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Sluggish acceleration from stop - Acura 1.6 EL

Hi there,

I've got a 98 Acura 1.6 EL and have suddenly noticed that the car is sluggish accelerating from a stop. I actually don't drive *that* much and after 9 years, the car only has 60,000km on it (I drive it to the subway station and finish my commute that way - I hate downtown traffic lol).

Anyways, once *in* gear, the car runs smoothly, but even if I floor it from a stop, the RPMs won't seem to go higher than 3000, and I remember that dial going crazy before, with quite a bit of pep. Now the car just doesn't want to go above 3000 rpms, no matter how hard I press on the gas pedal. I should also mention that this problem is sporadic - sporadic meaning it happens 80% of the time and doesn't happen 20% of the time.

Two weeks ago, I flushed my tranny fluid, thinking that would do it - same problem.

Last week, I replaced all 4 spark plugs, air and fuel filters, distributor cap/rotor and it did seem to help a bit, but for the most part, the problem is still there - the acceleration isn't what it used to be.

I asked the dealer if it could be a tranny problem (which they say they looked at by giving it a test drive), but they said that if it were a tranny problem, I'd *know* it was a tranny problem (not sure what that means). They didn't even bring up my timing belt, besides mentioning that I should probably replace it this winter, as Acura recommends it be replaced at about 60, 000km (which is where I'm at now). But I'd hate to replace the timing belt and still find that the problem exists.

Besides the timing belt, what else could be causing the problem? Like I mentioned, what sticks out in my mind is that the car just doesn't like to go above 3000rpms anymore, no matter how far down I press the gas pedal.

I might be imagining things now, but, it also seems like when I slow down, say from 40 km/hr to about 20km/hr or less, the car seems to jerk just a bit, nothing *very* noticeable, but slightly noticeable to me - don't remember that happening before.

By the way, is "engine breaking" bad for the transmission - ie. if I realize that I'm going to have to stop down the road, and instead of engaging the breaks, I just let my foot of the gas and let the car decelerate on its own, am I damaing the tranny at all? I wouldn't think so, but just curious.

Anyone have any other ideas of what sorts of things I should be looking at or observing while I'm accelerating that might help narrow down the problem? ie. how would I know what gear the car is currently in by rpm/speed? Can i be missing a gear? Can the tranny be slipping past a gear?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Reply to
Curious_1
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For the non-Canadians here, an Acura 1.6 EL is a rebadged Honda Civic.

Have you actually asked the dealer to diagnose and repair the problem? If you did, and they recommended a transmission fluid flush and minor tune-up, you need to find a new dealer. If you haven't asked them to diagnose the problem, you should, fix what is wrong, and stop wasting your money.

The timing belt needs to be replaced because if it breaks, your engine stops working, and could be VERY expensive to repair.

I don't think it is a very good idea for you to try and troubleshoot the problem, given your limited understanding of cars. I could just imagine that little dial with the RPMs going crazy, and your engine being destroyed.

Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

Reply to
Dan Beaton

Actually, I did ask them to diagnose the problem. I basically told them everything I mentioned in my post (minus the tune-up items, which I had done *after* they diagnosed the problem). They told me that they'd "check" the powertrain and give it a test-drive. And the only items they came back with were: spark plugs, air/fuel filters and distributor cap/rotor.

I know that my sluggish acceleration could be caused by a lot of things, but I'm thinking that it's often caused by a few common suspects - any thoughts?

Or are you saying that a reputable dealer would have noticed the initial problem, tried to fix the problem with their minor tune-up items, given it another test drive, noticed the problem was still there, and come back with something along the lines of "well, what we thought would have fixed the problem didn't fix the problem - we should have a closer look".

Hey Dan, you're not in Toronto by any chance are ya? Know of any "reputable" shops? lol (grasping at straws here)

Reply to
Curious_1

Too bad about where you live. A 'LOT' of the garages and mechanics here in Toronto are blatant crooks!

I have only found one honest mechanic in 17 years and that SOB recently retired on me.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's - Gone to the rust pile... Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06
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Reply to
Mike Romain

Hey Mike, thanks for the reply, and I hear ya! At least he's an honest SOB lol

So I've been doing a bit more research on these newsgroups and it seems, if I'm not mistaken, some people seem to have quite a different problem than mine with respect to hesitation during acceleration. I've read a few posts where the RPMs would go very high without any response .... whereas in my case, the car just doesn't want to go above 3000 RPMs, and to me, that makes me think our problems are totally different. Heck, I'm beginning to think a little Lucas Transmission Fix might even help at this point lol (ie. could I have a leak in the vacuum line?)

Thanks again for all your responses

Reply to
Curious_1

He was ornery, but did great work.

Things like the throttle position sensor's electrical plug get corroded easy up here in the rust belt. On our Jeeps, we have to spray down the connections to keep the throttle response working right. An electrical contact cleaner is the best, but WD40 will do also.

I regularly go after all the sensor connections with cleaner, then I use a dielectric grease on the plug's sealing skirt. (Canadian tire sells the dielectric grease cheap and calls one type 'spark plug boot protector'.)

A vacuum leak normally causes a high idle. A plugged up cat converter can cause your trouble. I believe this shows as a 'low' manifold vacuum signal on the engine.

You can test your spark plug wires for a bad one by having the engine running in the dark with the hood open and spray misting the wires with water. If you have bad ones, you will get a fireworks display.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Romain

Given the age, the relatively low mileage, and your driving pattern, I'd suspect a plugged exhaust system. The restriction would likely be after the catalytic converter, although it is possible the converter is plugged. The correct way to diagnose this is to insert a pressure probe in the exhaust immediately after the exhaust manifold. Some cars have a test port for this, some don't. For a quick test, you could disconnect the exhaust pipe at the rear of the catalytic converter and see if things improve. This won't check for a plugged converter, but it would rule out a problem with the rest of the exhaust system.

Ed

Reply to
C. E. White

Is your trans an auto or a stick? If stick, how many speeds? S

Reply to
sdlomi2

Thanks Mike, Ed .... I'll mention this to my dealer and also ask why they didn't check for this thing during their "diagnostics"

Reply to
Curious_1

Hey S,

I realized that was a "small" detail I forgot to mention. My car is actually automatic.

The more I think about it, as limited as my knowledge of cars is, the more I think my problem is "flow" (ie. not enough air/gas getting thru) related, as opposed to "mechanical" (ie. gears) related - and it all goes back to my rpm's not budging much, or very slowly, no matter how hard I press on the pedal.

Reply to
Curious_1

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