Eternal TL2k3

this is the 2nd time in the past 3days that this has happened... granted that it is cold and all, but my car is less than 5months old and it was struggling to start. 3days ago i jumped in and turned the ignition... no go. so i held it there longer... for a good 4-5seconds and nothing... did it again and after 3seconds it started. i just thought that it was a one time deal until today it happened again. what do u think cud be the problem? i know if i take it to the deaer , i wont be able to reduplicate the problem so anyone have ideas of what this cud be?

SGT-TL

My old man would say, "It's Spark or Gas boy, Spark or Gas." But let's get to the real issue. You purchased a $30,000 Vehicle w/a 50,000/4 year warranty. TAKE IT TO THE DEALER. TLC Service should mean they will believe you when you tell them you are having problems. If they give you Ford service, get pissed, but if the slow starting is a symptom of a bigger problem you may save yourself the time of a major repair. IMO preventive maintenance means having the little problems checked by a professional technician.

$.02

SGT-TL
2003 TL-P SILVER

Keep you rooster away from my Bean Sprouts

RedIntegra

That used to happen to me too...(march '02), but I haven't had any problems starting lately. Questions:
1) Do you use the recommended fuel?
2) Do you twist the fuel cap 3 turns/clicks (it's in the manual)?
3) turn the key to position 1 to activate the fuel pump, wait a second or two then start.

As I said, It used to happen to me...no longer (knock on wood).

Eternal TL2k3

yup, only 93octane

i dont do the pumping... NJ they do it for u... so i dunno man... i know it has nothing to do with my tranny but with all the tranny problems with TLs, i just feel like its gonna lead there somehow... its the beginning of something awful

RedIntegra

Next time you get gas, just listen for at least 3 clicks (see the manual). If you don't click it 3 times you might have a hard time starting (I think that's what the manual said). Anyways, keep an eye on it. After you get gas, just twist it for three clicks. good luck.

We've got to stop worrying about the car, just enjoy it... at least we do have the tranny covered for another 3 years/50k over the current warranty... I've stopped worrying, Just plan on getting as much enjoyment out of the car as I can.

SGT-TL

I don't understand your reluctance to take it to the shop? It costs you nothing, or even just give them a call and explain the problem.

Eternal TL2k3

laziness =( i got a schedule oil change coming up soon so i wanna just try to kill two stones in one shot. i just attribute it all to the cold but i wanted to get some ideas before i go jumping the gun

jean

My .02 also...
I dont know how many miles you have on the vehicule...
but at least once a year I drop a can of fuel system treatment and 1 can of injector cleanor and drive...
J

honeyp

My '00 TL does the exactly same thing. It starts, immediately after I turn the key, it should start. However, it sounds as if it is hesitating to start, but it does start. My cousin has a '01 CL, says that his car starts exactly like mine. I asked him to start mine and he said it starts fine. He believes it normal. I insert my car, turn it to position I, wait a second, then trun to position II (the start position). I was told by another member to start the car using this method. Also, I was questioned about the gas, how much gas I had in my tank and etc. I have an appointment w/Acura after x-mas. Maybe this is normal for the CL and TL's, I don't know, maybe its the weather. But having purchased this car, I will definately take it to the dealer for verification.

JensH

In certain situations it is possible and normal for cars to have a somehwhat lenghty crank time before they will fire up.One cause is low fuel level .If you park your car with little fuel in the tank do not be surprised if it takes a few cranks to fire it up.The cause is simple,The fuel system needs to be primed and this rtakes a few seconds to do.Gravity has overnite slowly drained the fuel rails back to the tank.Now the fuel pump must push fuel back to the rails and build sufficient pressure to start the engine.This is normal.Another cause could be electronic interference causing the security system to momentarily fail not allowing the car to start.This is caused when people attach a lot of things such as other car keys and a host of other junk to the key used to start the car.Try to remember that this is a very low powered signal that is emitted by the key theat tells the cars computer it is ok to start the car.A ton of junk attached to your car key can cause interference and confuse the car into thinking it is being stolen.sometimes even with a full tank of gas it is possible for the car to fail to start if you park on a hill (steep hill) .The best bet here is to have the dealer check for codes and if need be perform a fuel pressure test to verify the pump is running up to capacity.Jens

randomwalk101

Jens is the MAN!!!

Eternal TL2k3

i had a 1/2tank of gas, flat surface and only 4house keys (pretty light) onthe keychain... nothing else... no clutter on it and nothing in the way. still took a while cranking. i cantfind the thread where i posted that my MAINT REQ'D light is blinking longer than before... it blinks for a good 4-5seconds after the car starts up. is this normal?

doopstr

The Acura has been the hardest starting car I have ever had. I think its because its high compression. When I turn it over it cranks for a sec or two and then usually kicks in hard (sometimes it doesn't). Hard to describe but it sound like the thump. I think its okay. I've had some failed starts and don't worry about it.

As for the maint light, read the manual But it you don't want to read the manual, your car is telling you that it really wants an oil change. It will eventually be solid and not go out at all. Read the manual to learn how to reset it if you change your own oil or don't take it to the dealer for this.

jean

I have noticed the same situations on my Tl usualy its the first (cold) start of the day. 1 to 2 sec crank and then a small pop and off it goes. I was beginning t wonder if this was normal, I'm sorta glad someone else has noticed this. Leeds me to believe this is normal.
J

FTM-1

The MAINT REQ'D LIGHT BLINKING 4 to 5 seconds is normal as said. It just is a service reminder & is expained in the owners manual. It also tells you how it works & how to reset it yourself in the manual.

JensH

Eternal your maintenance lite is telling you "oil change time" no more no less it will not indicate any failures or problems the check engine lite does that.The thump at start up is not the engine but rather the engine mounts .These engine mounts are vacuum controlled and in certain situations they make a loud "pop" or "thump" sound. Acura has assured us that this is normal and cannot be changed.
Eternal have your dealer look at the car to see if there are codes stored in the ecu.Also give me an idea of what you mean by "long crank time" .I find most of these cars will kick to life in about 3 to 5 seconds.On an empty tank after sitting overnight they seem to start after 10 seconds or so.does the car exhibit any other unusual running problems???? Jens

Black TL

Hey Jens, since we're on the subject. I have had this problem with my 99 TL for about 30k miles and no one seems to know what's wrong. I took it to Rallye and they said that i had to change the idle control valve or something like that and it didnt fix the problem. I just don't really have time to take it into the dealer so I just let it go.

So here's the problem,
After I drive my car and the engine is warm. When I start the car, it does start, however most of the time, the RPM's drop low to about 4-500 or so and the engine shakes. It will remain this way until I either turn the steering wheel or give it a little gas. I figure since turning the steering wheel needs power, it will raise the engine RPM's. It is really annoying and I am sick of it. Do you have any possible ideas as to what it could be?

BTW, I go to your dealer for service all the time now. I only went to rallye because I needed a NYS inspection and I had them check it out since I was there. I will need a 60k service in about 3k miles and I was wondering if there was any way I could request you to service my car. This way, I can show you the problem instead of you having to look for it.

Also, I think something is wrong with my power steering. The steering wheel is not smooth when it turns anymore. i.e, it turns in sections. It's annoying also and I checked the power steering fluid and it was at the bottom line. I filled it up and it got a little better but it still hesitates. Any other thing I could do to get rid of this problem? I have a feeling it is going to end up costing me a lot of money since I am 7k miles above warranty.

Thanks Jens,

Roshan

JensH

Black TL
Is this problem consistent?? The power steering having issues is also not good but let's not lose our heads till we have a look at it.It sounds to me like Rallye replaced an idle air motor or AIC.this AIC does fail from time to time.Your rough initial start up when warm is an odd one though.If you can demonstrate the problem that will be a big plus.It may be that you have a problem with the fuel pressure regulator but that is a very shaky guess at best on a car that i have not seen .Best bet give us a holler at 201 587 0029 and let's get this thing resolved.Jens

Tatewaki

My 99 TL also struggled to start today. I parked at an indoor garage for about 45 mins. Then when I started it got running but the RPM drops very low then engine stalled. Started again, it'd run for like 5 sec then it'd stall again. The third and fouth time, same result. The fifth time I started the car then I WOT it. I held it at 5000 RPM cutoff for 2-3 sec then let go. Only then it idled fine. Through out the night the car seem fine. A friend said it might be:

1) loose gas cap (checked, seems fine)
2) cold engine (can't be, it was heated indoor garage)
3) dirty fuel (I only use 94 with engine clean stuff, but granted I never used any fuel injector cleaner)

Do you think it's because of dirty gas system, or else?

Tatewaki

Black TL

Thanks Jens, I have to schedule my 60k service soon. I'll be sure to ask for you.

ElegantTL-S

Speaking of which.

Today my car finally had a hard time starting.

It's a pretty cold day in Southern California. About 60 degrees. I get out and drive my car for about 30 minutes locally. Come back home, park outside for about 2 hours. So the car should cool down by now. I jump in and try to start it. The engine struggles to start, I held it for about 2 seconds and let go of the key. I then tried the position 2 thing, then started it, And it struggled again, so I held it for about 3-4 seconds, and it finally started. Kinda freaked me out. Since this is the first time it has actually "failed" to start on the first crank. After that, the car started fine.

I have a '02 TL-S w/ 7,8XX miles and a AEM CAI

There is also something I've always pondered when I purchased this car. Rarely, when I start the car, the car would start, but slowly jump to about 200 RPM...then slowly crawl to normal idle. Is this normal? Sometimes I gotta give it gas to bring it back to normal idle.

BTW! one more thing. Where does your needle sit when it's idle? Mine sits just a hair under 900RPM. Normal?

haha, I talked too much. :p

veeinc

i am experiencing the exact same problem as described by BlackTL. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
Thank you

UA5

What year is your TL? If yours is a 2000 then it might be the fuel pressure regulator. There is a service bulletin on this under the title "Hot soak". I had mine fixed under the warranty and they replaced/updated the fuel pressure regulator and the PCM that goes with it.

veeinc

mine is a 99

veeinc

After about the tenth visit to the dealer, my problem has finally been fixed. It was the ECT sensor. Everything is cool now.
The dealer told me that there was a service bulletin about this.
Hope that this helps...

By the way: Mines a 99.