Hey guys... anyone have a problem where when you accelerate from a stop there is a distinct clicking noise coming from the gear shift area??... this noise also happens right before coming to a complete stop... its similar to the noise when you step on the brake and the car is in park...

 

How does it sounds like??? Is the clicking noise getting faster along with the speed?

Does it sounds like from the front???

 

its just one click... then nothing... i think it has something to do with the ABS maybe...

 

may be the brake.....

 

Yup. Shift lock solenoid issue. Take it to the dealer.

 

thanks... bringing it in on monday...

do you know if its a quick fix??

 

just got a call back from the dealer... apparently this noise is normal...

wondering if any of u guys with a 2004 5AT could confirm this for me???... thanks...

 

I have an '04 AT also that I can hear a click noise when I stop sometimes. It doesn't happen all the time and it isn't very loud, but noticeable to me. I can also feel it when it happens if my hand is on the shifter.

I was wondering about it to. So the dealer said it's normal? Then maybe I won't ask them about it.

 

Yes and no. Yes, you can hear it if you press/depress the brake while in "park" and sometimes when you come to a dead stop you'll notice it - that's the solenoid engaging/disengaging. However, if it sounds like there is a marble rolling around under the shifter almost everytime you accelerate or come to a stop, it's defective.

 

it is every single time... but the dealer said it was normal.. they said they tested 4 other tsxs and got the noise also...

its a very subtle noise... sort of like a marble...

i'm going to test out a few tsxs when i have time on the weekend and see if it is true...

thanks for your help/advice...

 

Yeah, it's hard to argue with a sound that is normal but happens at the wrong time. I've had a few tsx loners while having rattles fixed and no, it should not happen all the time - hell mine didn't until about 10k. I found it to be very, very annoying in stop and go traffic and it did get worse over time. Good luck.

 

The problem the OP said is exactly what I'm experiencing now. Is there a permanent fix for this?

 

I have a manual and I am experiencing something similar. Not sure if it's the same thing but when I accelerate on first gear for the first time during a drive I hear/feel a noise. It feels as if the clutch is trying to engage a gear or similar. The weid thing is it goes away after the car is driven. Anyone know why that is?

 

Seems not, mine just started rattling again this weekend.

 

I had the same problem a while ago. I had to argue with them and tell them that I started having this problem for the past couple of weeks so it can't be normal. Finally, they agreed to look into it and they fixed it! It was fine for a couple of months then I started hearing the same thing again. Now, I am wondering if I should take my car back to them

 

What did they do to fix it the first time?

 

I originally posted in this thread that it's due to a bad shift lock solenoid. I was just repeating what the dealer told me when they fixed it. I don't believe that now though. It started clicking again this weekend, about 10k after they fixed it, and it started clicking originally around the first 10k. So, I decided to break out the Helm's, because all solenoids can't be defective - though I have heard the noise on one loaner TSX and one RSX too.

Anyway, there is an o-ring in the shift lock assembly described in the manual as a cushion. I wanted to see what condition it was in, but you can't get at the shifter without taking apart the console. I didn't have the time, so I just popped the cover off (piece w/ the cupholders) and poked around for about twenty minutes with my fingers, a small screwdriver, a mirror, and a flashlight. I discovered that you can't do anything without taking apart the entire console...

There are three, maybe four, plastic pieces that interact with the solenoid, and it could be anyone one of those causing the noise. However my guess is it has something to do with the o-ring, as I stopped playing with the assembly when it suddenly began operating quietly. I must have moved something, but I don't know what, and since it's quiet I'm not gonna touch it.

If you can get the dealer to fix it, do it, hopefully it will remain fixed. Seems like a buggy design though as it occurs on some cars, but not others, and I'm not the only one to have the problem to reoccur.

 

Mine started doing this just yesterday. I'm at 70 000km.

 

I got it fixed a while back.. around the time i first posted this... the noise went away for a few months.. then the noise reappeared again...

I took it back to the dealer and went through the whole process of its normal blah blah blah... I just gave up and am living with the noise now...

I agree with Spoon that its probably not the shift lock solenoid rather something else is either loose or worn...

Spoon.. if you ever have time and find what you fixed you moved to get rid of the noise that would be handy...

 

Heh, I'm actually fighting my own curiosity on that one. But since I don't know what I did and it's currently quiet, I'm adopting the if-it's-not-broke-don't-fix-it philosophy. Unfortunately I figure that if just poking it silenced it, it's only a matter of time before it comes back due to regular use or a pothole or speed bump or whatever.

 

I was just going to ask what in the hell this EXACT noise is. I am apporaching 10,000 miles on my TSX and this started maybe 1,000 miles ago.

I hear it when I accelerate and when I come to a stop. Also, when going over various types of bumps it makes a REALLY annoying rattle. I plan on taking it in as it sounds like it's not a simple fix. I feared that the console would have to come off.

ugh

 

With the car running in PARK, when you press on the brake, you will hear a popping noise, a plastic on plastic click, when you release the brake, you will hear the noise again. If it is working properly, you should almost not be able to hear it, when it isn't, it is quite noticeable. When it gets real bad, you will hear it damn near every time you come to a complete stop and then again when you accelerate, almost as if there were a marble rolling under the console. I've never heard it going over a bump, but that's not to say it can't.

 

I always have the radio on before I apply the brake to leave, so I never heard it. This morning started out with the radar off and when the brake is applied in park, it's DAMN loud. There's something clearly wrong. It rattles when I drive and when I start and stop it's audible too.

ugh

I guess I had to have a problem some time.

 

I have it too. '04 with 43K miles. I agree with the "marble rolling around" description...you hit the nail on the head.

I've noticed that mine seems to get worse when it's really hot outside (85F or above) and my car has been sitting in the sun all day. But the noise is there in any temperature.

 

I have taken my 2004 AT TSX to the dealer 3 times with this same problem. They try to pretend like they do not even hear it. One of my colleagues that is a Honda tech told me it may be directly associated with the transmission and to definitely get it fixed.

Can this actually cause the transmission to go bad over time?

Cheers.

 

Any updates on how to fix this problem?

 

Doesn't seem to be. If you're up for taking it to the dealer, you can tell them it's a problem with the shift lock mechanism - not the solenoid, but the assembly. Mine is still quiet, but if anything were actually broken, it wouldn't have gone silent from just jiggling it with my fingers. Something is either able to fall out of alignment or needs to be greased or something. Wish I could help ya - wish I knew myself - as I feel it will only fail again in time.

 

Thanks. I need to get this problem fixed. It's driving me crazy!

 

Has anyone seen this problem discussed on this board before? I haven't, although I must admit I haven't spent more than a couple minutes searching. I wonder if there's a TSB for this...

 

My '04 is getting really close to warranty expiration (49,200 miles) so I took it in to the dealer this week to have this problem fixed.

Actually I tried getting it serviced in January at 45,000 miles, when I was also getting an oil change/tire rotation and something else I don't remember. But when I went to pick up the car that time, the guy at the service counter said "We got everything else done for you, but we couldn't reproduce this noise. I went out on a road test with the mechanic and we tried everything, but we couldn't hear it."

So anyway, this week I made the appointment at Acura of Cleveland -- and I made sure this was the only thing I was having done, so it'd be impossible for them to "sweep it under the rug" without a good explanation, like they did in January. When I made the appointment, I told them I had brought the car in before for the same problem and the mechanic couldn't reproduce the noise, so this time I wanted to road test it with the mechanic in the car.

I showed up for my appointment late on Wednesday afternoon. The technician (Justin, who was a nice guy and an excellent tech. Later I saw his name on a plaque on the wall...I think he's one of their best techs or has some kind of extra certification) hopped in the car and we went driving. At first he was looking for simple explanations -- are there coins in the Not An Ashtray? Is there something in the CD cubby? But once he heard the noise a half dozen times, and once he realized I had emptied all of my crap out of the various storage pockets, he started to really understand. Not only did he hear the noise clearly, but he also said that it was the first time he had seen someone bring in their car for this noise.

He began speculating that it was the shift lock solenoid. But he couldn't understand why it would be making noise when the car was in drive. I told him the noise was there in D but not in D3, which made him scratch his head even more.

We returned to the dealership, I gave them my keys, and they gave me an '06 TL loaner. On Thursday afternoon, I called to see if the car was ready. They said no, they were ordering a part and it'd be there on Friday morning, so the car would be ready Friday. I called yesterday afternoon and the car was ready.

They wrote up a pretty nice, thorough description of the problem and the steps they took to resolve it. I'll do my best to clean up the spelling mistakes and add punctuation (have you ever noticed that no car dealers ever use punctuation in their descriptions, and they're always in caps?). Hope this is helpful to some of you:

49212 SHIFT LOCK SOLENOID. TEST DROVE CAR WITH CUSTOMER. CONFIRMED NOISE. REMOVED SHIFTER COVER AND CENTER CONSOLE. TEST DRIVE WITH CHASSIS EAR AND HEAR NOISE COMING FROM SHIFT LOCK SOLENOID. CALLED HELP LINE AND WAS TOLD TO TEST SOLENOID WITH HDS AND TO BACK PROBE IT AND TEST IT WHILE MOVING. TESTED IT AND FOUND IT WAS TURNING ON AT 3MPH AND TURNING OFF AT 3MPH. HELP LINE TOLD ME TO TEST IT IN COMPARISON WITH ANOTHER CAR. TEST DROVE A NEW 07 WITH THE HDS. IT DID NOT HAVE THE SAME SYSTEM IN IT. TEST DROVE AN 05 AND IT DID HAVE THE SAME NOISE. INSTALLED A NEW SHIFT LOCK SOLENOID AND TESTED. IT IS QUIETER BUT STILL MAKES NOISE. CALLED HELP LINE AND WAS TOLD THIS WAS A NORMAL FUNCTION OF THE CAR. IT STOPS THE SHIFTER FROM BEING PUT INTO REVERSE WHILE THE CAR IS IN MOTION. SYSTEM FUNCTIONING TO MFG SPECS AT THIS TIME. REF # 2311710.

743145 INTERLOCK SHIFT LOCK SOLENOID - REPLACE
1 77230-SEC-A01ZA HOLDER, CUP *NH515L*
1 77294-SEC-A00ZA PANEL, FR. *NH515L*
1 54040-SEC-A81 SOLENOID ASSY.

It looks like the replacement took 0.5 hours of labor, plus the diagnosis was 3.3 hours of labor. All was under warranty for me.

When I picked up my car, they told me "The problem is better but there's still some noise. Acura told us it's a normal function of the car." I was going to argue about why Acura would intentionally make millions of cars that clicked, but I knew my complaints would fall on deaf ears, so I didn't bother.

I drove my car home from the dealership and I was pleasantly surprised. The noise is at least 80% gone. You really have to be listening closely to hear the noise now. In fact, if you didn't hear the original loud noise and if you didn't know what it sounded like, you'd never hear the faint tap it's making now.

It was a strange feeling driving my car home. I've had that continual noise for the past eight or nine months. So now that they fixed it, the car feels strange to me. My ears keep waiting for the noise every time I step on the gas, but it doesn't make the noise. What a foreign concept!

Hooray for fixing my problem (mostly)!

 

I have this issue on my '05 and the discriptions in this thread totally make since. Though I'm under warranty, I'm curious to open my console up and take a look at the solenoid mechanism. From what I've read, it seems greasing it the mecahanism up helps. If putting grease where the soleniod "connects" (causing the clicking noise) in the locked/unlocked positions quiets down the noise, then when the grease disapates then it starts the noise again. I'm curious if something else along with the grease could be used, like a piece of felt at the contact points or something.

But again, I would like to see and hear it make the noise with the console off, the noise may come from the soleniod itself, but even then maybe a small piece of dynomat could help or some kind of insulator. I just hope not to break something or screw it up, but it sure is annoying to constantly hear in stop/go traffic.

I don't like taking my car to the dealer, so I might jump in and take a look for myself.

 

That sounds like a great idea, kolt45. Personally I wouldn't know what to do or how to fix it once I got the console apart, so I admire your skills. Please let us know if the dynomat idea or the grease idea are successful!

Somehow I have a feeling mine will get loud again after a certain number of months/years...and of course by then I'll be out of warranty, so I'll be looking for a do-it-yourself fix.

 

I took apart my center console this morning and found the solenoid. I greased up the connecting points, but noticed that the bulk of the noise was coming from the red rubber ring hitting against the shifter assembly. I wasn't able to figure out how to get the solenoid out to get to the red ring, I figured I might have to unbolt the shifter assembly and didn't want to dive in any further.

I found something else out that's interesting. This same solenoid also activates when you have the car started and apply the brake before going in gear. With that figured out I was able to make the noise without driving around, all I had to do was press on the break pedal.

 

[img] http://www.imagewoof.com/view_image/...8/IMG_0289.jpg [/img]

 

Yeah, if you go back a few posts in this thread, I describe this. The red o-ring isn't making the noise, it's soft rubber, but the shaft the o-ring is on is connected to a large plastic piece inside the shifter housing. I've taken the entire thing apart, the source of the noise isn't obvious to me. To clarify, it has to do with the piece inside the housing hitting the housing, but it's how the pieces are aligned that determine if it will hit. I've taken it apart and put it back together, it clicks, take it apart, put it back together again, silent. The dealer replaced the solenoid the first time it clicked, but I don't think anything was wrong with it, it was likely do to the fact that they moved it around on installation and it was quiet.

If you ever decide to go all the way, disassemble it and, and find a solution, please post back in the thread. At the moment, mine is quiet, but I know it won't last.

 

I'm glad I found this post. I've had the sound of what I feel is something rolling around (like a marble) on in the passenger front door. However, I would shake the door and nothing would happen. I suppose it certainly could be in the console as that is also to my right and the acoustics of the car make me think it is further away. Hopefully that is what it is and I can get it fixed. It doesn't happen all the time but is rather annoying.

 

Has anyone found a true resolution to this issue? My 2006 TSX currently has this exact problem.

 

The resolution I describe (in post #30 above) has continued to work for me. It's been a couple weeks short of a year, and no noise has returned. So whatever the dealer did when I took it in...good enough to fix my '04.

 

Michael05:

How many miles have you put on your car after the problem was fixed last year? Also, please check back with the board after you have finished placing about 20,000 miles after the fix.

Other members of this board have fixed the problem only to have it return at a later date after a certain number of miles.

Thanks

 

Our 2004 has done this for some time. I had it fixed well over a year ago...then the noise came back. They replaced my shifter selonoid the first time. I have yet to go back for a second fix - it's been doing this for so long I just gave up caring and turn up the radio.

We are a CPO '04 still under warranty so I guess I could still argue this but if it's only going to come back again why bother?