OK – I’ve got a 2007 TL-S 5A/T. The car is stock and has about 2,100 miles on it and I always feed it BP 93 octane.

Last night I was driving, minding my own business when two Civic SI’s pulled along side of me and kept pace. This kept up for a few miles – we were doing maybe 45 – 50 mph. Well I got tired of this nonsense and decided to hammer the pedal and show them what I’ve got. To my horror, my TL just seemed to, I don’t know… lag. The car down shifted to 3rd (I think), tack sprung up to about 5,500 and then shifted???? Is this right? I had another grand of RPMs available. Also, I didn’t get that rush of acceleration. The two little buggers held.

Well we get to a light. Late at night, no one around, straight road…. I’m thinking “sure, why the hell not.” I figure this is a good time as any to do my first launch. VSA off, manual mode on, break torque to 1,500. Then green light. Tires scream, tack leaps, and I feel her pull. First thought – WOW!!, Then I’m late on the shift and the rev limiter kicks in. Shift to 2nd, bit too early to 3rd and then I pussed out at 70. The one Civic started to gain on me. They’re probably (hopefully) modded and no doubt I need to lean how to drive this car.

Here are my concerns. From the initial roll at 45, why does the car seem slow? I’ve been babying this car, barely letting it get above 3,000 during normal day to day driving. Does the tranny “learn” your shift habits and adjust accordingly – i.e. learn to shift early? OR, do I have a computer problem. OR, did I just get owned by a couple of Civics who were hopefully modded. When the car hit 600 miles I did my first WOT at 35 and I felt it!! Last night was definitely not the same feeling. Suggestions?

 

I'm not too tech-savvy, but have experienced the same. I've learned that if I want to pull ahead, I tap over to paddle mode, downshift to 3rd while holding the speed (if at highway speeds), then floor it. If I'm on a side road, and going 40 mph or less, I'll go down to 2nd gear and floor it. You wanna talk about getting thrown back in your seat??

I've notice that if I just let the tranny do all the work, it does feel a bit sluggish while already moving. However, from a dead stop, the auto does a great job.

 

Oh boy, you shouldn't be pushing your car at ONLY 2100 miles. This "lag" problem you speak of is a VERY COMMON dispute amongst ziners. For the most part, the problem usually lies within the drivers; the majority of us just get used to the power of our cars, and when it doesn't "fly" like we all remember, we think we have problems. In your case, I'd say your tranny and comp just haven't learned the way you shift/drive. Take it easy man! As I've come to learn (the hard way), our cars are VERY techy; if there's a problem, the computer will DEFINITELY show you that something's up. Too bad you can't revv match with the newer 07+ TL's...

I bet your engine was just hott. I feel like I actually lose power after an hours drive...even w/ my cai. i'm sure those si's were modded; i almost bought a type s last sunday. my first impression: "wow, this thing hauls!"

you're faster than a freakin' civic...

 

The Auto does learn and adapt shift patterns based on your driving style.

 

For anything less than 60mph you should be in 2nd if you are looking to pass someone.

 

The AT TL learns your shifting patterns, if you drive grandma sytle, it will keep the highest gear possible. If you drive boy racer all the time, it will downshift constantly. As well, you had lag due to the 2100 MILES! The factory break in oils have additives in it that somewhat restrict the motor so no damage occurs during break in, my new MDX felt the same way for the first 5K miles. Also, the ECU won't let you into VTEC until about 5K miles, you can rev up to redline, but VTEC will not engage. I have noticed this as well in the MDX.

 

Whew!! For a minute there I though I was having the same problem as slajan and chucks1967 https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94130

You’ll have to excuse me, I’m a neophyte to this “new car” thing. I always had 4 banger hand-me-downs. I was under the impression that after 600 miles, the engine was broken in. As stated earlier, I’ve been babying this thing (except for that WOT at 600 miles – I just had to do it once!!). So I figured that 2,100 miles would be fine. Apparently not. Wish I would have checked back on this thread before I took her out again last night. After properly warming up the engine, I WOT on the highway from 45 and it went past 5500 to redline. Seems fine for now.

So what is the proper break in time? Again, I really don’t rag on this car at all. To quote csmeance, “grandma style” is how I’ve been driving 99% of the time, which is probably a contributory reason for the wimpy shifting.

Thanks for the input, this is an awesome site…

 

Break in is 600 miles per the Owners Manual.

Honda's forte is high revving, high reliabilty gasoline engines. You're not doing any harm getting into VTEC, going Redline or going WOT.

Some do suggest that you ease into these as you approach 600 miles - IOW as you approach 600 miles, push the car a little more.

The factory oil has a high Moly content which assists with the break in/lubrication of brand new parts. You'll change this out when your MID tells you it's time for your A1 Service - probably around 4500 miles with a moderate driving style.

 

Enjoy the ride, I noticed after the first oil change performance got a little better. Also ask the dealer, if they change your oil what oil they use, at my dealer they used regular oil so I figured I would just go to Expressway for oil changes since they were using a regular
5w-20 at the dealer.

 

vsa isnt traction control, so turning it off to launch your car at a stop light is worthless...vsa is vehicle stability assist, not traction control...