RLX-Sport Hybrid

The Blackbird is at the dealer right now with the tech evaluating whether to replace my front shocks all together. I brought it in to have them check it because although my "clunking" noise is slight, it is still there. We drove it together and we both felt it and heard it. He thinks it is a defective shock issue. I will get a call later with the results of his investigation. If it is a defective shock, then that will provide ammunition for anyone on this forum who is dealing with the same thing (severity specific) to get the shocks replaced. The tech did immediately comment on how awesome the car is to drive. An immediate smile hit his face when he test drove it. The funny thing was he did that in the very same place that I did when I test drove it (about 100 yards from the dealer).

RLX-Sport Hybrid

After the dealer had the car all day, the tech checked every suspension joint, connection and everything was perfect. However, he called an "audible" and asked for engineering assistance from Acura corporate for direction on how to resolve the issue. The tech showed me what he did and pointed out what he feels should be the issue. It is the same thing that has been discussed on the Zine (shock and connection point for the shock to the frame. It appears to be perfect, but the tech seems motivated to solve the problem. He is pushing for a full replacement of all 4 shock/struts and supporting hardware. I was told I will get a call back in a couple of days with what will be the next step to resolve the issue. I'm impressed with how they are handling it. This does not shake my confidence in the car, nor does it take away from my enjoyment. Makes me smile every time I get in it.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

The latest as of today is new shocks/struts and supporting hardware are being sent to the dealer. I do not know if this is the same repair as the TSB others who have had previously, but that is what they told me. They did not reference a TSB number. Details to follow after it is completed sometime soon.

KenRLX

Thanks for the update and input. The TSB was done on my PAWS.. and it did improve things quite a bit. But it is still not near as rattle-free as the many mid-level rentacars I have rented in the recent past. (So the 'improvement' is a relative term.)
Indeed, let us know the outcome!

holografique

Did they end up deciding to replace front and rear or just front only? If they decided to do all four, that would be very interesting since the TSB only addresses the front suspension.

What's more interesting is you have a Sport-Hybrid, and so far we've been under the assumption (based on reports from other Sport-Hybrid owners here) that there were no suspension issues on the Sport-Hybrid and only affected PAWS owners.

mgalbr22

The word is none.
My RLX was in for headlamp replacement. Had a TLX loaner, 8 spd auto. (I assume this means 4 cyl.) haven't used the headlamps at night, so I can't comment on them.
The car exhibited none of the clunk and rattle phenomenon of my RLX. Didn't drive it much, but was immediately impressed by how quiet it was, how taught and responsive the steering was and the power from a 4. The interior fit and finish was quite good and a virtual carbon copy of the RLX. The screens responded to app changes much, much faster than the RLX. Like going from an old windows pc to an ipad.
Same frustration and buyer's remorse when I got my RLX back later in the day. Clunkety clunk clunk.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

They are going to replace the front only for now but have the rears on hand if after replacing the fronts they sense any noise afterwards. I was told that the new ones are from a different production run than the originals, so I can't say if that makes any difference from a quality control perspective or design modification between them. I did NOT push them to do this as I do not think my "clunking" is worth doing anything about. It is minor to me, but the dealer and Acura customer relations were quite adamant and motivated about "making this right", considering it is not a lower model for the brand and they both used the words "flagship of their brand".

George Knighton

Well. That seems to answer some questions posed in another place.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Yes I agree. But that does not answer the question as to why Acura corporate has removed the RLX from their advertising efforts. I do not see the logic. I happened to see an article last night on Yahoo Autos that there are still available and yet unsold Lexus LFAs from 2012 for sale. That clearly is a flagship and halo car for Lexus. They made a small run of those and regardless of their stratospheric price, for the most part they sold well with the exception of the scant few that are available now. The difference is Lexus made all kinds of commercials and set up numerous test drives and comparisons with the car reviewing media. That is NOT the case for Acura regarding the RLX-SH. I can find under a dozen (I'm estimating so I don't have to actually count them) video reviews of the RLX-SH, but no head-to-head or straight up long term test of this car anywhere. When Acura ran a great commercial promoting the brand they had the future TLX on the left, the RLX front and center and the future NSX to its right. I thought that was a brilliant commercial. I was ready right then and there to buy either one. The show car wheels made the TLX very appealing to me and when I saw the floor models with the weeny wheels they have on them now, I lost all interest. Quite frankly I am drawn to the RLX-SH as I think it looks great, and again I am saying it, one drive will disengage any hesitations about buying one. In the 2016 model I would hope that they do NOT add more power to the front drive train and only add more (if they really feel they need to for competitive reasons) to the rear motors. With the weight transfer on acceleration, the rear of the car could transfer much more power to the ground than the front. The Tesla has about 60% of its propulsive power coming from the rear. The new NSX is the same. Therefor if any more power is to be introduced in a future RLX-SH it has to be in the form of more powerful EV motors in the rear. If I could only hook it up without the wheel spin, it would have to be even quicker than it is now, not that it needs to be. Sorry for my ramblings and I got off topic, but that was something I wanted to add to the conversation.


And which car is front and center? Drum roll please.......

lorenedopp

Hi Everyone.

Well I have had my RLX for about 60 days. It has been back into the dealer twice for the rattle and rough suspension (Among a few other things). I wrote a long letter to Acura Customer service and got a "Company Response" That the car was designed this way and that they have communicated this to their engineering department. What the hell does that mean?

So I asked them what can they do? To spend this much money on a luxury car and for it to have a ride worse than an Hyundai or Kia! I said could they buy it back and Ill buy a different Acura....they laughed and said we dont sell cars....dealers do...take that up with them.

The dealer said they rechecked and tightened bolts down again and it still did nothing. So that ends that? They didn't even offer to send a company tech to the dealer to look at it.

I plan on sending my letter up the chain. Thanks for the emails in a previous post. It is really pretty sad. I had a 2006 RL I absolutely loved that I traded in. I also have an MDX that is great. Even A GL1800 Honda Goldwing.

For all I have supported Honda/Acura, it real is a sour taste at this point. Especially since all I got was lip service from Customer Service.

If anyone else has any suggestions, I would appreciate your thoughts.

Loren
Palatine, IL
2014 Black RLX

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Loren,

You sound quite irritated and I can understand your sentiments. My approach was not coming from a point of anger, but more of an inquisitive "hmmm, I'm trying to figure this out", kind of place. I am not saying you are acting like ET waving your arms in the air, but taking my approach of being firm but softer in my angle of attack seemed to help get my "issue" to be addressed without so much as one stepped up tone from me. Believe me I can raise hell like anyone, but I reserve those times for a last resort. This by no means is one of them. Is it an annoyance for you? I'm certain. And I can appreciate that once you hear something, that is the only thing you hear moving forward. That is why mine is being addressed now. Maybe my rattle/clunking is less than yours, but I was completely fine to accept it as a quirk to the car and enjoy it regardless. It was only after I called customer relations and then spoke to my dealer that they seemed very receptive to trying to "make it right". I told both of them that I was not trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but if they could figure out what was causing the noise, maybe it would be something easy and everything would be taken care of. They both said that they would figure it out until it was resolved. Period. End of story. That is it. No hemming and hawing. No situation where I had to threaten the lemon law if they did not get it fixed. No threats of lawsuits or telling them to go fly a kite. I was nice and respectful, and that seemed to be far more effective, not to mention it did not get my blood pressure to rise.

It has been a few minutes and I did not say that I freaking love this car! Sorry, I digress.

Again, I am not minimizing your position or intending to diminish your issue, but maybe taking a different approach will help you get things resolved. What do you think? Please don't be irritated at me for my comments. I am only trying to assist. In other words please do not shoot the messenger.

lorenedopp

I do appreciate your comments. And No I am not upset at all with your comments. I am venting a little more here on this site than I actually said in my discussions to Acura.(thanks for listening everyone). I am a very reasonable guy and am in marketing and product development, so I understand all the design issues and cost implications.

I did ask some of the same questions you are suggesting, and wondered how and why there is an issue of this magnitude. The dealer has said they are not as familiar with the issue, so they were at the mercy of corporate tech support. I think if the CS person said next time a tech person visits the dealership, to bring my car in for him to look at it. I would have been fine with that. I really do love the car a lot, and hope they develop some sort of fix.

Thanks again for your comments.....they were well received.

Loren

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Thank you. My dealer was not familiar with the problem either, but maybe it is because I have such a good relationship with them at all levels (salesman, manager, owner, service manager, etc...), that they felt more compelled to go out of their way to assist me. You would be shocked how far being nice to others can get you, not to mention it triggers the Dopamine drip in your frontal lobe of your brain. People don't want to be crapped on, especially from a wound up customer with a genuine gripe. When you do have a situation and you need them, they will remember you are not "one of those assholes who bitches about everything" kind of people. Keep us informed of your problem resolution.

All the best.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

It is perfect now. The tech said that the shocks were able to be compressed by hand after he removed them. They should not do that. The new ones must be from a different production run. So if you have a SH, and have a rattle/clunking of any kind, this will resolve your problem.

George Knighton

I suppose that I'm bordering on the annoying when I say yet again that they probably should've stuck with the semi-captive Showa production.

:-)

holografique

this makes me wonder now if the same quality control issues (failure of these shocks) is exhibited in the rear, and if replacing the rear set would add even more overall improvement to the ride quality...

holografique

I thought this thread over on mbworld.org hit the nail on the head on my opinions regarding suspension and the need to have an adjustable suspension system that allows you to adjust how the car rides based on your conditions. Like these guys, I work in the city and live in the country, two VERY different road conditions, and this is where the RLX fails in providing you the ability to adjust the vehicle to respond/perform specific to these types of conditions.

My Mercedes-Benz C400 4MATIC Sedan - Page 2 - MBWorld.org Forums

"Airmatic turned out to be great for me, I live in the city but work in the country. City roads can be rough and the comfort mode in the airmatic makes it feel like you are riding in a big S class. Throw it in Sport+ and it tightens up, you can definitely feel the road then. I have thrown it through some pretty good turns with speed and I barely feel body roll."

I'm reeeeeeeaaally loving the new 2015 C-class. The C-400 4-matic offers tons of options that bring it right up to the RLX in terms of tech (even has a HUD option) and has a very sexy and stylish design to it. And yes, it cost just as much, but damn, waaaay more options, panorama roof, very luxurious interior with superb interior ambient lighting, and their Agility and Airmatic systems looks pretty awesome with the ability to create your own customized setting to change suspension, engine, steering options and more. I priced one out with all the options I'd want and at $64k-$65k, I'd get everything the Sport Hybrid offers in terms of tech, adjustable engine and suspension, just minus the SH-AWD and roughly 40hp less.

If the 2016 RLX MMC doesn't pull through, then the C-400 is now on my list with the A6 as my alternative come next year July.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

How about the E400 or E63 ?

Both the RLX and the A6 are a lot bigger in size (interior and exterior) than the compact C-class.

mgalbr22

It would be very interesting to know whether there is any successful application of the amplitude reactive damper design. It is unclear to me whether the design concept itself is flawed or whether it is Acura's application engineering thereof in the RLX, MDX, others?
I definitely heard and felt what seems to be the same clunk and rattle in the latest MDX, emanating primarily from the rear, I would say. I drove the car for 10 days while my RLX was in for service.
Anyone know?!

mgalbr22

Big cost penalty in going from C to E class as I recall, depending on which variant, options, etc.

TampaRLX-SH

I am reading that the MMC RDX includes updates for suspension mounting points. The RDX also suffers from the 'loose lumber' clunky suspension (more so in the rear). I am wondering if this is an attempt to resolve the issue of the suspension sounds and if it will be addressed in other models? Even if so, I do think the suspension of the PAWS RLX needs some re-tuning. I know the 2004-2005 TL was criticized for similar rough road harshness (and the primary motivator to my RL acquisition), which resulted in a more compliant 2006 TL.

Still having experienced the PAWS and SH RLX side by side, the SH was fine for my tastes and supports my theory that the RLX suspension was tuned with the SH in mind.

The rumored 2016 RLX MMC is my last hold out. If it does not come through I will either keep my RL and get an RDX stable mate or abandon the brand.

George Knighton

Well, that brings back memories and makes my mind wander further afield as to what the issue (if it is an issue) could be.

In the era of the DC5 and EP3 (2002-2005), the overtly excellent (specifications wise) rear suspension ended up being *so* very bad that Realtime and other teams were allowed in a rules change to relocate the rear suspension pickup points to the specific purpose of getting more travel.

I wonder....

:-(

holografique

The E400 ends up being close to $10k-$12k more for the same tech/specs/options, and after more careful consideration, I'm not a fan of the interior dash design. It's too "squared". The new C-Class interior has much more style and sexiness to it, similar to an S-Class, just without the gawd awful price of the S-Class. The interior of a car tends to be the ultimate dealmaker/dealbreaker for me, and is one of the biggest reasons I do still enjoy my RLX.

While the new C-Class is a smaller car by design and I would definitely be loosing the backseat leg room of the RLX, I'm ultimately willing to sacrafice that for the sake of gaining superb driving mechanics, performance COMBINED with top scale luxury and features. That's the ultimate problem I have with the TLX. The TLX has all the driving mechanics I want, but Acura doesnt let you spec it out with the top luxury features like an RLX, nor is the interior build quality of that of the RLX or a C-Class. This to me is where Acura fails. They just dont cater well to people who can afford $50k and up in a vehicle. Thats where their whole "value" model they are built around breaks down for me.

So far MB seems to be the only one that really gets the model of offering top level luxury options and features regardless of which class/size vehicle you are looking for. They dont seem to worry about a very expensive C-Class eating into sales of an E-Class. Because they probably know that most buyers in each class dont really go hogwild with the options, but they still offer the options for the more sophisticated buyer who wants just the right balance regardless of class/size. And I like that alot. It makes me feel like I can really get exactly what I want for the money Im spending, which is important when you start getting into $50k or more on a vehicle. You dont want to feel like you are loosing out on anything when you're soending that kind of money, otherwise "buyers remorse" and overal dissatisfaction hits you much harder when you're spending $50k and up versus $30-$40k.

The A6 is definitelt more on par with the RLX in size and class, and is priced not too far off from the Sport Hybrid when you stack it up with all the options. So its still definitely on my list. It will just ultimately come down to test driving the C400 4Matic, the A6 and hopefully a well done 2016 Sport Hybrid RLX MMC The top three deciding factors will be 1) overall interior design, quality and feel, 2) suspension ride and driving mechanics, and 3) cost. From there, tech features, exterior design, come in next on order of importance.

holografique

Interesting that you say this. Because my 2006 6-spd TL was by far the best suspension I have ever driven in a car to date and IMO, is the best Acura has ever done after driving a wide range of their vehicles produced over the last three decades. It was compliant and responsive in every situation and in the appropriate way needed for every situation, whether it was smooth country road driving, or gritty harsh city driving, that car never once made me feel like something was wrong no matter where I drove or went. It was incredible. And is something they did execute exactly to the same degree on the new TLX. Why they cant get this nailed on all their other vehicles, including their flagship, is a mystery to me.

It is the execution of the suspenion in the 2006-2008 TL, and the new TLX that allows me to believe that you can have a single (non-adjustable) suspension design that can provide the right balance between the far extreme riding conditions. The question is whether Acura can get this to be consistent across the entire brand?


Count me as passenger number 2 in the same boat ride.

RLX-Sport Hybrid

Let me remind all of you that we are driving a "Sport Hybrid" thus it should be a performance based ride not a Lexus smooth luxo-cruser marshmallow ride. I love it!

holografique

And let me remind you that many of us are driving the PAWS RLX that doesnt bear the same profile characteristics of the Sport Hybrid Not to mention the PAWS RLX is the more widely produced and available model of the RLX, amd its been confirmed by many here that there is a distinct difference in ride quality between the PAWS and Sport Hybrid models, hence this thread which applies to the PAWS model.

You also factor in that the majority of people spending $60k+ on a high end luxury vehicle are buying it for "luxury", not for high performance driving. Only the more sophisticated buyers (who are the exception) are going to look for that combination. I think more than anything this is why the RLX doesnt sell well. It has all the right features in the wrong places. A car at $60k should be a luxury vehicle first, executed to the degree that a $60k price tag should warrant, and THEN with sport based features as an option you can add if you want to pay more. It goes back to the general psychology of someone paying more money, They expect increased luxury. Its a simple 1+1=2 equation in my book. But as George as always put it well, I'm just one man with my own opinions

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

An "adjustable suspension with driver selectable modes" is able to capture most luxury sedan buyers who can have the best of both worlds in terms of luxury ride comfort and sporty handling performance.

It's a shame that Acura is not embracing this suspension technology, even on the $50K+ luxury flagship sedan.

Fabvsix

My 2004 Acura RL rides ultra smooth and super quiet......... and super Reliable!

holografique

Well, I think we can close this thread now (or at least remove the "?" from the title). With the recent improvements announced for the 2016 RLX, this is a clear indication that our 2014/2015 models did have issues and in my eyes was unacceptable for the majority of the target buyers for this class of car (you race car driving guys don't count). These improvements literally (almost per verbatim) address all the issues I have written about to date on the suspension quality of the 2014 models. Shock absorption (or lack of) is ultimately the biggest problem. Not enough was being absorbed, thus the chassis took on the brunt of it, causing all sorts of unwarranted rattling, noise, and just made the car sound cheap and thin.

The good news is that Acura has clearly listened by way of these improvements coming in 2016. The question now becomes: is it enough to reverse the damage already done and at the very least, keep loyal customers like myself from jumping ship after this type of poor quality experience with what was supposed to be a flagship vehicle. Frankly I'm pissed considering the amount of money I paid for this car to get lower quality than my old TL. All I gotta say is there better be some sweet lease offers for us 2014 owners or this will be the last Acura I own/drive.

mgalbr22

2016 Acura RLX Adds AcuraWatch? and Other Enhancements to Elevate Premium Sophistication... -- TORRANCE, Calif., March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
See the end under additional enhancements.
The changes to the suspension are not "enhancements". They are some sort of long-overdue corrective actions for the defective front and rear suspension of the 2014 RLX. When will acura issue a recall for the 2014 to implement these changes? Not holding my breath.

Mike_TX

Just for the record, I had my front suspension TSB done yesterday. 2014 PAWS Tech.

May be my imagination, but I think it actually takes the hard bumps better.

.
.

mgalbr22

And the rear?

Mike_TX

No, I think they only replaced the fronts, per the TSB.

.
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mgalbr22

Understood. Just wondered whether you still have the clunk and rattle from the rear suspension.

miner

What slight noise I had is now gone.

Mike_TX

Oh. No, it seems like the rears have always just done the usual clunk on big bumps like speed bumps and the like. No reverberations.

.
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R. White

My front suspension is getting clunky again on rough pavement. ( TSB 14- 040 completed in Dec '14 ). I'll mention it this week when I go in for the Acuralink fix.

I may have to move closer to the dealer to cut down on the wasted travel time.

George Knighton

Ha ha ha ha ha.... Tell me about it. It takes 60-90 minutes to get to mine, depending on traffic.

fsmith

It takes a loyal customer and/or a fantastic car to get someone to buy a car that far away from the dealer. I'm going with fantastic car.

neuronbob

I'm really lucky. I live 10 minutes from my dealer and work 15 minutes further, so I can easily drop the car off on the way to or from work.

That aside, I'm concerned about the return of your clunking. It'll be obviously important to provide feedback to Acura on that.