Hi all, I have a 2003 Acura TL 3.2 with 165k miles. New tranny at 125k.
About 6 months ago, it started stuttering/lugging in 5th gear between 55 and 70 mph. The Check engine light would blink, and the TCS light would stay on. Since this started, I have:

had the valves adjusted
spark plugs changed
cleaned the EGR
replaced the ignition coils (myself)
replaced the ECU (myself - with a corresponding new ignition cylinder)

Now the problem has gotten worse - running rough in 2nd and 3rd gear too. The Check engine light still blinks, the TCS is on too.

Does anyone have any ideas? I've spent $1200 at the repair shop, and a couple hundred doing it myself.

Thanks so much for any and all ideas - I just don't feel like sinking much more into this car!

 

You have spent so much money on something that you need to diagnose first. You cannot go randomly replacing things expecting it to solve the problem. Learn how to diagnose. Or get a shop to diagnose the problem instead of letting them give you a big bill that did absolutely nothing.

did you do the coil check? pulling each coil checking for a change in rpm? How much of the egr did you clean?

Why would you adjust valves for the heck of it unless there is a noise?

The computer does not very often go bad. Why replace without knowing its bad? Waste of money. The original one is fine most likely.

Check your O2 sensors they can cause bad air mixture.

Did you put in correct NGK iridium plugs made for these engines? Cheap copper plugs dont cut it.

You can also have a problem with your transmission or torque converter. That is harder to diagnose. Any transmission codes?

 

^ I have to believe after all that was done...you had any possible codes pulled?
How's the trans fluid look? With the trans issues in these cars I would say that would be my first suspect

 

Thanks for the responses. I am not a mechanic - I took it to a reputable repair shop that specializes in Hondas and Acuras. They changed the plugs, then adjusted the valves, and cleaned the egr. None of that did anything - so the next suggestion was to replace the ignition coils, then if that didn't work, the ECU. I did those two myself when I realized it's a pretty simple job.

I'll look into the O2 sensor. @MarDavidoff - what should I be looking for regarding the transmission fluid? and it seems like the engine is the issue, not the transmission. Could it be the tranny causing the engine to sputter?

Thanks for all your help.

 

Find an auto parts store that offers to read the CEL and/or DTC at no charge.

And then repair accordingly or post it here if you need help.

 

Brian- as 01acls mentioned, have the codes pulled first. If you have an Advance Auto or Autozone they should do it for free. Start with that. The torque conv if going bad can cause a shuddering when cruising along but should stop if you give the car more gas

 

you replaced the egr valve without doing the full intake manifold egr path and port cleaning?
Rare is the failure of the egr valve itself, but clogged ports make for odd running problems

they used the correct 8 dollar each NGK plugs??
Honda shop may throw the 2 buck NGK in - as they would in a Honda