Alrite guys, here is the list of recurring problems that seems to be impossible to fix for MOST people.

1. Rattles
2. Alignment
3. Moving driver seat

This is my experience, I took my car into South Coast Acura for all 3 problems and they told me the following:

1. Couldnt reproduce rattles, turn your bass and stereo down
2. Car does not depart to next lane within 9 seconds (a Honda rule), no need for realignment
3. Driver seat may move slightly but will not break and cause safety issues

I got these excuses from the dealer... I don't know whether I should just accept what they say and move on or keep fighting for perfection.

If you've gotten any of the above mentioned problems fixed for more than 3 months or 3,000 miles, please speak up!

If you've gotten a fix but hasnt been that long, please dont post and confuse me with "i got it fixed!" and then "oh no, it's back"

Please post if you are 100% SURE that the problem is fixed through long and extensive testing. Thank you guys.

 

I'm picking my car up tonight from the dealer who fixed #3, the sliding seat.

Interestingly, when I told my service tech about I just said the seat moved. But she wrote it up as: "Seat makes grinding noise and slides during braking." I'm guessing she's seen it a bunch of times.

Anyway, they ordered new tracks and said it was covered under warranty. I also got an '03 TL-S as a loaner. Mmmmmm…t-o-o-r-r-r-rque.

 

hey taewlee, go to Tustin Acura instead, very good customer service in the service dept. I got my sunwoof rattle fixed, and when I mentioned the driver seat rocking forward, they already knew what the problem is and fixed it for me no questions asked. The only thing that I did not get fixed is the front dashboard rattle, though I havent heard that rattle for the past 1000 mi, got 4500mi total. Other rattle I've noticed is front driver and passenger window making these creaking noise. Last thing is the brake making a grinding noise when u turn ur steering wheel half way going at low speed. as for alignment, tsx has a really sensitive steering, any bump or slight change on the height of the road may cause you to steer to right or left. go to firestone and get the life time alignment service around $150 in my opinion.

Kev

 

for the dashboard rattle are you referring to the squeek that sounds like it comes from the front left by the tweeter area?

 

Alright I'm gonna address these issues one by one.
1. gotta be more specific... there's times that I get these complaints and I ask where do they hear it coming from. and the customer usually replies I don't know.
2. the honda rule exists, but that's a rule with most alignments. Sometimes the crown (curvature dued to many different cars) of the road is different from one place to than the other so that's why the alignment maybe off.
3. Driver's seat moves slightly, yea seat base does go out on afew of them. what can we do but go for it under warranty.

But as for number 1 goes, you have to give a general idea on where it's coming from. You gotta give some to get some.

Ben
Service Technician
04 tsx carbon gray/quartz gray/6-speed/navi
20% black tink
all season floor mats
comptech short shifter
cargo net =)

 

The rattles sound like it's coming from the door locks. It happens mostly on the passenger side front door and sometimes from the driver side. What's funny is the rear doors never rattles, it's usually the front passenger one and sometimes the front driver one. The rattles sound like vibrating metal, like something's loose in the door lock mechanism. I also sometimes get a mystery rattle from the dashboard, also on the passenger side. On the bright side, all these rattles are come and go. Sometimes they're there, sometimes not. But I would be much happier having no rattles.

 

Ok, now we getting somewhere here. My next two questions are these... approximately how many miles do you have on the car. As for the door locks... does ithappen in the morning and does the rattle sound with window closed or open.

 

I have 17,000 miles, but the rattles started happening early on, maybe after 3 - 5k miles. They happen at random times, and can rattle with both window closed and open. I'm telling you, something's loose in the door mechanism! It sounds like a simple problem to fix, just add some soft felt around the loose metal part that rattles against another some other metal part in the door.

 

In that case... if it was me I would take the doors panels apart and at least try to see if everything is tighten up. But since you said it started happening around 3-5k miles, most likely occurance that I see is the rubber run channels that holds the windows in place. Because the car is is engineer so well to keep outside noise, what happens is that the pressure seals up the rubber against the body paint which will cause a bit of a creaking noise which will annoy the hell out of people, including myself.

 

I have these rattles coming some where from under dash board on all little bumps, but only when temperature is dropped below 70 degrees, so I do hear all these rattles mostly on the morning, after car seat under sun and tempter increase to 75 - 80 degrees all rattles just disappeared. What the hek it is wrong there?
Please advise.

Thanks,

TSX04 2 weeks old.
Love this car and rattle in deed very disturbing because everything else just perfect.

 

Hi all,

Few comments regarding problems I had/have with my TSX: @13k miles.

1. Rattles:
a) Still have 2 front windows rattling, as some pointed out, during cold or after air-conditioning. Needless to say, it's annoying. Dealer looked at it, which I do not believe, and gave me the "cannot duplicate", aka "I don't know how to fix it, I don't have time" line. I'm going to see if I could fix it myself, probably safer and much more caring route than people who cares less about your car.
b) Windshield rattles less (or almost unnoticeable) after pushing in the cowl area (black part that joins windshield and front body). Try it, it doesn't cost anything and takes 1 minute.

2. Alignment:
So far no issues with my alignment.

3. Car seat shift:
a) In my case, it was left and right driver seat shift.
b) Took it to dealer and they replaced my seat rails... however, it took 4 days! After 1st unsuccessful attempt, they realize they needed a special fastening bolt that they had to special order, figures.
c) Got a rental car from dealer for the first day of my service, Mazda3. I apologize for being blunt and offensive to Mazda3 owners, but the car is unimpressive in performance and has cheap looking/feeling interior. Enough said.
d) Got a TSX for a loaner car after one day of Mazda3. I hate to admit but the loaner TSX had the same window rattles (worst than mine), and driver seat shifted! It was dissapointing. The loaner TSX only had 7,000 miles on it too.


Driving and experiencing same rattling and seat shift problems on loaner TSX convinced me that root of the problems relates to design/engineering/manufacturing. I hope Honda Quality/Engineering dept. take measures quickly...


I still love my TSX, without a dout. Yeah there are some small quality issues but I'm happy with everything else. I still get plenty of compliments from friends... good enough for me And man does my car look sharp after a car wash! probably due to my professional car washing skills lol


enough rambling from me... thanks!

 

I have the rattling coming from the door panel it sounds liek the area where the metal look trim is. As far as the windshield i had the problem in the cold weather then had XM radio installed and they put the antenna between the dash and windshield and the problem went away.

 

Can you, please include a picture where exactly they put
this antenna.
The only rattles I have so far is from under dash board only
when outside temperature is cold. may be I can fix it to put something in between
dash board and windshield it the exact same place where
your antenna is installed.
Thanks.

 

Captain Jack i am from weston also.

 

ben, you work for Acura dealer, which one ?
I just bought TSX from Manhattan

 

nope, i don't work in manhattan keep guessing.

 

I dont have a pic right now, but it is all the way in the left corner, wedged between the dash and glass. If i get a pic i will get it posted some how

 

Ok. I tried to see if there is any bulletins or service news on rattles and it looks like Acura isnt too well informed on the issues that a lot of you are having. The only actual service news that I could find in relation to a rattle specifically for an 04 tsx was a rear trunk lid license plate frame rattle when closing trunk lid.(Fix: Add foam tape to the back of the lic. plate frame). Thats pathetic! It seems like more than just a few are having rattles and creeks all over the place. Here's what you guys can do If you take your car to the dealership and rattles can't be found or duplicated. Giving the dealer the benifit of the doubt. Ask if tech support group was contacted. This contact can help a tech find and fix problems like this alot of the time. If tech support was unable to provide any real help. Try calling customer relaitions and let them know about your problem. If your dealer has made every concious effort to try and help fix your problem dont make it seem like its their fault, you could get them in trouble, but at the same time voice your concern. By doing this maybe they can get engineers involved to try and solve the problem.

ACURA CUSTOMER RELATIONS 1-800-382-2238.


Hope that helps.

 

My car has a little dashboard rattles from day one, I've just bought this car 1 month ago. Dealer did confirmed rattles and did have an attempt to fix it, but so far without any success.
The dealership is excellent, service is just perfect and I don't wont them in troubles at all.
I know that it hard to replicate and troubleshoot such problem, but I also know for sure that there are no my fault also, I've only bought this car.
So, I've talk to my lawyer and he suggested to give them 2 more tries to fix these rattles and then I can claim a lemon law case (3 tries for the same problem in NJ until 18K miles within 3 years period and it is no matter if it is rattles or bad transmission).
I will feel sorry for the car because except these dashboard rattles everything else is just great.,
If I would buy a Hyundai, I would consider these rattles as normal, but I'm not going to tolerate this defect from Acura to be clamed as upscale car.
A own 2 Honda products, Acura TSX and the Honda Accord 2003 EX, both cars with navigation and $4K less cost Honda with all cheaper interior has no rattles at all, I have it for almost 2 years and have no complains. Actually my Honda quality was the main reason to buy TSX so that I gave up Honda to my wife.

 

Thats a good point. Although I would expect a lot more defects than just a ratlle when purchasing a Hyundai. But I see were youre coming from. Technically if the dealer has done everything in their power to fix the car and if they follow proper procedure on repetative returns for same problem then its really not on them that you file for lemon law case, it all falls back on Honda. So you wont be getting that dealer in trouble. Hopefully these people can fix your car before getting to that point, since you seem to be happy with all else. Good luck..

 

Hello guys.
I just would like to thanks to all of you for the information about rattles.
My friend and me were really impressed with the new Acura TSX and we left deposits, as dealer did not have cars with navigation in stock.
The last week he has received both cars and we've tested them. The cars all just great, but!!!
Both cars have rattles on the rough pavement somewhere under the dash. I've learned about these rattles on this board and viola - here it is.
I believe that the problem is that Acura, famous for their attention to details has traded these principals if they missed this defect.
From 15,000 cars manufactured per year, so many have this rattles!!! And how many people do not complained because does not know about this board or just have give up.
So, I've tested a brand new TL and - it is not so loud, but the same nasty like a static clicks on every bumps.
What I can see is that Acura has switched to hard plastic - bad, bad Idea.
Nissan had to released all new interior for their 2005 Altima were they has rid off this nonsense because of the bad reputation for the rattles.
If Acura will not release some kind of fix for your rattles as soon as possible, most peoples will switch to other cars like G35 for example.
At least this is my and my friend decision, as we did cancel our deals with Acura.
We both lost $200 deposit - so what?
Don't give up; complain to Acura as mach as possible, they will eventually release some bulletin to fix this problem, but for now Acura has lost 2 customers.
May be they will replace some elements under the dashboard, but again, complain about your problem, otherwise consumer report will mention this problem in their release and car will loose it's resale value in the future.

FYI: I’ve bought a brand new G35 for a week right now, the navigation is not so great as Acura has - but - not a single rattle so far, at all on all kind of roards.
Yep, it is almost $70 more per month in finance.

Good luck to all of you, and thanks again.

Alex.

 

1) Why did you give up your $200 deposit? You can get that back.
2) Glad you're happy with the G35 but it is not immune to rattles. My neighbors G35 rattles worse than my TSX ever did.
3) Have they fixed the brake problem on the G35 yet? Last I heard they need pads changed every 10K miles and rotors every 16K. The serivice is $500-$850 which is pretty pricey if you ask me. Here's a link: http://forums.freshalloy.com/ubbthre...b=9&o=&fpart=1

 

Here's some more detail for you...

I've now taken my TSX into Acura 4 times for the driver doorknob area rattle, and it's in the shop again right now for the 5th time. I've had it apart twice myself personally and tightened EVERY screw I could find. I've also dynamatted both the metal door and plastic panel. In EVERY case, the rattles continue to exist.

The sound is like a loose screw or twangy metal vibrating against something metalic. VERY annoying, especially since it's right next to my left ear.

It seems to happen when on concrete overpasses and stretches of highway (with a grooved surface), over thin gaps that go across the road, and when passing over the reflectors or raised bumps in-between lanes. It seems to be worst from about 50-55 MPH and up. I can tap on the outside of the arm rest with my knuckles and hear the same sound vibrating in the door. If I put pressure on the drivers armrest, or the area right above and a little to the rear of the armrest when it's rattling, it seems to mute some. When I roll the window down a little, it seems to almost entirely go away. When I close the door from the outside, I can hear the metal twang upon closing.

When the door was apart, neither the tech nor I could find anything that looked remotely loose or like it could rattle. But put the panel back on, and the rattle continues. I even compressed the metal in the weatherstripping of the door panel (there's a metal strip in there), but it still didn't help.

Add to that the annoying vibration in the door when listening to the radio at around 12+ on the volume and it's enough to drive you mad. The passenger's side doesn't do it, BTW.

Bottom line, I think it's one of two things (aside from the piss poor design). Either there's something in the panel itself that's not visible, or the window mechanism is rattling somewhere when the window is up.

The only thing I haven't tried is driving the car with the panel off and seeing if the rattle still exists. That's my next step before I ask Acura to completely replace the damn door panel, and if that doesn't work, the whole freakin door.

EDIT: BTW, the car is at 7,200 miles. Started making noise around 2500 or so. And the dome lights above the dash are now starting to rattle a little as well. Grrr! Such a beautiful car to be having these kinds of problems Oh, the dealer has been nothing but great about it. They've really tried to help, and provided me a loaner each time, and I feel bad for them every time I have to bring it in with a seemingly insignificant problem. Except it's not when you have to live with it every day.