DALLAS-TSX

Thank you 'sigmachi96' for posting the Acura Service Bulletin about the door panel/speaker rattle fix. I took my car into the shop a couple of weeks ago for that very reason and printed out the bulletin. When I gave it to the service mgr he was shocked that I had it. Of course they knew nothing about it--said they would follow it and fix the problem.

It's now 2 weeks later and I still hear the rattles. And to add to that, I now am hearing a rattle on the driverside dash/windhield area. It sucks...and gets even better...

Apparently the felt that they put in (per the service bulletin) on the driver side door is not the right dimensions (too thick) and it was scratching the window tint. The window kept getting stuck when it was rolling up, so I took it in the shop today and that was what they told me. So, they took off the door panel, replaced the felt and even re-tinted the window. Now there's more windnoise than before.

I've this car for a year and one month and it's been in the shop about 12 times for various reasons. The most recent was a window noise that they said is not able to be repaired. Apparently they drove my car and 3 others on the lot and found the same problem, but have no way to fix it.

I'm starting to regret getting this car. I love the exterior styling and the interior amenities, but I'm sick of the noises and squeaks! Is anyone else as frustrated as me? The only good thing is that I did a 3year lease w/ the option to get out @ 2 1/2. I have a year and 5 months left...and I have to say I can't wait! I just wish that wasn't the case.

Foolish Pleasure

I can certainly understand your frustration. I have problems of a lesser scale (rattling around auto tranny shifter and rattles around dash) and I find it unsettling. As you can see by my siganture, I am a loyal Honda buyer. But the fact remains my old Civic with almost 150K miles had less rattles than this. I cannot believe that in this day and age we have to live with these types of nuicances and it drives me crazy.

If I was you I would try to hang in there. Perhaps you can use another dealer and see if they can rectify things for you. Hope things work out for you!

dom

I concur with both posts. Its a great car but the little problems are driving me nuts as well.

Great that you can get out soon, just remember that sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Do your research into your next car.

SacQuacker

Perhaps this is the price we pay for vanity. It's nice to be first on the block to own a fresh looking new model but there are always bugs in a first year production vehicle. Personally, I stand by my choice.

fdl

the problem is when you try to fix rattles, you take things apart and put new things in and create NEW problems. new rattles, etc. Its a viscious circle that gets worse and worse. You would have been better off leaving things the way they are, but trust me i know this is difficult.

It also sounds like your problem is more an incompitent dealer, not so much the car.

There is a thread about the TSX being #1 on JD powers initial quality study in the category of entry lux. Food for thought.

Whiskers

I am starting to take a more zen approach on the noises. I am tuning them out until they get worse. But I agree with the above posts. My wife has a Pacifica and that thing is so quiet...Its like a noise vacation when I am in it.

dom

I still can't believe that. Obviously JD didn't read my survey.

blackjackman

Xactly my thought. I have noise from pass-side speaker and tint getting scratched but I have learned to live with those cause I don't want to take no chance on them taking the door panels apart. choose the lesser evil

fdl

Ya, you've really had some bad luck with your car. But I think yours is an exceptional case.

dom

Well not really. All the problems I've had with my car have also been experienced and reported by other members here. Now weather another car has had the exact same problems

As long as my tranny, engine and other major components hold up, I'm happy. I can deal with rattles and right now have only one outstanding issue. Condensation in the driver's side headlight. and JD didn't even hear about that one.

fdl

Ya your problems are not unique, but its odd for one car to have them ALL.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

I've had some minor issues, but overall the car meets or exceeds all of my criteria. As long as nothing major happens, I don't mind the little stuff.

Whiskers

Not sure about that, I have had all the minor problems as well.

-Rattles in both A pilars - fixed once, but coming back on the left
-Condensation in the right front headlight - Replaced
-Windshield rattle - fixed, but coming back after 2 weeks
-Dash creak - comes and goes
-Both door speaker buzz- fixed, but left is starting to buzz again.

I think it's hard to tell because the Internet is one big bitch session, but I think the rattles are unacceptable in an Acura.

LB-TSX

That's too bad that you guys are having so many rattles. I'm one of the lucky few who hasn't had any rattles at all. Have had my car for over a year, over 18k miles and no rattles at all.

corbs

So far (knock on wood) the only rattle I've found occured only on one particular stretch of freeway. Something about the frequency on it started something rattling. It took quite a while to figure out what it was, but it turns out it was just the sunglass/glass holder. I pushed on it a little bit and it went away. . .

Hopefully that's all I get in the way of rattling.

DALLAS-TSX

Hi All -

Just wanted to post a quick update (not favorable). I'm the one that originally started this string and where I last left off there was a lot of wind noise from them installing felt and re-tinting the driver side window...

I took the car in on 10/20 because I got the recall about the trunk wire harness--and I wanted them to check out the excessive wind noise that I was hearing. I dropped it off in the AM and the service advisor called @ 5 to tell me that they had tried to fix the problem (they did hear it, which was amazing) and nothing had worked. So they needed to replace the entire drivers side door panel!! But, it had to be ordered and was supposed to be there the next day. So, the next day I call @ 5PM becuase no one had called me. The service receptionist checked to see if it was ready for me (because the service advisor was busy) and she said it was ready.

I arrived @ the dealership to get the car and my service advisor walked out to see why I was there. The car was not ready!! The panel had not arrived as expected, so it stayed another night in the shop. He showed me the problem--apparently the felt they put before (that scratched the tint) was too thick and it bowed the door panel (I'm not sure how that's possible!)--so there's about a 1/4 gap more between the window and door seal than there should be.

Today is Friday and I just got home from the dealership. No one called me again today, so I left the office and stopped by to p/u the car. Of course, the part is still not in. I expressed my frustration and told them I was taking the car home for the weekend (we're supposed to have bad storms here and I don't want it sitting uncovered for fear of hail damage!). He said to bring it back on MOnday AM and leave it so they could fix it--the piece is supposed to arrive then, or he said they would take a panel off of a new TSX on the lot--very scary.

At this point I'm at rock bottom w/ this whole TSX experience. I'm beyond frustrated. I agree w/ the posting above that fixing one thing leads to something else. I was talking with the service advisor and told him how I felt. He said he understood and said he had another customer who was in a similar situation w/ issues that could not be repaired and Acura ended up buying the car back. His suggestion was to contact customer service and log a complaint and see what happens from there.

That's my next task on Monday. We'll see what happens.

Foolish Pleasure

I agree with your assessment but the fact of the matter is there are a group of owners that have very similar problems. The car just doesnt feel cheaply made and its not really in its first year as it was in production overseas. Its very disappointing and my Honda Loyalty is being tested. I know its off track but anyone have a Subaru Outback? I am thinking of an more family oriented car than my wife's Accord Coupe and may leave my Honda allegiance at the door for my next buy....

TSXy6spd

I'm a current TL owner looking to switch to a 6spd TSX but have also been closely following the Subaru Legacy/Outback since February. I was dead set on the Legacy until several owners started reporting a stuttering issue with the Turbo engine, real world gas mileage isn't that great for a 4cyl, the auto climate control is completely retarded and the audio system is average at best. I've test driven 5 various Subaru models and 3 of those had some issue or another. It bothers me greatly to read issues from unhappy TSX owners and makes me second guess my decision to trade. I know there are no perfect cars, but my current one is darn close... other than the fact the auto tranny may blow at any given point in the future.

nuke

I stand by my decision on the TSX and would buy one again without any hesitation at all.
Over 30000km (18000miles) since new and I needed only the replacement for a headlight assembly due to condensation. That is the only warranty work done on this car.
I run on some pretty rough roads and the interior does not squeak or rattle unless I turn the bass way up on the radio and then there is a small buzzing from the door panels.

A-Q-R

My whole darn car rattles all the time no matter the stereo is On or Off....
F the TSX......better off getting some otehr car....if you can afford the new TL, get the TL....this is really a POS seeing it's 100% import.

jsharper

I have my TSX in today for rattles among other things. I have about 8k miles. They gave me an 04 TL loaner with about 8k miles. While the bigger engine (and other little features) sure is nice, I have to say that if the TSX and TL were the same price, I'd probably still get the TSX. This particular TL is a huge rattle/squeak machine.

cdlogan

I love the TSX, but the noises have been a test of patience for me as well. The latest one was a loud clunky rattle somewhere within the dashboard. It took 3 visits to the dealership to get that one resolved, and each time they had my car for 3 to 4 days. It's gone now, and all I have left is a rattle around the driver's door lock. I don't care. I'm not taking it back again as it is a PITA, and they are sick of seeing me anyway.

fdl

IMO these rattles are a minor annoyance at best. Its not worth taking it to the dealer every week. Just address the rattles upon each regular service interval. Thats what I do. And there is no way it takes more than 1 day to find/fix rattles. ... thats unaccetable.

Whiskers

I agree, but some noises are more distracting then others. Plus I think many of us have been back to the dealer more then once for the same rattle / creak. To me, a car looses some points on the quality scale when it makes noise.

cdlogan

Well, that depends on the loudness of the noise. The clunky rattle I had in the dashboard was loud, and it sounded like something was loose that shouldn't be, so I was somewhat concerned. Hitting the gas would cause it to resonate even more loudly - the manager at the dealership was surprised how loud it was. But you are right, most noises can just be ignored, which is what I plan to do.

Why it took them 3 visits before they located it, I don't know. I have no idea what they had to do to get to it; perhaps it was hard to pinpoint the location.