spl311

I have a 2001 TL with ~66k miles on it that I purchased a few months ago. It has an annoying stumble or stutter that can be felt while cruising on the freeway. If I punch it, the stumble goes away. Has anyone seen this before, and what's the fix?

2001TL4KCdude

Is the stutter from the tire alignment or from the engine?

If it is a stumble from the tires it would seem like an alignment or tire replacement/rotation that may be needed

If it is from the engine, try this:
get a 91 octane of gas, pour in an STP (or other brand) of fuel injection cleaner
drive in SS mode thru all 5 gears, switching them up and down (ie city driving)
the cleaner will remove any debris that is clogging your fuel injectors.

Good luck

spl311

Thanks for the reply. I used a bottle of fuel injection cleaner once but if that is the problem it's probably too much for that little bottle of solvent to clear. I guess more than anything I'm wondering if this could be a symptom of a transmission problem.

I don't think it's tires because it only happens under partial throttle, is very noticeable, and goes away completely when I'm accelerating rather than maintaining speed.

bigman

could be the torque converter screwing up locking and unlocking.

mdavisii

Finally someone besides me experiences the same issue!
What you are feeling is DEFINITELY the torque converter. Mine has been doing the exact same thing for a while, even before I had my transmission replaced. After I got my tranny replaced I thought the problem would be gone. I took it back to the dealer, they test drive and tell me "It's the lockup torque converter trying to ride the D4". So I'm thinking geez, my Galant doesn't do anything like this (it's smooth as butter). Between the AC compressor jerking the car every minute or so, and the torque converter toggling back and forth while cruising the highway, the ride can become a bit jerky at times. Real nice for a $30,000 car. I don't hear anyone ever talk about this issue, I am curious to know if anyone else is experiencing this. I don't know if I should fuss with the dealer to get this corrected, or if it is truly a characteristic of this car. I have basically come to accept it for what it is.

spl311

If I have time, I'll stop by the dealer tomorrow. I'll let you know what they say.

2002TLSNavi

I also have a similar problem on my 02 type S. I've got about 61k miles on it now (replaced tranny around 38k). It had that little stutter problem with both trannys. I just chalked it up to 'normal' operation for the car. I'm also pretty sure it is just the torque converter going in and out of lockup. Not quite sure why it would do that on a flat road with constant throttle input, but it's not something I can reproduce on demand and thus never bothered to bring up with the dealership. And now of course I'm well out of warranty, so it's a moot point. But any information anyone can come up with is appreciated, especially if this is not normal operation. Also does anyone know if the torque converter is replaced as part of the tranny swap or are they two separate units?

Dave

mdavisii

Good deal. I am anxiously awaiting to hear a second opinion from a dealer in regards to this. Thanks in advance!

mdavisii

I believe this is a separate component that connects with the tranny, someone please correct me if I am wrong.

spl311

I have an appt. for tomorrow to look at this and for the tranny inspection notice thing.

spl311

Quick update. I haven't picked up my car yet but they told me that (a) my transmission is fine so I'm getting the oil spray thing, (b) my torque converter is fine, and (c) I have a broken motor mount which is probably causing the symptoms I'm experiencing, $276 parts and labor to repair. I love the (non-Acura) dealership I bought this car from only four months ago...

I guess I'll find out for sure if this fixes my symptoms when I pick it up in a couple of hours.

mdavisii

Thanks for the update.
Let us know if the mount solves your problem. I had one mount replaced with my new transmission, but I still get the stutters.

spl311

Sadly, no. It fixed a clunk I felt when starting the car but the stumble still remains. Oh well...

bigman

also check your spark plugs for an compression leaks, check your air filter and fuel filter. Keep looking till you find it.

TLs2003

Had the similar annoying problem with my 2003TLS with only 14k miles, and 3 weeks later my check engine, VSA warning lights all came on. The dealer replaced a 6 fuel injectors and it seems fine so far.

jonm6

I have a 2001 TL with this same problem. The dealer has not been able to fix the problem yet. Has anyone had this resolved? What was the problem?

Thanks

TLs2003

My 2003 TL-S now has about 17Kmiles now and is running just fine, so I guess that the problem were the set of 6 fuel injuctors that the dealer replaced under the warranty. And I was also UNOFFICIALLY told by one of the service tech at the dealership that they think the problem may actually be the using of PREMIUM fuel. So they recommended me to start to use the MID-Grade/Plus fuel instead of Premium or the same problem may also happen to the new fuel injectors. I have be using Mobil Plus which I think is @ 89-oct and so far no problem and not noticing any major decrease in performance.