Guest

I purchased a 2002 TL about 3 weeks ago. I have noticed
on a few occassions that it hesitates starting for a few seconds
when I turn the key. This does not happen all of the time
and I can't seem to figure out a pattern for when it happens.
For example, after not driving it for 2 days it started right
up. After it sat in the parking garage at work for 8 hours
at work, it hesitated when I turned the key before starting.
I thought this seemed odd for a car that has <1000 miles
on it. There also does _not_ seem to be a correlation between
damp, dry, rainy, cold, or warm weather and this hesitation
starting. Do other TL owners have the same problem? I
hesitate taking the car to the dealer at this point since I have
no guarantee that the problem will actually occur.
Thanks in advance for any advice that you might be able to
offer!

medrxman

Just a guess.. Try using the other key for a few days and see if it happens.

KJ32

I talked to an Acura shop foreman, he said there's a known problem with warm starting. It means after the car's been sitting for couple hours after driving, it will hesitate to start or harder to crank. I experience the same thing. If the car is not driven for a day or overnight, it starts fine. If I drive it to anywhere, leave it for an hour, it takes longer/harder to crank. The mechanic mentioned something about the pulley. If it gets worse, take it to the dealer.

FTM-1

The 2002 model should not be having this problem.
This was somehting that happen on the 2000 model.
What you need to try is turn the key to on position with all indicator lights on. Then wait a few seconds & turn it to crank this worked for the 2000 models. What I am saying is do not put the key in & just turn it to start. Wait about 2 seconds after you turn it to on then start. Alot of 2000 owners had this problem some said it was a gas problem.Others said it might be weather related.
I had this problem twice the first spring of owning my car. When I did the things above I had no problems after that. I never took the car into the dealer for this problem. I see you live in Baltimore area & the weather is kinda warm.

KJ32

I have been doing it for awhile, it seems to improve a bit, still, it takes a second or 2 longer to crank once awhile. And when it has a weak start, the oil pressure light with flicker once after it goes out. It's telling me the oil pump is not pumping full amount of oil to lube the top half of the engine. That kinda worries me because overtime, parts on the upper portion like the cam shaft will wear down faster due to lack of lubrication at start up. So I changed to semi-synthetic oil, hoping that will help a bit.

Guest

Thanks for all of the responses. I have actually tried turning
the key to the on position for a few seconds before turning
it to crank. My mechanic told me to do this with my Toyota,
so I have been doing the same thing with the Acura. He says
that it allows all of the computers to register, or something
like that.

By the way, how often do you change the oil? In my other
cars, I have always changed the oil every 3K miles. My Acura
dealer said to wait for 7.5K (as did the owner's manual). That
seems kind of long to me. I think it also called for 5W20 which
I thought was odd (not sure how hard that will be to find).
Does anyone use synthetic?

One last note - yes, the weather has been unseasonably
warm in Baltimore. That's been a big help since it's allowed
me to get 4 coats of Zaino on the car before winter.

Sorry for all of the questions! Thanks again for everyone's
help!

KJ32

I usually change my oil at the 3k mark, that's a norm for best oil protection. Of course, it really depends on how had you drive and what condition you drive in. There's no absolute oil change interval. It doesn't cost that much money to chage oil (DIY) every 3k, I might just do it for the peace of mind. Regarding oil grade, I heard that for 2002 TLs, the manual recommends 5-20 while my is 2K model and it's recommended for 5-30. Still don't understand what difference would it make. I am guessing it's to improve the mileage number advertised since 20 grade is thinner than 30 while it gives the same protection during cold weather. If you live in the snow belt region, you should go for 0-30 grade for better winter protection. Just my thought, don't take it as professional advise

FTM-1

I have my oil changed every 3,000 to 4,000 miles or 4 months.
I got my oil changed the first time at 1,200 miles. Because of the very low miles I had it done early. The first 8 months of owning the car I drove it about 11 miles perday. It was used as a school bus very short trips. During last fall the car was not driven as a school bus & even not driven everyday. During the late winter & spring I did alot of highway driving at least 450 per week. I am back to normal now about 100 or 150 per weekaverage.The car only has about 17,000 miles on it now. I will have had it 2yrs on 12/28/01. So with all this said if I had waited to change the oil like the manuak said. The car would have been about 1 year old before its 1st oil change & that I could not see. If you drive like the average person 7,500 miles will take Know time at all.

eggbert

One thing I've discovered is

Keep your foot OFF the accelerator


when starting. I think the manual says this but may not emphasize it. I've found the engine stumbles a bit if you tap the pedal. That's a hard habit for me to break since my other car's a '72 Citroen and it always takes some monkeying with the gas to get her going.

Now I make an effort not to touch the pedal and it starts fine every time.

tls988

I was given a free 3,750 service coupon when I purchased my TL and this includes the first oil change. The battery that came with the TL is also very weak (550 CCA) for the cold MN winter. I am thinking about replaceing it with a new one with more cold cranking power

TommyBoiSxty9

On my 2k -- when its cold (the car) and cold out (bout 45degrees and less) it takes longer to crank and start. I turn the key on and wait til i hear the fuel pump shut off and the gas gauge is to where it's sposed to be -- and it still does it. Just seems to take about 2-3-4 extra seconds. Enough so taht I think if I added a remote starter I'd have problems with it starting on the first few tries.

doopstr

My wife's '02 TL is a bit funny about starting too. Problem isn't big enough for me to care about. It always starts on first attempt at key. Sometimes it takes longer than others though. Probably same thing you are experiencing.

Sometimes it doesn't kick off right and the motor stumbles for a couple RPMs and gets straightened right out. Sometimes I hear a bit of a thump too. I've seen others complain about stuff like that so I'm not worried.

I think some of the starting problem may have to do with the immobilizer not recognizing the key right away.

Lazyman

Me had the same problem when I first bought my '02 TL. I htink this sympthon kind of disspear after my mileage increased. for my experience try not to turn the key all teh way when you start your car. turn it to when you can feel your car is starting. I think it gives morepower to start the car when you encouter such wired problem with your TL.

Lazyman

BTW, I took my car to dealer, and they said it is not a problem or a big deal. I think they are fukcing dumb. SO I don;t quite trust dealer, well i have never trsuted in them anyways.

johnnyb_s

Check out this thread for more info:

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...ht=hard+starts