Jottle

Back story: I bought my 06' TSX CPO in 2007. After owning it for about 6 months, the left front passenger seat rail starting making a loud "crack" noise every time anyone sat in the seat. I took it into the dealership to get the rails replaced. All was well until about 3 months later when the new passenger seat rails started to make an annoying creaking noise whenever I made any turns.
Took it back to another dealership. They replaced the rails and seat back. Great! No more noise again. Then, like clockwork, a month later, the rails started to make a loud "clunk" every time I made a turn. Back to the dealership one more time. I get my THIRD! rail replacement on my passenger seat, and now (within 1 day) the rails are making a loud ticking noise when the car is in motion.

Here's the deal: From what the mechanics have told me, there is no way to adjust the seat rails (tigthen/loosen etc.). The rails are always a tiny bit loose (just like on my driver's seat) in order to accommodate the air bag weight sensors. The issue is that my passenger seat rails are always so loose that they make a bunch of noise no matter what. It's completely driving me insane that the dealerships can't fix this. I've had my passenger seat rails replaced three times now, and none of the repairs stick for very long. What pisses me off the most is that some of these dealerships outsource the seat repairs to shady upholstery shops that often end up scratching my interior trim or breaking clips underneath the chair (which I have to then replace myself).

MY QUESTION: Are there any adjustments I can make to the rails to fix this? Right now, the rails make a ticking (metal on metal) noise like something needs to be lubed. I have the helms manual, and the only adjustments seem to be the bolts that hold the seat to the car (no mention of adjusting the seat rails).

I'm still under CPO warranty, and I plan to escalate this issue to Acura Customer Relations for a resolution. Does anyone know what other parts they can replace to fix this issue? I think the whole seat bottom needs to be replaced as they've already tried the rails 3 times, and the seat back components once. Advice?

invalidalias

There is a bulletin for the TL's doing this. Perhaps yours needs some of the same attention. You can put felt padding between the rail (seat weight sensor) and the seat frame.

MrOtocinclus

I don't know about the seats specifically, but if the problem persists after replacing the part, then perhaps it is not the part, but something else that is causing the trouble. Do you know if the dealers use OEM parts? If they outsource, then perhaps they are using cheap knockoffs. I have seen people having issues with non-OEM parts, only to have the issues magically resolve themselves after replacing with OEM.

Good luck with finding the solution!

Jottle

I'm pretty sure these are oem parts. The service order lists the acura parts. I've looked at the rails more closely, and they're clearly just loose. This is always the issue however, and it leads to a rattling when there's no weight in the chair. I'm going to push for them to call out the regoinal manager to authorize either a new seat bottom or seat frame as rail replacements are just not cutting it. Anyone else have experience with this?

Jottle

Thanks for noting this is going on for the TL's. I believe there was a TSB for the TSX as well. However, this is actually noise coming from the rails themselves being loose in the frame. I wish it was as easy as lubricating or adding felt padding. Got a link to the TL bulletin?