This wasn't too much of an issue until winter started, but it used to be that in the first few minutes of driving around I would get a semi-funky smell coming through the air vents.

Yes, I changed the air filter. I did that the day after Christmas.

And now it continues. Except tonight, it smelled like something was burning, and the smell didn't go away as quickly as before. Lasted a good 3-4 minutes instead of just a few seconds. It was a lot more intense-smelling than I had previously experienced.

Along with this, I have noticed that my check engine light comes on for a week at a time, and then it turns off. Two weeks later and the light comes on and stays on for another week, and then turns off. This has happened a few times.

NOW

With all of this, I've been meaning to flush and replace the transmission fluid, as well as the brake and power steering fluids (I have them all on hand, I just haven't done the work or taken it to the dealership). I did read something last week suggesting that a funky smell may have to do with the transmission fluid, but I wasn't positive if that was the case with me.


Are these two problems related? What is causing either of these to occur? No, I don't have a dead squirrel in the engine, I have checked.

And lastly, I live two hours away from the nearest Acura dealership (in Salt Lake City), so if I am going in for service I'd like to at least know I'm gonna be stuck there for a long while so I can find something to do if I'm getting things worked on. Would I be able to take it to the Honda dealership up here and have them at least diagnose the problem, even if they can't do the work? I'd like to at least get an error code so I know what kind of work the engine needs and I'm hoping the Honda dealer can do that.


Thank you!

 

Have you had the wiper motor and power steering hose recalls performed?
There have been some cases where the power steering hose leaks and drops fluid in the engine bay, which ignites the fluid.
The wiper motor recall involves a wiring issue and shorting out, IIRC.

 

Definitely have- when I went down to the dealer during Christmas Break they brought those up (I knew they would come up) and they took care of both of them on the spot.

 

Buuump

Has no one else experienced this? I need to get all of this taken care of before I drive to San Fran for spring break (over 800 miles each way) and I don't want to walk into the dealer and get ripped off because I go in there blind.

 

Another thought: if you haven't done it already, check the top, sides and bottom of engine for any fluid leaks or moisture.
Also make sure your dipsticks and fluid caps are on tightly (you'll have to pull up some plastic shrouding)-- service people occasionally forget to replace or tighten everything down.
If there is a leak somewhere hitting a hot engine part, that may be the cause of your smell.

If no evidence of fluids, check the bottom of the engine, exhausts and heat shields for something trapped underneath, like a plastic shopping bag melted to the bottom of the engine/exhaust.

G/L.

 

You may want to have someone scan the codes when the check engine light comes back on. If the smell happens after hard acceleration it could be your cats starting to go because i am starting to have a similar issue with a smell and check engine light coming on except mine only flashed a couple of times and never came back on since.

And if it kinda smells like rotten eggs its definitly your cats.

 

Cats? I've never heard that term before...

I sure hope you're not referring to an actual cat that died in my engine somewhere

 

Reference to the catalytic converters.

 

Thanks for the response. I feel 12 right about now since I couldn't add 2 and 2 together.

What exactly is the issue with the catalytic converter? I've read through hundreds of threads during my time here but I have never run across people talking about their cat going out.

If it needs to be repaired/replaced, how much is that going to set me back? I ask because I'm already planning to do some big service on my TL in the next few weeks, so if I can set aside that money for another part/repair, I'd like to know asap.

Thanks for your help, guys, I really do appreciate it!

 

Anyone?

 

Have you checked under the hood for stuff leaking or stuck near the hot engine or exhaust?

I'm not aware of any specific complaints about TL catalytic converters. However, there is an extended emissions control warranty that applies to such parts past the 4 year/50K mile regular warranty, if it is a bad cat or other emissions equipment. Check the owner's manual for time and mileage-- I thought it was 8 years/100K miles in CA, but may be different in other states.

You can also call Acura Client Services, explain your distance from a dealer and ask that they authorize diagnosis and repairs at the Honda dealer, if the Honda service dept. is willing to look at the car.

Finally, what type of gas are you using? Sometimes bad gas can cause smells and CELs-- that is a much more common problem mentioned in threads here on AZ.

 

Thanks for the reply: as for your question, I use premium gas, as recommended, and I just go fill up at the Chevron on the corner of Main Street since, well, Logan isn't big enough to have a ton of different gas stations.

I talked to the dealer in SLC and they told me to talk to the Honda dealer here in Logan to see if they have the equipment for the diagnostic (baloney, they use the same equipment since it's all Honda). I set up a service appointment for 5pm today so we'll see what's going on. It makes no difference for me and I don't have to call client services since my car is out of warranty, which I don't really mind at all.

Of course, the Honda dealer will do the diagnostic for cheaper than the Acura dealer, not to mention I'm not wasting half a tank just getting to the Acura dealer and back so it's a huge bargain.

I'm going to ask him about the smell, the check engine light, and the manager I spoke to said he's going to go with me in person and we're going to see the fluid levels to see if anything needs to get taken care of, as well as the timing belt. At the Acura dealership they said they couldn't have me be there with the tech because of liability. Granted, I know any dealer has that issue, but I do think it's cool that the service manager at the Honda dealership is willing to be more one-on-one with me so I'm not left with any questions.

Lesson learned: when out of warranty, screw the Acura dealership if the Honda dealership is closer and have a good reputation.

We'll see how the service appointment goes. I'll report back to let you all know what the issue was so if anyone encounters this in the future, they can reference this thread.

 

Update:

Got the diagnostic done, they charged me for only half an hour of labor even though it took them an hour to get everything sorted out.

They said my O2 sensor is bad, and they also repeated the words that the catalytic converted might be bad. They said either way the O2 sensor would need to be replaced, and that might solve the catalytic converter problem since it's a bit of a domino effect if it's throwing out bad codes.

Whether or not that has to do with the O2 sensor is undetermined, as I forgot to mention that to them before I had to leave. When I talk to them come Monday I will bring it up and see if they can find a correlation or if it's a different problem altogether.

 

Alright, what happens is most newer cars have 2 O2 sensors. one before the (Cat) oh sorry Catalytic Converter. And one after, what can happen is one can start to miss read the outgoing temperature of the exhaust and throw a code to the computer saying that something is not working properly. IE... one of the catalytic converters may have alot of deposits and is heating up more than its supposed to.

 

Thanks for the response! I went ahead and got all of that taken care of on Saturday, and they replaced the sensor. They said they haven't gotten any more error codes from the engine on this so it looks like that was the issue.

 

make sure you stay on top of those "check engine lights." if your oxygen sensor goes, then your engine computer doesn't know how much fuel to send into your intake manifold. this can lead to bad air/fuel mixtures and that is what can kill your cats. don't let it go for weeks at a time next time.

 

Yeah I definitely don't plan to. The fact that the check engine light would come on and go away so quickly is what weirded me out. Now that I know it could be something so serious, I'll make it a point to get stuff checked out, even if it seems like there's just a ghost in my engine.

 

I had a weird smell like sulfer every time i started my car for about 1-2 months after i bought it and then it seemed like it went away. never threw a check engine light or anything though.