Murphy7019

I bought a 2005 Acura TL with 74,000 miles on it two days ago. I took it for a test drive before I purchased it and didn't notice it on the test drive, but when I start the car and sometimes when it idles it seems to "miss".

It doesn't make a vibration or sound or anything, you can just feel it in the engine and the car barely shakes.

I have also noticed (and maybe it's because I'm not used to the car yet, maybe not) that it doesn't seem to accelerate steadily in first gear, like there's a small hesitation.

I had my 99 TL for close to 6 years and got really lucky when I bought it from a private seller, I always read that the TL's had transmission problems and was scared to death when I first bought it that I'd be stuck with a lemon but the biggest repair I ever had to make on the old girl was to replace the ignition coils.

The new car doesn't have any check engine lights on and it might just need a tune-up, but I wanted to be safe because I have a three-day money back guarantee from the dealer I bought it from so I made an appointment at my local Acura dealership for tomorrow for them to look everything over.

The girl I spoke to at the dealer said they can take an hour or two and look over the car, but can anyone give me any suggestions regarding what I should ask them to look at based on experience/known issues? I've read past topics on idling/acceleration issues, and compression seems to be one issue, and even read one recent post where a similar issue on an 05 uncovered a blown gasket. I'm hoping that the lack of a check engine light means that it's nothing too crazy.

Also, not sure if this is related or not, but the air conditioning doesn't seem to work either, it blows warm air.

Again, I want to make sure none of this is serious or at least rest assured that it won't all lead to anything serious. I don't expect to pay for an hour or two of the technician's time and get a full understanding of what is right/wrong with the car, but I would like to go in knowing what to ask/expect so anyone who could offer advice would be greatly appreciated.

ez12a

from what I've read a little vibration at first start up when cold is normal. I think it misfires on purpose to warm up the catalytic converter(s). Someone correct me if i'm mistaken.

the fly by wire throttle is different but you'll get used to it. I find it actually a lot more responsive than other wire systems like those found in BMW.

You could take it for a prepurchase inspection really quick to see if there's anything amiss.

Make sure you have your thermostat turned down even if it's not set to auto. It'll still affect the air temperature.

rico651

i have the same kind of problem ever since i got my tranny flushed =/ when im driving it now, i hear something in the engine churn quite loudly =(

csmeance

When the car is cold, the car intentionally misfires and dumps extra fuel in the exhaust system to help warm up the catalysts. It helps it get much better emissions levels esp. during short trips. Conventional catalysts can take more than 7 miles of city driving to warm up. This shortens this by quite a bit!

Honda engineers implemented it very safely and the rough idle is also another way to force folks from excessive idling to "warm it up".

morbids

Did your dealer successfully diagnose the issue? Interestingly, I also recently (1week ago) purchased a '05 TL (6 sp MT). I noticed a rough idle, issue very similar to your explanation, but mine also misses a bit until it hits 2500rpm then it revs strong as it should. I changed plugs with new iridium NGKs & new air filter. This did not resolve & now I suspect it could be fuel delivery. I'll let you know what I find out at the Acura dealer where I purchased, they are looking at it tomorrow.

Chi804

I just bough an '05 and I'm experiencing the same issue plus a few more. My radio presets, phonebook, and temp gauge were erased. Happened twice. Anyone else having a similar situation?

Sammy Bono

I hope you both are right because my rough idle goes away right away but it does seem like a mis fire. It only does it when its cold though. Everything else runs fine.

akash4u

iTrader: (3)

I get the rough idle as well and slowly clams down after 1-2 minutes.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^ya'll are fine....
your symptoms are the same as what csmeance described.

if it goes away after a few mins, then its just the cats warming themselves up.

flamitaz

I know it is not in the same league, but I had a similar problem with my civic after I got the distributor fixed. Thought it might be the transmission (but I had just put a new one in, about a year before this happened). Took it back to my local mechanic, who did the work, and after driving it he knew exactly what it was. He loosened the bolts/screws holding the distributor, and moved it towards the back of the car, and it idled harder and almost seemed to sputter, like it was gonna cut off. Moved it towards the front of the car and the car revved, till he found the sweet spot, he said he put it back to factory specs, but sometimes you still have to fine tune it. After that my civic ran like a F$%@ DREAM!
I had driven that civic, for a week like that, and what you guys are describing was exactly how it acted. Funny story, I always wanted a TL, ever since that body came out, 04. After 15 years of having my civic, and the only problem she ever gave me was that the transmission finally went out at year 13, I couldn't complain about any other problems. But that was the deciding factor in me getting a TL, its what I wanted, and I figured...I was due. Might not have anything to do with the problems described above, but I figured I'd share my experience...cause you never know. I also thought it was the spark plugs, spark plug wires, I even did the fuel injector cleaning in two different places, and it finally made me think it might be a fuel delivery problem, but no. The brand new distributor just had to find the sweet spot. Good luck guys, hope your car problems get fixed. Sorry for the novel. LOL.

aspectl253

iTrader: (1)

i too just recently purchased a 05 auto with 128k and the rough idle is constant even after warmed up. Also, can anyone tell me how to figure out why the car is not setting "readiness" codes for emmissions? Ive done all the drive cycle and instructions in the manual with about 300mi driven and still not "ready" as the check engine light flashs 5 times after 15secs in acc....


thanks and sorry to the op for thread jacking...

DMM05TL

I just solved the rough idle problem on my '05 TL today. Clean the throttle body and butterfly valve. It is easily accessible by removing the corrugated rubber hose that connects to the airbox. The rough idle occurs over time as carbon builds up in the throttle body. Sideways mounted throttlebodies are more prone to buildup vs. the older style verticle throttle bodies. At 90k miles, mine wasn't that dirty, but it solved the problem. No codes were ever triggered during the rough idle period.

aspectl253

iTrader: (1)

what did you use to clean??

Meezy84

"DMM05TL" What did you use to clean it with? Im having the same symptom. Thanks in advance

volcalstone

Hi, I want to try this out before I do anything else as well. Any pics would be great since I'm not too car savvy. I'm having a sorta rough idle and would like to fix it. I have an 05 with 150k now.

Thanks

atrombino

I cleaned the throttle body several times.. this did not solve the very same issue on my 05...I can't believe this is a normal condition....the eng is way lean at idle, even hot, like 17% added fuel short term, according to the scanner....but I agree, after about 1 min, the thing straightens out, and mileage is still great, even after 166k.

shaneh

Did you ever get this idle issue fixed ? i just purchased this 05 6speed tl , it has a random miss at idle to the point if i turn the ac on it stalls . but if i hold it at 1500rpm , no missfires . ive changes plugs and rear o2 sensor , cleaned the egr valve . any ideas would be great .

thoiboi

Coil packs

jehuh

Did you guys consider replacing the EGR valve? I was driving my car today and it started idling really badly, after driving it for about 5 min I got a PO404 code which was EGR. $76 later I'm rolling fine again. Just my 2 cents, hope it helps