2nd that. starting from 1st gear is 10x smoother after the sensor swap. i would have done this last year if i knew it was app sensor related

 

How did you keep the throttle cable tight? I replaced mine but could not get the cable tight again.

 

hmmm, describe why the cable isn't right? too much slack? not long enuff? are you getting it on the guide properly? need a bit more info. i tighten mine up a bit but not too much. just that right mechanics feel. it should fit in pretty easily if all is right

 

I wanted to update that I followed the instructions and replaced the APP sensor. So far so good. No transmission light, no VSA light (yet)...we'll see.

thanks for this...saved me money having someone else put it in.

FYI, it took me about 30 mins to grab my tools, take out the old sensor and put this one in. Super simple, anyone can do it!!!

thanks,

Chris

 

Had the same limp mode problem for the first time just this past Monday. VSA, caution triangle with exclamation and CEL lights lit up in the dash and the tranny downshifted to 2nd gear plus engine would not go above 2000 rpm despite whatever you do with the gas pedal. Just happened to be close to the Acura stealership, so I limped there at 25mph.

They did give me a loaner car while diagnosing, so I could get to work. The quote floored me - 660 USD to replace the APP sensor. Tried to negotiate together with a timing belt job which after shopping around and counteroffer they dropped the APP job to 350 but they wanted 1500 for the timing belt package. Thank goodness for this forum. Gut up and bought a sensor from amazon for 140 and installed it today myself. I still had to pay the stealership 140 for the diagnosis but still ahead at the end if the day. Fortunately the car was drivable after turn off and on which allowed me to bring it home and do the replacement myself.

If there are any recommendations for a good mechanic in Katy, TX please let me know. May be able to throw some timing belt business their way.

 

There's a DIY thread for the timing belt

 

Can anyone tell me if I have to reset the code after replacing the APP sensor? I did this a few months ago and now CEL came on for my O2 sensors. However, in getting the codes read, the APP sensor code (p2138) was still there? Is my sensor bad again or did it never clear from the first time I got it replaced? Throttle feels fine so far. Nothing like when the APP sensor was bad...

Anybody know if I have to clear the APP code for it to go away?

 

Anyone know what the labor time would be for this fix from the dealer? (I know they usually list that on their repair manuals). I got my dealership to price match (They wanted $212 for the part...online from acuraoemparts.com was $135). What I don't want them to do is gouge me on the labor part to make up for the price match. Yeah, I know people on here are saying it's easy and to do it yourself...but even my local Honda shop who I trust wasn't going to do it b/c of the adjustments needed. They didn't go into much detail but that told me there's more to it than meets the eye.

 

Pretty sure the Honda dealer is either:
A. Dumb
B. Lying to you, so you go away

 

To be fair, this wasn't a Honda dealer but rather a local shop that only works on Honda platforms...with an impeccable record and lots of loyal customers. It's one of the only repair shops I know where I've walked out there b/c they fixed something free or they didn't try to upsell me on unnecessary repairs.
While they aren't the dealer, they can do timing belts, brakes/rotors, etc. They even replaced my power door actuators $100 cheaper than the dealer...and are good with me bringing my own sourced parts. So I wouldn't characterize them as dumb or lying.

 

Perhaps they are just not familiar with the intimate details of this particular repair so they sort of shunned you off. I don't work at an auto shop or do anything related to mechanics (though I have changed brakes before) and I personally did this job in 20 minutes including taking pictures along the way. Think I have a post back there somewhere (minus my pics because someone beat me to it).

Maybe show them this thread which spells it out including pictures and then ask them what they would charge to loosen/tighten bolts. The job is less than half an hour (probably 0.25 for an actual mechanic) though they might have a one hour minimum.

Heck show this thread to the dealer so they know that you know how simple this is and that the cost should be accordingly.

 

Interestingly all malfunction lights cleared on my way home...go figure. I'm not going to be surprised if it pops up again though...need to scan the forums to see if others had it sporadically pop up.

 

Like everyone else, I've been having the same problems every few months, off and on for about a year now. Car lurches forward when accelerating from a stop, difficult to maintain a constant speed without the car slightly 'surging' (felt like I was pressing and releasing the pedal rapidly), occasionally would completely spazz out and not allow me to accelerate into the next gear (limp-home mode), VSA and /!\ lights come on, the same P2138 diag code, etc etc everything I was experiencing was exactly the same as all of you described.

I finally decided to buy the APP sensor from Amazon, for $137 shipped. I am proud to say that my problems, too, are now completely gone! I didn't realize how much I had hated driving my car until I put the new part on. Accelerating from a stop is now butter smooth! I can maintain a constant speed and the car just feels so much more 'solid' overall. The thing I'm most happy about is how easy it was to install the part! It took about 30 mins and was a bit tricky getting the bracket back under the strut bar after attaching the new sensor, but I did it!! I cannot believe I even considered paying someone to do this. Please please please, save your money! I don't even know how to change my oil and yet I could still do this.

Good luck to anyone else considering replacing the APP sensor - count me in as another case of success with the APP sensor - let's hope I can enjoy many more miles with my baby

 

As a follow up, (and as reported in another thread), my CEL light and all other lights have cleared for a week now. I don't even feel the slight hesitation like I used to sporadically feel. Luckily I haven't experienced all the bad conditions with the pronounced lurching, limp home mode, issues maintaining speed, et al. Mine was always subtle to the point I thought I was imagining it. But now it's gone...for now.

 

Is there a certain prescribed tension for the cable once you install it? There appears to be several mentions of tightening the cable (even before replacing the APP). So whether one replaces the APP or not, I was wondering if there was a certain tension for the cable. I'm thinking that's why my local non-dealer shop didn't want to mess with it...because of the tweaking needed to adjust that cable and the ramifications if it's not tightened to required tolerances. (I read as well that people were getting various performance acceleration experiences depending on the tension of the cable).

 

Quick question, is there a sensor by the gas pedal too? I adjusted my throttle cable last night. I will post a video of how bad the slack was. I plan to replace the APP sensor and cable. Just wondering if there is a sensor by the gas pedal too?

 

Not as far as I know.

 

Can someone tell me how do I adjust the APP sensor cable? I went to check on it and all I saw was that one big screw, didn't see the other screw, and what tool did you use to adjust it because its kinda hard to loosen it.

 

Just adjust the two nuts in this picture. Turning them will make the wire more taught or loose, depending on the direction you turn it. Don't over do it.

 

if you are reading this thread I just found the sensor on amazon OEM for 135 amazon prime eligble

 

got mine at acura of orange park for 186, 200 after tax wanted to get it today (since I use my car for work) and the repair was easy

 

There is an acura dealer from AZ on ebay that sells oem parts for employee cost, usually 10% over. I work for an acura dealer and the parts are cheaper from ebay because you dont pay tax...even with shipping cost. I got the oem part for 146 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181427171503...84.m1497.l2649

 

Question about the APP sensor.

I am also having trouble with my 04 TL at having periodic sluggish acceleration but have no CEL and no codes. Can the APP be going bad and cause these issues but not throw a code? I'm going to check the cable tightness tonight, figure that is free and won't hurt to check.

I'm trying to figure out this sluggish acceleration problem and its driving me nuts. I already have a post going (https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/04-tl-occasionally-lacks-power-after-start-up-916728/) but haven't had much input.

Also, when you guys are saying "limp mode", are there any CELs on ? Or does it just drive slow and sluggish?

Thanks for the help

 

Yes, several AZ members have had intermittent bad APP sensors which did not throw any codes.

"Limp mode" means the engine speed is limited to less than 3000 RPM-- IIRC, the car does throw codes when that happens as a result of a bad APP sensor.

 

My APP cable had a lot of slack in it. I snugged it and took it for a drive. It drove soo much nicer. I'll report back in a few days and let everyone know if my sluggishness ever returns.

 

No CEL or limp more for me. The APP sensor change fixed mine. Before the change it felt like I was driving in the wind... but there was really no wind.

 

I've had issues with surging power when accelerating (slowly) from a stop light

transmission flush with DW1 helped a little, but there is still a surge (that i've almost become accustomed to). I ordered this part from amazon and we'll see if it smooths it out when i install

 

Same condition (wind-like hesitation...alert lights (CEL etc) turned on twice) result and outcome as ERG69. Did the change myself (took me 2 hours b/c I check and double check every step and also tried tightening the cable (I couldn't find any guidelines of how tight the cable should be so I just decided to do the full replacement)...plus I had a hard time getting leverage b/c of the cross bar in the engine compartment...ended up using a cordless drill with several adapters attached to reach the bolts). But I've put on about 2000 miles since I changed it and I have had zero issues. This repair worked for me. Bought my APP on Amazon from a Honda Dealer for about $135 shipped. Go to an auto parts store and borrow their OBD Tool instead of having the dealer charge $100...no need to do that.

 

Well for a few days I had no sluggish acceleration until today. It did it twice on my way back to work. Apparently fixing the slack in the cable didn't fix it.

I guess at this point I'll have to replace the APP and hopefully that solves the problem. Hate throwing parts at this car but not sure what else to do and several others have had the same thing happen and the APP fixed it.

I'll report back.

 

Update:

Ok I finally got my new APP sensor and installed it today. Took 10 minutes tops to install and took it out for a drive.

I immediately noticed that the acceleration was smoother and more consistent. I haven't had the acceleration for a couple weeks now (it has been cooler here in WI, that may have something to do with it) but it didn't have any issues during the 10 minute drive that I took it on. From face value, it appears to be driving better with the new APP sensor.

I will report back in a month or so or unless the problem comes back. Crossing my fingers that the issue has been resolved.

 

Did any of you guys look into the Throttle body possibly being the issue here, actually the throttle position sensor on the TB. App sensor would open up the butterfly then the throttle position sensor should report to the ECU how wide open it is and adjust accordingly. From what i read, a bad one can really effect throttle response, Idling, fuel economy... well it really effects it

I ordered one and it should be coming soon, last thing i never changed... i kinda give up on the problem but then someone comes on here with a same problem and then i start thinking again and again and get motivated to try solving it ....

So lets see, I will have it changed out in couple of days ...

 

Yeah the TB sensor could be a culprit if everything else was changed, but I wonder how often that sensor actually goes "bad"

I'd suspect a sticky TB over the sensor going bad

 

Had the same issue. Replaced the MAP sensor and all sins were forgiven. I also replaced the APP sensor for good measure.

 

Did you have any CELs prior to replacing the MAP sensor, or just surging acceleration?

 

Surging acceleration for awhile, then the vehicle would periodically LOSE ITS GODDAMN MIND and throw every light the dash had to offer. It was a bad situation that got worse with time.

I don't recall this period of time with much joy.

 

Another update:

It's been about a month and so far, not a single instance of sluggish acceleration. Keeping my fingers crossed but it appears my problem has been fixed with replacing the APP.

I'll report back if anything changes.

 

I replaced the sensor and the lights are still on!!! Still can't gas!!! Can anyone help? Does it need time to calibrate

 

I replaced it with one from a wrecked tsx that is supposbly the same...( looks the same and was told that by acura also ).


I plugged up the sensor and I still am having all the issues... any help would be great! CEL light, VSA light, blinking D light and that triangle with the "!" sign is all still on.

 

It sounds like you have bigger problems than the app. The blinking D light is not a good sign.

https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...-light-820456/

 

should i replace my pressure switches agian? i did them year and a half ago..