Hesitation / Clutch Related

N Spec

N Spec

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I actually meant to post this in this forum and not the Owners Forum. If someone could delete the other one, it would be much appreciated.

Okay, I am not sure if this is related or not. Just a few a days ago, my clutch pedal went soft on me and at first I shrugged it off. I then began to notice some vibration/hesitation in low rpm. So I did some searching and have concluded that my master cylinder is leaking since my clutch fluid was empty. I of course refilled it and repumped the clutch back to it's normal pressure/stiffness. I will be looking to replace it soon after I graduate this week. Hopefully order the parts and make it a DIY project? Any warnings anyone wants to give me?

Anyways, I do DD the N, so I have been driving until it will be fixed soon, but only 2-5 miles a day. Well, 25 miles being the most today as I went to see Iron Man and to get a better feeling for this issue that I have noticed.

The issue is the car after startup runs perfectly normal. But after the temp gauge is warm or after 4-5 minutes of driving, I begin to notice a stuttering or hesitation in the low rpms that last 4-5 secs until it seems like the power is catching. If I get on it, it will pull smooth, but it feels like it is a bit weaker in the pulls. This does not happen when the car is cold and warming up (as it pulls strong without hesitation). The idle has not hesitation or stutter except for a slight vibration when the RPM is dropping down, this occurred before there were any issues tho. At highways speed cruising at 60 mph, the car felt fine. I can reach close to redline, but it seems to be taking longer than normal, but I never ever have truly hit redline in this car yet. This issue of hesitation seems to only manifest when:

*when the car is warmed up
*after each gear change
*feels like when you don't give enough gas and the car jerks in 1st gear, but not as severe

I thought I was in limp mode, so I reset the clock/ecu just in case, but still same problem after warm up. I've been searching the boards and haven't found any answers to this sympton. Did a visual inspection of the CV joints thinking I may damaged them or the driveshaft. The CV joints look intact. No CEL, but my "clean" light by the cassette player was on before I reset the ECU (it was the only light that was on). Doubt that is related?

Is this an issue associated with the master/slave cylinders? Will it be resolved once I replace them? Or is this a transmission/powertrain issue? Should I change the trans fluid? Should I get ready to dish out some cash for a major issue? I did put a bit more than 5 quarts in the last oil fill before I read that it should not have more than 5 quarts on here in the FAQ? Should I be driving around like this, as most of my daily commutes only last 10 mins max, barely enough to get warm and revved.
 
I'd start with pulling error codes.

As long as your clutch stays in the hesitation is not master/slave nor transmission related.

What about the hesitation while the engine is cold or about getting warmed up? Ok, you write it runs perfectly. If your engine is warm does the hesitation occur intermittently or always?

Could be:

- fuel delivery related -> fuel pressure
- o2 sensors (Larry Bastanza has nice write-up how to test them)
- other sensors
 
Thanks for the response. The hesitation becomes more and more pronounce the longer I drive or I guess, the warmer it gets. It runs perfertly normal when cold or right after startup. I normally only drive up to 10 minutes per ride, so I only started noticing it when the clutch pedal gave. Yesterday, after 25 miles of driving and hopping off the interstate to actually shift gears, that when the hesitation was the greatest I've ever felt.

There is no CEL, so can I still pull codes? I'm guessing that it could be the 02 sensors possibly as I been searching some threads about hesitation and rough riding and sometimes the 02 sensor comes up to discussion.

Am I still covered by that extended warranty or is that emissions thing done with? I have almost 23k miles on a 95.
 
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Finally got around to actually having time to tinkle with the car. I pulled both sensor connectors as you suggested, BUT still there was hesistation. The CEL and TCS lights came on and I drove around for about 1 to 2 minutes (very brief as the hesitation was still there). So I parked it and replugged the connectors.

This hesitation only occurs after the car is fully warmed up and if it's been driven for at least 15 minutes or so. A few a days ago there was not hesitation at all and I was driving around town for a bit. I usually go park it and let it cool down when the hesitation occurs, as I usually only do short commutes anyways. So it's almost a random occurence or it seem like the hesitation comes in at unpredictable times after warm up. I can hear the exhaust putter or misfire? every few cycles when I get behind the car at idle. The idle is definately rough after it's warmed up, but I must say my gas mileage has still been decent if not superb.

Could it be the secondary sensors? I think I will inquire on the emission warranty with Acura tomorrow since I back at home now and see if I could get all four sensors replaced for free, otherwise, I will do it myself later this week hopefully.
 
Well, the local Acura dealer have no idea what I'm talking about when it came to the emissions warranty, so it seems that I may have to replace the o2s myself. I was reading up on this thread:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70849

They seem to have the same issues as I am having. Could it be my plugs or coils? Cause there was definately some misfire from the sound of the exhaust.
 
First thing is to refresh the dealers memory by printing this from the FAQ:

http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Reference/tsb/98-031.htm :)

Since the test still had the car running lousy, I am pretty sure it is an electrical issue, spark plug or coil pak most likely (maybe water in a coil pak). These are COVERED for free under the TSB.

HTH,
LarryB
 
Yea, I told them that I would bring a copy tomorrow to them as soon i could locate it. So I will print this out and show it to them. Thanks for the link, I had trouble finding it again.

Do you think they will give me a hassle, since i only have ~20k miles and the warranty calls for it being between 75k-100k miles?
 
N Spec said:
Do you think they will give me a hassle, since i only have ~20k miles and the warranty calls for it being between 75k-100k miles?
Click to expand...

Not sure, but certainly worth a shot:)

Regards,
LarryB
 
Well, Acura said they would take it in and honor the warranty if I paid the $125 diagonosis fee and it was emissions related. They scheduled me for next Wednseday.

I got fed up with waiting and so I decided to change the plugs myself. No one had any NGK platniums, but plenty of the NGK Iridiums IX. I did some searching and it seem that many people were happy with them, so why not give it a try. Not to much surprise, all of the plugs were dirty and nasty. The rear middle plug was indeed corroded, drenched in water and dirt! This MUST be the main cause of the misfire. I replaced all plugs and went for a test drive. Everything normal, but then the misfire comes in again after warm up. Well I switched the rear middle coilpack with the rear right. Fired it up and now the rear right was misfiring. I checked by pulling each coilpack to hear a difference.

So my conclusion is that the Rear middle coilpack is defective. So should I bring it into Acura on Wednseday and get them to cover it with the warranty? Or should I just order one online, because the guys at the local Acura dealer were very tight on the warranty, even after a call to Honda headquarters where they said that I would be covered. Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions, your suspicions were correct.
 
Well got my hands on a new coilpack and the car has never felt more powerful! I pulled the clock fuse for about 10 mins or so and the CEL and TCS light is still on after the reset. Perhaps I damaged my O2 sensors when I pulled them to do some testing? Who knows, I will leave it unhooked overnight and see if it will turn off finally tomorrow morning. Otherwise I will be replacing some o2 sensors since my idle is still kinda rough anyways, not misfiring, but rough as in some vibration and lurch when I come out of gear.

I also noticed a hissing sound coming from the engine bay with the lid up. Is this normal? I never took the time to actually pay attention to this.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions! Gotta love NSXprime and the mighty search tool, when you actually know what to search for.

P.S. Damn the rear black cowl! It seems to be the NSX's achille's tendon. Every car seems to have one. I hope me riding around with a weak/defective coilpack for a bit didn't harm the engine. I def will be more careful next time I wash my car or if any precepitation is present for that matter.
 

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