THICED

hello everyone, i recently bought a 99tl with 41000 miles. 75% of the time i start my car. the ignition will turn over at least 9 times! i know this isnt normal, and to add that craziness, when it does final start, it feels really rough. like its not getting proper fuel delivery. it has even stalled a couple times right after starting. all the fluids are fresh, and air cleaner is new. i have taken it into a shop to be looked at.. but they think im crazy because they cant mimic the starting proble. since ive had the car, ive only been running premium (but i dont know what the owner before me was doing) Does anyone have any ideas as to why it would be doin this? fuel filter? pump? and help would be greatly appreciated!

axeman

I am sure that you know that there was an ignition switch recall that was announced for the 99tl. Sign up on the acura owners link page from a.com and enter in the VIN. That should tell you whether the recall work has been done. If not, do it and tell the service people in the process that you are having these issues. Hopefully, it is related to the recall work needed and the problem will be fixed at zero cost to you.

Hope this helps,
Axe

THICED

Thanks Axe, That ignition switch recall has not been performed on my car yet.. and i already have an appointment for the work to be done.. and when i take it in, ill def tell them about the problems.. hopefully they will fix it for free. thanks for the advice

vandy786

Don't you just love this site?

THICED

i just got the iginition switch replaced but they couldnt re-produce the starting problem.. it will still crank 9 or 10 times before starting. The times that it starts right away.. it almost stalls, and if it doesnt stall im amazed because it feels like it should. could this be a fuel pump issue?

axeman

Yep, that is the next place to start. I wonder why they were unable to replicate the problem??? It could be a couple of things like a vacuum leak, fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump, etc.
Does it happen only when it is cold or temperature has no bearing on whether it will behave this way.

Sorry to hear that you are still having these issues. Good luck in getting it fixed. Look forward to your response.

Axe

sutlTL

Your injectors may be plugged. Try a bottle of Redline Fuel Injector cleaner (SI-1 Injector and Valve Detergent). Add it to your gas tank at fill up and if it is your injectors it should start up better after about a tankful of gas.

moat

Every once in a while I start my car, it turns over without firing for 5 sec and then comes to life, only to stumble and stall. I have a 2002 TLS, and every honda I have owned (90 Civic, 92 Accord, and 95 Accord) did the exact same thing once a month or so. I always thought it was a fuel delivery problem, Acura dealer told me its normal. But normal doesn't equal right...

Mark

axeman

Normal???? What a load of crap. I wonder if you told them that the car has NEVER stumbled upon starting. The service guy would proudly state, 'darn right...acura makes the best cars ever!!'. I doubt he would look at you and say, 'that doesn't seem right...the car should stumble once a month while starting...' dumbassess!!!! Try the fuel injector cleaner that was mentioned above. I have my injectors cleaned every 15k and have not had a problem with them thus far...

Later,
Axe

THICED

I put a bottle of fuel injector cleaner in my tank a couple weeks ago, and it didnt make a difference.. ive also had a fuel induction service which didnt help either. i replaced the air filter when i got the car (old filter was actually jammed with leaves and bugs.. i dont know... dont ask) im still thinking its the fuel pump or filter.. i will recall when i received the car, there was no gas cap! i dont know how long it had been missing for, but who knows what could have gotten in there. im also thinking a bad fuel pump/filter would explain why my car accelerates roughly sometimes (jerky/choppy). i appreciate your replies axe, thanks for your help guys!

E

T Ho

Try this- when starting the car, turn the key to the on position, wait 5 seconds, then try to start the car. See if it makes a difference in the starting time, and/or initial rough running.

You may want to change the fuel filter "just 'cause" since you were missing a cap. And, perhaps a can of Sta-Bil before you do that, to suck up any condensation in the tank.

Todd

THICED

thanks for the reply todd. i always turn my key to acc and wait till the chk eng light goes off before starting.. and its still rough! i think im gonna attempt the fuel filter, but what is this sta-bil you speak of?

Vicman17

Besides the fuel system, check if one of the coils is bad. Also plugs could be fouled and wires as well.

THICED

would that also explain why i have choppy/bad acceleration? how would i check the coils?

VTEC11

i'd change the plugs if it idles a little rough.. Its a pretty easy job to do on the TL.

T Ho

Sta-bil is a gas stabilizer, that works well for "old" gas, and also for gas that got water in it.

If a plug is fouled, something else is likely wrong with the car. Properly running fuel-injected cars do NOT foul plugs, EVER.

I'd be surprised if the plug wires went bad after just 41k miles, but I suppose it could happen.

Simple stuff first, before you go throwing big $$$ at it.

axeman

Correct me please if I am wrong but isn't the fuel filter in our cars contained in the gas tank and it is not replaceable in and of itself but rather the entire tank would have to be replaced?
I see a lot of ideas floating around on this post and each one has merit but I know that you dont want to continually dump money into solutions that may not fix the problem.
I am still surprised that the problem cannot be duplicated.

Hope that you can figure out the solution to your problem. These kind of issues can be a drag

THICED

when i took it into the acura dealership for the ignition switch recall, they could not replicate the probelm, and when i drove it out of there, it started up fine. 3 weeks before, i took it into a shop to have some work done on it, and told the mechanic about it. he went blah blah about turn the key to acc and then start, and everytime he didnt that, it started fine. it only hates me.. yesterday when i started the car, it turned over 3 times, but never really started.. just sounded and felt like it was in a permament state of stalling for 3 seconds until it started up. (this was 3 seconds from when my hand left the keys) very rough start. i just drove it to the store, and there was a delay everytime i would push the petal.. i dont know what the deal is..

Axe, your right about the fuel filter being in the fuel tank.. so is the pump and the filter is attached to the pump. its not the big a deal to replace. i might take it into the shop to be looked at first though. i just feel like its such a waste of time.

GoldieAlek

I would leave a car over a night at shop... that way if it’s only happens in morning they will see what it does. Looks like something that happens only when car is cold that’s why you can’t replicate this problem by the time you get to shop.
And make sure that all your plug wires are connected...