So I have a 98 accord 4 cyl Vtec and I have some hesitation upon acceleration when the car is cold. Once it warms up it does just fine. For example when it is cold and I am at say a stop sign behind some cars. When I slightly depress the accelerator the car will bog down and almost die. It has never died on me. If I give it more gas it comes to life and runs just fine. The other day I was on a hill at a stop sign and I had to hold my foot on the brake and press the accelerator so it would not die. Any ideas what might be causing this? I ran some Techron fuel cleaner through the gas tank and no help. I figured it would not, but it was worth a try. I also replaced the PCV valve, no help. Wondering if I should take it to a mechanic and have the fuel rail and injectors cleaned? If this were the problem I'd think it would happen all the time and not just when the engine is cold. Well any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks..

 

Are the maintenance items up to date, like spark plugs, distributor cap, rotor, etc?

Is the check engine light on when driving?

 

I don't know if this is your problem or not, but read it anyway. Good luck
http://home.comcast.net/~em-engineering/T2T013.pdf

 

PLugs, rotor and cap were replaced about 40k ago. No CEL is on. I ran about 1/3 can of Seafoam through the MC vac line last night and that seems to have helped quite a bit. I am still interested in cleaning the EGR passages. That link is only for engines 97 and older. Is the process different for my 98 4cyl Vtech?

 

If you have copper spark plugs, then they are due to be changed. I think that the platinum ones last for ~90K. See what your owners manual says for the plugs. Also look for the maintenance schedule for the distributor cap and rotor in the owner's manual.

The 98 4-cylinder has a different setup for the EGR. The throttle body needs to be removed to clean out the port. Search the forum, because I have posted directions with some diagrams.

I would also stop by an autozone or other parts store and have them scan for codes. Its a free service. Post any codes on here, they start with the letter P and have four numbers.

 

Throttle body clean, and spray out the screen of the IACV, with BERRYMANS B-12.
The EGR system does not operate until the engine is at normal operating temp.
However here is a pic of where the port gets plugged up on your engine.
When you remove the throttle body flip it over to find the plugged port.

 

K last night I replaced the plugs, rotor and Dist cap. The old ones were in pretty rough shape. The problem is much better after doing this and the Seafaom application. It is still there, but not nearly as bad. So I am debating removing the throttle body, EGR valve, and upper intake to clean that all out. However I don't have any CEL lights on or anything. So do you think I should even do this? School of thought if it is not broke don't fix it. I sure would hate to create more problems.. How long would it take a guy to remove all this stuff and clean it up? 160k miles and I doubt it has never been done..
Thanks guys.

 

So I went ahead and disassembled the throttle body and upper intake and cleaned them all out. The EGR port was actually pretty clean for a 160k mile car. There was a bit of build up and some chunky bits in there. So I scraped it all out and cleaned with throttle body cleaner, compressed air and a tooth brush. I did the same to the EGR valve and throttle body. I put everything back together and started her up. It was rough to start but once everything was burned out the system it ran ok. I then started having a idle surge from 1000 to 2000 RPM. So I took it for a drive to warm it up. Once warm it ran and idled just fine. I started it this morning and it ran just fine and idled normally. The car no longer has hesitation when accelerating cold. I never had and CEL lights come on. All seems good now. Any idea why I had a Idle surge? I was thinking possible lack of coolant in the IAC valve. Once the system warmed up and the Tstat opened and allowed coolant into the IAC everything worked its self out. Am I on the right page. Anyhow thanks for the tips.

 

When you do anything that messes with the idle, you can force the ECU to re-learn the idle behavior, by doing this...

1 - reset ECU (98-02 you pull fuse #13 in the fusebox next to the right door hinges)
2 - let engine cool completely
3 - start engine without touching gas pedal
4 - let it warm up completely without touching gas pedal

It may have sorta learned the idle behavior while you drive, but doing this might improve it??

 

Cool thanks for that tip.. I might mention that I did all this with the battery disconnected. So it would have had to re-learn everyhitng. As of right now it is working great so I'll leave well enough alone. But I'll remember this for the future.