Hi All,

Wondering if anyone is experiencing the same problem I have been having with my car. Basically the car drives slow, like it has no power. When accelerate, the car just slowly picks up in speed, it just crawls. It does whether I am on the local street or highway. I litterly have to push the peddle midway or all the way to the floor before it will kick in and move. Even a ford focus has taken off faster leaving me in the dust at a traffice light. The weird thing is I can't tell if its the transmission, or someting eletronic. I say that because when I try to accelerate I can hear the engine like its working hard, and I have seen it where the RPM's will increase,but the speedometer just moves up slowly. On the other hand when I adjust my seat down to low or to high, the engine sometimes has a higher pitch to it when I accelerate. Its like I have find the perfect spot to make it sound quieter. At the same time, it eats up gas like crazy. I have seen it where I drove 27 miles ONE WAY, and it will have used up almost 1/4 tank. I have taken it to the dealer 3 times and they the car drives fine. There are no codes reported on the display.
Is it possible if the transmission fluid was dirty, would this cause loss of power.

I'm thinking of trading it for another, but wanted to check with you experts before I do.

Any ideas?


Thanks,

Gman_46

 

trade it

no reallly it sounds like you need to have a reputable mechanic take it for a spin

 

It sounds like OP gman's car is in limp mode-- any CEL/MIL/dash lights/trouble indicators on? If so, the code should be pulled to assess the problem.

 

Yes, I am definitely on the fence of trading it. There are no CEL/MIL/dash lights/trouble indicators on.
Cleaned out my stuff today. Been looking around for another one. Guess I will chalk this one up as a bad pick, and pray I don't pick another bad one. Sucks.

Thanks Guys

 

How many miles are on the car? You may want to try resetting the ECU first, the car adapts to the way you drive. To reset it, put the key in the 2nd position (lights on but motor off) and press the gas pedal to the floor for 30 seconds. Release and turn the ignition off, then turn the car on. Drive around like you stole it and it should be good!

Also if you are close to a 30K interval (30, 60, 90, 120) you probably will need to replace the Engine Air filter. As well if you are around 60K or higher, new spark plugs are a good investment. If you have over 15K, it might be a good idea to try using some seafoam. As well are you filling up with premium fuel?

 

It has approximately 78K miles. I will try resetting the ECU, new spark plugs, Air Filter.
To be honest I switch between regular and premium gas. It drives the same with premium gas.
One of the mechanics at the Acura Dealership told me it was okay run regular in the car, but to use premium ocassionally.

The car has driven this way since I bought last year. I thought it was just normal at first, then just ONE day, I experienced the power it is truly supposed to have. I was like WOW,this is awesome. But after that day, it went back to driving slow. I only experience the true power one other time, and its been driving slow since. Going up hills is just horrid. I can hear the engine like it was 3 or 4 cylinder.

What does seafoam do? I read somewhere on a post forum on the internet seafoam hurts

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

There's your problem!!!!! You run regular in the car. The TL has a high compression motor 11:1 compression! With this high of a ratio, running regular will cause it to knock, however the car will have to retard the timing considerably to stop the knocking. This causes a big reduction in power, and as well the car will run rough and the spark plugs will foul up faster. Use premium only, it's better for your car and your pocket as the TL gets 3-4 better MPG on premium fuel. Its hurting your pocket and your car in the short and long terms if you use regular. DONT USE IT!!!!!

This mechanic you talked to probably though you were referring to an older TL which has a lower compression ratio. Many older acura's can get away with regular, however anything newer the 2003 requires premium, not recommend, REQUIRE!

 

Agreed. It's the octane. Run the highest octane you can find and the problem will go away. On less than 91, I have to give mine nearly half throttle just to keep up with traffic from a redlight. Gas mileage gets cut by nearly half in the process.

If you have the option, throw a gallon of xylene or tolulene in with the premium to get it up to power quicker. You won't believe the difference.

In case you didn't realize, 87 is only an option if you're caught in the middle of nowhere and there's no 91+ available.

 

Ok. Points well taken. Will use premium only, and a can of xylene.

One thing if forgot to mention. I also feal some weird vibration when I accelerate from start off through 1 and 2nd gear, sometimes 3rd. Its an automatic transmission. Feels like it coming from the left side more towards the middle of the engine. To me, it feels like transmission, but hard to tell.

 

At a red-light, keep your foot on the brake and the car in drive. Now put your hand on your shifter, any vibration? If yes, put the car in neutral, is it gone? If yes, then your motor mounts need to be changed since they are probably worn out. These mounts have a rubber base to them (one of them is fluid filled) that help reduce vibrations.

 

I would reset ECU as stated and check those plugs after changing your fueling habits

 

Update,

I have change the transmission fluid (did a drain and refill twice), and engine oil. I reset the ECU per the excellent instructions, and pumped in premium gas. The car does seem to run better, smoother, and with a little more power, but for some reason, it still doesn't have the power I once felt or know TL's have. I swear, i'm driving on the highway, and I push the gas moderately, and it still just crawls. It just doesn't accelerate proportionate the amount of gas you give. If that make any sense.
As far as the vibration, even that has subsided, but i can still feel it slightly, and it only happens when I accelerate. Just feels like transmission to me. When at idle, it idle's smooth in drive position or neutral.

My next step is to replace the sparks plugs. I was thinking of going with Autolite XP Iridiums.

 

I would think if it was anything related to the drive by wire system you would have a CEL light on and the car would be in limp mode as previously mentioned

Does anythink it could be a cat problem ? (just throwing it out there)

 

This mod works - Jack up the radiator cap and drive a new TL under it. Just kidding... good luck

 

I would think if it was anything related to the drive by wire system you would have a CEL light on and the car would be in limp mode as previously mentioned


Yes, I would agree, but no lights or codes showing.

 

I would only hope it would set a code. Mine is acting crazy lately and I just found today that when applying the throttle slowly and steadily from idle to ~50%, the throttle blade in the TB is doing a belly dance bouncing wildly. once it gets over 50%, it's smooth as glass all the way to WOT. Exactly what I feel on the road. Accelerating is staggered and slow, and cruise is not steady. It's hard to hold a set speed, but the cruise control handles it just fine.

So I wouldn't say that it would for sure set a DTC or cause limp mode. Although, when the APP sensor goes bad, most people do get the limp mode and the trio of lights. I think mine is not failed, but giving false readings causing the TB motor to bounce. The system thinks that my foot is commanding those wild actions, so it's just doing what it's told.

 

How do you know this? Unless you watched the TB with the car on the dyno, it's a guess. Likely what you're feeling is the computer taking timing out and putting it back in causing a surging feeling. This is due to knock and insufficient octane. I'm not saying you're not using premium but these TLs seem to require more than 91 octane unfortunately.

 

agree, sounds like surging.

 

yeah, surging. I agree too, and that's exactly what I'm chasing. I wonder if one of you guy could do me a little favor and tell me if this is normal :

I removed the intake hose from the front of the TB. I removed the cover from the APP sensor so that I could actuate the throttle from under the hood. Turned the key to "ON" but don't start the engine. While staring at the TB blade, I slowly move the throttle cable-drum. For the first 40-50%, the throttle blade is bouncing wildly and not at all steady. After ~50%, it smooths out and follows the throtte movement very linearly all the way to WOT. I have personally NEVER put anything other than premuim in my car. NEVER. Not even in a pinch. And no one drives my car but me. So in the last 35k miles, it has had the proper fuel.

Anyway, I have another thread going about this issue, and I am really leaning toward a bad APP sensor. But I don't want to order one until I find out if the spastic TB blade is normal. Could one of you guys pull those two small parts and see what yours does? It takes a 10mm socket on an extension and maybe something to pry the intake hose from the air box (unless you have CAI). Please. I would be really interested in seeing what other people's cars do. Preferably not a car with the same surging as mine, though.

 

Interesting. I'll try it today when I get home. I agree, it does sound like a bad sensor if the second half of it's travel is smooth but who knows what the programmers might have done. I'll let you know what I find.

 

I'd realllllly appreciate it. I agree, there's no telling about the code. I wish this was like my '7730 ecm in the Blazer. That code is open source, so you can see (and modify) anything you want. AND it's all well hacked so we know what all those Hex. numbers mean. Toss in a replacable eeprom and it's all yours to mod.
I'm afraid that others are going to see the same thing I do. I hope not, but I can imagine the engineers thinking that varying the throttle when I want it smooth would be fun. If this is the case, it may open a whole new project. I'm thinking Motec or even a MegaSquirt....

Let me know what you find if you look at your TB. If you say yours is smooth, I'll throw an APP sensor at mine.

 

Will do.

I've run a Motec before. Great for power and reliability of hard parts but using it on the TL would result in a loss of nearly every system from the AC to the Navi unfortunately. I'm used to the early GM computers that are so well hacked it's hardly worth going to a standalone anymore. They have a new one for mine that I tried a while back where you install a wideband 02, set a target AF ratio with the laptop using their software and a stock computer and it hits the target consistantly every time. Pretty amazing compared to what was out there in '94 when I started with this car.

 

BTW, are these O2 sensors on our cars wide-band?? I know some of the Civics used them back in the day, because that was a good source for a sensor if you were doing a stand-alone WB. Do these new ones use a WB sensor?? I can't say i've even looked at the sensors that closely.

 

Well, I changed my APP sensor and did the same test. The TB blade is now steady throughout its entire range. And the car is driving just as well, also.

So just letting you guys know, don't count out the drive-by-wire system just because it isn't telling you it's bad. The ECM likely "thinks" you are commanding those actions and it's just doing what it's told.