2023 TLX Misfire

White/blue smoke out the exhaust isn’t a good sign, as it typically means oil is getting in to the combustion chamber. It can also signal a turbo failure.

I’ve seen a few Accord and TLX owners make posts about turbo failure running the Phearable tune. Of course, there are a lot that run the tune without issue, but I’ve never seen a post from someone with a turbo failure running the K Tuner Stage 2 tune, which is what I am running.

If it was a turbo failure, use it as an opportunity to buy an MHI Stage 2 turbo, and PRL downpipe and intercooler. Get it tuned by Derek at IMW, and enjoy what is a damn fast TLX.

I believe it is the turbo or the head gasket, I flashed the car back to stock and am bringing the car to the dealer on Thursday to diagnose the issue. I will keep you updated

The tune may have cause you to loose a piston or broken ring etc! If you are not loosing coolant, or the oil is not milky it may not be head gasket. Compression check should identify part of the possibility.

Kevinmac said:

The tune may have cause you to loose a piston or broken ring etc! If you are not loosing coolant, or the oil is not milky it may not be head gasket. Compression check should identify part of the possibility.

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I sent my datalogs for Phearable and they are telling me it appears my fuel is of very very poor quality. So the gas station I went to must have been horrible. I was instructed to remove the gas ASAP and fill up with 1.5 gallons of E85 and the rest a good 93 octane and resend the datalogs. I will keep you all posted. I am going to reschedule my dealership appointment until after the datalogs are reviewed to see if the issue was just fuel related. As this did happen shortly after I got a full tank of gas. Maybe 40 miles later

Interesting. I am running the stage 3 phearable tune and have not had any issues. Been running it for close to 1K miles now. What gas did you use? I don't have access to 93 so I always run 91 Chevron or Shell.

Interesting. I ran the stage 3 on my old accord prior to buying the type-s. I think I had it on the car for 18 months and 20000ish miles without any issues.

haroon08 said:

Interesting. I am running the stage 3 phearable tune and have not had any issues. Been running it for close to 1K miles now. What gas did you use? I don't have access to 93 so I always run 91 Chevron or Shell.

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I used 93 from a Mobil near my house. After sending the datalogs off to Phearable they have informed me the fuel quality was VERY poor. I will never be going to that station for gas again. Ive been using Valero 93 ever since and they instructed me to add 1.5 gallons of E85 to the tank

Multaq said:

I used 93 from a Mobil near my house. After sending the datalogs off to Phearable they have informed me the fuel quality was VERY poor. I will never be going to that station for gas again. Ive been using Valero 93 ever since and they instructed me to add 1.5 gallons of E85 to the tank

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So this brings up an interesting question, in upstate NY you can buy MTBE free gas, I have always thought that the Ethanol free gas is better for the car, but the E85 comment makes me think that the Ethanol is actually doing something.
Anyone knowledgeable on this subject care to comment?

I don’t think its the gas, Think u have bigger problems!

Kevinmac said:

I don’t think its the gas, Think u have bigger problems!

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Right? I’ve never heard of “bad gas” (Mobil is not bad gas either) causing smoke out of the exhaust.

@Multaq , any update?

Could be a blown seal in the turbo, since these are water cooled and oil lubed.

ijm5012 said:

Right? I’ve never heard of “bad gas” (Mobil is not bad gas either) causing smoke out of the exhaust.

@Multaq , any update?

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I agree with several of the folks posting... that "bad gas doesn't seem to be the real culprit". I spent 37 years in the industry and, while bad gas can happen, it is VERY rare. Also, in the rare cases when it does happen it impacts many vehicles (not just one, yours)... unless the tune applied to your car is way aggressive and at the outer limits of what should be done. The tuner suggested that the gas was bad. Did you provide a sample of the gas, or just the data logs? If just the data, then which parameter was the "smoking gun" that drove the conclusion?

Gotta be frustrating for both you and the tuner. You spend good money and both you and your tuner want great results. Hope that you'll keep this Forum informed as to your progress. Good luck!

Yeah, I bought the Phearable tune when I bought my K Tuner, so I got it on a discount, but I still have yet to run it. I've been running the K Tuner Stage 2 tune, because I've never seen someone report an issue while running it. I've seen various posts of turbo failures from people running the Phearable tune on the Accord and TLX. Maybe it's just coincidence, but I'm not sure I want to take the chance. If I really wanted to make more power, I would look at swapping in an MHI stage 2 turbo, PRL downpipe, and PRL intercooler, and get a custom tune. There are a few on the FB group that've done it, and it gets the car to ~350hp/350tq.

I ran Phearable Stage 3 & 4 on my 2.0T Accord Sport with full bolt ons for over 10k miles before I traded it it. No issues at all. Sounds like the turbo is shot from your description.

After running through 2 more tanks of gas, The car seems to be running fine again. It seems to be at full power again. Its hard to tell with just “The butt dyno”. Im going to flash it back to stock and have the dealership look over the car I think just to be safe.

Multaq said:

After running through 2 more tanks of gas, The car seems to be running fine again. It seems to be at full power again. Its hard to tell with just “The butt dyno”. Im going to flash it back to stock and have the dealership look over the car I think just to be safe.

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Wow, so you two tanks of different fuel through the car and it seems to have resolved itself? No more smoke out the exhaust?

ijm5012 said:

Wow, so you two tanks of different fuel through the car and it seems to have resolved itself? No more smoke out the exhaust?

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No more smoke out of the exhaust, It only happend the one time at a red light when I tried to do a WOT pull

Multaq said:

No more smoke out of the exhaust, It only happend the one time at a red light when I tried to do a WOT pull

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For bad fuel the car will cut power and get Christmas tree lights if Knock Control goes too high.

Smoke is not something normal for bad fuel. Something definitely got damaged. I would have it looked over completely.

HondaFan777 said:

For bad fuel the car will cut power and get Christmas tree lights if Knock Control goes too high.

Smoke is not something normal for bad fuel. Something definitely got damaged. I would have it looked over completely.

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I have an appointment with my dealership on Tuesday, Im hoping if its anything its the turbo and I didnt hurt the motor because once they see my ECU was flashed my warranty is gone. I will update everyone here once I find out.