So after battling with acceleration issues for a couple months, I did some research and found a couple things that could be issues. Some things pointed to an APP (accelerator or TPS) sensor issue, some suggested grounding issues, and some suggested the IAT (intake air temp) sensor. Some people claimed spending $500+ at the dealership troubleshooting and installing these parts. I found the parts (APP and IAT sensors) online for $165 and after about 45 minutes worth of work, the car is back to driving smoothly.

Background info:
2007 TL Type S (6MT)
55k miles

Issue:
When accelerating (most notable in 1st and 2nd), the car would not accelerate in a linear fashion, but rather with pauses as rpms built. This was even noticeable in neutral as you could watch the rpms just stop (and sometimes go back down) even at the same throttle %.

The most annoying part of this is that in 1st gear, the car would buck causing me to look like a noob. After my wife drove the car one day, I asked her about it and after telling her the issues, she mentioned, "oh, I thought I was just really rusty driving stick." If it was at all wet outside, it was pretty much a given to spin the tires while launching.

People who mentioned APP sensor issues would always have various lights come on and some went into limp mode, but I never had these issues. Just the driveability issue. So if anyone ends up here via search, try these two sensors first. Most likely, it was just the APP sensor, but the IAT was only $30. Might as well do both.

 

Anyone?

 

what was the issue mines is similar

 

Search for the other APP threads. My '05 had zero lights ever thrown, but was a buckin' mofo in 1st and 2nd. My test to confirm it was APP was to use cruise control. Set the cruise at 30mph and accelerate via the cruise buttons. Repeat trying to do it manually. If smooth on cruise, but jumpy manually, APP is a good place to start.

 

just confirmed it wasnt my app sensor it still does it , sputtering around 2-3k in 1-3rd sometimes t doesent do , new ignition coils new spark plugs, no check engine

 

did a seafoam and it got better but came back , tested my app sensor and it wasnt that i also tested my injectors and they all reading 14.5ohms , new ignition coils new spark plugs dont know whats next to be honest

heres my original thread


i have a 07 tl type s auto with 125k one day i was doing some pulls with my buddy and i realized after the car would start a little weird so the next day i start the car and it has a weird smell (rich smell) and i was driving i did some pulls and the car started to sputter around 2-3k rpms and act sort of weird but the sputter would go away and would only happen for when im doing like 1-2nd around 2-3k rpm but after i did some pulls it would get worse but then go away and one day i was driving and cel started flashing while i was accelerating and it was sputtering and then when i let the accelerator go it would turn off , i checked the codes for the misfire and it was a misifre on cylinder 4 and i changed the spark plug and got better , i then changed my ignition coil since i had a valve cover leak and a little of oil would get in the spark plug well and replaced the car with new plugs and that coil pack , the car was good but then the white smoke started to occur and it wasnt bad but i did a couple highway pulls and then i got home and the smoking got worse, i drive the car normal and it doesent sputter but only sometimes , people recommended to test my fuel injectors or run a can of seafoam or it can be a clogged cat ??? help please

 

So any smell to the smoke? Unburned fuel? Sweet like coolant?

I hadn't placed that you had already posted other details already in another thread...I wouldn't have sent you down the APP test if I had known. Running rich and smoke are not symptoms of a bad APP sensor. It sounds like you are either getting too much fuel or not enough boom (spark or compression) causing a rich condition. If running that rich to smell fuel, you should be throwing O2 codes. If you have an ODB2 reader, watch the O2 sensors to see if they bounce around correctly or is one being lazy.

 

yes it does smell , smells rich , i dont have any codes but i always check and i dont have one of those good obd2 scanner which i need to buy , it smells rich and on startup sometimes it throws a little bit black carbon out of the exhaust and the exhaust tips are black

 

I have had a 2006 tl 6mt for a few months... I had the same thing happening to me.... Mine has a button to the left of the steering wheel and it is labeled VSA "vehicle stability assistance" I'm guessing... Pretty sure it's the VTech trying to break the tires loose so turn the traction control off, 😊 I hope this is helpful... Every time I get in mine I hit that button before I leave the driveway, it's as automatic and putting on the seatbelt... Unless it's really wet...
​​
​​​​​​
​​

 

Be aware that is traction control and stability control. Why in the world would you turn that off by default every time you drive? That button is the handy dandy helper when emergency situations arise. Now on dry pavement, not nearly as critical as it is on wet or frozen surfaces. I only push the magic button when I know I want to play off the line or in the snow...otherwise always on. Spinning my tires freely does nothing more than wear them out sooner than they need to be.

To note...this is not what the OP or the 2nd person is talking about. You are breaking traction and the VSA system does exactly what it should do and cut power to limit wheel spin. The OP was having non-linear acceleration from the APP sensor failing which made driving a MT smooth nearly impossible. The 2nd poster is having issues with the engine running rich and some misfires.

 

@Jackass i sent u a private message

 

Not sure what you want me to say...your original thread has activity and guidance.

 

@Jackass so if my o2 sensors are jumping around or one is bieng lazy means that im running rich and to correct that?? tune ?? clogged cat ??

 

Jumping around O2 is usually a good thing. The computer will fluctuate the A/F mixture from time to time just to confirm the O2 sensor is active. I haven't actually watched the Honda O2 behavior as much as I did on a GM vehicle. I could clearly see that I had an O2 sensor that once up to temp, it stopped fluctuating. In that scenario, the computer finally threw a CEL since the O2 sensor voltages stayed high for too long. It was easy to see that Bank1 vs Bank2 behavior was clearly different. I replaced that sensor and all was good.

You have plenty of other troubleshooting steps to get through before any "guesses" can be made on what is wrong with your car. Not nearly enough details or testing has been done to rule anything in or out. Have you pulled your plugs yet to compare conditions? Is the entire bank running rich? A single cylinder?

 

when pulled all the plugs they all looked the same didnt seem like anything was wrong , im hoping its just a bad o2 sensor , ive also gotten a heil coil done to my #4 cylinder and that cylinder one day was misfiring and i changed the plug and it was better and recently i changed the plug and ignition coils to oem and its still there

 

my car is throwing no codes at all , sometimes on cold startups white smokes comes out for like 2 seconds then its good , and like i said the exhaust tips are black which (looks like running rich)

 

update , today i drove my car the sputter got a little better but as i was driving i was at a stop light and i could hear my car backfiring idling , i got home swapped some ignition coils around and nothing helped , i revved it and this time was black smoke but not alot , but u can hear it backfiring at idle , i put my ear through the motor and can hear knocking on the purge valve solenoid (im getting tighten fuel cap ) and around the top of the intake manifold (area where cylinders 1,2,3 are) can this purge valve solenoid affect anything like that? ive ordered also a iat sensor since i checked it and it was a bit dirty and i also ordered a new purve valve solenoid , but ive been seeing for cel codes and none , im so confused

 

Why don't you take it to a mechanic before you go throwing parts on it?