Hey guys before I start I just want to say I did a little searching on this subject before as I don't want to litter the forums with questions that have been answered in the past however I was having a hard time finding a situation that describes what I am experiencing exactly so I figured I wold just make a post about it...I currently live in Las Vegas,NV and we recently have started getting our summer weather which as you can imagine its pretty hot out the other day when going to pick up my girlfriend I had noticed that my car didn't feel normal before I bought my tl I had drove a Honda civic so since the day I bought it it has felt extremely quick and when I drove it then during the middle of the day with my outside temperature reading 109 degrees it didn't feel so quick at all I continued to attempt to get on it just trying to feel the car out and then eventually I gave up I couldn't tell if my head was just messing with me or not. Then after picking her up which was about 5 minutes away we headed to the mall about 10 minutes away from her work and when we got there when I had turned off the car I got out of it and I heard a noise coming from underneath the hood upon inspection I noticed that the radiator was boiling over and the little white part was shaking and vibrating like crazy which was the noise I heard. Later on after driving back home I filled the radiator up and made sure it was topped off then later on that night about 5 hours later after it had become dark and cooled down I left for work and being I had been used to how it drove earlier in that day slow when taking off I instantly noticed how much faster it had felt and that was what I remembered of this car, the next couple days this had continued as far as how it feels driving wether its day or night, day time it doesn't seen to quick, night time it feels fast again. Yet I have been closely monitoring the temperature guage in my car, and religiously checking under the hood of my car after each time driving it and I havnt had any problems with it boiling over then today when going to pick up my girlfriend again I drove 5 min away to her work and when I got there I shut off the car immediately got out and when I popped the hood I seen the little white piece next to the battery was slightly bubbling again however not nearly like it was the last time. Does anybody have any ideas on what this could be? Any help, any speculation anything that helps me get this fixed is much appreciated this is the only car for my family so I can't go without a vehicle so I am attempting to get this issue resolved as fast as possible while still doing some damage control thank you in advance

 

Hey UA4Project702, when was the last time that your '99 TL's cooling system was serviced ?

~ If it's been neglected for awhile, my suggestion would be to flush and fill the system with fresh coolant.
~ Install a genuine Honda 2 stage T-stat and a new rad cap at the same time. Check all the hoses and connections for leaks or problems.
~ After topping off the system, proper "burping" or purging air from the system is extremely important.
~Also, make sure that both of the cooling fans are operational. Maybe a lazy fan or bad ECT sensor ?

Should the problems persist after doing this, have the cooling system pressure checked for other potential issues. Good Luck, try the simple stuff first and check the "DIY" sticky for more pertinent info.

 

Well to be honest I'm not sure when the last time the cooling system was serviced because I just recently bought the car within the last few months. Okay thank you for the advice one quick question how would I know if both fans are working or not?

 

Turn the A/C on and look under the hood you should see both running. also check the cap, usually after an overheat situation they give up.

 

likely suspect will be fan sensor A, on 99 its located next to thermostat on top of engine
that's the driver side-primary cooling fan
bad sensor causes it to not run when you need it, like at stoplights, and run after car shutdown for 5-15 minutes
Normal operation that fan will run after shutdown briefly- 1-5 minutes and maybe a minute at lights, cycle a few times when sitting is normal

passenger side fan is ON with AC ON and as backup to main one in overheat situations

The TL temp gauge is not like your Honda- it should stay dead steady 1-2 lines below the half mark
any change of needle indication or failure to reach operating temp within 5 minutes of driving means an actual problem

There is no real performance difference night day 5000 feet or sea level if all is working right

the white thing- is that the overflow/coolant resivour bottle?

download a free owner book with lots on info you need to know about normal operation www.owners.acura.com need cars VIN number

poor running may be related to clogged egr passage in intake manifold and worn spark plugs
read thru the DIY section and scan the main thread list and in here in problems section for more info on how to fix your new baby

 

Ok so I had a little extra time today since its my day off and I went out and checked both fans after turning on the air conditioning and they both were running perfectly. Also @ 01tl4tl I have still yet to see the needle on the temperature guage leave the 2 needle under half mark I'm not sure it ever did to be honest, and yes the white thing I describes was the overflow coolant resivour as well just forgot the name for it. I understand that night and day shouldn't ever make a difference but we are talking of a difference where I live of 113 degrees on my cars thermometer and 85 at 10pm when I go to work I'm not sure what is going on but It has just almost felt laggy like it doesn't wanna go fast when I go to pass someone or whatever during the day and this just started happening recently just a few weeks ago I had never experienced this before in this car but the heat just went up to summer weather of 105+ every day and the only time its below that is night and from what I have seen everytime I drive it during the day it feels this way and everytime I drive it at night it feels normal. I'm no mechanic man but there must be something that could be wrong that this could make sense I'm no mechanic but I'm not crazy either but if this had no effect on something somewhere under my hood wouldn't it be a constant thing? Thanks again guys

 

the fan operation test is with normal siting at stoplight, does the driver side fan come on and off a few times for 30-60 seconds?
after shutdown and res was boiling was fan running?

the res bottle- inside its cap is a hose that likes to slip off- critical part!
ck the transfer hose from there to where it attaches to radiator
Are you losing coolant from rad?
are you refilling both rad and bottle then burping per book instruction with heater ON full hot?

remove a spark plug and inspect wear and condition
perform intake manifold cleaning of egr port and passage system

One device that really does help maintain lower intake air temps in high heat, Outlaw Engineering or P2R intake spacers around 100 dollars and work very well

 

I suppose i need to let it run longer and inspect further, cause I'm unsure when it was boiling I'm not sure if the fan was running either...the problem is this guy who owned it before didn't take the greatest car so god only knows what it could be when we get a lot of options. However I didn't do all that to burp it either no. However I'm about to go order all the parts that could make the difference here and check the fans a little longer and see if anything changes. But I have been meaning to get some New spark plugs anyways I'm not gonna lie I'm used to having help with this kinda stuff, or rather my cousin would just do it and show me but I'm really trying to make an attempt to use these forums for knowledge and to learn and do it just by myself and that's why I appreciate all advice from everyone on these forums anyways will do thanks again 01tl4tl

 

a new HONDA brand thermostat from dealer and radiator cap
New NGK Iridium spark plugs, came stock in the 99, about 8 bucks each- don't try to scrimp here- get the right plugs

the temp gauge should have pegged hot if the res bottle boiled
Does it start at cold and come up to operating temp in a few minutes?

Burping-MUST have heater on hot -have cabin fan on too- see that owner book for exact procedure for your year
Leaving air in system can cause a bubble at thermostat, so it doesn't operate correctly and a 99 has its temp sensors at the thermo housing....

Also look at water pump from underneath, odd whitesh trail on its bottom side? = failed seal = water pump and timing belt time
Ck the bolts on timing belt covers, any signs they have been touched by human wrench? - meaning tbelt may or may not have been replaced and that's when you do the water pump
trying to narrow down list of possibles for you,,to the probable~

 

If ordering OE parts, ck our sponsoring dealers- see list at top of main page
call and make sure you get the azine discount~

We have many ziners in the Vegas area, ck Regions link to find someone who can help
Its not a problem to educate,,we wouldn't be on here if it was!

 

Yeah for sure every part I replace on this car I'm gonna make sure I spend the little extra money for quality, also I never seen it go up at all but I suppose its possible its just because I wast really looking before this happened however after it happened I let it cool down for about a half an hour but I was at the mall and had to get home and I watched the temp guage the entire time on the way home and it never went up not even a little bit and yeah I turn my car on and maybe 45 seconds later the needle goes up to 2 lines below half. Also I'll make sure to go check underneath it today however it is very possible this could be the water pump as well as I took it to the acura dealership the day after I bought it they told me it appears the timing belt/water pump has never been changed I was shocked as its at 130,000 miles I would have it done by now but my problem is I don't know anyone who can help me do it and I'm not about to attempt a timing belt by myself. And for the price they are quoting me 1200 bucks I can just get a new engine with 50,000 miles on it. I did check into the regionals a little while back nobody ever got back to me I'll have to keep checking also I will check out the sponsor dealers

 

tbelt wasn't scheduled till 107kmiles /7 years and many on here are running around with more than 130 on it but a 99 is way overdue
expect cooling problems from failed wp!!!
Wanna bet the coolants never been changed, same with spark plugs etc

yes if your tbelt breaks and bends the valves, you can get a used engine and install new tbelt wp parts with it on the stand, but its still $250-350 worth of parts

the temp gauge itself - you are saying it goes from cold to operating temp 45 seconds?
sounds like trapped air, bad sensors maybe fan A and actual temp gauge sender
which may be related to air in system. have to resolve that first

 

Yeah but a lot of these engines being sold with 50,000 miles 60,000 miles doesn't it make sense to drop in a engine that's gonna last longer even if it ends up costing me a few hundred bucks more? 45 seconds maybe less its literally I turn on my car and a few seconds later it jumps to 2 lines under half.

 

I don't know all I know is I see these engines going for less than half of the 1200 the acura dealership wants and it seems worth thinking about but the problem is even though your right it is about 300 in parts which makes it worth it the timing belt isn't something I should be touching by myself man

 

Not that it adds anything to this thread, but you mentioned 99 tls having iridium plugs as original equipment. I'm reasonably certain that the first acura to have iridium plugs was the rsx in 02, the cl with manual trans in 03, along with the 03mdx. Every 99 tl that I've seen came with double platinums as indicated on the underhood sticker.

 

What kind would you recommend I buy? I do have a budget but I'm just trying to do the best I can to get this thing running so price doesn't matter. Also as far as timing belt water pump I can buy the kit to do it right now that isn't the problem. It's just has anyone ever heard of someone who has never done a timing belt+water pump combo attempting to do it themselves and having some success? I have a friend I met down here a couple months back who said he would do it at his shop but even that scares me cause I don't know him that well

 

Over the years, improvements in technology have made their way to spark plugs also. This is for lasting performance durability purposes in today's highly advanced motors. You can use any of the NGK's, the choice is yours.....platinum or iridium.

Check the "DIY"s for common issues. The single most important thing is to make sure that the TB intake, EGR passageways, IAC etc are cleaned of carbon build up. Then run a fuel system cleaner such as Seafoam through the next tank of gas. Inspect the electrical grounds and vac lines. Flush and update the cooling system's vital stuff. Replace filters, pcv valve and plugs to optimize runability after doing the basic cleaning.

PS: Just a side note, with your local temps reaching well over 100 degrees.....the motor will come up to operating temp very quickly. Do all the simple easy and cheap stuff before deciding on a T-belt or "newer" motor. Ya may be pleasantly surprised what a little bit of time and effort may yield.

 

Well hey before I start doing all this stuff I just have one more question right quick I intend to replace all that stuff anyways just for the sake of it being an older car I want to keep for a long period of time. But today I just drove it because I had no other choice my outdoor thermometer was reading 113 degrees outside and the place I was going was about 15 minutes away and literally about a block away from my destination I saw the needle on the temperature guage inside my car start to climb above half as I was monitoring it closing my first instinct was to quickly pull over and turn on my air conditioning and as soon as I turned off the ac even before I pulled over the needle instantly went back down to operating temp, I let my car cool off for about 15-20 minutes and on then drove home on the ride back I kept the air conditioning off the entire time. And even had a few moments in traffic I definitely took more time getting home than going there and the needle didn't spike once It remained at operating temp the entire way there, now that I think back on it everytime and the only time this has ever happened I have had my ac blasting does this tell anyone here anything? I know you can't see it but in hoping maybe this will give me a clear idea of what first needs to be replaced thanks again guys

 

I think you have a temp gauge sensor issue- should take more than 45 seconds from cold to come to temp
turning Ac on is not the way to cool off an overheat car- you turn Heat on- that opens a mini radiator with some cold coolant in it to add to the flow
Do not turn engine off- it needs the flow of coolant and fan to cool off

yes ac on is supposed to turn on pass side fan- but maybe yours is not
doing it at the correct time? all the time ac is on
that fan may be failing or its sensor
spin fan by hand= ck for stiffness or looseness of spin

if that fan is not working right, or there is major crud on ac condenser exterior, will cause the overheat you described

 

We'll early this morning I did a cold start and kept track ans it was about a couple minutes, however after that sometimes around 40 seconds... Also I turned the ac off and the temperature guage instantly dropped down. I had it on before this happened, I thought it might make it easier on the engine. So if I check the fan and it spins just fine move on to the sensor you think?

 

Even though the fans appear to spin freely and activate, it's possible that the fan's motor is dying and not providing fully effective operation. They do wear out, sometimes slowly !!!

 

AC adds load to the engine and dumps HEAT directly in front of the engine radiator!
that's opposite of helping in a running hot situation

2 minutes driving to reach temp is normal

make sure the driver side fan is working as described before- on and off while at light or sitting in driveway when warm it should cycle without the gauge moving up or down
It catches trends basically

next would be that pass side fan is not working right, if its spinning but not pulling air thru the radiator, its not helping
Which could be fan itself (likely) or sensor

Fan failure is a popular item, recent threads found other Honda models fit the TL, from auto dismantlers

NOTE the fans are not the same to each other

 

Two problems, more like bad rad cap. when you have low pressure, it allows coolant to boil sooner on low temperature, also releases boiling coolant to the reservoir easier.

1. Bad radiator cap
2. Bad radiator sensor or radiator fan

 

Just giving a little update I filled the radiator and the resivour up with more water making sure it was topped off and i properly burped the system i havnt had a problem in about a week, I am in the process of replacing the rad cap and the thermometer later this week. Thanks again everybody for all the help and advice, not so sure I would be able to correct problems like I have by myself without Acurazine!