Scary stuff over the weekend. I do not know if it was the fuel I used or it is the ignition switch, or something more complex.

Driving on the interstate at 80 mph, first time it happened I thought it was the transmission because I just felt the car jerking in a lower gear, but I suppose it was waking up; and then the maintanance required light came on. I slowed down and paid attention.

Second time i noticed that the rpms were zero, all lights came on. The stereo kept playing though.

Now I am scared, this repeated itself several times at random, car turning off and on on its own, (dunno if it was really off or it was just the gauges and lights coz car is quiete and there is too much road noise in our TLs anyways) and once I also noticed that all the lights were on including the flashing green key light (immobilizer?) and if I just parked the car and took out the key. I pulled over.

Tried turning it on, started and died instantly. I took out the key, opened the hood and looked for signs of smoke, nada. got back inside, turned it on, it started and ran fine since then. I know I had just refueled before hitting the road, but it is the same gas I always use, 92 from Speedway. Is it the summer blend issue or ignition swith or something else??

 

what year TL? The 99s had a bad ignition switch thats covered by warranty/recall
You can tell if the engine is off by looking at the TACH
Either way- sounds like a trip to the dealer is in order

No one should really notice the industry switch to summer blend gas. Its not like they drain the tanks at the station- there is going ot be some blending for a while anyway.
If concerned about that- run a can of Seafoam in the gas tank to clean out residue and gunk.

 

Maitenace light or Check Engine Light came on??
Maitenance does its thing when you start the car-for a few seconds it flashes, starting about 6000 miles since last reset, blinks on startup and gets more insistant the closer to 7500 miles you get, to remind you to change the oil

 

alternator check at autoparts store for free cant hurt

 

yup having the same problem here, exactly what OP said. including the tranny thing. gonna look up the ignition issues and see if they match cuz im not too sure. damn, closest acura dealer is like half hour away. ill replace my battery and have them run a check i think

 

Why not figure out what's wrong instead of throwing money at the problem and hoping it sticks?

 

wait, you guys change the oil every 7500miles(12000km)?

 

some synthetic users go past that
the light is reset by you at oil change and it reminds you for 7500- thats per the book

 

Classic symptoms of a bad ignition switch. Have the dealer replace it as per the recall on these.

 

Yeah..wtf?

Here they say every 6k km...or 3750 miles...you guys go 6000-7500 MILES? before the light comes on?

 

ypu got it
if you run good synthetic oil + seafoam between changes, no reason why your oil shouldnt last that long. if not longer. the 3k mile change is pretty much just a way to steal more money from you

 

Brown- are you looking at the normal service or severe service schedule?
If you do lots on in town driving, or not much driving at all, sooner is better.
For the average user- 7500 is good. Look on the oil bottle- 7500 right in the name of some!
You dont need to run seafoam but it nevr hurt

 

yea I guess its a canadian thing lol they tell me 6000km and change it. i have to see the manual and see what it says since manual os probably different then in US.

 

The immobilizer gives it away even more so.

 

alternator.


https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166574

 

so go have your charging system tested for free at autozone. FREE

Still seems ignition cylinder like to me

 

Always test everything you can and wiggle the keys in the ignition switch withthe key
Do you have several keys on the key ring? thats bad

 

Ignition switch. I read your post and you had slow starting problems because your alternator wasn't charging your battery. The OP's car is starting fine but the switch is failing. He said the car was turning off and then on while still in motion and the immobilizer light (green key) was flashing like he was turning the car off. All signs point to the ignition switch.

 

Even if you've had this replaced before and it fails again will they still replace under recall? Mine has been done but is doing the same thing the OP said. Also sometimes when I first turn the car on, it turns right back off and I kind of have to wiggle the key forward and it jumps back on.

 

Sure thing. I had a bad cyl. on an old honda and I physically held the key half way between the II and III position to make it home. But hey, got it home no problem, other than a sore arm!

 

I am sure it would just depend on the dealer, how long ago, and the frequency of the problem. If you took it today, could you reproduce it?

 

i called my acura dealer today, had him run my vin and see if my 99 got the ignition recall done. couple minutes later, said it had been done, so i shouldnt have any problems due to that. in my case, im gonna get a new battery and see if that works. i need a battery anyway, i still have the acura original i think. unless the last owner replaced it with an acura one? mine still has that sticker, the 3 year warranty or something like that. and if that dont work, well, alternator time. haha from where i see it in the engine bay, it looks like shit from the outside

 

My girls 98 honda accord does the same thing. It just doesn't shut off and come back on, but it hesitates as if it's gonna shut off and the RPM's drop and go right back up to 1500.
I think the battery needs to be replaced, so give that a try....

 

The dealer is full of it- so what if they replaced the part some years ago- who says they dont fail again, as proven by numerous ziners!
Thats like saying the warranty replacements trans are perfect and last forever- NOT

Of course they cant diagnose without seeing the car, so have a free check of the battery, alternator and starter done at parts store first- to eliminate them as possible problems.

Its possible the last owner had dealer service done and dealer installed acura battery.
Most batteries last 3-4 years and then die. A weak battery will cause poor running and fake codes. Battery should have a date in service on it so they know when the warranty starts

 

I have like 10 keys on mine

 

Doesnt matter if it was replaced or not, ive sent the replacements fail. If you have to replace it again, Pick up a new one for 30 bucks and replace it. yourself. Its easy.
Check ALL battery and ground connections, have the alternator and battery tested BEFORE going out and spending money on parts that may not solve it.

 

amen.

 

i am having the same problem. luckily it has only happened to me going at low speeds. but just as you say the car seems to downshift and all the lights come on and then as quickly as it happened it goes back to normal and all the lights go off (lights include: green key light not sure of the name, tcs, abs, srs, seatbelt, im sure there are more but its hard to catch all of them) any help would be greatly appreciated.

also i have had the ignition switch and interlock recalls fixed.

 

Thanks guys, I suppose it is the ignition switch then. I called the Acura 800 number (dealer closed) but they said mine was done already. Problem is that I am already at 208k miles and I guess Im gonna have to pay for it. It is a 99 TL, got it with 150k miles on it.

And yes, it is the maintenance light that I was talking about, although the check engine light eventually followed suit with the rest of the lights on the dash. so far I have been taking it easy driving the car until I take it to the dealer but it has not repeated itself as yet. Would there be a code stored in there, just in case it cannot be repeated at the dealer??

And Kris, I guess I might need DIY instructions once confirmed. I'll keep everyone posted and thanks once again!

 

I am pretty sure that there will NOT be a code stored.