[CU2] lux, almost 2 years old, throttle/gear shift response problem

[Anhvariel]

Hi Folks,

I have a CU2 Luxury which is about 2 years old now, bought it when they first came out. I am experiencing an annoying intermittent issue with how responsive the car is to the throttle. Sometimes when I accelerate, the downshifts are sharp snappy and the car responses well. Other times, it seems quite slow to determine that a downshift is required, and then when it actually makes the shift, the gear change seems rather slow and not very smooth. I've already had the knock sensors replaced, after people on this forum advised to get that checked but it doesn't seem to have made an improvement on this issue. The difficulty is that it seems to vary from drive to drive. Sometimes the car is great, others it has this laggy issue. I've yet to be able to pinpoint any specific factors that determine how the car will go. Temperature, allowing the engine to warm up etc, doesn't seem to make a difference.

Any suggestions? I spoke to the dealer about it, but getting an intermittent issue like this resolved seems rather hard especially when it's something that could be subjective, i.e. "feels" sluggish to me because I drive the same routes in this car regularly and know how it varies, whereas that's hard to show the mechanic.

[nesterjester]

hmm i thought i had a similar issue but my issue wasnt "come and go" like yours. I just thought the car had a laggy throttle response in general.

You might want to try this, this is what Ive got and I get no lag and have real smooth gear changes and mines a manual. It works with AT as well. Its adjustable so you can custom the response time on the throttle to suit your needs. Mine at the moment is "throttle half way down = head mashed in headrest" haha

http://forum.jdmstyletuning.com/showthread.php?t=12899

[Type R Positive]

Check the air cleaner? Clean the MAF? Reset ECU?

[Anhvariel]

Check the air cleaner? Clean the MAF? Reset ECU?


The car has been dealer serviced since we bought it and just had the 40k service done. Is this something they would have done as part of the process? I believe they reset the computer at last service.

[Irving]

Hi Folks,

I have a CU2 Luxury which is about 2 years old now, bought it when they first came out. I am experiencing an annoying intermittent issue with how responsive the car is to the throttle. Sometimes when I accelerate, the downshifts are sharp snappy and the car responses well. Other times, it seems quite slow to determine that a downshift is required, and then when it actually makes the shift, the gear change seems rather slow and not very smooth. I've already had the knock sensors replaced, after people on this forum advised to get that checked but it doesn't seem to have made an improvement on this issue. The difficulty is that it seems to vary from drive to drive. Sometimes the car is great, others it has this laggy issue. I've yet to be able to pinpoint any specific factors that determine how the car will go. Temperature, allowing the engine to warm up etc, doesn't seem to make a difference.

Any suggestions? I spoke to the dealer about it, but getting an intermittent issue like this resolved seems rather hard especially when it's something that could be subjective, i.e. "feels" sluggish to me because I drive the same routes in this car regularly and know how it varies, whereas that's hard to show the mechanic.

Those who have been paying attention will recall that there have been several owners complain about similar issues on this forum.
The problem typically surfaced after the so called "ping fix". Yet another unresolved issue that you can forget about as HA won't help you.

[felixd]

prolly bad petrol ?

[Type R Positive]

The car has been dealer serviced since we bought it and just had the 40k service done. Is this something they would have done as part of the process? I believe they reset the computer at last service.
No. A quick spray of contact cleaner on the MAF might do the trick. With your air filter, it may be dirty. I would say they don't bother looking at it until it has to be replaced.
I know mine is filthy as, and it never got touched at my last service.
Dealer's pretty much just change oil and charge you heaps for the previlage.

Try a full tank of fresh fuel too, like BP ultimate.

[Anhvariel]

No. A quick spray of contact cleaner on the MAF might do the trick. With your air filter, it may be dirty. I would say they don't bother looking at it until it has to be replaced.
I know mine is filthy as, and it never got touched at my last service.
Dealer's pretty much just change oil and charge you heaps for the previlage.

Try a full tank of fresh fuel too, like BP ultimate.

Ok, will check those things. Is there a link that shows a diagram where the air filter and MAF are?

I have been using vortex 98 in it, as we lease the car that's the fuel card we have. I also have a shell card, but no BP card.

Sounds as though it may be worth looking into somewhere to have it serviced other than the dealer? Or does that void new car warranty?

[Type R Positive]

With the lease, you have to get it done at a dealer.

Keep on using the 98 as you have been doing.

The MAF is in the intake pipe in between the air box and intake manifold. Thinking about it, I wouldn't bother touching it, it is more of an issue with people that have oiled air filters.
The air filter is in the air box, just above the battery. The lid is held in place by about 5 clips. Takes 10 seconds to look inside.

[Anhvariel]

I had a look at the air filter, appears to be brand new, perhaps was replaced in 40k service. MAF sensor, assuming I checked the right thing looked clean too. One thing i did notice though, is the piping that comes down out of the bottom of the air filter box appears to join onto another piece of piping via a rubber joint section. The rubber joint section isn't securely attached to the pipe coming from the air filter, as in it's not air tight, just seems to be sort of loosely holding the 2 pipes together, see attached image. Is this normal or is air getting in through that joint that shouldn't be?
16007

I might also have it checked out at another dealer. Can anyone recommend one in western sydney that has decently competent people working in their service department?

[nesterjester]

yea that rubber clamp thingy connects your airbox to your intake resonator. It should be "Squishy", well mine was.

[Anhvariel]

yea that rubber clamp thingy connects your airbox to your intake resonator. It should be "Squishy", well mine was.

is yours actually loose, in that the top of the rubber doesn't secure attach to the pipe? The pipe can move up/down a little, independent of the rubber.

[nesterjester]

not to sure if you can move it up and down a little. Ive removed my intake resonator to install my CAI, at the moment my stock airbox is in but no intake resonator, so Im not able to give you a definite answer. Hopefully someone on here can check for ya!