Anytime I hit a pothole or after driving for a while my TCS light comes on. Does anyone have this problem? Any solutions? my car is out of warranty so a trip to Acura Dealer would be costly. Thanks

 

Get the car scanned at an Autozone, or some other place for free. It could be as simple as an ABS speed sensor that's come lose or is damaged.

 

Its supposed to... That means it working.

 

Not that simple - what type of pothole are you hitting - size? depth? Speed of travel? Do you feel you are losing traction? TCS will come on when you are losing traction.

As the light goes away afterwards then yes it's working as it is suppose - however additional information is needed to help you out....

OR you can go to autozone pepboys etc to see what error code comes up!

Or you could have a combination of issues 1) TCS is working as it should 2) you have a loose sensor....

 

the TCS on the TL is a joke

Now on to answering. What year do you have? How fast are you going when this happens? is it posible that teh wheel spun or slipped a little?

 

It only works up to what, 18mph, and it can't seem to control wheelspin anyway.

 

Yup like i said a joke. It causes more problems trying to take off in snow than it does good, And doesnt work on places where it would be reall handy like OH SAY THE HWY. The unit in the GM cars is 100x better.

 

I get one of the lights pop up when I hit certain bumps in my area (and I do feel it slip). Not sure if it's the TCS or the VSA....never really read up on it. This is my first car with any type of "assistance"....kind of a weird novelty.

 

For any TCS to work worth a damn needs drive by wire to allow the computer to ease off the throttle and apply the brakes as required.

 

Not true at all. the system in my dads ol aurora and caddy worked awsome. You could stand on the gass pedal on a snow covered road and teh car woudl just plain go. The TL well you would get stuck. His old cars woked on the HWY where its most usefull, The TL, well only up to 18 Who teh HELL drives 18 mph and needs TCS???????

 

That's what the TL's second throttle valve is for.

 

The last comment was said with such enthusiasm... I'm cracking up over here.

 

Well its true isnt it

 

 

I totally agree, I usually just end up turning the TCS off if I am driving in the snow, plus if I thought it was a good idea to drive around with the brakes on, I can do that my self!

 

I'm not sure what your calling a second throttle valve but there is only one throttle valve on my TL-P. To aid in slowing the engine down, the TCS control unit sends an engine retard signal to the PCM. Because the computer doesn't have control of the throttle may be the reason why Acura only provides a low speed traction control system.

I would like to know how GM is handling traction control without a drive by wire system.

 

Hmm - that may be a TL-S/VSA only feature. I wasn't sure if the TL-P had one.

The TL-S has a second throttle plate in front of the actual throttle which is actuated as part of the VSA system to "let off the gas".

My point was that it was a way of having that type of system without drive-by-wire.

 

Yeah - I guess it's a TL-S/VSA only thing. Here's a picture of the setup:



The VSA throttle is item 9.

 

Yep, only the Type-S came with the secondary throttle body for VSA operations. Premium's TCS cuts off fuel delivery, whereas Type-S' VSA cuts off air delivery.

 

Are we sure that the TL-P's can cut fuel? My 02 TL-P seems to ONLY modulate the brakes. I can floor it on a slick surface and it will feel like ABS working till 18mph and then TCS will cut off, leaving the car to spin freely. It does not seem to be able to control the throttle at all.

Edit: My 05 Accord EX-V6 TCS is a different experience. Its engine bogs down when TCS activates, and I can actually feel it cutting the throttle.

 

The TCS on my TL-P operates like you described. I'm not sure if the TL-P cuts the fuel or retards the ignition. It seems like it retards the ignition. The only useful part of the TL-P TCS is the light comes on which alerts me to let off of the throttle.

I suspect that since the TL-S cuts off the air, the traction control control works better.

 

The manual says TCS will pulse the brakes on the offending wheel...it's only meant to assist you when accelerating from a stop or going up a steep hill in snow/ice/gravel (in which they expect you to be driving slow).

 

I thought I read somewhere it cut off fuel, but maybe not.

 

I think it does cut the ignition some when the brakes cant keep it under control I know mine will really bog down when wheel spin is excessive

 

I don't think mine cuts the fuel because the wheels just keep spinning with TCS active until I let off the gas. Maybe it's different between the years...I have an 01

 

My 2002 definitely only brakes the wheels, it does not cut the ignition/air/fuel or anything. It can't control wheelspin and finally just gives up. My Accord, on the other hand, has drive-by-wire and if the tires start spinning out of control and the brakes can't control it, it feels like the engine shuts off.

 

Looking through my Acura service manual it appears there are two different types of systems.

The TL-P utilizes the ABS/TCS control unit to send a brake signal to the modulator unit which applies brake pressure to slow the spinning wheel, and at the same time a engine retard signal (if necessary) to the PCM to prevent damage to the transmission. Apparently the transmission is capable of damaging itself.
Note the engine retard signal is only sent if damage to the transmission is possible.

The TL-S utilizes the VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) control unit to send a brake signal to the modulator unit which applies brake pressure to slow the spinning wheel, and at the same time a traction control signal is sent to reduce engine power via the TCS control valve (second throttle). The VSA also has more sensors such as a wheel sensor, steering angle sensor, lateral acceleration sensor and yaw rate sensor. So it is capable of oversteer and understeer control as well as low speed traction.

 

No kidding! It does that just by shifting.

 

My 02 TLS has had the VSA light come on when I am less than smooth with the throttle off a light. I assume it is sensing impending wheel spin, because I never lose traction. Wierd.

 

well not that you know of. All it takes is for the sensor to detect that one of the front wheels is spinning at a slightly faster rate than the rears (something that you wouldnt always be able to tell)

 

That makes sense, because it only happens for a split second.