Hi all, i'm about the purchase a used manual 2004 Acura TSX with 74,000 miles on it. I brought it to my mechanic and he said the car is good but the only thing he noted was that the engine sounded louder than normal, and i noticed this too. Could this be because the owner only changed the oil with synthetic oil every 7000 miles? (He's owned the car for 2 years and only drove 15,000 miles). It sounds a little like an older 4 cylinder economy car. But its not THAT bad, just curious.

 

You'd have to be more specific about the noise. Was the resonator removed? That can change the way it sounds. Is there a hole in the muffler? There could be lots of reasons it "sounds loud".

 

Well i'm not too familiar with sound diagnosis for cars yet, so i really can't say much more than it sounds almost like what an old 4 cylinder economy car would sound like. Sort of like a lower than normal frequency "puff puff puff" sound. It doesn't sound as smooth as a new car, the "puff's" are distinguishable.

 

Oh and i don't think the resonator was removed or there was a leak in the exhaust system. My mechanic couldn't determine the reason either. All he said was that there isn't anything to worry about.

 

Maybe its a mild case of piston slap because of the relatively high mileage (74k)?

 

74k miles is considered a low mileage '04. As far as the oil, it is a 10k service item so 7k synthetic oil changes is a better than preferred maintenance schedule.

 

Ohh i see. Well i guess i'll have to see when/if i get the car. My mechanic and friend who used to be a mechanic both said the car is fine. Friend told me to use seafoam to clear out some of the gunk.

 

did your mechanic check thoroughly?

 

that is not high mileage-my 06 has almost 104K problem free miles now.

 

^ My '04 has almost 130k miles on it (129k and change) and the only problem I had was with the A/C system. Engine wise, it's a solid vehicle. It still runs great.