My new SH AWD Tech Palladium was running fine until tonight. Just turned over 1200kms and was driving home from dinner with my wife and daugter and the engine stops running. I was driving it pretty hard at the time at about 6000 rpms and the engine just died. Pulled off to the side of the road and tired to restart it but no go. An hour later my new car is being towed to the dealer, I was thinking it may be an issue with the fob so I disconnected the battery to reset the computer but still no go. We had both fobs but neither worked to start the car.

So my new car with 1200kms on it is towed to the dealer, what a dissapointment! There is no way the engine should cut out leaving me stranded by the side of the highway with almost no miles on it....very un Accura like. One of the primary reasons for purchasing this car was reliability and now that has been shattered the dealer better have a very good explanation as to how this could happen. This is a very serious safety concern for those that log alot of highway miles.

Has anyone else had any issued like this?

 

More info needed...

• Were there any weird sounds/vibrations before the engine died?
• Any smoke or other indications of problems?
• Any warning lights in the dash either just before or after?
• Did it just cut out all at once or sputter and then die?
• When you tried to restart it did it turn over at all, did it respond to your pushing the start button at all?
• Had there been any other irregularities whatsoever since you took possession of the car?
• Did the car still have electrical power after the engine died?

Because you're right....that's extremely un-Acura-like.

 

There were no wierd sounds or vibrations when the engine died. Sounded like it may have hit the rev limiter.

There was no smoke or strange smells.

No Warning Lights

It just died and lost power.

The car would turn over but not start. Once the start button was pushed it just kept cranking.

Car was running great to that point no irregularities.

Still had electrical power after engine died.

I was pretty clse to home when it happened so I called a friend to come pick up my wife and daughter and waited with the car. I called and spoke to someone at the Acura dealer and we agreed that maybe the security was messed up. I removed one of the leads from the batery to reset everything and also no joy.

Obviously the car can be fixed but my larger concern is reliability. It seems difficult to comprehend a new car losing engine power so suddenly. I do many miles of highway driving and losing power suddenly is a safety issue on multi lane highways.

Also Im the type of person who values reliability in a vehicle and now my confidence in this new TL is destroyed. I really hope the dealer has an explanation that makes sense, I want to like this car again.

 

Ajax, your situation is troubling. You should be able to drive your TL hard, and the sophistication of the electronics should keep you from breaking it. If you did indeed hit the rev limiter, it should not have caused the engine to stop running...that seems like a rather dangerous fail-safe mechanism. Keep this forum informed on what happened and why. Thanks.

 

i had a similiar situation early this week. i went to start the car..it would start but die right after. i had power to everything other than my gauges and my MID. I had the car towed to my dealer and was told the fuses were blown for the immobilizer and such. I will find out more today.

 

Well it is a troubling situation thats for sure. Ill be sure to let everyone know what the diagnosis is, there may be a safety issue with this.

If it is indeed a fuse that will be a new one for me, never in any of my previous vehicles has a fuse blown, let alone caused the engine to stop running.

Im now wondering whether the whole keylees thing is a good idea. Perhaps a few bugs need to be worked out with this system.

I guess I can take some comfort from the fact that it happened close to home rather than on an extended road trip.

PiMpiN wHITe Cl-S let us know what you find out with your car.

 

just got the car back today..this is what was stated on the invoice from the dealer..

bad battery. load tested battery failed test. diagnose no start with hds found code u0155 gauge control module. reset engine light with hds. diagnose engine light found blown fuse for immobilizer.

this also noted that maybe it was caused by my hid fogs, but i highly doubt it was due to that.

 

The keyless system has been on the RL since at least 2005 (I know that because a friend has a 2005 RL that has it) and it seems to be identical to the one on the 2009 TL so the bugs should have been worked out of it.

 

Update....

After two full days in the shop they still have no answers about why the car wont run. They apparently have swapped out the engine computer and still no go. Next step is to have the fuel tested to see if it is the problem. I have doubts about the fuel being a problem as I filled it with Shell Vpower 91 and then proceeded to drive the car 350kms before the problem occurred. If it happnes there is water in the fuel it has likely gotten in somewhere in the fuel system during the down pour I was driving through.

It looks like a few more days before the car is fixed again as the tech who was working on it is off for the weekend and is also taking Monday off. He wont continue to diagnose the car again until Tuesday. By that time my new car will have spent more time in the shop then I did driving it before it broke down.

 

i sure hope they gave you a loaner.

 

Yes I have a loaner, non navi auto TSX. Ok car, but definately a step down from the TL. The sooner I get my car back the happier Ill be. If the car goes unrepaired beyond middle if next week, Ill be getting very cranky...

 

As you should, that's bizarre. 6K rpm's with your family in the car, that's a little scary.

 

Bmode...I hit 6k in second gear using the paddles on a deserted secondary road. Not going too fast and didnt mean to even wind it up that high but it gets there very fast when you put your foot down.

 

Day #7 with my new car in for repairs with the techs trying to figure out the problem....

Just had a call from Acura service. It appears the reason stopped running was that the timing belt "slipped" They are trying to figure out why this happened.

Im concerned that one or more of the valves may be bent as a result. Anyone have any experience with a timing belt slipping? I know that the J37 is an interference engine meaning that if the timing belt goes you can get bent valves etc. I wonder if the same type of damage can occur if the timing belt slips. The car only has about 800 miles on it and Im now wondering if I should insist on a new car??

 

wow that sucks. i'd see if the dealer will replace the car. check your states lemon law

 

There is no doubt that having your spanking new car have a serious mechanical problem is a bummer. In Ontario we dont have any lemon laws but I intend to speak with the dealer and let them know Id like to have the vehicle replaced. I bet that will go nowhere but its worth a shot. The thought of having a new car that may have damage due to a problem with the timing belt doesnt sit well with me.

 

I'd be pist........ Acura may make it right for you

 

any updates?

 

Update>>>
after 3 weeks in the shop it has been determined that the cam pully had a fault that allowed a piece of the pully to break. In otherwords a faulty casting on the cam pully. When the piece cam off the pully it caused the timing belt to slip which in turn caused the pistons to hit the valves. The car had 0 compression in the rear cylinder bank. I told the dealer I didnt want that car back as it only had 1200 kms when it had the problem. I also told them that if they wouldnt replace the car Id trade it in on a new one.

The new car and it came in yesterday. Cost to me was 0 and Im happy with the way things were handled although it took 3 weeks to resolve.

Even after the calamity of having the first car experience a major problem I can still say that I love this car! The more I look at it the more I like it. To all the people who dont like the design Id say give it another look. Ive never had as many compliments on a new car as Ive had with this one. Not that I really care what anyone else thinks as Im the one driving it but it is still nice to get a compliment here and there.

Now if I can just get the break in period over with so I can drive it....

 

glad to hear your problem is solved...in a fortunate but unexpected way!

I agree with you, the car is awesome! Have fun with it!

 

Glad to hear everything worked out for you! I'm also glad you still love the car despite what you went through. Sounds like they did right with the situation.

 

wow, new car and not a new engine, kudos to the dealership.

 

I am sure it is Kudos to Acura Corporate and NOT the dealership. After 3 weeks, I am certain engineers at corporate got involved and made sure he was properly treated.

I had a MUCH smaller incident with my 2007 TL back in November 2006. The handsfree link had interference when in use. It sounded like a whining that would increase with the speed of the engine. I insisted this was a problem and was able to recreate it on other 2007 TLs. My dealership could not fix it and they quickly got Acura corporate involved. It took them a while, but they finally fixed it and issued a TSB for the issue. They also paid me $1500 for my trouble. This was great because I also made a pretty good deal on the car when I purchased it.

I am really happy to hear they replaced the car. That was the only right move. I had a friend buy an FX-35, back in 2003, and the transmission died after only a week. They wanted to merely replace the transmission, but once my friend threatened legal action, the dealership, and possibly Infiniti, decided to give him a new vehicle.

 

either way, Acura took care of him the correct way.

 

at least they didn't just offer you the free mugs myself and other just got. (gifts)
- no really glad it worked at like it did. Acura handled that right

 

My only hope is that you have a lemon law in Canada. Get a good lawyer and get rid of this car.

 

Wow dude... so you must be pretty good at reading a thread from start to finish and everything in between, aren't you?

 

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Cliffs-

-Timing belt jumped and caused pistions to hit valves

-No lemon law in Canada

-Dealer gave him a brand new car for his trouble

 

http://lawiscool.com/2008/09/14/moto...aws-in-canada/
http://www.camvap.ca/

 

Scary AJAX. I'm glad Acura made it right for you. Waiting for my 2010 TL 6-speed HPT. Anxiously!

 

Glad that Acura came to bat for you and gave you a new car. $hit happens but what a company does after that is what counts.