rock

Occasionally my TLS takes a while to start. This may happen only after several hours or overnight. It usually catches within the first 3 cranks. Sometimes it can take as much as 5 or 6 cranks. The outside temperature is usually 70 to 80 degrees, so this shouldn't be a cold Temp. start problem. The car is totally stock. No high watt stereo amps. This is my first Acura. Is this normal for Acura/Hondas? My Nissans and Toyotas in the past always started within the first couple cranks.

pianoman41

You can thank your 10.5:1 high compression engine for that. Higher compression will require more of a crank to ignite the fuel. I believe you'll find the regular TLs fire right up.

TypeSDragon

Hmm... I am able to start my TLS on the first crank all the time. No matter if it is several hrs later or overnight. I would definitely check it out.

imax

Huh, I 've had a '99 3.2TL and now have a '02 3.2TL-S and both started up right away, no difference. So don't thank the high compression engine, take it in for service that is NOT normal.

rockinTLS

The only thing I have noticed is a small exhaust "pop" every once in a while when the engine catches.

Take it in for service.

R Man

Mine also takes three to five cranks to start when cold. It surprised me at first, because my '95 Explorer starts right up. However, I'm not too worried about it.

Smelly

Mine takes 3-5 cranks to start. It still seems a bit wierd, because my old 90 Accord took fewer cranks.

As a side note, the other day when I went to start the car, it would just crank and crank but never start. The starter seemed fine, the battery was fine, it was cranking but would not start. Tried several more times and got the same thing.

Then I noticed that the key light on the dash was blinking, as if the system did not recognize the chip in the key. I took the key out, and reinserted, and then started up with no problem. This has happened only once. Just thought it was a bit odd.

Mr Hyde

That chipped key could be thr problem, sometimes a key ring or another key if in contact with the key can cause interfereence i the chips signal. Thats what Smelly is talking about, but it doesnt seem like thats what Rock is talking about. Take the key out of your keychain by itself and start the car, see if that makes a difference.

My TL-S always starts right up and that was when it was very cold and even lately when its been extremely hot. Its not normal. Are you using a higher octane than is recommended like 94 from Sunoco, or is your AC on at the time the engine is starting up?? These are all things that could cause the engine to take a split second longer for the engine to start up.

imax

Just a follow up. Went and started my car after making sure to consciously see just how fast it would start up after sitting all night; started right up no problemo.

isaaktnt

Sometimes it does take longer for me. I do leave my AC on all the time. I'll try it without. I am so use to letting the key go early that sometimes it doesn't start at all and I have to redo it. Safe is about three cranks nothing more. So is that occasional tailpipe pop on startup normal?

edgalang

What a coincidence (or maybe not). This very same thing happened to me this morning after leaving my car idle for a day. I didnt' think it was that cold but after the 3rd crank she started right up. The first time it hapened I though I didnt have enough gas in the tank (the meter was beyond the red bar) but this time around I had at least 1/3 of the tank. I'm glad it isnt just me though.

city001

ur starter is dying.....

rockinTLS

Anyone? Mine does it too.

derrick

Like any (modern) car you can think of, it should start on the first try. If you are requiring more than one crank on a regular basis, that warrants a visit to the service dep't of your Acura dealer.

Knock on wood, I have only had to turn the ignition key once to get my car started up. It's important not to have anything that may impede the signal your key sends to the computer-- that may cause your car not to start.

As for a 'popping' sound from the tailpipe, that does not intuitively sound like a 'normal' thing. Maybe I'm too deaf to hear it from my car 'cause I leave the radio at a high volume... best of luck to you all.

- derrick

Mr Hyde

By crank from what I get from the post is number of attempst made at starting the engine by turning the key inthe ignition one time. I dont think anyone here is actually turning the key more than once (correct me if I am wrong please). I think they are just saying it takes longer from the moment they turn the key to the moment the engine actually catches.

One thing I do as a habit when starting my car which is a good thing to do especially in the winter is to first turn the key one click until all the self checks are done and the fuel pump gets going, then turn the key the two more clicks to start the engine. I still do it on this TL whenever I dont use my remore start, and when I use the remote start it does that also.

isaaktnt

Don't get me wrong...I don't mean I try to start it 3 times just hold down the key for about three rotation of the crank. My Mercedes C-Class you just have to flick the key and it cranks and starts itself. Being used to that, sometimes, I end up not holding it down long enough...I am talking about 1-2 seconds max. I was acutally warned by the Mercedes dealer to not even hold down the key. Just a flick it he says.
That popping is so occasional that the service guy will not believe me. I just really hate going back to my dealer, if I do any type of service that I leave the car there they take it to do deliveries...always about 10-20 put on. Oh well I hope if anything serious happens, it happens before my warranty expire

pianoman41

This is also how I thought the question was phrased. I *never* have to turn the key more than once, just it seems like I hold it in the start position for more turns of the starter than I ever did with my '97 Maxima SE or my '93 Sentra SE-R. Those two would start after two revolutions of the starter at most. The TL-S seems to take between 3-6 revs before firing. I've had more than one tech tell me this is due to the high compression engine.

j83

my car has been like this ever since the first day i had the car,
my other cars 1 sec max (2 second not even done b4), turn the key and then boom starts right up,
but on the tl it does take a while probaly two seconds sometimes even 3 secs.
now i dont want to make this a big deal but when ppl tell me theyre cars starts up instantly, it does tell me soemthing can be wrong with the starters or something,
ive been asking aorund here for 6 months and now you guys bring it up, along with me and other couple of 2000-01 tls
we have the same problems,

some say it has to do with the ulev,(because how some come as lev, ulev) trust me im confused bout this part too,

some say that when turn your key all the way to the last click b4 the ignition kiks wait till the beep(bout 4-6 times) is gone then turn the ignition,that should solve some problems but NO NOT FOR ME,

some say go check it out at the dealer, but of course what is obviously goin to happen when i get there? thats right, IT WONT HAPPEN, its only when they turn their backs then boom once again repitition,

some say(this is where i think might be logical) just pray that itll break b4 the warranty so you can get it fixed! i cant go to the dealers cause theyll bs problay saying that its perfectly fine that all acura does this etc etc.. and that everything was checked out perfectly,


my nickel blah!

tgif

Hmm, maybe something in the keychain interfers with the chip that locate inside the key. Do you a Mobile speedpass or something like that on your keychain?

THE ROCK

i have a reg 02 TL and yes i experience the same type of problem...the weird thing is that there is no "actual" time or situation where it takes 3-5 cranks. Sometimes it happens when the car is cold.Sometimes it happens when the car is warm. no idea!!?!???! when i first picked up the car, always first crank and the engine was totally quiet and smooth, however, after about 100-200 miles, it started to experience multiple cranks before it starts...i don't think the mechanic can discover the problem if you don't know when it will happen

AcuraTLFan

My mom has a 99 TL and i have 02 TL-S (you can say we are a TL family =). Well, my 02 TL-S takes on average 2-3 sec before ignition, while my mom's 99 TL is virtually instantaneous. I was gonna bring it back to the dealer...but i go "what the HELL are they gonna do about it??? NOTHING!!" so i didn't bother bring it back. Anyone have a solution....the 99 TL sounds so much better when the engine starts

rock

Thanks for all the input. It is not consistant so I won't take it to the dealer. There are those of you that seem to have this problem, and also those that don't. This can't be normal if there are engines that always start up right away. Whenever turning the car off, I always make sure the A/C and stereo are off so there is no excess strain upon starting. If this is normal for high compression engines, should the extra cranking be consistent? I'm glad that we all still have the warranty, but I hate taking my cars in to the dealer. I always fear that I'm going to find a big scratch or ding when I get it back. Even if they fix the ding, the factory paint is never the same.

daverman

The A/C and stereo are automatically disabled during startup, so there's never any extra strain.

My TLS (and my previous ride, a 97 Accord LXV6) starts up instantly every time. Any hesitation is not normal and may indicate an impending problem. My suggestion is to take it to the dealer's as soon as you can.

ab

this extra cranking also happens to some cl-s cars...mine does the extra crank every now and then...my previous car, '91 integ, never did that. temp is not an issue...happens when its warm or when its cold...never found out the reason tho, but i figure thats how some tl-s and cl-s are...