it's gettin on my nerves. when i'm in gear and i press on the gas, sometimes the car hesitates. i can have the pedal to the floor and nothing, then all of a sudden it goes? what gives?

 

probably something with the ignition or fuel?

 

screwy TPS (Throttle position sensor)?

My friend has this exact problem after swapping the B18C-R into his EK 4 dr. When he stamps his foot down, the car chuggs along till about 3000-4000rpm, then SURGES.. Do you get a check engine light intermittently? We nailed it down to a faulty TPS...

 

have you changed your oil latley cause that same problem happened to me and i changed my oil and i havent had that problem sence.

 

IT'S NICE TO KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE!!!!!
My Civic does it too.

My current car is a 96SR-V , but I still own my 91 Civic - automatic (winter car).
My mom is the original owner on the Civic and its got low mileage. In the last 3yrs I've experienced the same problem (:, about once a month (worse in warm weather) from a stop you press the gas pedal and nothing.. it starts to idle rough but there is no response, after a few seconds the car surges forward and then continues to run fine.

I've called Honda Cdn and they tell me to bring it to the dealer, I've brought it 3 times, once they replaced the main relay (morons) and the other 2 times they said since they can't duplicate the problem they can't solve it (how pathetic). Since there is no codes, I've played hit and miss with replacing parts from the scrap yard: injectors, distributor, fuel-grade, plugs, NOTHING worked. Technically its a lemon but Honda doesn't give a poo poo. I've learned to live w/ it unless anybody has any suggestions. I'M DETERMINED TO FIND OUT WHAT IT IS, SUGGESTIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.

 

I have a 2000 Prelude base, and my car does the exact same thing.. It didn't do it from the beginning.. just started maybe about 6 months ago.. I start up the car, start to drive, and it acts like it's not getting any gas, and then SURGE!! Whoa.. I hate it.. I haven't taken it into Honda cause I thought it was something I did to the car (AEM FPR) .. but if all these other people are experiencing the same thing, I'm not sure what it could be? Some type of weird Honda problem.

Jay

 

mecheng - first, the main fuel relay can cause a lot of weird things in cars, so it wasn't dumn to change that. and second, if they car works correctly at the garage and doesn't have anything wrong, why are they stupid if they say they can't fix it? if i brought my car to you and said it hesitates when you step on the gas sometimes and you have it for three days driving it back and forth and it never does that, how can you fix it? you can't fix something if you don't know what is wrong.

now, as far as the problem, i would also agree with the tps - my friends prelude does the same thing and he has swapped out his tps three times and ever time he did it, the problem disappeared until his tps went bad again. he kept putting in used ones.

 

My car is the same way but it didn't happen till I got my cam gears in and adjusted.
I think it is due to the improper mix and scavange effect. But when it does it 4rmp waahoo go baby go.
I have three Vtecs bog till 4 grand Vtex at 5500 and nitrous next
My car is kinda wierd like that.

 

my car does sorta the same thing but it happens randomly like when i go down the road and give it gas it will pull but not really good then suddenly it will pull again. it mainly does it when i havent been driving it long and in cold weather too

 

A few things I would do first:
1. Change fuel filter.
2. Adjust timing. If it's retarded too much, it'll do that.
3. Change plugs and wires, rotor button and cap.
4. Might try having the injectors cleaned. Clogged or improperly spraying injectors will cause issues.

Usually when the TPS goes bad, it'll throw a CEL. Code 7 on OBD1 ECU's.

 

it is hesitates at partial throttle up to about 3-4K RPM, but at WOT it seems ok, its your O2 sensor.

 

It happens randomly, so the chances of it occuring when the mechanic looks at it are next to nothing which means the mechanic will never be able to fix it... come on!!! When it does occur, what will it tell him, there are no codes, my description should be sufficient. Maybe if I bring it in every day for a yr it might occur, MIGHT occur.
As for the relay, it is an electro-mech switch it either works or doesn't (no fuel-stall) and it was already replaced once when it wouldn't start (cuz on a hot day the operate voltage exceeded the bat voltage which means no fuel connection). It does not cause the car to hesistate. -I work in the auto industry

I will take ur advice on the TPS but the Civic never registered a code, what do u think? O2 sensor, that is a possibility.. but w/out codes??? Suggestions?

 

i wasn't saying it was the relay. the only problems i have had with the relay is the car not starting. i just know that when they do go bad, some weird things can happen.

and for the codes not flashing for the tps, that is possible. my friends prelude has never flashed a code for his tps. the only thing it is flashing now is his O2 sensors, which he has never replaced. his tps is bad again and his o2 sensors are gone. but he only gets that hesitation every once in a while.

i also work in the auto industry - what do you do?

 

I drop tons of cash into a Prelude... that's what I do...

 

I work as a Mechanical Designer (Engineer in Training) at a automotive
parts supplier. We do supply Honda. :>
Thanks for the advice, I'm gonna find a TPS and O2 sensor and see if that works,
too bad its trial and error.

 

I've got the same issue - had it for around 30,000 miles now. Haven't done any hardcore diagnosis, as funds have been tight. Just feels like I've let off the gas for a moment when I really haven't. Subtle enough so that passenger's can't feel it happening, and a mechanic wouldn't notice it either, being unfamiliar with the car. And since you can't reproduce it regularly, you can't test different scenarios (WOT, partial throttle, temperature, etc.)

It generally occurs between 2,500-3,000 rpms, and obviously it's more noticeable in lower gears - although I do believe it happens in the higher ones as well. It seems to occur most often when I'm not warmed up, but it does occur when I am warm as well. It may not occur at WOT, but it's difficult to test, since WOT in 1st or 2nd gear doesn't allow much time at <3,000 rpms.

Everyone I've talked to has a completely different opinion on the cause - it's a problem that could be caused by any number of things. Fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel injectors, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, TPS, O2 sensor(s), MAP sensor, blah, blah, blah.

The only people I've heard fix it are those that go in and replace everything at once, so there's no way to know where the problem actually lies. Rather frustrating.

And of course, so many people have mods, so it's hard to know if what I'm experiencing on my stock lude is the same as what they've got.

Any ideas?


[Modified by Daemione, 2:09 PM 2/12/2002]

 

how much is one of those TPS things you're all talkin about?

 

That happened to my integra... and the surefire way to find a bad O2 sensor is 1)if the hesitations begin once the car has fully warmed up; 2)the hesitation goes away if you unplug the sensor(s). I don't know anything about preludes but I've done quite a bit of work on my integra and hopefully this helps at least a little bit.

I've READ that a bad EGR valve will cause this problem too. Also if your spark plugs get wet(from oil or engine wash, etc.).

 

okay..this is what happens to my 5th gen prelude. let me know if it is similar to your problem..either when the engine is cold or hot...on occasion when i step on the gas it will hesistate in the low rpms and then finally accelerate...here is what i have done to try to correct the issue...i have changed the wires...plugs...fuel filter...oil filter...oil...and the distributer cap...right now i have taken my mods off since i want to determine what is the cause of this problem...i have yet to try the tps...but know you know that i am still having that problem even after changing all those things...let me know...

 

Sounds like what I'm getting. Good to narrow down some of the possible causes. I guess the logical things to try next O2 & TPS sensors.

I've been looking on http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com. O2 sensors are listed at ~$230 a piece, but I haven't been able to find the TPS sensor. Any ideas what diagram it's listed under? And isn't there an online O2 sensor source that's mad cheap? $230 is a lot cheaper than the dealer will sell them for, but still pretty steep.

 

Would you mind el_Presidente if I moced this to the tech forum? Somebody might be able to give you one or two tricks to try before you replace all kinda of stuff.

 

if you think i'd get more responses and suggestions, go for it you damn a-hole

jus playin. i would like to see if there's something i can do without replacing a bunch of parts. from what everyone has been saying, it's pretty much a hit or miss situation. i dont' want to spend money to replace things that don't need to be replaced.

thanks for all the replies.