DelawareCLS

Anyone experiencing a slight sputtering when accelerating under moderate loads? I have an '03 CL-S 6MT with just over 50k miles and have been experiencing this about once a day for at least the past year. It's not terrible, but more annoying than anything. Feels as if the power is coming in quick spurts instead of in a linear fashion.

Under normal acceleration, it's not noticeable. Under WOT or close to, I don't think it's noticeable either. Mainly when driving somewhat spirited, RPM ranges from about 2000-4000 or -5000, primarily in 2nd or 3rd gear.

I've tried the basic fuel and valve cleaner additives to no avail. Is there something more common I am not thinking of? Search turned up a few things which seemed more serious than mine, and looked more like issues after installing mods. However, talk of the battery being disconnected caught my attention (headlights were stolen 1 year ago and battery was disconnected then). Any thoughts?

I've ruled out (I think):
- bad tank of gas, as it's been occurring for quite some time
- clogged air filter, have a k&n installed and clean it regularly
- dirty valves, ran valve cleaner additive
- dirty fuel lines, ran fuel cleaner additive

amashraf

My CL is doing something similar. When I'm in 2nd gear, it accelerates just slightly choppy, and the only way you can really notice is by watching the RPM gauge. Instead of climbing smoothly, the needle jumps in short bursts all the way up. It's very subtle, and you have to watch it kind of closely, but it's definitely there. When I shift into 3rd gear, it goes away.

I have an '03 CL 6-speed. If you figure this out, or if anyone else knows, please post it here.

Thanks!

Stealth CL

take it to a dealership to see if your throwing any codes....maybe misfiring

ms_cls

i have an 01 cls and i feel a drop of power sorta. i will be slightly accelerating and i feel a sudden drop of accelerating. i can acctually see the rmp's drop then jump back to where they were. i usually happens right after the gears change. i will shift into third then about 2 seconds later it happens. it doesnt do it all the time. maybe 2 or 3 time a week.

scuc

Sounds like your tranny is about to go. If you're under 100K mi you should get it checked out at the dealership.

BigLizard

It can possibly be something else other than the tranny. I put some Techron in the last gas tank and that helped...ever think about carbon deposites? Or maybe the injectors are dirty? My car has done this before of what DelawareCLS is talking about. I bought mine with 69,xxx miles and the tranny is just fine. Try Techron or Seafoam. And if this is with the 6speed also, then it's not the tranny. My engine doesn't feel sloppy when I have the RPMs up shifting from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 3rd or 3rd to 4th or 4th to 5th (Gate shifting, not SS, but I've tried it SS too, and that feeling is gone.) after putting some good fuel cleaner in.

-Never hurts to try.

amashraf

Thanks for the tips, gentlemen. I'll definitely give this a try.

'01White3.2CL

i have that but only very little and it usually happens right when i switch into the next gear, especially 1st-2nd. I always attributed it to the low torque numbers on our cars. am i wrong?

BTW 2001 3.2CL-P 50,000 miles

03sixer

I'm not sure if I'm feeling the same thing as you, but this is the best way to describe my problem. I have an 03 6speed, 57k miles. What I notice is that under very light excelleration, only when the car is cold, it "jitters" almost as if there's a slight missfire. Like it would feel if you had a car that had bad plug wires or something. It does that until it's warmed up, then it doesn't do it anymore. Seems to be most prominant between about 2800 and 3500 RPMs. Also, it's much easier to feel in the lower gears.

Another non related problem I see, virtually everytime I drive the car is that right about the same time, everytime, when the temperature gets to normal, the car seems to momentarily shut down (less than a second). In higher gears, it's negligably noticable, but in a lower gear, it almost feels like I just let off the accelerator for a 1/2 second (but we all know with the 6 speeds, even letting off the accerator the RPMs stay up because of that dual mass flywheel), but not in this case. It really feels as though I shut the key off for a split second.

ROCKSTAR

BG44K....

Thats all I have to say, I used that when I had some hesitation and sputtering. Stuff is amazing!! Noticable performance differance!!!

Marine1

I have this same problem with the momentary loss of power. Usually happens after a cold start. To date the dealer has not been able to repeat it. I am due for my 90K service. I am also going to change the timing belt at this time. The dealer is going to change the belts at no charge at this same time. They are going to keep the car a couple of days to try and find the cause of the power loss.

03sixer

I see where people say this stuff works great in vehicles that have gunked up over the years. But honestly, how much gunk can an 03 CLS with 57k miles have on it? Also, why would it only sputter when it's cold. Nice of you to offer this advice, but you never stated whether your hesitation and sputtering was similar to mine...only when the car is cold, or all the time?

03sixer

Does yours do it around the same time, everytime? Mine seems to do it right when the temp needle hits normal operating temperature. Less than 5 minutes after I leave my garage. I feel as though I could almost put it on a timer and it would happen within seconds each time.

DelawareCLS

Would doubt it's throwing a code - car was in the dealer at about 47k for a service and I assume they would have hooked it up to check

Guess I'll try another cleaner. I do want to take the cover off and see if it's gunked up.

Is there any chance it could be the plugs??

grammo

I'm having a similar problem on my 03 cls-6 w/~42k ... I'm getting a hesitation, usually when just cruising at lower rpms. It seems to go away if I either let off the gas, or push the pedal all the way down. I haven't tried any cleaners or anything yet, so maybe I'll go that route.

Marine1

Yes. It is like clock work.

Moodist

iTrader: (2)

Could possibly be a sticky throttle body. Try taking of the intake and cleaning the TB.

PMGCamaro

I have an 03 CLS 6 speed w/65k that I beleive is doing the same thing. Occationally I notice a very light shudder while accelerating. Based on the frequency of the vibration my guess would be a coil or spark plug on going bad.

btwombat

My 03 6MT does the same thing. Slight stumble or hesitation when it's cold. I bought it a year ago with 29,000 on it and it is still under warranty til June.

Judging by all the posts here It sounds like a common problem. Has anyone ever got it fixed?

03_CLS_6sp

Mine does it too. Only under light throttle conditions. I think it may have something to do with the AC compressor kicking on. If so, not much you can do about it.

It hasn't been happening much lately, since it's winter, I usually have the AC off (unless I need to defrost the windshield).

03sixer

Mine does it regardless of A/C being on or off, but it never does it once the car is warmed up. I only notice it under pretty light excelleration. I'm planning on going down to the dealership (closest one is 2.5 hrs away) and having it checked out. I'm suspecting that they will give me the typical dealer BS and say they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

Mine does this same thing only under light/normal acceleration with or without the A/C turned on.

I've got an 06 CL-S 6spd with a little under 150K miles.

I don't think it's my throttle body or fuel injectors as I've had those cleaned within the last months and it was doing this prior to and after this.

It's been about 45K since I had my sparkplug changed. Next time I go in which may be soon because I need to get two motor mounts replaced I'll ask them about the plugs.

btwombat

I don't have the A/C turned on. It really is only noticeable for the first 2 minutes or so of driving. I wonder if it's something in the engine programming? Possibly something to do with cold engine emissions?

PimpCL23

holy shit! why do u have soo many miles??? any tranny probs??

kyle77777

Glad to see im not the only one. Mine also does the same, usually only at low RPM's 2000-4000. Have not checked into it since it rarely does it. I do use chevron supreme

03 CL-S 6MT

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

My car is a daily commuter unfortunately. My commute is 60 miles a day. And when I first got the car I was doing about 80 miles per day plus a lot more driving on the weekends.

My driving as of late has toned down considerably. My wife and I carpool 3 days out of the week so that has really really brought down the amount I drive on the CL.

No transmission problems *** knock on wood ***

Car still runs pretty damn strong. If you're ever in the area and want to see just how strong it still pulls let me know. You'd be pretty amazed.

03sixer

I only use BP supreme.

03sixer

Well, I took my car to McGrath Acura in Chicago to have them check it. I knew when I walked in that I was doomed. The guy was a complete asshole. I told them over the phone before hand that I had a 3 hour trip to come there, and I gave them the symptoms. I said that when it's cold, under light or no acceleration, that it sputter between 2500 and 3000 RPMs. Then I also said that like clockwork, when it gets to operating temperature, it seems as though I lose power for about a 1/2 second. He quickly quipped that "It's probably searching for the right gear." I'm like, "It's a six speed, man." I knew then, that they wouldn't find any problem...and they didn't, of course. fuking dealerships. I'll never figure out what's causing this until a light finally comes on, and my warranty is run out.

DelawareCLS

Funny that this thread came back up...just this weekend I was driving the car and began to wonder if this is occurring when I shift a little early and the RPM drops below 2k. If you have the 6 speed, you know we don't have much power/torque below 2k, and I always downshift if in traffic and the needle's dipping below that point.

However, I watched the needle under "light load" shifting and it did drop to a bit below 2k when shifting from 1st to 2nd and the sputtering occurred until it got up around 3k+. However, when I ran out 1st gear a bit more and the shift to 2nd put me at around 2.5k, no problems.

I'll pay more attention and report back. Been riding in to work this past week in the gf's Forester so haven't played around any more.

artbran

iTrader: (2)

I find it interesting that its mostly 6 speeds that have this problem

Mine does the same thing. But the thing is that it got worse when I changed my 02 sensors. I bought them from Advanced Auto and soldered them into the factory wiring harness. Checked the connections and everything was alright. Checked for resistance and voltage, and it came out ok.

Either way, I have tried different fuels, different oils, different everything and it still there. I'm thinking thats its because of the O2 Sensors not being original in mine and with all you guys out there, it might be that they are starting to go... It doesnt bother me as it only happens right after I get on the road 2 min after leaving my house. It hesitates and then it goes away. Oh and it only happens when the engine is cold and once a day after it sat through the night.

LiquidCLs6

wow this seems to happen to everyones 6 speed?!? i'm driving back down to dallas this saturday to pay for and pick up the 6sp i test drove last weekend. after reading this thread i'm a bit worried, have there been any updates on ur guys' problems? anyone found how to fix it? should i not even let this affect my decision on purchasing the car?

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

I have the same sputtering or surging in my car as well. I'm at a loss on what it is.

Could it be a bad fuel pump?

rtatsutani

That's the same exact thing I have except I have an auto and 3.5L conversion with unichip. My fuel pressure is extremely low and am changing out my FPR and fuel pump this weekend and will let you guys know if that fixes it.

SG81

iTrader: (1)

this happens to me, but only like once a month or so. what the hell is it???

artbran

iTrader: (2)

I still say O2 sensors... maybe they have to be Honda made in this car...

m733l

iTrader: (1)

+1 more for the 6speeders. but i notice my when i have the a/c on. it feels like whatever drives the a/c is taking up alot of power. once it's off, the car goes back to normal after a minute or so. i just started to notice this and i'm at 55K. somebody please figure this out.

rtatsutani

You may be on to something. I do have an exhaust leak because my headers are loose and as it's getting louder, my car seems to spudder more. But I'll be sure to fix fuel and exhaust issues separately to isolate what the problem may be.

horsepowercrzy18

ok so i have an 03 cls auto and i have the problem when i accelerate, the rpms drop then raise again. i think either my tranny is going out or i need to do a good engine cleaning maybe?

artbran

iTrader: (2)

I mean i can see why mine would do it as i my exhaust is completely free flowing with no cat...

And when i bought my new O2 sensors, they said on the box that they last about 50k miles or so. Maybe it was 80k

Not only that, they were universal and didnt look anything like the ones I pulled out. If i would buy them again, i would look online for something with the harness already.

It just dawned on me that it could also be the heater in the sensor. Heating coils go bad after some time and if the sensor is cold, then it will read wrong and mess with the fuel.

When it happens to me, it seems like its bogging down from lack of fuel.

artbran

iTrader: (2)

seafoam!