Mimm.jeff

Hey guys, just bought an 02 Type S with 33k miles. Drives and looks incredible but i want to make sure I make it last another 12 years with minimal issues. It was garaged its entire life and the belts and seals all checked out at the dealership.

My question revolve around driving and maintining the car. I generally drive pretty conservative, the car will rarely rev above 5k rpm and wont hit VTeC in my daily driving. I drive 80 miles round trip each day with the cruise set at 70.

Should I intentionally rev the car higher on occassion? I want to do what is best for my car and its longevity. Also, are there any proven steps i can take outside of the scheduled maintenance schedule to give my Acura the best chance at lasting another 12 years?

I appreciate your expertise guys!

Skirmich

Timing Belt should be replace by now if it wasn't replaced before while Garaged as Belts wear by time not mileage. With these years on the clock the Timing Belt should have been replaced at least 2 Times by Now hence the Owners Manual. If that's the stock T-Belt which odds are it is, It would be my Numero 1 Concern right now as these engines go KAPUT if the T-Belt skips teeths or just plains snap.



If you don't REV the car or not is highly inconsequential as this is a HONDA, Honda Engines LOVES to REV High.. If you REV High or not it doesn't affect Engine Lifespan O N E-- B I T.


You should At least REDLINE once a Month to clear the EGR Passages as they need Air Pressure to avoid clogging although with that mileage you are not even to the point you need to clean it

And typical maintenance; Don't keep your engine oil if conventional for more than 7500miles, Only change the ATF with HONDA DW-1 < Repeat, Have a nice +12yr more.

3.2TLc

If ya wanna start out fresh, have the T-belt components replaced and coolant servicing performed. Consider replacing all of the vital fluids, rubber hoses and belts. Do the 3x3 Drain & Fill of the tranny using DW1. Buy a new battery. Shampoo & scotchgard the interior carpeting. Clean & dress the leather seats. Rustproof & polish body. Keep a PM log. Tint, lowering & rims...... Have fun !!!

01tl4tl

go to the local parts store and buy 2 cans of seafoam ~20$ total
Add 1 can to gas tank when just under half on gauge
drive however you want- over 30 minutes like your commute- are excellent
next tank when its down to half, add the 2nd can to tank
Drive
that's real tune up in a can for us

clean or replace the PCV valve 20 at dealer or 10 parts store- age can gum things up and its an important part

Sounds like the local dealer looked the car over or was otherwise familiar with it and said ok!!

Do get on the full fluid change of atf to the new spec fluid Honda DW-1

Now and then someone scores the garage find ck out the subsection of main azine area- `wash and wax` for all care tips

Also as new owner call acura care 1 800 382 2238 x5, have cars VIN in hand
ask if all recalls are taken care of
also reg online Acura Owners Site | Exclusive Knowledge, Service, & Benefits download the free owner book and read cover to cover- many systems and operating tricks- things to know like warmup of seats- engine and trans operation- the TL is not your average car

Welcome to the wonderful world of Ziners! ck out the Regions link at top of page for local events- meetups- group photos and drive days etc with your fellow nuts

Mimm.jeff

Thanks guys!

Is the new Honda DW-1 ATF fluid different from the original spec fluid? Will it help combat any of the issues in the original transmissions?

Seafoam sounds like an easy way to freshen things, I assume the seafoam is completely safe for the fuel system?

Also, is there any way to examine the timing belt to see if I need to replace it?

thanks guys!

gnuts

iTrader: (1)

i wouldn't bother with seafoam at your mileage but it can't hurt.

If the T belt hasn't been done, there is no question, go have it replaced. Acura recommends 7 years max if we're going by time. You're way over that. I'm sure it might look good, but not a gamble i'd want to take.

Skirmich

If you look through the Timing belt hole you will see the teeth depth but we are talking about Time Damage so you have to see the flat side of the timing belt for cracks and dry damage. Not possible unless you remove the plastic cover altogether.


DW-1 is a Step up from the old Z1 it will work wonders and its definitely better than the old Z1, It has different slip properties and its 1000x better in the cold. BUT it wont help the trans issues at all.

3.2TLc

Good Luck !!!

01tl4tl

nothing we recommend to you is going to hurt the TL
We all drive one and practice what we preach (ok a few ziners don't actually own a TL but are smart car guys)

other items to look at are new cabin air filters- due/do every year! easy DIY
and engine air filter replacement- TB air plate cleaning
Our diy section has all you need to get started with knowing systems
Grab that owner book download I linked for you too

timing belt- one school says 10 years and the rubber has aged enough to be less pliable and more likely to fail, other school of thought says low miles and garaged car = no worries
BUT
you have a concern over big expenses,
Start looking for fellow ziners near you in the Regions link to help or do the tbelt with you- shops charge several hundred dollars!! parts alone are 250-400$! plus a days labor

NOTE: breakage/failure of the timing belt for us = total engine destruction! no kidding

Seafoam now a great plan because car has low miles- probably was driven gently and now has loads of carbon buildup- plus the extra crud ethanol added gas leaves behind

Use a brand name gas- Tier1 quality- for best mpg and operation, Use only 91 octane or higher (if available)

next oil change do half can of seafoam in oil and drive 15 minutes to a week- change oil when warm

TacoBello

OP, just to let you know, not revving your engine is bad. Honda engines like to breath, and they don't start breathing until the RPMs start screaming.

If you consistently drive in low RPM range, you get carbon build up inside your engine. When you do happen to rev it up, that carbon then breaks free and is swimming around inside your engine. Depends on how much build up you have, there's a [small] chance of the carbon causing a valve to not fully close, causing it to burn out. That's not a good thing.

The best thing you can do is hit VTEC fairly often. Honest to God, you'll be doing more good for your engine than not getting the revs up. I know it seems counter intuitive, but believe any of us who've had multiple Hondas over the years, it's not a bad thing. Don't drive at 6k rpm, but shifting at redline is definitely ok.

Honda isn't stupid. Wherever the redline is on any particular engine, you can rest assured that the engine can actually rev safely past that. Honda likes to build in a good factor of safety with everything, and as such, hitting the redline is not bad at all. Keep your engine healthy, change your oil regularly and don't fret about revving it up!!

TacoBello

This man speaks the truth. Hitting VTEC once a month is NOT sufficient though. Those EGR passages won't come fully clean with a months' worth of steady driving and one VTEC pull.

I've owned a 1992 Civic Si, 2003 Accord V6 6MT, 1999 Civic SiR, 2005 TSX 6MT, and now a 2006 TL 6MT, and each one of those cars would see VTEC everyday, multiple times a day.

I sold my '92 civic with 250,000 miles on it, and I used VTEC on that thing everyday and the car ran like a champ when I sold it. None of my engines ever had issues.

Rev it. Rev it real good. It's what it's meant to do!

Skirmich

^ Though your naming pure manuals cars... With our AUTO transmission I would not suggest to REDLINE every day... Specially since 3rd gear Redline happens at +80mph so odds are you are Redlining 1st and 2nd which is not precisely good to the AUTO trans with its design problem.


Also Carbon Build up on the Valve Stem is not common if your driving with Premium Gas..
UNLESS Valves are un-adjusted which will cause a Valve to Burn more easily than anything else.

Jakes_tl

The first step to keeping your car running great for 12+ years is post some pictures on here!

Mimm.jeff

Hey guys, just called the Acura Dealership and found that my transmission was replaced in 2010 with Acura part# 06200p7wa87rm .

Can anyone speak to the reliability/specs of this new transmission? Does this tranny have the original problems solved?

thanks everyone!!

TacoBello

There's only one way to find out. Rev the car to 5000rpm in neutral, then drop it into drive. See what happens. Do this a few dozen times.

I kid, I kid. I'm not familiar with the autos, so I can't speak for them, however, I'd like to think that the transmission was replaced with a fixed one.

Skirmich

Hard to know what transmission is that because the Part # for the trans only Acura/Honda Knows it. We mortals call it by its full name B7WA. And the "Blue Bolts B7WA".

Mimm.jeff

yes, I was told by Acura that it was not replaced under recall, it was replaced because it was slipping. The service advisor said it would have been replaced with "Acura's latest and greatest in 2010"

Skirmich

Yah but that usually means its just a Blue Bolt B7WA.
IMO if you are really prone to keep the car for good, Start investing in a AV6 Transmission that isn't just "fixed" its a whole different design proven to be far more reliable.

TacoBello

^ And they just bolt up, don't they? No modifications needed, correct?

Skirmich

^ Yup! Completely Bolt-On no mods, no hassle.

3.2TLc

OR......ya can go for the ultimate swap: A CL-S 6 speed stick !!!

Skirmich

^ Also buy a Loto Ticket because you have the same chances of winning it as to find a CLS 6 Speedo trans these days.

3.2TLc

MarcDavidoff

Yeah that is actually good news that it was replaced in 2010.