Eskimo

Car is acting up. When I did a warm engine start the idling was very rough. I revved up the engine and it seems to be ok again. After driving for 30 minutes I restarted the car. This time the check engine light came on and was followed by the TCS light. Both light are now on continuously. I hope it is not the tranmission. Anyone have any ideas what is wrong?

HustleLikeM0FO

Since you're in Vancouver I'mgonna assume it was a very cold start up.

Last year when it got very cold where I live my Civic did a similar thing where the CEL came on. I took it to Honda, they ran a diagnostic and told me that there was a misfire in one of the cylinders during the start up which caused the CEL to go off. They reset it and things have been fine ever since :knock on wood:

Not sure about the TCS light though.

Take it to Acura and see what they say.... it could be a small thing like a misfire or it could be something more serious.

aaronnn

mine did that today while coming back from work.. while i was driving back home, as soon as i hit local roads after getting off the highway both TCS and check engine light came on. its pissing me off right now but ive been hearing this issue on the forums for a while. i havent heard any real reason for it though

derrick

If both TCS/Check Engine are on ... and the gear selector (the green light -- D5 / D4 / etc) -- does that flash as well? If your front dash lights up like a Christmas tree -- TRANNY FAILURE. Sorry -- call your dealership and book your appointment to get your tranny fixed.

aaronnn

my D4 (99TL) does not flash like that.. it just stays solid and i dont feel any slips from the tranny at all. i know what tranny failures feel like, since my mom has the 03TL and ive driven it while the gears were slipping. so i dont know if it is the tranny.. also 99tl's dont often have this problem

Eskimo

Fortunately, the gear selector is not lighting up like a christmas tree. I just retighten the gas cap. I am hoping it is just a loose gas cap. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

fsttyms1

on the tl when a check engine light comes on it is very often accompinied with the TCS light.

Bring it to a local parts store that does free diagnostics and let tehm get a code for you and come back to us with that.

speedytl

my is doing the same it come on when i turn on the heat i'll get it check out like u said K

arkayllb

Same problem I had July/05. Could have been the transmission, b/c rough low idle, and a lurching motion in low rpm range. Turned out it was an ignition coil. The part wasn't that bad ($70 Canuck), but of course service was 1.5 hours or something like that.

special e. dition

I have the same issue.....any information containing a resolution would be most appreciated.. thanks again guys!!

speedytl

I got up to go have it check out but the light was not on no more when the light came on last night i went to try some BP ammaco gas send they said it was cleaner and no lead .but then when i trun on the heat it start to idling rough so i trun off the heat then it was find it could be my ingnition coil like u said

1nePhatTL

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https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/dunno.gif

chow-chow

It sounds a lot like the problem I had and posted. See Stacey at North Shore Acura, he did a great job in finding the problem.

I had an idle problem also on my 99 tl at 45,000 km along with the check engine light coming on. Took the car to the dealer 5 times before they fixed the problem. The dealer fix was using higher octane fuel to changing the plugs. They spent a day looking for the problem on the 5th visit and found it when they did a compression test on the cylinders.
One cylinder was about 60 psi less than the other 5. I was told it could be valves to heads. As it turned out one of the valve nut had worked itself loose. If it is running rough also, get a compression check.

speedytl

the light came back on today got it check out it was just running rich i guess because of the racing fuel pump code from autozone p0170 and p0172

Eskimo

The Check Engine Light is still on today. I called the dealer they want $50-100 just to read the computer! Does anyone know if there are parts store in Vancouver area that will do a free diagnostic. Thanks.

Tunaboy

When you take it to the dealership (or if you do) tell them to check your ECU. You may have a shortage if it's idling low. Eventually your VTEC will not engage anymore. You need to take your car in ASAP.

speedytl

[QUOTE=Eskimo]The Check Engine Light is still on today. I called the dealer they want $50-100 just to read the computer! Does anyone know if there are parts store in Vancouver area that will do a free diagnostic. Thanks.[/QUOTE if there a autozone down there it free

Eskimo

Thank you all for your help. Today the Check Engine Light went out. I suspect I did not tighten the gas cap enough on Monday. I am so relieved.

aaronnn

haha in nj its illegal to pump our own gas for the car.. the guy that close my gas cap didnt do it all the way and mine was on too!! a different guy did it for me last night and the lights went away.. really weird how something like that can get us all worried.

Rhinebeck

Both my check engine light and TCS light were coming on. I took it to Acura for a diagnostic, which they did. They say I need to replace the EGR valve.

schen72

I had the same symptoms as the original poster: CEL and TCS light on at the same time.

It turned out to be a cylinder misfire. I had just performed the 105k service last week, so I had brand new platinum spark plugs, so we knew that wasn't the problem.

After opening her up on the highway for a few miles, that seemed to have solved the problem. I suspect it was some carbon or other gunk that got into the injectors. The CEL has not come on since.

BTW, the Acura mechanic told me that if the CEL does come on for a cylinder misfire, it will stay on for 40 "starts". A "start" is loosely defined as turning the car on, but only when it is cold. If no misfire occurs for 40 more starts, then the CEL will go out on its own. He said that this winter he's seen many Acuras with cylinder misfires, possibly due to the oxygenated gas in CA.

canadiantoy

Mine did the same thing twice this winter. The firt time it was -35deg C or so outside. The lights stayed on until the next fill-up and then went away. It was probably the gas cap or something silly like that.

Both lights came on again yesterday while driving on very wet roads. I'm not sure if that has something to do with it. I turned the engine off and on again and the TCS light went off but the CEL light sayed on.