Is Acura talking out of their behinds?

[PoPPeR]

**Update**

Acura called and said they narrowed it down to fuel injectors and that estimated cost of replacing is $1200. They're clogged or dirty or something and my warranty wont cover that because they say it's a maintenance issue. Do the above suggestions still apply (fuel cleaners and whatnot)? Thanks for the help!

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On Halloween night my tank was pretty close to empty, i only needed a little bit of gas so i put $10 of Arco premium into a 2003 Acura TL. Drive about 15 miles. Next morning, the check engine (or error detected thing) comes on, my car starts shaking, but when the car warms up it dissapears. Comes back again the next morning, so I finally take it to an Acura dealership.

They told me every cylinder is firing off error codes in their diagnostic and they're recommending a tear down, which they estimate at $300-$400. I asked what are the possibilities? They said something about spark plugs and gas valves, but they claim they really have no idea what's wrong. One guy told me the gas in Arizona sucks and I should never use anything but Shell or Chevron which sounds sort of fishy to me.

I'm so confused right now... can anyone shed some light on what could possibly be happening here? This is the first time I've had any sort of problem with this car.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
On Halloween night my tank was pretty close to empty, i only needed a little bit of gas so i put $10 of Arco premium into a 2003 Acura TL. Drive about 15 miles. Next morning, the check engine (or error detected thing) comes on, my car starts shaking, but when the car warms up it dissapears. Comes back again the next morning, so I finally take it to an Acura dealership.

They told me every cylinder is firing off error codes in their diagnostic and they're recommending a tear down, which they estimate at $300-$400. I asked what are the possibilities? They said something about spark plugs and gas valves, but they claim they really have no idea what's wrong. One guy told me the gas in Arizona sucks and I should never use anything but Shell or Chevron which sounds sort of fishy to me.

I'm so confused right now... can anyone shed some light on what could possibly be happening here? This is the first time I've had any sort of problem with this car.

Wow that sounds fishy, hop over to forums.clubrsx.com they have a problems & solutions section and I'm sure that they'd have some suggestions.

 

[cmv]

WTF. Did they drain the gas tank? Put in good gas? They sound way too eager to rip into the engine. By "one guy" do you mean that you have got multiple opinions or are these guys all at the same shop? Get multiple opinions.

The ideal situation is:
- you got some bad gas
- you fill up with good gas and drain a whole tank
- the error codes go away and the shaking is gone

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Fill up the tank with some REAL premium. You probably got pwn3d by cheap gas.

- M4H

 

[Eli]

Bullsh!t.

Arco uses BP gasoline AFAIK, which is quality.

Gasoline quality is pretty highly regulated.. So unless you got gas from Billy Bob's Fuel Stop 125 miles from anywhere, that is most certainly not the cause.

 

[PoPPeR]

By "one guy" I mean the "service specialist" handling my car. I dont think this guy is more than 25 years old... he didn't even remember to ask me for my key when I left my car there. This is all being handled by Acura of Tempe

 

[0roo0roo]

its all the same gas from the same pipelines u know. at best they might toss in an additive at the end but thats it. companies pay to use pipelines and the gas they put in isn't the same batch they take from the end.

as for your car, its probably a coincidence.

 

[PoPPeR]

Originally posted by: cmv
WTF. Did they drain the gas tank? Put in good gas? They sound way too eager to rip into the engine. By "one guy" do you mean that you have got multiple opinions or are these guys all at the same shop? Get multiple opinions.

The ideal situation is:
- you got some bad gas
- you fill up with good gas and drain a whole tank
- the error codes go away and the shaking is gone

if it's just bad gas or something simple, wouldn't their mechanics be able to tell? Apparently they were working on my car all day and are stumped.

 

[Trevelyan]

Maybe they filled the tanks at the gas station recently and sediment from the bottom of the tank was pumped into your car?

 

[PoPPeR]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
its all the same gas from the same pipelines u know. at best they might toss in an additive at the end but thats it. companies pay to use pipelines and the gas they put in isn't the same batch they take from the end.

as for your car, its probably a coincidence.

yeah I have no problem believing something is wrong with my car, but when the dealership started feeding me this gas stuff I started getting suspicious

 

[intogamer]

roflmao you had bad gas

 

[Eli]

It's bullsh!t. I'd laugh at them and take my car elsewhere immediately.

 

[PoPPeR]

ok, thanks for the replies.

 

[Midlander]

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
if it's just bad gas or something simple, wouldn't their mechanics be able to tell? Apparently they were working on my car all day and are stumped.

They are stumped and you are considering letting them tear into your engine? Take it somewhere else.

 

[PoPPeR]

Originally posted by: Midlander

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
if it's just bad gas or something simple, wouldn't their mechanics be able to tell? Apparently they were working on my car all day and are stumped.

They are stumped and you are considering letting them tear into your engine? Take it somewhere else.

in their words, "we are getting so many error codes that we have to do a tear down to figure out what's really wrong. Now I need you to authorize this $400 charge."

 

[NL5]

I think you are confused - they are not going to "tear your engine down" for 3 or 400 bucks.

 

[Midlander]

Car dealers. Gotta love 'em.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: PoPPeR

Originally posted by: Midlander

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
if it's just bad gas or something simple, wouldn't their mechanics be able to tell? Apparently they were working on my car all day and are stumped.

They are stumped and you are considering letting them tear into your engine? Take it somewhere else.

in their words, "we are getting so many error codes that we have to do a tear down to figure out what's really wrong. Now I need you to authorize this $400 charge."

*the dealer watches out of his office windows and starts giggling uncontrollably*

 

[isekii]

shouldn't that be covered under warranty ?

 

[Eli]

Yeah. What the fsck kind've "teardown" are they doing for 400$?

You're getting taken for a ride.

 

[FlashG]

Originally posted by: Midlander

Originally posted by: PoPPeR
if it's just bad gas or something simple, wouldn't their mechanics be able to tell? Apparently they were working on my car all day and are stumped.

They are stumped and you are considering letting them tear into your engine? Take it somewhere else.

04 TL owner here. Yes it sounds like they are trying to dupe you. The processors on newer Acuras should be able to tell them everything they need to know. ask here for more info

 

[bonkers325]

you're getting duped. take it to several other mechanics and see what the general concensus is

 

[Fritzo]

Originally posted by: Eli
Bullsh!t.

Arco uses BP gasoline AFAIK, which is quality.

Gasoline quality is pretty highly regulated.. So unless you got gas from Billy Bob's Fuel Stop 125 miles from anywhere, that is most certainly not the cause.

FTW. There's only a few suppliers of gas and stations just slap their brand on it.

 

[Aimster]

I always got the best MPG using Mobil.

I do notice a difference in MPG when I switch.

 

[JulesMaximus]

That sounds really fishy to me.

How many miles are on this car? Should still be under warranty. Doesn't Acura have a decent powertrain/emissions warranty?