TheGoodGuy

Mileage: 618xx
Car: TSX 2009 5A Tech

Conditions: Hot 90F+ weather, AC on full. Driving on city streets (normal traffic).

Well I am not sure what happened. On the way home from work it was running fine , the last mile or so the engine RPM kept bouncing off the low point (stalling) at idle (at the lights) I had the AC on so when I got closer to home I turned that off. As I was pulling into my underground parking lot (two sets of gates, one main and one garage gate), I noticed it was doing that even more, so i turned off the music but then heard a loud screeching noise and I thought i didnt turn off the music but it was off and then I saw smoke. Called the dealer right away, he asked me to start it up and withing 5 seconds it screeched with smoke. Its got coolant in it and its been maintained. It made some sort of a hissing sound. I couldnt tell exactly where the smoke was coming from but it was somewhere in the back area. The front stabilizer bar has smoke like 'steam dust' on it.

A neighbour helped me push it into my spot. Its being towed to the dealer tomorrow.

Its done the low RPM thing once before, a few months back. I was driving to work, approached a light under braking, the RPM's dropped it almost stalled and then bounced back up..

So the question is. Should I dump it for a 2011? Or go something else/ I've had loads of trouble with my 2009.. ugh!

TSXy Luster

was it new when you bought it? Lemon Law?

TheGoodGuy

yup with 4 miles on the clock..

I have had issues with the brakes, speakers, pinging, you know the usual stuff that everyone who has a 2009 has had.

DerwoodEE

I have a 2009 and haven't had many issues. Had the rear brakes replaced under the class action lawsuit, but that's it.

VortexBlueTSX

Ive had a 2009...well since 2009 have about 46000 on the clock and only problems i had were the brakes and the speakers, both replaced with aftermarket at about 20k havent had a problem since

TheGoodGuy

I guess I am the trail blazing person here, with 61K miles on it. I do remember being the first one to complain about the brakes at 13K.

So who knows if the 2009 has issues that I am seeing before you guys. By the way keep an eye on teh transmission fluid, i had to change mine 3x at 35K.

ttk5

You probably just got unlucky with your tsx. I think someone said once that out of production, 6/10 of tsxs are normal, 2/10 better than normal, 2/10 worse than normal. Something like that.

SSFTSX

I dont fully understand. if you have 61K miles it means ur doing mostly freeway miles. and in that case brakes should last long time.
i am 70 city/30 freeway with 27K miles with original brake pads. no transmission fluid change. and i highly doubt ur TSX has seen this.

its rayden

just wait to see what the dealer says. it sounds like no one on this thread can help you.

MCDavis

Stepping out on a limb...but maybe a blown head gasket? Or a crack in the block somewhere.

Was it spitting coolant and oil?

nj2pa2nc

I think the lemon law no longer can be used. There are certain rules that have to be followed. I think 3 times with the same problem (safety related, not rattles, squeaks, etc) within a certain period (the first 18 months) and the dealer has to be able to try to fix it.

ceb

Lemon laws vary by state. On first blush, it doesn't appear as if his issues fall under the lemon law - but - if the OP has a record of his issues and some appear serious or connected, then he can contact a lemon lawyer and talk to them. The initial consult is generally free.

godfather2

keep us posted and good luck

TheGoodGuy

Well it took a long time of idling before the problem showed up at the dealership. I think once the ambient air temp came up, the problem manifested itself.

They said the AC relay was not working but also that there is a problem with the pressure building in the AC system until it released pressure out of the emergency valve or something.

They have to evacuate the whole system and rebuild it after replacing a few valves.

There are no IAC and vacuum problems, it was the AC compressor adding extra strain on the engine at idle that was making it bounce and almost die at idle.

They estimate about 450 to fix it.

MCDavis

Well that's good news. A lot better than something potentially fatal.

Had you noticed the A/C functioning any different?

TheGoodGuy

Nope it was running fine, yesterday when I got into the car outside ambient temp was 95F, it was set at 70F inside, it was cooling no problems.. I could feel the compressor kick on and off initially, but later with the rpm drop not all that much.

This morning it was clicking on and off normally at the dealer until I was there, it blew its top after I left for work.

K100Fran

Frustrating, but much better than a head gasket or cracked block.

tvac

It being an '09 and not that far off warranty I'd try a little friendly bitch'n and see if Acura will pickup some that repair cost.

ressling

as others mentioned it seems like the issue is not as severe as initially suspected, so cheers to that.

FWIW, I have an '09 w/ 19k on the odometer and have yet to have a single issue. I think I've invested all of about $200 in maintenance costs into my ride

ceb

Correct. Honda is actually quite good at that, so give them a call. The number is in the back of your owner's manual.

09TSXTech

Great to hear the problem is not fatal. Agreed with other readers, talk to the service advisor or contact the local Acura rep and try to have that repair under goodwill.

FWIW, my car has 54K miles and no problem with the A/C.