SarahSTAR401

I have a 2000 Acura TL with 103,3xx miles on it so for the past 3 weeks my car has been acting up. It has a light smell of gas and the check engine light is on.

took the car to get the code read and it came back as p1456.
the car is shaking and starts roughly and then sometimes when i drive the car it feels like the gas gets cut off and i really have to push the gas pedal to get the gas through.

could the purge solenoid be the problem or is it something else? I already replaced gas cap.
Any advice would be appreciated!

fsttyms1

I would check the EVAP canister. Sounds like a Evap emission control system leak. Its the Black Shoe Box sixed unit near the area of the drivers side rear tire.

SarahSTAR401

Thank you for your suggestion i ordered a new purge solenoid anyways so if that doesnt work ill try the canister next. Previous owners were not very nice to this car repair wise.

SarahSTAR401

What am i looking for when i check this box? how would i know its not working?

fsttyms1

In order to check it you would need a vacuum/pressure gauge.

Dont just start blindly buying parts. You really need to find a mechanic you trust and bring the car to them to diagnose.

01tl4tl

look in the phone book under `auto repair` for a smaller ad- private owner type shop that says honda/acura in the ad

Ask people with tricked out hondas-they are often techs,, or know a shop

ck www.angieslist.com for shops with good comments

codes are CLUES not a diagnosis in itself
with fuel smell you have an evap system prob somewhere--was the cap seal cracked or replaced just in case?
you are turning the cap until at least 3 clicks when closing, right? (not because you're a girl)

or an actual fuel leak under the hood- have you ck'd around with engine running and with it off, any differance when fuel system is pressurized/running

whats the current mileage on car?
ckd a spark plug to see if ever replaced?

01tl4tl

if you post your city in a thread -put in your avatar,
or just go to the Regions link at top of pages
that area is for posting local ziner meets/gatherings, you can find someone in there to come help you
Ziners are great people

SarahSTAR401

mileage on car is about 103,3xx and i just change spark plugs and pcv valve a couple weeks ago. I have bought a new gas cap about 2 months ago and always screw it on three clicks. No i havent checked the hood with it running because i dont really know that much of what to look for although i would like to learn.

01tl4tl

exactly what spark plugs did you install- it makes a huge differance in how the car runs

SarahSTAR401

Honestly i dont know nkg? I just went to autozone and told em my info and they gave me plugs.

01tl4tl

were they about 8 bucks each? ~50 for the set of 6?
those would be the correct ones, NGK Iridium , or NGK Platinum

If they sold you some 2 buck each plugs `because the book says they fit`
and they are not the approved denso or preferred NGK brand..
then its got the wrong plugs and must be changed immedialty before proceeding further!!

Wrong plugs may be essentially melted and not firing well enoug to burn the fuel - there is your smell...poor running, funny codes,,,

start there- remove a front plug to see what they are
Note- the coils shold be treated like grandmas fine china,,fragile!! when setting them down
make sure each coils electrical connect is clean and fully seated when done

SarahSTAR401

wow okay yeah the plugs were cheap cost me 25 for all plus PCv valve. And now that u mention that it did start after I changed them. Grrr. Creaking autozone man but then again I didn't know either. So which one do u think is better platinum? Or iridium?

01tl4tl

platinum was stock and most of us go to the upgrade NGK Iridium or NGK Iridium IX
irids come stock in gen3--fine for us to use
in fact plats are more expensive than irids!!

take them back and demand a refund for selling you crap parts

my.daily'tl'

Yeah thats whats the autozone guy told me when I asked for iridium. "Double platinum is stock." No thank you. I think we're the only ones that know about the iridium plugs.

SarahSTAR401

Thanks a lot guys I am going to go buy them right now! Hopefully this fixes my shaking car

01tl4tl

reset the ECU after plug install to clear any codes and start fresh

pull the CLOCK fuse on passenger end of dash for 1 minute and reinsert
thts the secret backup power to the ECU and forces a master reset/relearn

buy a can of seafoam and add to 1/2 tank of gas- that will clean carbon buildup
which messes up the running

SarahSTAR401

Okay so if i guy spark plugs from autozone do i have to gap them myself? I asked someone from autozone and she said to gap them. Question is what is gapping? and what is the gap that i need for my car?

01tl4tl

quit listening to those people and stick with us!!

as long as the protective sleeve is on the end of the spark plug- its pre-gapped at the factory

ours actually have such a fine wire electrode you are more likely to screw it up than do anything good for it
It the end doesnt look level,,looks bent down,,different than the rest,,
take back to the store
there have been 2 cases I know of in 5 years on here- where a plug was gapped wrong- probably damaged in owner hands but they wont admit it~
again visual will tell you if something is amiss

gap is the distance between the center electrode and the other bar part, measured at center of plug tip- it determines plug firing parameters

SarahSTAR401

Okay just asking i didnt touch it lol. Just too many people trying to tell me stuff trying to sort it out.

05TSXPAT

iTrader: (6)

You have two of the most knowledgeable people with our cars answering your questions. (01tl4tl and fsttyms1)

I would listen to their recommendations over the $6.25 an hour gal from Autozone that takes public transportation to get to work anytime. Just my

P.

01tl4tl

and I always defer to fsstyms1, (fast times WON)
he has torn his car apart more than you would ever want to,,so actual parts locations and systems are his area, plus nearly half a million miles on his TL!
fries2000 is well educated and currently works as tech--good source to verify with.
there are a few others who hang out regular-

ask the parts person- do you OWN a TL and put these in your car? No you say?
then dont talk to me about whats good = according to your computer-
that was programmed by someone who doesnt know...

just give me the ngk plugs and a can of seafoam please!

00RubieTL

I am also having the strong gas smell, but no CEL light. I'll asked a friend who works at a shop to take a look at the canister. Ill keep you posted.

KingerNS

I have the exact problem but the gas smell is getting worse. I founf the replace the EVAP canister DIY on this forum, does anyone know if the canister / stop valve fouling would cause the gas smell? Wanna be sure before I buy the parts