rem52976

I must say Im a bit disappointed about the quality issues with this car. Ive had mine for 5 months with 7,400 miles and have issues with oil consumption. My oil light on the dash lit up to my surprise and when I checked the level, it was well below the minimum! I had to put in 4 quarts. I called the dealer and said it wasnt a problem since its been known to happen. Perhaps because of the long intervals with oil changes at every 10k. Should I consider changing at shorter intervals? Should I worry theres a more serious problem?

Additionally Ive had other minor issues such as (1) rattling sounds in the interior which comes and goes, likely somewhere on the dash and panelling by passenger seatbelt (perhaps due to the car's stiff ride?). (2) when my car was brand spankin new, when the headlights were shining straight at a wall, you can see the light in a horizontal line. This is no longer the case. Just worried the lamp housing may have shifted and what this could me in time or whether this is a non issue.

Again the last 2 are minor but I guess I just expected more from an Acura and based on my viewings on this site, others have had some issues with their TSX as well.

sccpu3d

hmm...... i do hear a minor rattle in the passenger seat, but I've never paid too much attention to it. Maybe i'll have it fixed in a dealer when i change my oil or something. The left headlight does go a bit lower *i think* so it doesnt blind oncoming traffic.
But then again, 30k car /w the interior features of something worth well beyond 45k? Just deal with it!

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Haven't heard about the lighting issue. The rattling sounds seem to come and go for many people and not everyone has them. As for the oil consumption problem, I am curious as to whether or not you properly broke in the car?

Power1Pete

First of all, did you follow the break-in procedure 100% when it was new? It makes a difference in oil consumption.

Second, I encourage you to check the oil level every time you get gas. The extra time it takes will save your engine one day.

Lastly, changing oil at 10k is okay. If you want to know what condition your engine is in, you can do a Used Oil Analysis (UOA). Google will give you many labs available for this. Good luck.

rivvin

JUST DEAL WITH IT? Are you kidding? What if was 45k with the same problems? 30k is a lot of money and especially coming from Acura, I expected more too. I have all the problems listed and more including sliding seats, the winshield's water pump can shoot the water high enought on the glass, seatbelt rattles, warped rotors, clicking sunroof, tons of rattles, and the engine makes a loud thuding sound when idle. Most of them have been fixed but coming back and the rest will be dealt with in do time. Being a previous honda and acura owner, this car was a dissappointment.

GIBSON6594

This is easily fixed, if you havn't already fixed it

Colin

I'm only addressing the issues that I can on a web forum. The owners manual says to check the oil at every fill up. Were you doing this? If so, you would have noticed a gradual dropping of oil levels. This is normal as the engine breaks in. This is exaggerated with manual transmissions since they are usually revved higher and use more oil. It is possible to use as much at 1 qt/1000 miles, especially when the engine is new. I tell all my clients that you may use some oil when the car is new and it's your responsability to top it off as needed.

The headlights were never straight across, you are probably remembering it incorrectly. They are staggered by design inside the lense housing to keep the left lens lower than the right (passsenger) side. This is to prevent the oncomming traffic from being blinded.

frescagod

i had rattles and that darn "windshield creak" which i fixed myself with some silicone spray under the rubber moldings on the outside of the windshield. i also noticed that my lights were perfectly horizontal, but that has changed significantly and i only have 4,700 miles on mine.....

"deal with it" is a ridiculous answer, and completely unhelpful anyway. how is our interior "worth $45k?"

anyway, i feel for you.

aaronng

Report your oil consumption to Acura themselves, not your dealer and tell them you used up 4 quarts in 5 months, 7400 miles. That will shock them. Tell them which dealer you go to and they should contact that dealer to arrange for an oil consumption study. One other member has already gotten a piston ring replacement for his oil consumption problems.

The lights project a line which is horizontal at the left side and slants upwards on the right. The upwards slant is more obvious on the right side than the left. It should look like this:
___/ ___/

With the rattles, it happens to my car as well. It drives me nuts and each time I get the dealer to fix the rattles, they cause more rattles. I am fixing the rattles myself as I go along now, but if you want your dealer to have a go, then it's at your own risk.

Colin

I thought the lights looked more like this:

____________/---------------

fuckleberry

My 2004 is 2 years old, I don't remember what the light pattern was like
but just recently I notice the pattern is like this: right higher than left

fuckleberry

I bet you didn't check the level when you first got the car (ie Day 1).
Maybe thou unlikely, the level was not at full ?
Have you ruled out leak ?

Colin

Trust me, it has always been like that ever since Honda started combining Projector lenses with Xenon.

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...dlight+pattern

Our 2000 S2000 had/has the same design. Belive me, it caused a lot of discussion back in 1999!

aaronng

Hmm, in fact, mine is like ______---------/
(of course in RHD)

In case anyone wants to adjust it, then here is how you do it.

sccpu3d

Well most of these issues as long as you can reproduce them for the service department should be fixable under warranty. I dunno about the '05's, but these '06 features are incredible for the price. State of the art nav system...... AND I MEAN STATE OF THE ART as in no other nav system features what we have here. Especially in the '06's in terms of voice command, speed in processing, and just being able to use the stuff while your inside. Most of our stuff inside comes standard (bluetooth, XM, aux, 6 disc, seat heating, etc) most of these features on other cars are bought on packages. I don't see why our TSX's interior is worth less than a 45,000 car's interior. I've seen the A8, Lexus, and 5 series nav systems. I think all three doesnt even compare to our TSX's. I don't know the specs, but i think our leather is at least nicer than the 325/330 that stuff just feels stiff and uncomfortable.
Hands down for this price, the car is great, and as long as they don't mess it up, i'd get a lot more of these things so a little rough here and there wouldn't bother me.

About "dealing with it" since everyone seems pretty pissed, and misunderstood, which was an error on my part.....
Yes i said "deal with it", but I was talking about the last two minor ones. Not oil consumption......... That should definately be warrantied as soon as possible obviously. When i said "deal with it" it was for the last two problems, which I've experienced myself on a week old car. Next maintainance I'm still gonna get it checked out. My bad if you guys thought I was talkin about "dealing" with the oil consumption....

TinkyWinky

There are two schools of thought here on A-TSX.com: ones who are rather dissapointed with the quality of the TSX and those that become very defensive when this topic is brought up.

You hear comments such as, "do something about it", "deal with it", "what do you expect for a 30k car?". This is the internet and I cannot hack into everyone's personal info to determine each individual's intention, but my gut feeling is that some are associated with Acura or a dealership (need to maximize profits); while others are just overzelous TSX-freaks.

Well, rem52976, if you've done a search you will see that I am in total agreement with you. Like you, I do not have the time nor the interest to get under the hood or rip apart my car interior. I think the amount paid for the car justifies such an attitude; even corolla owners would expect as much quality. No?

There is no satisfactory answer to your original post as you have already purchased the vehicle and may take a significant financial hit if you want another one. Try to get the dealer to fix and refix these issues and hope they do re-occur after your warranty has expired. This is certainly one date I am not looking forward to.

One more thing, if you've read my past threads you will also know what type of post from a certain idiot can be expected following this message.

Good luck with your TSX.

Brandon24pdx

the beams are supposed to have the step in them.

Over time the cutoff line will become less sharp however.

Edit: Im the idiot

TinkyWinky

I was refering to the other one.

TinkyWinky

No, you are not "THE ONE".

Beoshingus

If you check the beam pattern on RHD models (i.e. Japan, Australia, UK, etc.) you'd notice that the right side is lower than the left. Duh. It's intentional to lower the beam for oncoming traffic.

As for the rattles, mine has it too. Every car will have rattles unless the entire chassis/body was carved from a single piece of metal. Your car flexes, and therefore the rattles. That being said, most of the rattles can be remediated.

As for the oil, that is definitely a problem in my opinion. You could have a leak from an improperly attached filter or something else, but I'd definitely keep on them until that was resolved.

ianS

I am with you, doesn't matter it is a 20k, 30k or 60k car, once it is a Honda, I will expect high quality. So even a single minor thing can drive me nuts! And I dun think the oil consumpution is normal in your case. But 10k oil change interval is a bit too long for me. Especially for the first oil change. I did my first oil change in 2k and then 5k and then every 8k with Motul.

aaronng

I did my first change in 600miles as specified by Honda Australia. I consume almost no oil between the 6 month interval. I can't see any changes in the level on the dip stick.

waTSX

I find the discrepancy between U.S. and Australian versions of the K24 and a little odd. 600 miles versus 5000 miles for the first oil change? Can you account for this? Is the Aussie version somehow different?

I was always taught to make the first oil change relatively early in an engine's life, like the 600 mile interval, or 1000 miles; this is the first car I've owned that requires only the longer change. The logic was there would be metal shavings, etc, that would need to be removed lest they cause damage.

Now, with these so-called break-in oils, who knows?

Colin

I am amused by the discrepency too, however, since Acura of Austrailia won't be honoring your American Honda Acura, everyone (in the US) should follow the service intervals listed in the owners manual. Remember that the 10K interval is for "normal" driving conditions. If you read the description, you'll find that this is anythin BUT normal! Most people fall into the "severe" catagory for one reason or another. This means 6 months or 5000 miles for 2004-05 and following the Maintenance Minder on the 2006s.

Sclass88

They do... nice diagram, btw.

My dad's TL's headlights are similar. As someone else mentioned, they are set that way in the factory so as not to blind comming drivers.

Also, as for rattles, remember that its the winter and these kinds of things are prone to happen with the cold weather. If it gets unberable, take it in and have them look at it but I know I wouldn't want the service techs ripping apart my dash for a little rattle or creak because it could potentially turn into something worse afterwards.

And to sccpu3d, I had a rattle in my passanger seat, as well. It turned out to be the headrest rattling. Check that and see if thats the problem.

Good Luck with your TSX.

sccpu3d

Hmm..... never gave a thought to the passenger seat haha. Thought it was the door or the dash or something in between that was creaking. It does seem so because whenever theres a passsenger, the rattles are gone. Next time, I get into the car, i'll check the seat Thanks for the suggestion.

aaronng

The Aussie version is the K24A3, with iVTEC on both intake and exhaust. redline is 7100rpm, cutoff is 7300rpm. VTEC point is 6000rpm and we make 187hp because of less aggressive fuel mapping. A Hondata'd Aus spec K24 (still in testing) has similar power to a Hondata'd TSX.

I still doubt the belief that there are such things as a break-in oil. Why? Because if a break in oil that improves the breaking in of an engine, then it cannot be a super lubricating oil as the wearing parts would simply not wear. And if this is the case, then it should be changed early because the oil would be full of metal from the breaking in. How can Acura schedule such a long interval for the first service if this special oil is meant to help your engine break in?

Over at our local Honda forums, we have very few reports of AUDM Accord Euros consuming oil. The majority of them break their engine in gently, the same way as you all do.

And here's the kicker, if we miss our 600 mile/1 month service, our powertrain warranty can be voided. When I did my 600 mile oil change, the dealer also insisted that the oil filter was changed together.

aaronng

Yes, since AHMC of US is honouring your warranty, it is good to follow their service schedule. That way they can't wiggle out of a warranty claim. The only thing that irritates me is their statement that 1 qt/1000 miles is within limits. That's almost 1/4 of your oil! Once you get below the minimum level on your dipstick, the engine is toast. It might still work, but the oil starvation would have caused damage somewhere, either in the bearings or the cylinder walls.

xjdmb16a2six

i thought the TSX quality was good, since it was built in Japan. my 03 accord have lots of rattles too. i swear it has more rattles than my uncle's 92 camry.

rem52976

[QUOTE=Power1Pete]First of all, did you follow the break-in procedure 100% when it was new? It makes a difference in oil consumption.

Second, I encourage you to check the oil level every time you get gas. The extra time it takes will save your engine one day.QUOTE]

I ended up taking my car to the dealership and they said it was not extraordinary for the car to consume oil during the break in period, especially considering a manual transmission. They ened up doing a standard oil change and minor checks and found no leaks. Im still pretty wary of the amount it consumed, but Ill keep closer tabs on an ongoing basis. I was pretty careful during the break-in process, but apparently not careful enough. Hopefully its not an ongoing problem.

As for the rattling and headlight issues, its not a big deal but I was just expecting better quality from Acura. I previously had a 99 maxima and didnt encounter any problems and thought I was upgrading to an Acura. Still, overall Im happy with the car.

One thing though, there are defenitely some passionate owners here, which is good to hear.

Colin

Sometimes I find that my clients have "rose colored" glasses when it comes to their trusty old cars. If you could go back and drive the Maxima, you'll surely find that just about ever plastic part squeeks and rattles. The center console creaks when you put your arm on it, the glove box door rattles, the dash has a buzz. These are typical of all mid-90's cars not just Nissan. We just remember it differently as time goes by.

Your oil consuption is only dramatic because you didn't check it for so long. Had you been checking it as recommended, you'd have added a 1/2 qt now and then and thought nothing more. Headlights, as stated, not really a problem, but rather a design choice.

Brandon24pdx

My oil level hasnt changed in at all in 1500 miles FWIW.

Still you should check the oil level at least every 1000 miles on a mechancally sound car. On an older more worn engine I would check it every 500 or so.

I've had older cars that used 1/2 quart or or less during 3000 mile maintenence intervals on synthetic, which was very good.

Colin

Brandon, you have an Auto right? 6-MTs are usually reved up more, and this is where the usage takes place. Once things settle in, oil consumption drops off.

aaronng

My 6MT hasn't consumed any oil in the last 4400 miles. The level on the stick never moves. If Acura/ the dealer says that engines may consume oil during the break in period, then they should have the first service schedule sooner to top up the oil!

waTSX

Exactly my thought. And, none of the minor differences you described between the Aussie and U.S. versions of the K24 would account for the huge disparity in initial oil change intervals. If anything, the U.S version would seem to be the one in need of the earlier oil change (more aggressive tuning).

This has my interest piqued. If you've ever owned a motorcycle and made that intitial oil change, you know what you find on the magnetic drain plug. It's full of metal shavings. I would think it would be similar for autos. Both are four stroke engines.

Colin

This is why they tell you to check the oil at every fill up. My 2005 S2000 uses very little oil and I'm pretty aggressive. My Wife's 2004 S2000 used more when it was breaking in, but has dropped off to zero oil consumption. She's not especially hard on the car.

Our results with our previous S2000s (2000 and 2001) were the opposite. I used significantly more than she did. The point is, if you follow the recommendation to check the oil, neither is an issue.

aaron, I've read a lot of your posts here and respect your car knowledge. I'm not trying to argue what is "normal" and what is not, I'm just advocating that owners follow the recommendations in the manual. At the end of the day, our opinions don't matter since you and I aren't filling any warranty cliams!

aaronng

I think somewhere along the line, something is going wrong. It could be an improper break in procedure, it could be the long interval for the 1st service, it could be a user fault or it could even be a design flaw in the K24/K20. In fact, the F series and B series engines did not consume as much oil as the K series. My 1994 F22b Accord consumes very little oil between changes and it is using only 10w-40 oil in an 11 year old car (original engine, no overhaul. Only a timing belt and AT transmission change)!

I agree, check your oil at each fillup. Unfortunately, there are many people who don't. Take my girlfriend for example, she washes her car once a year and checks her oil level once a year as well (well, the dealer does the check and wash!). Most of us here on the forums are dedicated to our cars and we would know if anything is wrong or right with our cars. However, the other 80% (just speculating) of the population are not as enthusiastic and just treat cars as a tool to get from point A to point B without the satisfaction of driving. It is this group of non-enthusiasts that make up the majority of car buyers and I would have expected ANY car manufacturer to cater for engine neglect within the 6 month interval.

In fact, a 6 month service interval is 1/2 that or other brands. Vauxhall/Opel and BMW specifies a 12 month interval! Therefore, Honda/Acuras only have to go for 6 months without consuming that much oil. This is why I think that Honda/Acuras reasoning that their engines consume 1 quart/1000miles is ridiculous. If other brands using inferior technology in manufacturing their engines can get away with 12 month's worth of oil consumption while keeping the level above minimum, then why can't Honda/Acura do the same but for only 6 months? They are a superior engine designer/manufacturer.

Brandon24pdx

Its tough to say. The oil consumption sounds like alot in the case of the original poster, regardless of what kind of transmission he has. He's going through a quart in less than 2000 miles whereas the level in mine has barely changed after more than 1500 mi.

I could have been abuse issue early on, but more than likely the engine wasnt assembled to optimum tolerances, which can happen in an engine built by any manufacturer. I would have a compression check done since its cheap. ( or buy the tool and do it yourself). And maybe a leakdown test if the compression is low. thats the only way youll be able to prove to the dealer something is wrong.

Does oil get black after a couple hundred miles and smell kind of fuel contaminated? If so the rings might be bad.

sauceman

I beg to differ. I have known a bunch of people with B-series engines, and many of them had high-oil consumptions.

As for the TSX, it's normal that it would consume oil during break-in. If you let it run dry to the point where you had to add 4QUARTS (!!), don't worry, your problem will stay. That is called negligence.

aaronng

Of course for all engines, if you neglect it just once, you'll be plagued with problems such as oil consumption for the rest of life of the engine.

It is normal to consume oil during break in. But not in excess of 1 quart/1000miles, which is what some people are experiencing for their brand new engines.