in the last 2 months i noticed a loud buzzing noise while i drive. i thought it was because my wheels were out of alignment and my tires were worn. i changed my tires (fusion zri 225/45/17) and got a 4 wheel alignment this morning. but the noise is still there. i changed my springs to H&R's this summer on stock shocks. anyone have any idea what this is from?? axel, bearings, break rotors, springs, shocks, loose nut, muffler???

i made an appointment to acura next week and i'm gonna try to tighten down all the nuts and bolts i can think of. any input would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

j

 

hi j:

u said,"in the last 2 months i noticed a loud buzzing noise while i drive. i thought it was because my wheels were out of alignment and my tires were worn. i changed my tires (fusion zri 225/45/17) and got a 4 wheel alignment this morning. but the noise is still there."

those fusion zri tires u've changed, r they brand new tires?

 

yeah brand new, bought em today, switched out my stock michelin tires with 43000mi. same noise, no change.

 

2.4TSX-R, i read your past posts on that clunking noise in your car...i'm not sure if it's the same as mine...i have an appointment with the dealer in a few days. the last time i took it to them, they said it was the tires...hmmm...

my noise is not a thumping or a clunking, it's more of a buzz, kinda like if the treads of the tire was rubbing up against something. the sound is constant above 10mph and progressively gets louder through 80mph. there is no change in tone or pitch of the noise with manual gear shifting (so that's why i don't think it's the tranny or the muffler). the noise is also associated with some vibration in the cabin. i can't tell if it's comming from the front or back, left or right.

hopefully the dealer can help me out.

 

perhaps it's the wheel bearings?? hopefully i'll find out today at the dealers.

 

the verdict...it was a badly worn right rear passenger side wheel bearing assembly. good thing is that it is under warranty and acura will fix it for me. on a down note, they found that my right front passenger struts were leaking. so i'm gonna say it now. if you are going to lower your car, make sure you match a lowering spring with a strut that can handle the drop...if i were to do it again, i would dish out money for either a kit or coilovers. lesson learned. now i have to go look for some decent aftermarket shocks.

 

pyoj,

How many miles do you have on your TSX? I've got a similar sound coming from mine. It's got 55K miles.

 

43k. i'm not sure how much it would cost to repair wheel bearing, i guess i just got ??lucky?? that i found it before the 50K mark.

i think the biggest thing that tipped off that this was a bearing problem is that my noise went away with a hard banking right turn...hopefully acura will take a look at your car considering you're just a tic mark or two away from the end of your warranty.

 

Problem solved. acura replaced the entire wheel bearing assembly and the noise has disappeared. and it was great the see the "N/C" at the end of my bill. 43,000...just under warranty...

 

Are they going to fix the strut under warranty too? Your experience with the damaged strut is not unique. It has happened to many, many people...

 

nah, they said that because i have lowering springs, the stock shocks are not covered under warranty...oh well...

 

That's unfortunate, but one of the few times the "aftermarket parts" card actually seems truthful coming from them.

 

Well, according to the dealer, my buzzing sound was the clutch. and it cost almost $2000 to replace. The car is 6000 miles out of warranty and there is nothing they can do to help other than charge me $2000 for a new clutch. I've put over 100,000 miles on other cars with manual trans and never had a clutch problem but they say it's because of the way I drove it (with about 40,000 of the miles being highway miles).

 

6000 miles out of warranty, in my mind, means its time for you to call Acura Customer Relations and get them to admit that this isn't a problem that just "happens". Get them (read: fight with them if necessary) to pay for it as if it was under warranty, unless they can prove the damage occurred in the last 6000 miles.

 

I asked the dealer to give me the district service manager contact. They said "Only the dealer can contact them". They also said the buzzing noise was a belt. I know it's not a belt because I can put the car in neutral at highway speed and the buzzing noize doesn't change when the engine revs down. They are diagnosing my car without even checking it out (ie. blowing me off).

They also had the balls accuse me of smoking the tires and and sell me replacements because the tread is dangerously low - even though they just passed it for inspection three weeks ago.

 

Just to update:

Dealer called back. It is the right rear wheel bearing that was making the buzzing sound. After pressing the clutch problem the service manager agreed to replace the bearing at no cost. We also discussed Honda/Acura quality and how my car must be n exception.

 

wow, i wonder if this wheel bearing thing is a common problem...what year is your tsx noxin?

 

I picked up my Carbon Gray non nav 2004 TSX in October 2003.

All this and I didn't even mention the Semi tanker truck that made a right turn into it three days before Christmas. It goes to the body shop at the end of the month. Not too much damage. Mostly tire contact with the left side doors. I guess when it rains it pours.