Hello all,
I own a 2004 TSX and have been experiencing an EXTREMELY loud creaking noise in the drivers side front end of my Acura for months now.
It happens whenever I turn the wheel off of center in either direction, and is especially loud at low speed or while stopped.
It also creaks whenever I hit bumps, decelerate or accelerate.
The sound gets loudest after driving my car for a while.

I've searched the web numerous times over the last months and have herd of other having similar problems but no solutions.

I have already replaced the lower ball joint, upper ball joint/control arm and both CV axles. Yet the sound continues.....

The creaking sound is very loud and seriously sounds as if my wheels is going to fall off.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

Have you checked your wheel bearings?

 

No I haven't. How would you check the wheel bearings on a TSX?

I'm starting to think it could be my lower control arm bushings because I remember seeing that one of them was slightly cracked. Would that cause a loud creaking?
I just don't want to replace another unneeded part, like the upper ball joint/control arm.

Thanks for the reply

 

What about struts and tie rods? And yes, that cracked bushing could cause the noise.

 

I started to think struts but after researching it online most places said the TSX has "Lifetime" struts. It doesn't bounce excessively like struts.
The tie rods don't seem to have any play to them.

I'm really thinking its the bushings now. Because the first time I herd the noise was about 9 months ago after driving on a very dusty road. Dust and dirt in the cracks of the bushings might be what the noise is coming from

 

did you ever find a solution? I have the exact same problem on my 2003 CL and I dont want to waste money by just throwing parts at it

 

This also occurs when lugs aren't tightened properly... Don't ask how I know

 

lol thing is the noise increases the longer/more I drive until it gets exremely loud. The loudness resets when the car sits for a couple hours

 

Heat will cause the metal to expand, and thus more contact between surfaces. It seems to be the heat making things worse. (You checked the lugs right?...)

 

Yeah I just tightened them as much as I could by hand but no difference. Wouldn't 2-3 hours of sitting be enough for them to cool though? It's still really loud after that, when it sits overnight that's when it gets really quiet but sure enough after about 20mins of driving it starts to come back

 

video of noise when it gets loud

 

That was the worst sound ever...
My guess is same as mentioned above... bushings. Not much else is over there that you have not already looked at.

 

its been 3 years, did you ever figure out what was causing the issue? I have a similar sounding creaking but no where near that bad. My mechanic thinks its the control arm bushings. He wanted me to get a whole new control arm but i can get the bushings for 250 less so thats what im doing

 

A single bushing may be significantly less than the control arm, but you're going to pay more for labor because the arm's probably going to need to be removed anyway (in order to press the old bushing out and press the new one in). Also, there are at least 3 bushings on the lower control arm, and if you buy the arm, the bushings come pre-installed. When my compliance bushings split, I replaced the arms and I think it's going to be less money in the long run.

 

A fault in the electric power steering rack could cause this noise. Need to get under car and pinpoint source of noise to diagnose.

good luck

 

Did this problem ever get solved. I have this exact issue. It sounds like some type of suspension issue except that is usually doesn't occur while cold. After 15-20 minutes of driving it sounds terrible. Once it cools it seems to be reset. I have had two mechanics looks at it and they have not been able to figure it out. Thanks for any insight here.

 

I also have this problem, though my creaking is not as bad as the video up above. I was able to get white lithium grease on my control arm bushings, and it didn't seem to change anything. I still have the issue and am searching for a solution. If anyone can chime in I would be eternally grateful.

 

I was finally able to get my noise fixed. Turned out to be the Lower Ball Joint. After driving the car for a while, the noise was much more consistent. I took it to the shop while it was warm and likely to make the noise. They initially diagnosed as upper ball joint, with a stethoscope. After they replaced that, they realized the noise was still there and replaced the lower. The interesting part was the lower joint was done just 2-3 years ago by this shop. They didn't charge me any labor. We'll see how long it lasts. I am just glad I was able to finally figure out the issue and it wasn't in the steering rack.