i have a problem with my acura tl for a long time now, which some of you might know from the thread " car sluggish then flies..." I tried some things like replacing the IAT sensor which helped a little bit with the problem in hot weather but my main problem still exist which is no low end power or effortless acceleration on highway for example (hot or cold weather). I have to push the car in much higher rpms to get going, and what i mean by that is just regular driving passing cars and so on. Every other car i drove felt much more peppier then my TL, basically like every car should be. Even my old nissan altima 4 cylinder that i drive to work feels more peppy then my TL. Imagine.!

I just recently noticed someone saying something about the Fuel Pressure Regulator that could be the culprit..

can anyone help me out, i have had this problem for a while now and would really love to finaly fix that problem and enjoy the car as it should be.

thanx for any help.

 

Have you ever had the codes scanned to see if there is any?

 

No i have not. there was never one on the dashboard showing. maybe i should do that or maybe run some kind of a computer diagnostic. I just don't know which place would be the best to take it to. I had bad luck with the dealership while the car was under warranty so i kinda gave up on it...

 

Do you have 20" rims ? Do you have a large stereo box in the trunk ? Anything very heavy in the trunk like a toolbox, etc. ?

 

i used to have 19" ronjon inspyres but for the same reason and some others i switched to 18" ronjon legends which felt much lighter...I had a sound system which consited of 2 big kicker srx amps and 2 12" boston acoustics subs, now for the same reason i switched to 2 alpine pdx amps and one boston woofer which cut my weight more then half. i have sound deadning on front doors rear deck and trunk but then again i weigh only 187 pounds.

im sure my car is not the lightest around but sometimes it can be so peppy i fall in love with it again and again and wish it was like that always.

when it runs good then a slight pressure on the gas pedal and she moves and feels like she wants to go (im not talking about pushing it into high rpm)

lets say i put it into ss mode and doesn't matter if i'm in lets say 4th gear around 20mph she still picks up with ease, but when shes not running the way i suppose she should then it feels very lazy and she doesnt want to move until i press the gas until the needle hits a little more then 2000 rpm.

or lets say when shes not running right its hard to keep that needle above 2000 rpm, feels like shes hesitating ....

dont know how else to explain it really

 

1. Check fluid levels including the transmission fluid
2. How many miles on car?
3. Fuel?
4. Maintenance done?

 

no low end power..
could it be an issue with the vtec?

 

Low End Power:

If your car flutters, struggles, or otherwise is slow to start especially at low speeds then the likely culprit is one of three things

Fuel Pump
Fuel Hoses
or Fuel Injectors.

The likely culprit is dirty fuel injectors. Try adding a fuel injector cleaning add-on to your gas from an autoshop (like 10 bucks or so) this may fix the problem. If it doesn't, you may consider "off-engine fuel injector cleaning" which will run a few hundred.

Before you go for the off-engine fuel injector, you may want to check the fuel lines to which may be lose, clogged, or otherwise not in good shape. Lastly, check the fuel pump. Typically, build-up occurs especially if you're using cheap gas.

EDIT: Here is a good site for do-it-yourself cleaning: http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/ic30336.htm from the site: "...the classic symptoms of dirty injectors, such as lean misfire, rough idle, hesitation and stumbling on light acceleration, a loss of power, and higher hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions."

 

^Some great advice! I'm having similar issues; also got the P0171 code (system too lean). I've checked everything from the intake to the exhaust for leaks; no joy. Maybe I should change my fuel filter; never had that done.

 

I've got the same issue... 05 TL 6sp. It's intermittent though... it seems to happen more when the weather is warmer but it will sometimes (rarely) happen when it's 25 degrees out. While it was acting up, I drove to my friends shop and he plugged his computer into the car. I wasn't was NOT and never have gotten any computer codes or lights on the dash. After heplugged his computer in, he saw that 3 cylinders were misfiring. It started with one and he figured it might be a coil pack but then two others fire improperly. Right now he's thinking that the timing belt may possibly be stretched. When the weather is warm is stretches easier and the car acts up more often... when it's cold the belt is usually tight. It's a good theory and we're gonna do the 105k mile work up next week... timing belt, water pump, plugs... full tune up etc. I'm scared to death that this is a design flaw because so many of us are having the issue but I just hope it's the timing. I'll let you know! It's NOT transmission related and has nothing to do with the weight of your car's! You can try all kinds of additives but that still isn't addressing the cause.

 

lets hope its either this or that !!! so we can finally solve that problem. I also have a funny fluttering sound around the timing belt area.... I had the dealer do the tsb on it regarding the issue and they stated that they did but never really helped much...I gave up on dealers, they are just bullshitters anyways.

 

I have the same thing, but then I clear my ECU (because I do a lot of grandmother-like highway driving) and it's back to being quick. Did you try that?

 

I encountered the same thing as well. I reset the ECU and it seemed to work. Hopefully it won't happen again

 

Ok so I'm an idiot! I changed my IM over a month ago. It was fine for a while, but somehow the bolts from the TB to the IM backed out causing a slight leak! Thats what was throwing the CEL's. On top of that I had some bad gas from a Texaco station that I started using a few weeks ago...go figure! So I had a combo of things going on. Now my car is much better, but I think I need my valves adjusted though. If it ain't one thing.....it's another.

 

Ok, new timing belt made the engine right tighter but as the weather warmed up it's driving like crap again. All 6 cylinders were misfiring at different times while sitting in the parking lot of my mechanics. When I drove around with the computer plugged in everything appeared to be working fine on the computer... there were a couple misfires (I could feel them in the pedal slightly too) but I don't think that's what was robbing my power. The computer said that all of the sensors were working correctly also. I'm at a loss... I'm so disappointed in these TLs... mine is a piece of crap and I think it just might be a design flaw that can't ultimately be fixed. My car is now at the dealership. I explained to them that since the car is out of warranty, I will not be paying for them to throw parts at the car that aren't gonna fix it. The tech that rode with me acknowledged the issue while test driving it... he thinks it may be something in the throttle body but we'll see. I'll keep you guys updated... pretty soon I might be driving a new Toyota if this can't be fixed!!

 

Yeah, no pickup issues there!

 

 

Since you made a new thread--

I say change the transmission fluid with Redline and 3rd/4th gear sensors. For some reason I felt a good "pick-up" by getting it.

Get the RV6 V3 J-pipe.

Get a RSB/Suspension (if you don't have it already-- these two make the TL so much fun to drive).

Get a sprint booster.

 

i have all the modes you mentioned and nothing. drives like shit. Id give a 1000 bucks to anyone who can fix this problem. Even the Rdx i drove the other day felt like a bullet compared to my TL

 

i got a good cheap idea!!! my car was feeling a little laggy wasn't really picking up when i pressed the gas so i bought a little bottle of lucas fuel cleaner... only used half the bottle with half a tank of gas after it was gone my car felt new again the lucas stuff is only like 8.99 if it works you can paypal me $500 ill be fair...other than that just get the turbo!!!

 

can this thread be moved to performance parts and modifications its been here since 2-17-10 and more people might read it in pp&m

 

BukvaMan - Have you ever reset your ECU? If not, do so and see what the car does. If it makes it happy, then you know it's not a mechanical issue.

 

i did multiple times and everytime i do it she becomes peppy. But that peppines goes away very quickly. I gotta try resetting the ecu when she really acts up to see if that changes anything. Cause every time i do the ecu reset she is usually cold, once the engine gets hot she starts getting lazy big time...

 

I wonder if your engine is getting really heat soaked and just loosing power then. If that could be the case, have you checked out the thread about increasing cooling in the engine bay. Ie: remove all the plastic covering out of the engine bay and increasing airflow through the area.

Also is everything else working soundly, have you done your regular tuneups and stuff, air filter, oil & filter, spark plugs, and things of that sort. Have you used any fuel system cleaners in your gas? If not maybe running some through the next few tanks of gas might help. Plus what kind of gas are you using?

 

Done it all. besides the spark plugs. Being that the car has only 36000 miles on it, I never really thought about replacing them. Although it is an 2005 TL so it has some years on. I removed all the plastic. air filter clean, cut up the cowl to exhaust hot air even more. All seemed to improve a little i think but for some reason she always gets lazy on me. Funny thing is that during the night i never seem to notice it much.

 

Not seeing it at night does make me wonder about temperatures.... hmmm....

But being that I live here in Arizona, where it's like 95-105 through out summer time. I have never had an issue with the car feeling heat soaked.

What kind of temperatures are you having around there?

Also have you checked your radiator fluid, maybe it's running low and the car's getting over heated? Maybe you ought to do a radiator flush, granted your mileage is low, but your car is 6 years old. Just my .02 cents.

My 94 Ranger had some overheating issues after I moved here to AZ. I flushed my radiator and engine, used the autozone flush kit to allow your hose to be hooked up. I even used some CLR mixed with water, also filled the radiator and engine with vinegar and let it sit overnight after I got it to temp while idling. Plus I then pulled the radiator and blasted all the bugs and crap from 12 years of build up, plus blasted all the crap out of the AC radiator. You be surprised at all the crap I had sitting in my drive way that I flushed out.

So after all of that AC worked like a champ, but I didn't loose power anymore from getting heat soaked. Before doing all this I couldn't let it sit idling and run in for a pizza without the truck overheating, after I could leave it all day long and have it running cool.

Sorry, I got off on a tangent, just brought back some memories with my truck.

 

Ever run any fuel system cleaner?

 

I ran seafom trough the vacum. I put fuel injector cleaner couple of times already. Replaced the coolant and the thermostat. Replaced the intake air temperature sensor. Map Sensor. Runing catless to help with heat soak too. The temps are in the 80-90 lately, sometimes more. Maybe I should really try new spark plugs. But im not getting any codes whatsoever... The next thing im gonna do is change out the knock sensor but im having a hard time beliving that it will do anything.

 

How did it run before you gutted your cats? I assume you gutted the ones right off the motor right? I've heard doing the precat deletes KILLS low end power.

 

I kept the original but bought cat deletes from richie. All in all she runs better, but when she really runs the way she should then you cant belive how strong she pulls and no loss in low end torque. I think i gained some actually. I was also afraid of that but i was wrong i guess, at least in my experience. 1st, 2nd and third gear pull like never before. well at least untill she gets lazy

 

i removed all three of them. well the two of the head and the third afther the JPIPE

 

Have you ever taken it to a mechanic to ask them to evaluate your car?

 

i have taken it to a dealer couple of times regarding this issue and of course what say is, the car drives perfectly normal.

I gotta take it to a tuner and have him put it on a diagnostic computer and see if anything comes up. Im just afraid where ever i take it they will just rip me off and not acomplish anything.

 

Guess that would be the best bet, not sure if they can do any tuning as the TL's computer is pretty locked down. But at least maybe they can see what is happening.

 

luckily there is a new ECU coming out, it will be a little pricey but im hoping i will be able to resolve the problem with it. lets see. if not this car is going down the hill. I cant wait for the day where im gonna go ahead and get the new Audi S4.

 

We test drove the A4's and the A6's, still felt like the 07 TL was still stronger in power. But now throwing in that supercharger, bet that would be fun! But to me the A4 feels more like a Honda Civic than a luxury car.

 

I dont know about that . They are know for the most beautiful interior around. I dont think it gets any more luxurious then a fully loaded Audi. in its price range of course.

 

Replace plugs but it's probly your cat

 

i dont have cats at all. They are all removed.

 

If you have any of your cats, especially the first two. Try putting them back in and see how the car behave.

Just a thought. Again as how not having cats kills low end. I know after you get up in the RPM's it will scream, but at this point it's worth a shot.... It's what I would try.