afici0nad0

i agree, but, to me, it's so minor.

spraying the area with wd-40 is a 5min job and has solved the problem for me. it's been a couple of months, and it's still creak/pop free...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Spraying wd-40 or shimming the metal is not a real fix for the problem. They are simply masking it. The sheet metal is still being stressed. The problem is poor welding of sheet metal to the chassis and proper welding of the cross member is the more suitable corrective method. Unfortunately, technicians are not trained or equipped to perform this particular type of repair.

afici0nad0

you're right, it's not dealing with the real problem.

but, until a tsb or recall is issued, i'm not going to worry about it.

Conman

I got my car back from the dealer about a week ago. They fixed the problem. It turns out that there was a bad weld that broke off and became a free piece of metal in the rear deck area. They brought it to a body shop, took out the metal pieces, and re-welded it. The area fixed is exactly the same as the pictures shown in previous posts.

I can post the pictures of the fix if anyone wants.

afici0nad0

^sure, that would be cool.

thanks...

b4ll3r

Anyone else have an update on this?
I have the same problem and I am not sure what to do. I can take it to the dealer but if I can fix it myself I would rather do that.

Alin10123

Yea, i think i've got this problem too. But it's pretty slight. I will try to put a screw in that spot to see if it stops.

thanks

afici0nad0

use wd-40.

the wood shims only worked for a couple of days, then, the popping noises came back.

i've been pop/creak free for almost a year now with the wd-40 fix...

Conman

Here are the pictures of the fix. You will notice the ugly re-welding that the local body shop did.

afici0nad0

^

yup.

those gaps your local shop re-welded were the gaps i sprayed wd-40 into. your fix is definitely dealing with the cause, whereas mine only deals with the symptom...

aaronng

You could fill the gap with epoxy. That would fix the problem too. Much better than WD40 or grease.

RMATIC09

Whenever i go over a bump in which the rear suspension would go up/down i hear a noticable creak, almost as if something is rubbing.

I thought it was my rear sway bar,and when i asked my body shop to grease up the back, it went away, TEMPORARILY.

I thought it was only my car......sometimes i have it, sometimes i dont. I cant pinpoint the problem.

I thought maybe it was my fuji exhaust and comptech Rearsway bar ( on account that i hear some people have problems with a comptech RSB and diff aftermarket exhaust), but i never had that problem originally.

Im confused, should i tell Rallye Acura to fix it? Will it be a problem?

I already have a very annoying rattle comming from my radio area when the car is idle (it goesa way when i turn my steeringwheel but comes back quickly) (it is not present when i am driving or in neutral or reverse)

Ugh.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

I've had similar noise problem and it was caused by a small piece of rock lodged between the rear coil spring and the shock body. I didn't see the rock until I removed the shock/spring assembly.

You can barely see the rock from the outside now you know where to look.

b4ll3r

All,

I got my car back from dealer today and they seem to have fixed the issue. Like most people who have posted here it is the same place as others have posted. In my case the dealer filled the gaps with seam sealant on both sides. Seems like a poor weld job by Acura. I like the seam sealant idea as no drilling or welding was needed. I just hope it lasts...

Peace.

387

I took off my comptech swaybar after I had them on for about 1 1/2 yr of riding on them and put the OEM back on thinking of taking it to the dealer to have them check it out now the pop/clunk from the rear is gone. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

There are a number of reasons for the noise. In your case, I think it's because of the Comptech RSB D bushings or possibly the endlinks were not tight enough. Comptech is now issuing new slightly thicker bushings as warranty items if you contact them. However, I would recommend calling them instead of email.

Also, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the sheet metal problem like others are having. The skinnier stock RSB just might not genreate enough torsion to twist the sheet metal.

Codename47

http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ardeck12oi.jpg

Sorry but what is that 2 small bar near the speakers????

tsx08-cali

Apologies for resurrecting a two-year old thread, but I've developed the same creaking problem, isolated to the rear deck bar, that pops up every time I go over a harsh bump, turn into a steep driveway, and otherwise do anything to flex the metal. I've tried every solution listed here--screws in the gaps, and saturating all weld spots with WD-40 (now trying 3-in-1 oil and silicone spray).

I've also used pliers to bend and twist the exposed metal planks, the ones I suspect causing the creaking, in all directions, with some success in reproducing the creaking but not in stopping it completely. All I've accomplished is temporarily reducing the creaking, but a few drives later it comes back with a vengeance once I make the familiar right-turn into my steep driveway. Today it sounded particularly bad--like the body was literally ripping apart, although upon inspection all welds were still together--just the darn body stress and metal-on-metal contact.

My dealership says they've never heard the problem before, and if I want they can send it to a bodyshop where they'll tear it apart and try to figure it out--but this means no car for one week at least, and no guarantee they'll isolate and resolve the sound.

Now my trunk smells like oil and lubricant, the metal is twisted and scuffed, and every possible gap has war damage from the times I've put in a screw, removed it upon hearing the sound again, and moved on to another gap.

I've concluded I can't stop the sounds completely short of tearing apart the body. At least I can muffle it, or want to--any suggestions how? Somebody told me stuffing the deck bar with towels or a wooden plank wouldn't do much since the metal that is stressing will creak through that. So he suggested using Dynamat or some other noise-reducing material, and sticking it everywhere and especially covering the entire bar with it, to partially reduce the ambient creaking noise (even 50% reduction is preferable--it is LOUD and scary, and I've had passengers jump out of their seats because of it). I'm leaning to the Dynamat solution because it's cheap and given that I don't want to have a shop tear up the trunk, and I can't myself resolve the sound (I've hammered, twisted, and clanked away at that stupid bar at least 20 hours collectively over the past 3 weeks), it sounds like a reasonable next step in my quest to reduce the volume of the sounds.

All the best and thanks for suggestions.

tsx08-cali

Well, the noise is getting better. Didn't help that I ended up dropping the car off at an Acura dealership and they could not reproduce the creaking sound by themselves. So this really is DIY.

WD-40 is out (not surprising--it's not so much a lubricant as kerosene aerosol). I located three spot welds that were poorly done by factory, and sprayed them all with Teflon dry wax multi-use lubricant (far superior). I inserted a screwdriver into one of the open welds to force it open. Finally I used JB weld in some remaining gaps, to maximize contact between the parcel shelf and the pillar.

No longer creaks as loud, and now only makes that really loud popping sound (weld-tearing, hair-raising noise) when going up steep inclines at a right angle--you know, the kind that really stress the chassis and induce body flex.

So basically, JB Weld + Teflon Dry Wax Lubricant + Screwdrivers = much quieter car. Pretty crappy solution, but then I realize Acura cut a lot of corners on the TSX in its 1G iteration. It's not so bad now--it's just a commuting car, and the M5 in the other garage space is a nice reminder that not all manufacturers have abandoned build quality. (Yet.)

Jottle

I have a "clink" or "ping" noise that sounds like two wine glasses hitting together when I go over rough pavement or make sharp turns up steep hills. This sounds like what everyone else has been hearing. It isn't going away; however, I've done some testing, and the sound seems to be emanating right below where the lock in the middle of the rear deck is (the lock that allows you to put the rear seats down). I wonder if this is really coming from the sides of that cross bar, or if it's likely some metal in the rear deck. I'm probably out of warranty. So do you all think it's the same spot welds? Is it easy to remove the rear deck? I don't have creaking. It's a single "ping" sound that's truly annoying.

tsx08-cali

It's coming from the spot welds within, and at the ends of, the rear parcel shelf. There are a lot of them, so it could be any one that is misaligned and creaky.

If you're out of warranty, you have two options. You can have a body shop tear it up and re-weld everything and lose the car for a few days, and pay a fortune...

Or you can arm yourself with Teflon Dry Wax Lubricant, WD-40, screws, screwdrivers, felt tape, epoxy, and everything else people here have been using to get rid of that cheapening sound, and hammer away at your car. Just don't turn your trunk into a chemical bath.

It's disappointing and even the 2nd generation TSX/TL's have this problem. If you google it, you also find it prevalent on the latest Honda Accord sedans.

Jottle

Is the idea to break the weld that's causing the creaking (e.g. hammer at the bar to loosen it) Or is it that we're trying to stop the metal bars from making contact by using lubricants on the bracing. The sounds is so damn infrequent that I can't get the dealership to hear it. They never find a problem after 3 trips As always!

tsx08-cali

The idea is not to break the weld, but to either: 1) close it with epoxy/foam, if you can reach it; or 2) lubricate the seam, so that when metal contacts metal when you make sharp turns up inclines and what not, it doesn't crackle/creak.

Beware, it's a messy business and not all dealerships will sympathize--as you have discovered--and plus, even when they do, I've heard enough horror stories about body shops "fixing" the problem but returning the car grossly dirty, with the rear shelf misaligned, the c-pillars snapped back improperly, etc. Google the problem, there's a latest-gen Accord story whose owner was traumatized by this.

There are so many seams where it could be coming from, but as long as you isolate the general "side" (left/right), that's a start. It could be coming from under or above the parcel shelf, so to start, you'd need to take the side bolsters off to prop open that plastic cover so you can see the metal.

Some people in this thread sprayed some WD-40 and nailed some screws and claimed it solved the problem. Others were stuck with even worse body quality. So for me, for instance, I've used three sheets of Dynamat Extreme to cover the trunk bottom, rear shelf around speakers, the parcel pillar itself, even where it meets the side of the car. I've used two cans of lubricant--one Liquid Wrench, which was messy and was a mistake, and more lately Teflon Dry Wax, which is outstanding. I've gone through boxes of screws, three sticks of JB Weld Epoxy, and sealed/lubricated pretty much every weld I could find.

In the process, I've banged up the c-pillars, broken the plastic covers to the child seat anchors, scraped up random plastic parts, and otherwise just exposed how cheap this awful excuse for "entry-level luxury" is. I've only reduced the sounds by 40-50%. The problem is a design flaw, or poor factory quality control. Either way, it hardly befits Acura's "luxury" image.

If this is your only car, I'm so sorry--I tolerate it because it only comes on once a day (when I turn into a sharp driveway), and because I have a solid BMW M-series that is my real love. The TSX is just an excuse to get to work cheaply, and a problem like this is just sad.

Go to Lowe's to get thyself the equipment. And best of luck. My condolences for your TSX flaw... we're a growing bunch.

Fischees

Sorry to revive a dead thread but none of the pictures are showing up since they seem to have been posted with imageshack.
Does anyone have a picture of where the crossmember is, how they shimmed it, or how they came up with a solution?

curls

Fischees - If you open the trunk and look near the top where the rear-deck speakers stick down... there's a large perforated metal bar that runs left-right. You know, the one that makes the trunk just a bit short for any suitcase to stand on its side! LOL.


For me... YEARS ago, I took a few small #6 screws (3/4" long, if that) and stuck them between the seam of the two pieces of metal that make that bar. It's visible from the outside, and does NOT go through any metal - it merely acts as a wedge to keep any metal from flexing at slightly different rates. I checked where the spot welds were and none were broken, but putting these screws in the seam between some of the larger gaps between welds worked and has held for many years.

justrebootme

i had a sound, like putting pots and pans away, coming from the rear of my 2006 rl for almost 3 years and no one could figure it out - finally found a post on hear that indicated it could be the slack in the emergency brake cable - and, guess what, it was!!!! dealer fixed for 1 hour service charge - now, she rides like she's been paved by angels.