txl2017

I started a new thread in the "TLX forum", but I can't seem to find an approapraite sub-forum to do the same here. anyway, here's the post. It'd be great if I could get your insights -

I am still very new to my '17 V6 tech. Overall, I like it a lot. That said, I am still getting use to it. One of things on that getting used to list is the gas padel feel. Per my experimentations, in Normal Driving mode, if I lightly tapped on (vs pushing down slowly and gradually) the gas paddle I'd get the quick acceleration I wanted, but then in both Normal and Sport when the gas padel is already half way down (probably at 50ish miles?) and I want to pick up further, then without moving my foot away and upon my further pushing down, the pedal feels heavy or sticky, and the acceleration would not be as fast as I want it be.

Is this the normal operation of the engine and transmission? To accelerate from say 55 to 70 miles quickly, would you lift your foot and re-tap on the gas pedal? Is it a good way of driving? I am still some time away from my first service, and I am not sure if this is something I want to talk to them before the first service. Your insights will be appreciated.

txl2017

Sorry - just ignore the first paragraph of the above post. Don't know how to edit a post yet.

wreak

Yes it sounds normal, the TLX uses a drive by wire throttle which basically means a computer is analyzing the pressure you're applying to the pedal and doing its best to interpret how fast you want to accelerate. Rolling onto the throttle will give you a different acceleration than removing your foot and mashing it or tapping it. Removing your foot and mashing it will make it much more likely the car will downshift from a roll versus gradually applying more and more throttle pressure where it's likely the car will hold onto the gear.

If you're unhappy with the throttle response they do have products that remove throttle lag and give you a much more instant throttle response like you use to get with vehicles that used throttle cables (a direct linkage between the pedal and a cable opening the throttle plate). Check out the SprintBooster if you want something that you can easily adjust the throttle response.

txl2017

Thanks! This is helpful! I've been driving cars with turbo charged engines for the past few years. I knew I needed to adjust my driving habit in some ways to work with the TLX. With the kind of horsepower V6 comes with, I was expecting that I could accelerate to 80 miles more easily than I've experienced so far on flat high ways (and I haven't had the chance to try climbing a steep hill yet). I knew I was missing something. I'll experimenting a little more and hopefully can find the "right way" of driving it without having to go for a mod like installing the Sprintbooster.

pyrodan007

I would also play with the gear paddles to downshift to see if it makes a difference. The 9ZF transmission can be a little slow to react, especially in eco/normal mode. Sport is a little better, and doesn't really affect gas mileage. Good luck

txl2017

I might've missed something here. I haven't had issues with down shifting (yet, and fingers crossed!). Do you mean to use gear paddles to downshift to help achieve a quicker and easier acceleration in some way?

wreak

That's likely your problem, you're used to low end torque, the TLX makes it torque much higher in the RPM's, welcome to the wonderful world of Honda.

pyrodan007

Yup, that's exactly it. Depending in which gear it's in, flooring doesn't really produce the desired 'go' effect. If shifting does not change anything, it's just the way the car is compared to turbo engines as wreak mentioned.

ExcelerateRep

If the pedal feel really bothers you Sprint Booster might be worth some thought! It doesn't make the car any faster, but it definitely helps with throttle response.

txl2017

Tell me more. In terms of driving habit, with a car with high end torque like TLX, to release its inner power, do I need to push the gas pedal harder disregarding the heavy/sticky feeling? Do I need to mash/tap on it more often?

svtmike

You have to rev the engine more and use more gas.

Outdated V-6's are all about doing less with more.

txl2017

It sounds like you are not a fan of TLX? I actually started out looking for a car of V6 with relative high horsepower, after driving cars of turbo engines for a few years. I like the feeling that there is plenty power to tap into and the engine is not out of breath so easily. I just knew that I needed to make some changes to my driving habit and get to know the car better re what's normal what's not, where to "push the boundary" and how to enjoy the energetic rides. The fuel efficiency of TLX is within my acceptable range.

svtmike

I've still got two Acuras with the J series V6, and had a VW Golf TDI and now an Audi A4 -- both with torquey turbo 4's. I much prefer the turbo 4 engines in everyday driving -- more efficient, more effortless to drive, and in the case of the Audi at least -- plenty fast too. Best of all worlds kind of car for me.

txl2017

I get what you are saying. And I have enjoyed the smooth ride of my turbo engine cars. This time around, however, I wanted a change. I wanted a car that was "sportier". I didn't go for a "full blown" sports car not only due to affordability. I was looking for a car to be able to have some fun with when I wanted to but at the same time I could also use it as a family sedan or commute car 'cause it needs to take that responsibility too. So I was looking for a different kind of "best of all worlds". Not sure if I'm getting it or something close in the TLX. We'll see...

txl2017

Some suggest using Sport as the regular driving mode. My question is regardless the fuel efficiency issue, does it wear the engine more in the long run? Nice as the engine sound is, it revs up pretty dramatically especially when you accelerate from a stop. Is the engine supposed to do that on a regular basis?

Saintor

Sport doesn't change much, unfortunately,

Sport+ (not the regular Sport) changes everything.

Don't worry about engine wear. They will all do 250000 miles+ with maintenance. Fuel economy will obviously take an hit of 2-3mpg (guesstimate).

txl2017

Thanks for your input. In Normal mode, from a stop to moderately accelerate up to speed, i'd rev it up to or a little over 3000 rpm, and the engine booms. Are you doing this regularly as well, or should I slow down a bit for daily driving? As I said, I haven't dealt with the "throttle by wire" V6 before, I get paranoid whether I am driving the way as I'm supposed to. Also, for the first time yesterday I experienced the "one second delay" in acceleration. I was at the traffic light with brake hold on. Then without the car starting to roll, I applied gas pedal trying to accelerate off from the complete stillness. That's when I felt this hesitation. It seems if the car is already rolling on it's own, I wouldn't feel the delay, with my way of acceleration anyway, which is steadily and firmly. I can see this could be a problem in certain situations such as backing up to a busy high way and trying to immediately floor the throttle to avoid getting caught up in the oncoming traffic. I suppose we should consider it a limitation of this car?

BEAR-AvHistory

We have mapped out the changes on the BMW & its a maze.

Personally I drive in Sport with sport button pushed or Manual Sport with sport button pushed unless I want launch control.

What do the functions do in the TLX transmission?

txl2017

I am testing out Sport mode and trying to find out if I could use it as my regular driving mode as ome suggested. Well, I can't say I feel too much of a difference in terms of throttle response. Sure, the throttle feels lighter in the beginning, but once you press it down a notch and try pushing further, that slug comes again. Not sure if it can "learn" my driving habit with time, or should I take it to the dealership for a re-tune?

theredia92

TLX's accelerator pedal has a long range of travel and it takes a little bit of time to get used too. Smaller throttle inputs often do not change acceleration much. This is all to save fuel. I drive mine in Sport mode 99% of the time because it gives me the best throttle sensitivity out of the 3 drive modes (yes I know 4 with Sport + but, thats not designed to be used everyday). When I first got mine, I did not like its responsiveness in Normal mode. It just felt lazy. Here is my advice...set your preferred IDS setting to Sport and do not be afraid to give the car more throttle, even if you're not used to doing so. In situations where I want to accelerate from 40 to 65, pushing the throttle down half an inch does not change much. I often find myself going to 3/4 throttle or even full throttle.

txl2017

^^ Thanks for the advice. I now sort of regret not having test driving more carefully. While TLX sometimes is fun to drive, the throttle response if found out earlier would've been critical enough to make me have second thoughts. Now that I got the car, I will keep trying to make the most outof a less than ideal situation.

When I search around the Internet, i see this is more of an issue with many cars of throttle by wire system. Then it's not an issue with every throttle by wire cars, making me wonder if it can be adjusted and fixed by the dealership. Thoughts and experience?

theredia92

The dealer will not be able to make any adjustments as the car comes from the factory set up the way it is. With drive by wire systems there will always be some delay especially if you tend to jab at the throttle as apposed to making progressive throttle inputs. Ive driven multiple cars with drive by wire systems and they all have a similar unnatural feeling to them. Although some are definitely better tuned then others. Take my advice and try and change your driving habits a little, do not be afraid to bury your right foot to wake the car up. If you do that and still are not happy, you could always get a Sprint Booster. Its a device that plugs into your car and allows you to change the sensitivity of the throttle. Its pretty expensive and I think it may effect your warranty if something should go wrong. but do not quote me on that.

txl2017

I am not ready to make a modification such as a Sprint Booster. I just want the car to perform as it should or at its best/better state. On my way to work this morning, I tried the gradual pedaling approach as you suggested, and it did seem to work better. At least I wasn't revving it up like crazy without doing much in acceleration. Of course, this morning's commute was terribly jammed so I didn't have much of a need to accelerate quickly. Now, on reflection I may be subconsciously hoping it is a performance or even an "sport" sedan, which leads to unreasonable high expectations. I think once I get over the idea of trying to be one of the fastest cars on the road, I'd be happier. Thanks for your advice. You've been very helpful.

quantum7

This is just the nature of the beast. If you want your TLX to accelerate when you press the gas pedal without a delay....get a Sprint Booster, Drive in Sport+ all of the time, or read the future and press the pedal earlier. This is exactly why I did not buy a TLX. Five minutes into a test drive I could sense the delay/lag in the ZF9 and the throttle response when trying a rapid acceleration from a cruising speed. For me this was a deal breaker since my commute requires immediate acceleration....not a car that thinks about it for awhile. Others are very satisfied with the performance and that is great. My only hope is that the ZF goes away and that Acura introduces an S model.....soon.

Saintor

Just drive it in Sport+ (S-mode). The ZF9 is a superb transmission overall. I drive it manually most of the time just for fun. But the S-mode does a great job, like any ZF8.

At least the car gives you this option. On my previous non-sport Bimmer, I had an add-on $350 module just to improve the terrible throttle response.

txl2017

I guess my previous cars were OLD, both of which were not throttle by wire (and one of them was a BMW 528). So never had the problem and my driving habits die hard. But I think I am getting there - not to know how to make the TLX a fastest car but to smooth the drive and not to feel the lag in acceleration too obviously. I've been experiementing with the Sport mode but not the sport+. With Sport+ as your regular driving mode, are you essentially turning it into a manual car or otherwise a huge gas sucker? I'm not sure I am ready for either! Enlighten me.