NHTSA Complaint #11133630 — 2012 ACURA TL

ON 7/20/2017, I WAS DRIVING ON I-680 S TOWARDS FREMONT CA. I WAS DRIVING ROUGHLY 70 MPH. WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO PASS A CAR, ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE ENGINE LOST POWER. I HIT THE GAS PADDLE ALL THE WAY DOWN, AND IT DIDN'T WORK. AS I FELT A SIGNIFICANT LOSS OF POWER, I PULL OVER TO THE SIDE AND STOPPED THE VEHICLE. THE ENGINE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY WHEN I CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. I TRIED TO RESTART MY CAR, BUT IT DOES NOT WORK, AND THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT POPPED UP. I HAD MY INSURANCE TOWED MY CAR TO OAKLAND ACURA, AS I DID AN OIL CHANGE THERE ON 7/19/2017. AFTER AN INSPECTION, OAKLAND ACURA INDICATED THAT THE INTAKE AND EXHAUST VALVE DOES NOT OPEN AND CLOSE NORMALLY. A VALUE ADJUSTMENT WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I FELT THAT IT'S PRETTY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ALL THE VALVES TO BE MALFUNCTION ALL AT ONCE. THUS, I ASKED THE TECHNICIAN ARE ALL THE VALVES MALFUNCTIONING, THE TECHNICIAN SAID SHOULD BE. I THEN ASKED WHETHER SUCH A PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY AN IMPROPER OIL CHANGE SINCE THEY DID MY OIL CHANGE THE DAY BEFORE, AND I ONLY DROVE 25 MILES AFTER THE OLI CHANGE. THE TECHNICIAN SAID, "I DON'T THINK SO". I FURTHER ASKED WHETHER IT'S AN ENGINE DESIGN PROBLEM THAT IS SUBJECT TO A RECALL, THE TECHNICIAN COMMENTED THAT THESE ENGINES LAST FOREVER. THUS, THEY DID A VALVE ADJUSTMENT FOR ME, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY REALLY DID. I GOT CHARGED FOR $499 FOR THIS VALVE ADJUSTMENT. I ALSO NOTICED THAT WHEN I STARTED MY ENGINE (ESPECIALLY IN COLD WEATHER), MY CAR HAS A BUBBLING NOISE. I NOTICED THAT ON MANY ACURA FORUM, MANY ACURA TL OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. I ASKED OAKLAND ACURA TO LOOK INTO THIS. THE CONCLUSION THEY GAVE ME WAS INCONCLUSIVE. I WANT TO REPORT THIS ISSUE BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY DANGEROUS THAT AN ENGINE LOST POWER COMPLETELY ON A HIGH WAY. I AM NOT SURE IF IT'S AN ENGINE DESIGN PROBLEM OR NOT, SO I THOUGHT I SHOULD REPORT THIS.