krava

I was driving today and heard a whinnying noises. When I turned off the AC is was gone. When I have the AC going and I hit the gas it sounds louder. Is there a TSB on that or is that just natural? I might need to take it in and for the rough idle I am getting after Honda did an oil change.

George Knighton

There is a TSB for what is described as more of a "moan."

However, I recall hearing a whine with my first RLX and it was clearly related to the AC. I think I'm remembering correctly that they said it was related to injector modules and the Krell Audio, but you'd only hear it when the AC was running.

I do not hear the whine with my current RLX.

pgeorg

I also have this whine only when the AC is running. Do you happen to remember any more details about this? I wonder if i were to turn off the audio system while leaving the AC on, would the whine go away (as opposed to turning off the AC)?

holografique

Its not the audio system and its not an injection fan. The "injection fan" was related to the noise complaints that ended up just being an attribute of the DI engines (loud clicking). You can turn off the audio system and you only hear the A/C noises louder.

The AC noise is a combination of several noises that can range from a high pitched whine, to a low throaty moan, to a howling sound. It just depends on the speed of the vehicle and how long the AC has been on for.

If you read through the A/C Moan TSB, it involves some type of valve that starts to "flutter" when the flow of refrigerant from the compressor reaches a certain amount. The fix involves replacing the entire line which includes some damper chamber that prevents the "fluttering"

The problem is it doesnt fix it. At least for me it didnt.

I'd be curious to see if any of you get it done and it ends up fixing it. Might just be poor workmanship on mine and the work not having been done properly.

pgeorg

I noticed everything you said on my 500 weekly trip to Boston on Saturday. I paid really close attention to what you said, and you are spot on......at least in my case. Thank you holografique!
When i get it done (should be soon), i will update you......although i think you said it worked for a little bit, and then came back......

holografique

You're welcome pgeorg. Hopefully this can help get this fixed for good. It is one of the things that really annoys me with my RLX. Sometimes I don't want any music and just want (or need) some "quiet time" when I'm driving, and when I do that, it sounds like I'm not driving a "luxury" vehicle.

No other Acura I've driven has this problem, so I don't see why the RLX should...

pgeorg

I do that many times (quite time), and it does get annoying! I was looking at the part numbers and the Sport Hybrid has a different part number, and it also looks like part of the pipe (the part that they change in the TSB) is insulated. I have not heard of any Sport Hybrid owner complain about this. George also mentioned that his first RLX (P-AWS) had it, but the Sport Hybrid does not. I wonder if the Sport Hybrid owners can chime in.......

Also my 2015 RLX already has the updated part, so i don't think the TSB applies to me.
Final note: the 2015 RLX and the 2016 RLX have the same updated part! They also have one other updated part (that has to do with this), which is an o-ring. Does that mean that the 2016 will be suffering from this, too?

fsmith

No noticeable AC noises from my Sport Hybrid. All is (extremely) quiet.

holografique

Thanks, we get that you Hybrid guys have perfectly working cars that exhibit absolutely 0 issues.

It would be nice to see Acura be able to achieve the same thing with the PAWS version.

fsmith

Ouch. Take it easy, holografique. Pgeorg asked "I wonder if the Sport Hybrid owners can chime in......." and I obliged by answering him! Perhaps I should have quoted his request.

pgeorg

Thank you for letting us know! I believe the different design and insulation of that piece, is the reason why. I bet none of the Sport Hybrid guys experience this whine. I think it is time to consider upgrading to a 2016 Sport Hybrid......

pgeorg

I am sorry, I did not mean to upset anyone:-( I just thought it would be great to figure out if this actual part is causing the problem.

George Knighton

I think it's probably more the date of manufacture, not a KC1 v. KC2 issue except that the KC2 were all made later.

I don't think they started KC2 manufacture until January 2014.

holografique

Jesus guys, Im not upset or anything, just stating that we already know the Hybrids dont have nearly the same level of "quality control" issues that the PAWS does. If anything the Hyrbid is a prime example of how every Acura car should be built if they want to uphold their reputation for quality. And yes there was a tone of sarcasm in my post. But nothing that warrants a response telling me to "take it easy"....

You guys get too worked up when someone says anythings slightly edgy, off kilter or negative. The universe runs on good and bad, ying and yang, light and dark.

Relax

George Knighton

Don't get talked into a bad financial decision. :-)

You're going to lose a tonne of money if you do that.

My little dealer in Virginia allowed me more in trade for my 2014 RLX Advance (P-AWS) than they should have, just to get me into the Sport Hybrid.

I watched their advertising when my old car got onto their site. And I watched how they had to keep lowering the price as the months went by.

They lost about five grand. I lost more, of course, even though they were very generous with it.

So be careful, and know that you're going to lose heaps of money and be prepared for that if you really want to move to a 5G Sport Hybrid.

woropallo

I will chime in so we have a PAWS input, for at least the 2015 model. I don't have the whine. This does not mean all 2015 don't have it and I am not speaking for the 2014 PAWS. But I agree with George, it may be more of a date issue. Obliviously the qulaity improved as the manufacturing date moved out since my car does not have anywhere near the amount of issues i have read on this forum, and I have a PAWS not an SH. It built date is July 2014.

holografique

Thanks Woropallo. Your build date ofJuly 2014 is over a year after my build date of March 2013. So definitely enough time for Acura to have had time to improve things and would make sense as to why you havent had nearly as many issues.

However the fact that we have reports of a 2015 model with the "exact" same issue as the 2014 models, shows there is still an issue somehwhere that has more to do with "consistency" in quality control. Could be internal to Acura or could be a 3rd party parts supplier issue. I don't know all the details of what makes up the design and build of the RLX A/C system.

pgeorg

My 2015 RLX has a build date of 9/14, so i don't think it has to do with that. I saw that the part that needed updating (TSB) is different for the Sport Hybrid. Also the same updated part that is in mine already is also on the 2016s, so i don't think they have fixed the problem yet. Unless the problem is being caused by something else altogether!

pgeorg

Thank you for looking out for me George! I really appreciate it! One thing that i have going for me is that i bought the RLX at a really really discounted price. So depending on what they offer for my car, and the sale price of the Sport Hybrid i will make a decision. Another thing i have going for me is that i have not driven the Sport Hybrid yet.........I have been driven around in one (Thanks RLX-Sport Hybrid), but it is not the same:-)

Malibu Flyer

Be careful before you drive the Sport Hybrid......one test drive and you will probably be hooked. My advice is to call your dealer before the test drive and see if the economics can work out for your needs/pocketbook. Once you have driven the Sport Hybrid all caution will go out the window.

Let us know how things progress for you.

pgeorg

Thank you Malibu Flyer, I will definitely take your advice on this!

Malibu Flyer

No AC problems on my Sport Hybrid, at least not so far [8,500 miles/ 7+ months].

pgeorg

I am almost convinced that non of the Sport Hybrid owners will experience this problem.......

Malibu Flyer

Hard for me to explain why not, other than the build date. I am not sure why the AC in the Sport Hybrid would be any different than the PAWS one. There are lots of other differences between the PAWS and Sport Hybrid, suspension, transmission, electrical system but why would the AC be different? I would assume that when the Sport Hybrid was built, they just pulled the same AC unit from there stock as they would when the PAWS went down the production line.

I'm not complaining, just worrying that the same defect might show up in my car eventually.

pgeorg

Let me explain why i believe that the Sport Hybrid will not have this AC problem:

This is the AC moan TSB:




This is the same part that they changed on the 2014s if they applied the TSB. My 2015 has this updated part already installed from the factory, and i still have the AC problem. See the parts illustration below for the 2014s that shows the updated part number. It is #4 in the illustration:




Below is the parts illustration for the 2015, that already includes the updated part number. It is #4 in the illustration:




Now here is the parts illustration for the Sport Hybrid, and you will notice that the part that is causing the problem as per the TSB is very different. It is #5 in the illustration:




Now i could be totally wrong here.........just an educated guess......

Any thoughts?

Sorry for the long post.

woropallo

So what are you saying, my 2015 does not have the moan. I have about 10k miles on my car and drive with the AC everyday, I live in Fl. Are you saying you think it will appear over time for the PAWS? I wonder if any other 2015 PAWS owners could chime in as to whether they are experiencing this issue?

pgeorg

I don't know if you will have the AC moan problem, and i sincerely hope you never do! What i do know is that the 2015s and 2016s have the same updated part number that is in the TSB. My 2015 has the updated part, but i have the AC problem at under 2,000 miles. You have the same part and you don't have the AC problem at 10,000 miles. Holografique has a 2014, had the TSB applied to his car, so he must have the same part as us. Unfortunately the AC problem returned on his car with the updated part installed.
The only other explanation is that the TSB is wrong, and the AC problem is created by something else.
Again i could be completely wrong assuming all these things........

KenRLX

Regarding AC noises, I had enough noise to think the tranny was going bad, till I discovered that when i switched off the AC, all went normally silent.
I found 2 root causes.... both fixed with the same approach.
1. The AC pipes ring like a pipe organ... and that vibration is carried in to the cabin. Fix - put some dampening hose segments on the metal parts of the AC tubing in the engine compartment.
2. The compressor noise/vibration is transmitted via the all-metal high pressure side piping in to the cabin. Fix - same as above.
The differences were just amazing... look for my previous posts with pics describing the fix.
This may not be your problem, but for sure the TSB replacing some components does NOT deal with the resonant pipe (ie moan/whistle). Nor deals with compressor noise transmitted via the metal tubing.
Hope your problem is the same,, as it is somewhat easy to completely remedy.
Hope yours is not a new problem....

pgeorg

Thank you KenRLX! I just found you post a couple of hours ago, and i was going to post it here. I did mention on the other AC thread that i remembered seeing somewhere a fix by using the dampening hose! One of the reasons why i think that the Sport hybrid will not have this problem, is that that piece already has a dapping hose applied already. At least that is what i see from the parts illustration. Maybe when one of the Sport Hybrid owners have some time, they can snap a picture of that part from the engine compartment. I think i will try your fix as soon as i have some free time.

pgeorg

This is what KenRLX is talking about, and what he did to fix the ac problem on his car:

https://acurazine.com/forums/problem...le-fix-917265/

krava

Seems no more ac whine, fixed itself for now atleast

George Knighton

All I know for sure is that my 2014 Sport Hybrid does not have the problem.

Many of the HVAC parts will be interchangeable between the KC1 and KC2; however, since the KC2's cooling must work off of the 250-volt batteries there are bound to be a few significant differences even though most of the parts look the same.

You're proving to be a very analytical poster. That'll be very useful.

:-)

pgeorg

I found a picture of the RLX Sport Hybrid engine compartment, and the Larger diameter AC pipe (suction side) is definitely insulated.
The same section on the RLX P-AWS is not insulated.

RLX Sport Hybrid:



RLX P-AWS:



I will try to find time to implement KenRLX's fix next week, and update the group. Holografique might implement it this weekend.....

woropallo

I looked under the hood of my 2015 and did not see any insulation like what shown on the SH. You have made me wonder, I play the music as soon as I get in the car until I get out, so maybe I am just not hearing the whine or moan as oppose to not have it. I will drive the car without the music for a day and see if I hear it on mine. I would think that part of the car is common in both the SH and PAWS. I wonder why they put the installation in the SH and not the PAWS, even the newer ones?

pgeorg

That part is a little different between the Sport Hybrid and the P-AWS. I think it has to do with an electric part that the Sport Hybrid uses. But just like you, i wonder why they did not use any insulation on the P-AWS.....
KenRLX's fix is implemented by using insulation on those pipes, so i am concluding that that's the solution........i could be completely of base though!

Yes, even the 2016s use the exactly same part (without insulation)

Thank you for checking Woropallo!

George Knighton

I wonder how many 250-volt to 12-volt converts we have in the Sport Hybrid, or if we have completely different supply systems for HVAC and other systems.

pgeorg

The Sport Hybrid has a compressor that works with electricity, the P-AWS uses the old conventional with the belt and clutch.

Sport Hybrid:




P-AWS:

holografique

^ well shit, there goes half your "noise" right there! SH uses full electricity for the HVAC.

Probably as quiet as being on stranded on Europa...

woropallo

Well I drove my car for a day without music to see if I could hear any noise when driving. No moan or whine, the only thing I could hear if I listen really close was the fan and the air coming out the vents. Sorry, but obliviously there are enough owners that have heard the noise to justify Acura putting out a TSB.

pgeorg

I am very pleased that you RLX does NOT have the AC noise! Obviously there are other factors involved here.......it can't just be the insulation, since some cars have it and some don't.......

One question, if anyone knows the answer to this: Is the larger diameter AC pipe suppose to be really hot to the touch, after the AC has been working for a while? I turned off my car (AC working for about 30 min), and i opened the hood and touched the AC pipe.......it was extremely hot. If any of you get a chance can you check yours to see if its the same, especially someone that does NOT have the AC noise?

Thank you!