Given that TSX has rattling on the doors and the windsheld on 66% of the car, would you still consider buying this car if you have not own it? In 2 days, I'm going to make a decision to buy this car or not and I need all your help on this. Thanks.

 

66% is way too high.

 

Actually, that's just about the percentage that our poll has been showing, consistently, from the start.

My car still has no rattles. But I gotta admit that if I'd known about the rattle issue before I got the car, I would have hesitated.



P.S. I think this poll is worded a little funny. I didn't really know what to vote. I voted "no," because the rattles would have been of some concern. But that didn't feel right, because I think I probably would've wound up getting a TSX anyway.

Maybe there needs to be a third choice -- "Would have been concerned but probably would have gotten a TSX anyway."

 

But I think that's because a lot of people without rattles didn't bother to vote because to them it's a non-issue.

 

Agreed; the sampling is just too small for me to put much faith in the accuracy of those numbers. Do you really believe that 2/3 of all the TSX's made suffer from those same maladies?

Highly unlikely.

For those folks with problems it's a big issue and a hot topic; and rightfully so. I hope that they get the satisfaction that they deserve and have paid for.

I'd wager the majority of owners are driving relatively problem-free cars and aren't that interested in spending time reading about or responding to issues that don't apply to them.

Santa Rosa Steve

 

Talk about a biased poll! OK I have the speaker buzz. That's it. This is the best car I've ever owned.

 

I'll agree that some people who are rattle free wont bother to reply to that rattle poll, but you also need to consider that some people (and it has been demonstrated many times) will say they have no rattles, when in fact they do.(Ex. Person X: "No rattles here! well except some rattling when my radio is loud but i lowered my bass settings and its gone"). Or there are also people who just think they dont have rattles, but actually do and just dont hear them or dont care. So maybe in the end its a wash? Or maybe not. Maybe its more like 50%. Who knows.

But in any case, no matter what the exact percentage is, to say the TSX does not have a rattle problem is a bit naive.

 

That's me.

 

Cool!

Now, if everyone who didn't vote on that rattles poll because they don't have any would just post here, we'll know the real numbers.

 

I read about all the rattles and strange noises before and I still went ahead to purchase the TSX. NO REGRETS!!! It's a wonderful car. You know, nothing is perfect - I was going to get the Saab 9-3 and the stories on the Saab Central board were much worse than these rattling stories here!!!

 

Let's see, there are approximately 200 votes in the rattles poll so far, and hardly a random sample at that... out of over 15,000 units produced... what does it mean?

No denying there is a problem for the folks with rattles, but trying to estimate the percentage from such a skewed and puny sample is quite a stretch...

Santa Rosa Steve

 

I'm as much of a skeptical observer as anybody, and I gotta say, I don't see why that poll http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=1544 wouldn't be a pretty fair sample, for showing at least a general impression of what the story is. Yes, it's a "skewed" sample, because it's just our members, and we must be skewed in various ways compared to the general population, so I would never imagine that our poll results have a lot of precision to them. But we don't need a lot of precision in order for the results to be meaningful, unless you want to say that we a-tsx members are complete mutants compared to the general population, and/or that the "non-rattle" people are so oblivious to the issue that hardly any of them would vote in the poll. And by no means is it a "puny" sample. You might say that 199 votes out of 15,000 cars isn't enough people to judge anything, but if you know anything about sampling, you know that 199 is plenty.

If our poll of 199 people (so far) is showing about 68% rattles, we can be almost totally confident in asserting that it's a very widespread problem over the total TSX population. How much off do you think the 68% could be? If you want to say the real number is only half that....well, that's possible. If you want to say much less than that.....I doubt that's possible. It's hard to see how our numbers could be off by more than a factor of 2. And even if it's "only" a third of the cars that have rattles, that's still a lot. We don't need to prove that it's even more.

 

Its not the size of the sample that may invalidate the survey. It is the way it may have been sampled or how the survery itself has been worded.

First is the sample random? If it isn't it can impact the results. The proper way to do it would be for someone to pick a statistically significant number of people from the member list at random. That means those with or without rattles would have an equal probability of being included in the sample. You can't just let people choose on their own whether or not they will participate in the survey because some people are more apt than others and this in itself may bias the survey. If properly sampled I would agree that 199 people would be a fair representation of the population because I don't think whether someone has a rattle or not would impact whether they would be a member in the message board.

Second, how the term "rattle" is defined is also important. What one person may consider a rattle someone else may not.

 

Fair points. And that's why (as I said) I wouldn't put too much precision on the results.

But I don't see how you could argue the results would be WAY off. You'd have to argue either:

(1) We here are virtual mutants (so to speak); and/or
(2) People on one side are MUCH less likely to participate in the poll.

About #1: Yeah, sure we're different. I don't buy it that we're THAT different.
About #2: Indeed the people who don't have rattles probably aren't as likely to participate, and so the results probably overstate the extent of the problem to some extent. But I would doubt that most of the "non-rattlers" on our site would be so blase about it that they wouldn't take the trouble to give their "no" vote. So, IMO, it's hard to see a great argument here either.

BTW, going into that poll, I thought that the impression we had gotten from posts was an exaggerated picture and that the poll would show only a minority of the cars having rattles. But in fact the poll results are just about exactly in line with the prior posts. Not that I tallied the prior posts, but I thought that the impression from the prior posts was maybe 3/4 "rattlers." The poll results are less than that, but pretty close. If there were that much of a "silent majority" of non-rattlers out there, don't you think they would have been eager to make themselves known at least by clicking the poll? I sure do.

Putting it all together, I don't see how you could argue that the results of that poll could be WAY off. A factor of 2? Well, maybe. And that would still leave 1/3 with rattles. Which would still be way more than enough to make the point.

 

Kevin, the TSX is not the only car where owners complain about rattles - you should check for this issue on the other cars you are considering. If you view some other car's forums, you will see more serious problems as well.

Also keep in the mind that these forums tend to attract enthusiasts who are very discerning about their cars and people with problems looking for a solution. That seriously biases the type of threads that are posted and the poll questions and answers. Even with this bias, we have 4 blown MT's and rattles. I'd say we're doing all right insofar as reliability goes.

I think you need to consider whether this is really a deal-breaker for you, considering other cars may be at risk too.

btw, I'm one of those no rattles (so far at 3000km) but haven't bothered to respond.

 

Wouldn't the fact that the poll is posted in the "Car Problems and Fixes" category automatically skew the results?

Anyone with a rattle would be more likely to visit and post in that section, and therefore see the poll and vote; but a problem-free member may not even be aware of the poll because the category doesn't interest him.

Perhaps we should post a poll in the "Car Talk" section asking members what they think the percentage will actually be... then check back a year from now to see who's the closest...

Put me down for 10...:P

Santa Rosa Steve

 

I agree with kiteboy, I think the majority of cars (even cars that are more expensive than the tsx like some lexus, and infinitis) experience rattles. most owners probably don't even notice them, or they're too busy enjoying the ride otherwise to really let something like that annoy the shit out of them. Secondly, i feel like a lot of people on this forum upgraded to the tsx from a more affordable car, and maybe paid a little bit more than their budget could afford, so they feel like for their first "entry level" luxury vehicle and the astounding ammount of money they paid for the car (which isn't really a lot considering the scope of money paid for cars can range from 9,000 to 1,000,000 dollars) that it should be "perfect" and they shouldn't have to deal with any kinds of problems whatsoever. but, that's just my 2 cents

 

Hi, I knew all about the rattles when I oredered my TSX. It is supposed to be here in a week or two. I do question my decision but I assume the rattles are fixable and the rest of the car value makes the money speant worth it IMO. I guess I just really like everything else about the car other than the potential problems and felt that life is short so I am taking the chance.

 

I couldn't have said better.

Regards

 

As one of the original and most active members of the "I have rattles/noises club," I'd like to say that I'm 100% happy with my purchase of the TSX. I've had many/most of the problems fixed or explained to my satisfaction, and now I'm just enjoying the fact that I own my (affordable) dream car.

If you want electrical gremlins, or a car that stops dead in intersections, get the Audi.
If you can afford the extra $10K, consider the BMW.
If rust is your thing, the Mazda 6 may be for you.
If you're the kind of person who spray paints their dash and instrument panel, how about a Mercedes? :P

If I can get over the interior noise issues, and end up with a smile on my face during every drive, then anybody can, and the TSX is the best choice.

 

There are NO regrets getting this car for me. Sure there's the rattling problem, but with a different car, there is no guarantee that there wont be any problems. Imagine the bigger problems other cars (Audis, BMWs, Mercedes', Volvos or Saabs) may have, could be worse. I have never been so happy with a car in my life...well..i've only owned two counting this one LoL. ANyways, the point is: THIS IS THE BEST CAR FOR THE MONEY!!!!! GO GET ONE!!!