my '02 TL-S ran fine... loved it... but today, i floored it and the car will not go!! It is definately not as fast as it should be... I tried a couple different times in SS... very noticeably slower... around 40mph i tried flooring in D5 automatic. it downshifted, but there was no jerk at all... the shift was too smooth and the car barely went any faster... just louder, gaining speed very slowly.
Anybody know whats wrong with my car? Did this ever happen to anyone else??
frustrating... my car got vandalized today too... spray painted...
thanx for your help...

 

yes, this has happened to me MANY times... i thought i popped my tranny! turns out that my car just sometimes was like that, if u drive it hard for awhile, and then just floor it, nothing....
give the car a rest for a day or two... then give it a shot.
i also reset my ECU, which helped make a difference

 

Jaydef, when you say reset your ECU, do you just pull the wire from the negative terminal of the battery and plug it back in? I hear people "resetting" their ECU all the time. Does it really make a difference?

axleback

 

yea just disconect your battery for about 15 min then reconect it. you should do that every time you work on your engine. that way the computer can learn the (whatevers new) setting

 

thanx... I feel a bit better now that i know its "normal"...
i wonder if this is common in other TL-S's

 

this just came to my mind...
when i got my oil changed a 1000 miles ago, the guy who changed the oil put in 5 quarts instead of 4.5 quarts into my '02 TL-S. (The TL-S takes 4.5 quarts, correct?) I told him to put in 4.5 but he forgot, and just told me that less is not good, but more is not a problem. I didn't agree with him, so i checked my oil level and it seemed to be ok so i just left it. While i was getting gas just a couple minutes ago, I checked the oil level again and found the oil level is way too high. Could this be the cause of my loss of power in my TL-S? What exactly is the problem with putting in too much oil? I'm planning to drain some of the oil out tomorrow.

 

1/2 a quart is not a a problem .. most of the excess remains in the oil basin anyways during engine operation. Variances are built-in to engine specs.

About your loss of power .. the only thing I can think of ... that a few others have noticed... is your actuator .. multiple threads on this @ Cl.com .. search "actuator"

Other than this, I'm not sure how it would be slower unless say ... you're running on regular fuel by accident, or something is obstructing your air intake... try checking your air filter. Has the weather become warmer in the area? Sometimes going from frigid to warm weather will mess w/ the performance, but not to the degree that you've indicated.

When you punch it in 2nd gear @ around 4000rpms... you don't feel that head-snapping power?

 

Did the problem suddenly occur AFTER you noticed the vandalism? If so, they may have done more than just spray paint your car... Other than contaminating the fuel, like putting eggs in the gas tank, who knows what someone might be able to do. Someone put eggs in my 64 chevy super sport gas tank YEARS ago... it slowly clogged up the fuel filter which caused it to run sluggish. It also ended up clogging all of the fuel lines and I had to have them all replaced. Of course that was back in the days BEFORE locking gas caps.

If you noticed the problem BEFORE the vandalism, then I suppose you could rule this coincidence out. However, if it started afterwards, you might want to take a THOROUGH look under the hood and make sure the gas cap hasn't been broken, etc.

In any case, I don't think that it is very common to the TLS. I've never experienced any lack of power, and I've never seen it posted here before either. My guess is that you DO have something wrong... whether or not its mischief related is another question. Waiting three days to see if a sluggish engine decides to wake up, makes no sense to me??? (no offense to the poster) But a car either runs or it doesn't... Yeah, maybe the ECU has gone screwy and needs reset... but if that doesn't help... I'd say you have an abnormal situation.

Good luck

 

Now, did the guy actually overfill it by .5 quart, or is that what he just said?

If the oil level shows too high on the dip stick, then drain it. Too much oil WILL make a difference. Both not-enough and too-much oil will cause damage to the engine. Check that out asap. Or Southbound has a very good point about the vandalism.

 

i noticed the power loss before the vandalism.... power loss in daytime, vandalism that night...
I felt that there was too much oil... so i went to jiffy lube and drained about 1/2 quart... now the oil level is right below the upper mark on the dip stick. they didn't charge me, which is pretty cool. the thing i like about jiffy lube is that they don't have to put the car on a lift... my car has problems fitting the pads of the lift under the car with my pro-kits and oem bodykit... one time, this guy broke a screw off my side skirt trying to get the car on the lift... kinda loose now, but still holds...
i'm gonna check out the actuator tomorrow...
my car's going in for some warranty work on monday, so i'll have them check out whats wrong too... probly my last warranty service as i am close to the 50,000 mark.

 

the guy actually overfilled... i was standing rite there talking to him... i tried to stop him, but it was too late... i probly saved like 3 drops...

 

1/2 a quart wouldnt make a difference. i put in 5 quarts for the last 109,000 miles and mine is the same if not better than the day i bought it.