Hi Folks,

2005 TL Automatic with about 166K miles. My kid's been driving this for the last couple of years. Threw a CEL & P0134 several months ago, but I totally forgot about it and the car seemed to be running fine. Couple of days ago the kid calls and says TL won't start. Battery was good and it would crank once or twice, but wouldn't turnover. A few mins later, he actually got it to start and drove it 25 miles home. My scanner pulled the same P0134 but also P2251. Ordered a replacement O2 sensor and just changed it out (the one in back near the firewall). Still no joy. Same symptoms: engine cranks once then stops. If I hold the key in the start position, it continues to crank once, stops, cranks once again, stops, etc. It sometimes sounds like it's REALLY close, but still won't turnover.

Looking for suggestions on what to do next? Have looked through threads, but haven't found a similar situation. I did see one thread where someone said that after replacing the O2 sensor in the front near the radiator fans that code P2251 cleared, but nobody with the same problem with starting it. Should I order another sensor and replace the front one (Bank 2, Sensor 1 upstream) and is it the same part as Bank 1, Sensor 1?

Many thx!

 

Additional info: I did that ECU reset procedure where you shut all the electronics off, hold the gas pedal down for 35 seconds, blah, blah, blah. Tried to start and it was doing the same thing, but after a couple of attempts it turned over. I'd cleared the CEL codes beforehand, and since it started, I took it on a test drive for about 15-20 miles. No CEL and the car drove fine. I parked it and will try starting it again in the morning. However, more reading about P2511 suggests there could be some sort of short in the wiring. My question: where is the ECM/PCM located so I can inspect the wiring for the 24-pin Connector B?

 

Crap, the problem hasn't cleared itself. Any and all suggestions welcome. Thx!

 

Just curious, what brand O2 sensor did you use?

The diagram shows PCM location for 07-08 TL, yours should be similar:

 

Denso. Replaced bank 2 sensor 1, too, but still not starting properly. When I did get it to start, I took it out for a ride and got a CEL with a completely different code: P0497 having to do with the evap cannister purge valve. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any codes that appear to be related to my starting issues. I also swapped batteries with my other TL on the off chance there was an issue there, but same deal. Probably just gonna cave and take it to the dealer to properly diagnose...

 

I’m just talking out loud here, but isn’t that last code for gas cap code? I may not be right, but I believe it may be. Idk how that could affect starting tho….

 

Yes, that's correct, but as you said, I don't think it has anything to do with the car not starting. Also think I mistakenly assumed that any codes related to the O2 sensor we related. I don't think they are. I almost started to swap the starter with one from my '07 TL, but fortunately realized they're different parts before I started tearing things down. I've got a mobile mechanic scheduled to come out on Weds morning.

 

Update: when I first started diagnosing this issue, I read or heard that if the engine cranks at all it's not a bad starter. Since I've been getting single cranks each time I tried to start it, I've been looking at everything other than the starter. Last night I did the "stupid" suggestion I'd heard about: whacking the starter solenoid with a piece of wood and a hammer while my kid tried to start it. Sure 'nuf, started on the second crank instead of the 5th-10th time in the past. Pulled the starter and took it to Autozone for testing. Shocker: it failed. Have a new one arriving today and hope this will be the end of it.

 

Glad to hear you found the problem.

 

New starter, no problem. TL fired up on the first turn of the key. Lessons learned:

1. Do NOT assume anything: just because you have a CEL and codes doesn't mean those are the source of, or related to, your problem
2. Do NOT incorporate anything you see or hear on the web as "definitive" in your troubleshooting. If I hadn't heard a mechanic whose videos I love and has saved me thousands of dollars over the years say, "if your engine cranks at all, it's not the starter," I would have never started the wild goose chase of looking at everything OTHER than the starter.

If you have weird starting issues before your starter goes, "click, click, click," and won't crank anything, it might just be a sign that your starter is failing and letting you know it's on its last legs. If I hadn't made the two mistakes above, I would have solved this several days ago. Instead, I wasted a sh*t-ton of time and energy looking at everything other than what was staring me in the face. For example, had I pulled the starter and taken it to Autozone for testing at the outset, I'd have known it was bad and replaced it.

Although there probably aren't too many people hanging out in the Acura 3g forum after all these years, I'm really grateful you're still around.

 

We are still here for you! Glad you found the issue. Never heard of a starter turning once and not clicking.

Thank you for the update!

 

OP, for future reference, the clicking noises are likely the starter solenoid failing. In some cases you can save yourself some money by only replacing the solenoid. I just replaced a starter solenoid on a $200 Toyota starter for $30 and it took an extra 5 minutes of work

 

Thx, but I wasn't getting clicking noises. Read my OP and you'll see my symptoms. IIRC, I could have replaced just the solenoid, but it would have required using a dremel to cut it off the starter since it was attached with something non-standard. Not worth the headache for me, but thx.