Nick

I was at the mall Christmas shopping Sat. Returned to the car and turned the key and it started right up. While putting on my seat belt, the engine just petered out. It wouldn't start again. It would crank, but not catch. Lights were strong and I checked out a few fuses (fuel pump, ECU, etc.) which isn't easy to do at night with a car parked right next to you so you can't swing your door wide open.

Anyway, had it towed to the dealer and they squeezed a look into their busy day Mon. to let me know it was the main relay which would run over $400 to replace. They didn't have the part on hand, but could over-night it. I said go ahead since I need the car for a road trip this Thurs. Hopefully it gets done today cause I still need to do more Christmas shopping.

Now, how often would you expect this part to die? I bought the TL-S in May of 2001, so it was out of its warrenty (no, didn't invest in the extended warrenty). But, there's only 26-27 K miles on the car. Only drive about 4K per year plus one or two long road trips.

derrick

Really bad luck ... main relay going? I would consider this type of problem atypical for a car about 4.5 yrs old. Is it garaged or do you keep the car outdoors? Man ... only 27k miles on your car ... I'm over 60k (102k km!) and I'm probably an average driver on this board. I had a problem of my car 'not catching' ... I lucked out and it was just the battery.

Good luck ... tell us what happens in the end.

fsttyms1

thats not a typical problem. Its the first time ive seen it. Bad luck is what i would call it

Nick

Well, they called late yesterday and Cheryl said she had some good news and some bad news (ominous start). The good news was that the price she quoted me for the relay would not be as much as she said. The bad news was that after they replaced the main relay, they found out that the fuel pump was also a goner. Now it's wait another day with a cost of $500+ for a visit to the mall.

Car's had a sheltered life, garaged, not abused, regular maintenance, and now this. BUT, all said and done, I would buy the car all over again. Never regretted that decision.

SK2003TypeS

Not familiar with either of these problems. It seems like these cars do better when they're driven more often and have some mid to high mileage. I have around 25K on my '03 and I'm starting to get little things pop up here and there.

Some of the guys with major mileage have been getting by fine with regular maintenance like oil changes and transmission changes.

03CoupeV6

Am I the only one skeptical of the original diagnosis now that they found out the fuel pump was gone? I don't trust dealers AT ALL and I can't help but wonder if maybe just the fuel pump is bad and nothing else.

There have been an increasing number of "will turn over but won't start" reports lately.

fsttyms1

Im kinda curious myself now that you bring it up.

was there any rough running of the engine when it died (like it was starving for fuel) or did it die with no side effects? When trying to restart it was there any sounds like it was starting to get small amounts of fuel (trying to figure out how to explain it)??

Nick

Will be 'on the road' shortly. Got the car yesterday and at the shop they said the main relay being shot had a domino effect causing the fuel pump to go too. Don't know which went first (which I can believe probably knocked out the other too) due to how many times and people who tried to get it started with the problem in place.

When it died, this was the scenario:

1) Turned the key and it started right up as normal without touching the gas pedal.
2) While then putting on my seat belt, the engine sounded like it ran out of gas and the motor stalled out (after running for 2-3 seconds).
3) Turned the key and it sounded normal, but the engine would not catch.
4) Went into my own diagnostics checking fuses, trying the flooded engine starting technique, etc. all without effect or any different symptoms.
5) I don't think the engine was getting any (even small amounts) of fuel at that point.

Total cost was about $550 at Herb Connolly Acura in Framingham. I've used them on a number of occassions and trust that they are honest in doing their job. The cost break down was parts $325, labor to replace parts and diagnose problem $190, hazard waste disposal $18, and about $20 in tax. Because of the multiple day fix instead of ordering both parts and fixing in one shot, they didn't charge me for the over-night Fed-Ex charges of $40.

Hope all you guys and gals have a Happy Holiday. May Santa bring you everything on you wish lists.

fokellz

did you have any problems after the new relay and fuel pump?