I think my 2009 TSX just bit the dust but we shall find out what failed tomorrow.....

[The Stigenator]

Mileage: 618xx
Car: TSX 2009 5A Tech

Conditions: Hot 90F+ weather, AC on full. Driving on city streets (normal traffic).

Well I am not sure what happened. On the way home from work it was running fine , the last mile or so the engine RPM kept bouncing off the low point (stalling) at idle (at the lights) I had the AC on so when I got closer to home I turned that off. As I was pulling into my underground parking lot (two sets of gates, one main and one garage gate), I noticed it was doing that even more, so i turned off the music but then heard a loud screeching noise and I thought i didnt turn off the music but it was off and then I saw smoke. Called the dealer right away, he asked me to start it up and withing 5 seconds it screeched with smoke. Its got coolant in it and its been maintained. It made some sort of a hissing sound. I couldnt tell exactly where the smoke was coming from but it was somewhere in the back area. The front stabilizer bar has smoke like 'steam dust' on it.

A neighbour helped me push it into my spot. Its being towed to the dealer tomorrow.

Its done the low RPM thing once before, a few months back. I was driving to work, approached a light under braking, the RPM's dropped it almost stalled and then bounced back up..

So the question is. Should I dump it for a 2011? Or go something else/ I've had loads of trouble with my 2009.. ugh!

 

[LTC8K6]

Could be something relatively simple like a locked up pulley or A/C clutch or tensioner. It might have been stiffening up and causing the engine to lug at idle, then it finally locked up completely.

 

[The Stigenator]

Could be something relatively simple like a locked up pulley or A/C clutch or tensioner. It might have been stiffening up and causing the engine to lug at idle, then it finally locked up completely.

I thought of that, but it did that sound after the AC was turned off. But does that explain teh steam?

 

[Viperoni]

I thought of that, but it did that sound after the AC was turned off. But does that explain teh steam?

A fried belt or bearing would.
The AC's status wouldn't change the noise/steam coming out.

 

[The Stigenator]

A fried belt or bearing would.
The AC's status wouldn't change the noise/steam coming out.

well there was quite a bit of steam and the screeching sound. Anyway come morning Acura will look at it. Hopefully its covered under powertrain warranty.

I have been telling people that honda's quality has gone down, perhaps I have to take a page from my own book and use it.

 

[wirelessF]

Seized water pump? The engine has a timing belt so it uses the belt to drive the pump. I'm guessing that's where the screeching sound is from.

 

[NutBucket]

K series has a chain, but it could still be a seized pulley.

Obvious question, but was there enough oil?

 

[The Stigenator]

The car didn't show signs of overheating but I'll know tomorrow. It had an oil change like 2.5k miles ago. It's not leaking oil.

 

[Doppel]

My money is on this being relatively minor.

 

[angry hampster]

My money is on this being relatively minor.

Yeah, smoke was probably just from a belt burning, the screech was the sound of it slipping. This is my guess anyhow. That doesn't particularly explain the idle drop though.

 

[Elganja]

2009 model? not under warranty? if it is, let the dealer fix it.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yeah, I'm thinking it's something belt driven that seized up.

 

[PricklyPete]

I third the belt diagnosis.

 

[Meghan54]

Question.....when it began "smoking", what did it smell like? Burning rubber? Sickly sweet smell?

Very hard to diagnose problems like this over the internet.....just like trying to diagnose human physical problems over the telephone. So many clues as to what is causing the problem just aren't available.

 

[A5]

61K miles on an 09? Man you drive a lot

 

[onza]

To be honest, sounds like a transmission failure. I've read similar stories on acruazine.

 

[hanoverphist]

i think the blinker fluid leaked out onto the ac idler pulley and caused the squeal, then hit the manifold and smoked up the joint.

 

[LordMorpheus]

I had an AC compressor seize on me before, loud screeching and smoke from the belt (music + highway + windows down (because the AC wasn't doing anything), so I didn't notice right away).

The funny thing is that the police closed the highway because a utility truck was on fire on the shoulder, and as traffic started slowing up I saw the plume of smoke and thought "man, I can smell that from here." As I came to a stop a cloud of rubber smoke caught up with me ...

 

[exar333]

61K miles on an 09? Man you drive a lot

Haha! I was thinking the same thing. The car could be almost 3 years old, but more likely between 2-2.5 years old. Thats a lot of miles!

 

[The Stigenator]

To be honest, sounds like a transmission failure. I've read similar stories on acruazine.

You know the service rep mentioned its possible that the transmission is going out. It was idling fine today but I'll ask them to drive it and see what happens.

 

[exdeath]

Im thinking water pump. They can be noisy when going out and blowing steam/coolant out the weep holes. The dust is probably belt rubber, most all manufacturers these days drive the water pump of the smooth back of the serpentine belt if it's not driven by a timing belt. If something driven by the ribs locked up, the belt would snap or the engine would stall/seize. Serpentine belts can't really slip (on the ribbed side). Check that the smooth side of your belt is shiny, smeared or missing brand marks, etc.

Given the symptoms and 60K miles...seems about right.

 

[exdeath]

Yeah, smoke was probably just from a belt burning, the screech was the sound of it slipping. This is my guess anyhow. That doesn't particularly explain the idle drop though.

Idle drops due to increase loading on the belt that the engine isn't prepared for. AC and power steering has a function that is accounted for in the idle control specifically for this reason. Mechanically stopping the belt from an external source does not. If it can catch it in time it will compensate and recover from the unexpected load, otherwise it dashpots past the point of no return and stalls.

 

[The Stigenator]

Well they found it.. an hour after I left the dealership or so it blew its top. The problem is in the AC system. Its not the IAC or anything else. Once the air temp raised enough and the AC which was at 62 F on the inside (when i left) it apparently started to stall and then eventually blew its top.

They had the car under surveillance (CCTV) watching it while working on other customers and when it did blow they found the problem.

Its going to cost me ~500 bucks to evacuate the freon, take off the valves, compressor etc, and reassemble it. I didnt understand what exactly failed but something failed. He said pressure built up until it sent the steam out the emergency blow off valve.

 

[exdeath]

Sounds like the pressure sensor failed and the system was over pressurized (compressor running non stop regardless of being required out not).

The "steam" was refrigerant (freon if you'd like) and loads of oil and tracer dye then.

 

[ss284]

You should be covered under warranty(4 years).

Edit: oops, forgot about the 62k miles part. I think 50k is the limit.