars used HAVE NO CLUE ABOUT THE MANY FAILED ACTUATORS and don't have a clue !

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Figured it was the IMRC. And yes most dealerships don't know about the problem because honestly it isn't all THAT common... not enough to issue a TSB. And most drivers wouldn't notice the difference. Unplugging the IMRC does not affect any OBD-II readings and does not store a DTC so therefore a broken IMRC would also not show up on any diagnostic tests.

quicksilver10101

yea my imrc only works some times...if i rev the engine up ten times maybe it will move once....any help?

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Replace it or clean it

BlueCLS6

actually... IMRC = Intake Manifold Runner Control

Time For Sleeep

So if you roll up to a dealership, and ask if them to check if the actuator is broken, they shouldnt' give you any flak about it right?

Seattle Cl-S

I went to two different dealerships before they would fix mine. I brought copies of all the actuator posts from this forum and they still wouldn't do the "rev it to 4500k test". The last dealership did listen to me and they fixed it. I sent a copy of the receipt to the other two dealerships with a nice little 'note'.

zoltanh

Well i took my car to the dealership this morning, and as expected, they had no idea what the fuck i was talking about.

First he tried to play it off and say, "it doesnt open when your car isnt in gear, you have to be driving." So i politely told him hes a jackass and it should open in nuetral. Then he tried to tell me that vtec doesnt engage until about 5000 rpm, and then I told him that has nothing to do with the actuator.

So after about 5 mintutes of my trying to pursuade him that i am correct, i had him turn the actuator while the car was running and then reved it for him so he could see it was broken.

I hate acura service people, they are pricks and always think they are right. They never want to go the extra mile to make you feel like they care about you or your car, I think their motto is "the customer is never right, always make them feel stupid" Anyways, they were out of TL loaners too so i got a shitty jeep liberty

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

You should have seen if they had any Type-S's for sale on the used lot. Then show them how it works correctly.

zoltanh

I asked, only thing they had was an 01 premium. Not many 03 type-s's around here.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Didn't have to be a 6MT. All Type-S's ('01-'03) have the IMRC.

Chopsie

My first thought when seeing this thread in highlighted on the main page

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

At least they are fixing it under warranty. I had a co worker try to get his fixed & the dealer refused to do it under warranty cause the car had headers, & he was trying to say whoever installed them broke it. Going to another dealer solved that.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Some dealerships just suck at life.

zoltanh

I find it odd and a bit of poor engineering on Honda's part having such a huge portion of the engine's power dependant on a little actuator and no way to tell if it is faulty.

kabota

ill probably be flamed for this but i have not seen somebody throw out a different explanation, not that im saying its true!!! Why does the TL feel faster? Because it just is. JUst throwing it out.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Um no actually the CL-S6 is faster than the TL loaner he has.

Fabvsix

MrSteve,
I disagree totally ! I bought my CL Type S in May of 2000. Long story short, my actuator failed TWICE ! It became a known issue with Acura's in the early run of production. It was a nightmare to convince the dealership to look in to this actuator issue. I just wonder how many failed units are out there !

Actuator opens at 3800 rpms and will OPEN IN NEUTRAL ! Tell your service rep. to go back to school ! Freaking idiots !

kabota

thats why i said i was throwing it out there.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Yes it will open in neutral. Mine failed as well in my first CL-S back in 2003. When I brought it into the dealership I was the first car to EVER come in complaining about this problem. In 2003! The problem is that most people won't notice the difference. The car still drives fine with the actuator broken or even disconnected. If a dealership has never seen the issue then how can you expect them to know something is wrong? They aren't magicians. If the car isn't telling them anything is wrong, which it won't, how are they to know? It's not like they open the hood and sit there reving the car to check it. The power loss is maybe 20 horsepower due to the loss of resonance within the intake manifold. Most Acura CL/TL owners won't notice the failure.

If it fails and you get them to fix it under warranty what's the problem? A slight inconvience because you need to take your car into the dealership for service. All cars have problem areas. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

Fabvsix

I understand MrSteve, but understand I had the 187th car off the production line in 2000, NOT 2003 as your case ! Now you think Acura would have addressed this issue back then, but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, you bought a 2003 and STILL ENCOUNTERED this problem ! Why didn't Acura address it ???????????? How many USED early model Type S' out there with non functioning Actuators ? It does make a BIG difference in performance ! It was there for a preformance reason ! They should have issued a TBS so folks are aware of this KNOWN issue. btw I traded my CL so I don't worry about that anymore, but feel for those who are CLUELESS about this ONGOING ISSUE !

i HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO WITH MY TIME THAN TO SPEND IT DRIVING TO STEALERSHIPS AND DEALILNG WITH IDIOTS !

NO PUN STEVE but stop defending Acura screw ups !

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

I really don't think the problem is common enough to warrant a TSB. But I do agree that many many Type-S's are out there with malfunctioning actuators and the owners have no ideas.

mrsteve

iTrader: (1)

Oh and doesn't the new RL have a "dual stage" intake manifold a la J32A2?