Caico

Having the same issue with my 2015 TLX AWD Tech, so far have had road force balance, rims replaced, 3 different sets of tires and no resolution.

Momyc

I have the slight vibration also on highway speed , first I thought is the highway , but passing with wife car on same highway stretch convince me that is the car and I'm pretty sure is the VCM related. As my daily commute is bumper to bumper traffic I don't deal with that vibration too much and I choose to ignore it when it happens . To be honest is very slightly and only if I really look it after I can feel it therefore I turn my music louder and I cover that vibration with the one from speakers..hahaha.

Mcj270

My dealer road forced balanced all of my tires and wasn't able to get them to an acceptable level. They bought me a set of Michelin Primacy's and it has helped the issue. I still feel it but it is better. We just have to hope that a fix will be coming. It is a known issue but at this time they just say it's a characteristic of the car. I worked the issue up to the general manager and the manager of north east Acura. Both drove the car and said it was a characteristic of the car. I guess we just have to be patient and see if something comes out as a fix. I told myself I will wait it out and if nothing comes of it get rid of the car and never consider another Honda product in the future.

Caico

Dealer is still convinced it's the tires, so the have ordered a fourth set, this time it will be Michelin. I have talked to some tire dealers and some techs at the local Honda dealer and while they do not know what the problem is they don't believe it is the tires. A combination of new and used this TLX is the 10th car I have purchase from this dealer over the years, so I am hoping for a positive resolution here. If not they will lose a customer and I will never purchase another Honda product.

datadr

I just picked up my TLX AWD Tech today and took it on the highway for about 15 mins before signing. There is definitely something very faint, but honestly nothing I'm concerned about. The car drives and tracks so well that I don't really notice unless I look for it. As I get more seat time I'll report back on it.

Caico

Mine is quite bad you see the passenger seat shaking if nobody is sitting in it. Even the service manager agrees this is unacceptable. Got the call today they are coming to my house to pick up the car next week. Now that's good service, hopefully fully they can fix it. Last time they had it for 3 weeks, but they did give me another car to drive the entire time. They seemed determined to find a solution but I am not very optimistic at this point.

Corey_Straker

This must be beyond frustrating. I am working on solving a death shake at 65-72mph in my 07 TL Type-S and I have been unsuccessful at solving my problems also. I have tried the following:

-4 brand new tires, mounted and balanced by a tech I personally know and trust.
-2 Brand New axels with new axel nuts, installed again by a tech I know.
-Brand new half shaft
-Several Alignments with the Hunter system.
-Checked the roundness of the wheels.
-Brand new OEM rotors and pads all around (rear BBK 2-piece rotor even balanced).
-New bushings all around
-New a-spec suspension

I've spent thousands, with nothing helping the cause.

I can't imagine how infuriating it is having a car you just spent $45,000+ on having an "unsolvable" problem. Best of luck.

Caico

Hey Corey, I guess you can relate, what's next on the list of parts to replace?
TLX is now back in the shop for the fourth time after, second day in I got the call from the service manager they changed the tires again, I think this was the 5th set including the originals but still did not resolve the issue. So I asked are you ready to give up on the tires yet? Reply was "no", we want to try one more set. If that does not work then the are going to change the drive shafts. The service manager is a great guy and he is trying to resolve this problem but I had to tell him this time the 2016 RDX you gave me as a loner I now holding hostage until you fix my car. His reply was "I don't blame you" but we will figure it out and we won't call you until we do. The RDX work like an Acura should I am really enjoying it.

mojo_79

I'm still dealing with the same vibration problem. I'm having new Michellin tires installed next week but from reading this thread and others, I know it won't resolve the issue. My car was driven with the drive shaft (propeller shaft) to the rear removed and the tech said it still vibrated. The vibration is definitely from the rear because it's felt in the seats and the pedals, never in the steering wheel. I noticed some odd rattling from the rear when I hit certain bumps but nothing the dealer can reproduce. I wonder if the problem is related to their newly redesigned AWD clutches that control the torque to the rear wheels. Does anybody with a FWD V6 have this issue or is it only the AWD?

youngTL

A couple of things to check:

1. Does the vibration occur more when you turn the wheels? Could be the CV joints if so.

2. Are the rims out-of-round? The dealer could possibly mount a spare set they have from another car (maybe from one of the loaners that doesn't vibrate?) on your car for the afternoon and go drive it to see if that fixes the issue.

3. Fucked u-joints?

4. Driveshaft is out of balance? This is a bad one if so, and I don't know how the fuck you check, but it would definitely cause vibration if that's the case. If only select AWD cars are the only ones doing this, there's a very good chance it's this. But mojo_79 had his car driven with the driveshaft removed and it still did it. That makes me think more that it's the u-joints. I'm not as familiar with the parts on these cars though.

5. To check that it's not VCM vibration, all you have to do is accelerate hard while going highway speeds. If the vibration goes away under acceleration, it's probably the VCM, and if it not, it's something else.

I may not be much use, but maybe some of this will help with possible causes.

SCTLX11

Only feel the vibration at 70-80 mph cruising speed. Not during acceleration, hard accelaration I don't feel it. I am thinking it's the VCM at low rpm. Recently road tested on newly paved highway. Plus is does happen all the time.

Caico

Been passing on some of the posts here to my service manager and so far no progress. They have had the car for a week now for a grand total of 5 weeks. This brand new TLX has spent more time in the shop than all the Honda/Acura products I have owned in the past 20 years combined. I have never had any serious problems, that is why I keep buying the brand.

wmba

The FWD V6 I test drove had this problem on the highway, and it was definitely from the rear even though the steering column shook. The salesman I had with me had been an Acura mechanic and felt it as well, suggesting it was an out of balance wheel. Nah, been driving for 50 years, and it felt structural or aerodynamic to me.

A couple of weeks later I tried the SH-AWD and that one didn't do it.

So, it happens on both models and it's the luck of the draw whether the one you get does it. The I4 DCT was atrocious at low speed, dithering as to which gear to pick when I booted it to turn left across two lanes of oncoming traffic. Which is why they wanted me to try a V6. And it vibrated on the highway. The stop/start drove me crazy on the SH-AWD and the ridiculous 9 speed transmission which goes to sleep making downshift decisions really put me off.

Thus I didn't buy a TLX, and my test drives were almost a year ago. Since I've not driven any car I felt less confident in, I joined Acurazine to see how things panned out in the future. Purely for my own edification as a mechanical engineer and not to criticize any person, merely the vehicle.

Here it is a year later and Acura still hasn't fixed anything. Oh sure, some people don't notice the problems or actually don't experience them. But I ask you sincerely, if I as a car enthusiast picked up all these faults on test drives without even trying to nitpick, what does that say about the overall design?

That's why I visit every couple of days to see if anything important has happened to make the car worthy of my consideration. Apparently not yet.

Rocket_man

Many on here are equally disappointed in Acura. They have seemed to sort out the DCT with the latest software update. The 9HP seems to be very variable with some earlier cars having big problems but many seem more 'quirky' to their owners then big problems. The vibration issues seems to be much less common but usually hard to figure out. In my early test drive I didn't notice any issues with the V6 but it was a short test drive (okay 3 test drives).

Caico

My concern now is that constant vibrations can lead to other problems, one of which is other parts coming loose. This has already happened, the passenger seat had started rattling just before it went back in to the shop. When it was checked the found it had come loose. As for the transmission there is a software upgrade which I had done but know the Sport plus mode has no sport left in it, probably lost a couple of seconds off the 0-60 time due to hesitation on the up shift.

SCTLX11

I have the P-AWS V6. I feel the exact same thing between 70-80 MPH. I feel it coming from the rear. It seems to happen in low RPM cruising. Not all the time. I am convinced it's the VCM and engine mounts designed for the car and VCM.

volmoon

I regret to post that I am now a member of the same problem with a TLX V6 AWD just purchased. Went on a trip and noticed the shimmy. Thought it was a tire balance problem at first. Nope. It is everything described in this thread. Acura dealer cannot resolve it at this point. Great dealer but this is on Acura. They said they have reported it to Acura.

ACURA needs to fix this design flaw not just for future vehicles but for current vehicles.

Nascart

I experienced something of the same. I am beginning to think its a tire compound/road surface issue.

Recently took a trip from Seattle to Salt Lake. On certain surfaces I would get a vibration thru the chassis others times I would get a hi-pitched whine coming from the tires. As I switched road surfaces during these issues, they would disappear and return. I really had the time to re-create this on various road surfaces with the tires and velocity being a constant.

I came to the conclusion that the tire compound of the LS2 (which can vary from batch to batch) and the different types and conditions of the road surface contributed to the variations in disturbances with the ride quality - at the freeway speeds I was driving (70-95). \\Once home and doing my daily commute and social driving, I have no issues as speeds are not in that range (Washington HP will TAG you at anything above 70).

A dealership and Acura would have to take the vehicle to the exact same spot with the exact same velocity to try and re-create/document the problem.

Caico

Sorry to hear that, this is definitely becoming a big problem. Acura definitely needs to step up and acknowledge the problem, then resolve it. Hopefully I will have some news to report on Monday if they made any progress with my TLX which by Tuesday they will have had for 2 weeks. Total time in the shop now for this issue is approximately 6 1/2 weeks. Gotta give them an "A" for effort.

Caico

Yeah, the tire thing makes sense but I have already had 4 different sets on the car. They are supposed to be putting a set of Michelins on it today as they have been told there has been some success with the Michelin tires elsewhere in the country. If this doesn't work they will then replace the drive shafts.

mojo_79

I was allowed to choose a new set of tires and I went with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. Tires were installed this morning and the District Manager drove the car and said it was very smooth. I just picked it up and was able to log about 10 highway miles at 70-75mph on my way back to work and so far I am extremely happy. I won't claim victory until I spend an hour on the highway this weekend but it's looking good so far.

These are "ultra high performance" tires whereas the OEM Goodyear tires are "grand touring" tires. The car definitely has a different feel to it, less of a soft and cushiony ride, it just feels much more connected to the road.

I also had the 15-040 TSB done. Too early to tell if it made any difference with the 2-3 upshift. My loaner car was a 2016 MDX with over 4000 miles on it and all upshifts were extremely smooth. It still had the downshift lag though.

I'll post an update in a few days once I know for certain if the new Michelin tires fixed the highway vibrations.

Caico

Good to know, please keep us posted as the tires get some miles on them. My concern now would be if this resolves the issue and you need to put snow tires on,is the shaking going to come back? Gonna be interesting to see what happens, did anyone here have their car on the road with snow tires last winter and notice any change?

SCTLX11

That's interesting that it's the tires. Hope it's the key to our problem.
more annoying is the jerky up shift from 2nd - 3rd. Acura should have put the I4's dual clutch transmission in the V6.

Rocket_man

Can't handle the V6 torque or i'm sure they would have.

Plus it is a packaging problem to put the V6 in with the DCT which is larger than the 9ZF

Mcj270

Not to be a buzzkill but I wouldn't get too excited. I have the Michelin Primacy MX4's which are a nicer tire than the pilot as/3 and have good days with the vibration and terrible days. It really confuses me as you would think that it would operate the same consistently. Best of luck

Caico

Just got the call from Dealer, they installed the Michelin AS/3 tires today, the service manager drove and said there was a very slight improvement but still unacceptable. They have already ruled out the drive shafts and are now going to turn it over to Acura National.
They will have a meeting tomorrow and present me with my options going forward.

SCTLX11

Please let us know the verdict. I am very interested in knowing how they plan to remedy the situation

Caico

Will definitely update you all when I get more information.

Rocket_man

Wow, great dealer. If they were all this way they could not keep Acuras on the showroom floor. Probably go bankrupt too.

Caico

Yeah, they are really going the extra mile on this one. I would imagine that the manufacturer is paying them for all this warranty work. They told me today that they found 2 more cars in their new inventory with the same problem and removed them from service.

youngTL

That's exactly how it SHOULD be done! Those 3 defective cars should hopefully be going straight back to Acura. The engineers should be looking at them and figuring out what's wrong. It's not the dealership's fault Acura gave them vehicles with a problem like that.

Caico

Still haven't received any feedback on my TLX, I expected to hear from them by now but I am now in a 2013 TL elite from their used car lot and I am happy to drive that until they decide what to do next. I think they want to be the first ones to come up with a cause and solution to this vibration issue. I check my Acura Link app everyday to see if they have been test driving it and so far this week the have put almost 500 kilometres on the car.

volmoon

Thank you for the updates Caico. Your status update posts add hope that a repair will be found. My local Acura store service manager said that he is communicating with larger dealers and Acura in search for an answer. Perhaps you will be the resolution source. :gheywave:

Sobrut911

To the OP, my advice is to get rid of the car if you can afford to, because Acura won't fix it because they can't. It's been 9 months since I visited this forum and posted about the vibration problem. The thread is entitled Gone After Five Weeks of Ownership. The fanboys (Stew4HD, JT4, Smooov, Nexx, etc.) went psycho on me for dissing their beloved ride with accusations of trolling, stupid, full of crap, hypersensitive, conspiracy to bring down Acura's reputation with fake problem. If you want a good laugh take a look at their posts. It's clear from reading this thread that there is a real and serious problem with vibration in the tlx which no car, let alone a $40,000 plus luxury car, should have and they can't fix it.
The alternatives are you live with it or the litigation route which will be very costly and will take years, even if a class action was brought. I hope you solve your problem.

Caico

I did get a call from my service manager yesterday who asked me to come meet with him.
I was hoping for some good news but he just wanted to explain to me the process Acura National is tell them they have to follow. Despite the fact that there has now been 5 sets of tires on this car, the current set being Michelins, they have been told to get their road force machine recalibrate and then put another set of tires on the car. This will absolutely rule out the tires as the source of the problem. At this point Acura will send one of their technitions to evaluate everything that has been done. Aside from the rims and tires the entire drivetrain has been checked. After the Acura Tech does his evaluation and there is still no resolution they will meet the district managers and then present me with my options. In the mean time I had to give back the 2013 TL I was using, but they gave me a 2016 RDX to drive until I find out the fate of the TLX.

posservice

My car with less than 600 miles in it has been back to the dealer twice for this issue and the problem hasn't been resolved. The loaner they provided which is the exact same model acts the same way. It's at the dealer now.

The car is perfect up to around 60 MPH. Between 60MPH and 80MPH the car is an absolute and ridiculous ride.

Stew4HD

Where does one find a smooth enough road to feel this vibration? I have never felt it but it may be there and I just never was able to pick it out against the uneven roads we have here

posservice

Both interstate highways that I traveled this morning have fairly nice roads.

The car I had before didn't do this and my other two vehicles don't have this issue. My wife's expedition rides nicer than both Acura TLX at those speeds.

Under 60 or so and it's great.

mojo_79

With a few hundred miles on the new tires, the vibration issue seems to be gone. There was one instance where it seemed to vibrate but I haven't been able to reproduce it since. It's definitely a huge improvement. Maybe the car is ultra-sensitive to the tires and how well they're balanced? I just hope the problem doesn't return as the tires start to wear.

Also, the handling of the car is so much better with these tires. It's like night and day.

posservice

The dealer called yesterday and told me they drove the car for 15 miles and did not detect any vibration. Obviously I was very disappointed.


I talked with them for about 20 minutes and they are going to take the car out again and see what they can do.