Hi everyone,

I've been reading the forums here for a week or so and it sounds like the group has lots of great knowledge & experience.

Right now I own a 2004 Mazda RX-8 with 10K miles on it. It's a fantastic car in almost every way, but the interior rattles are driving me crazy!

I searched on the forums for "rattles" and came up with 261 threads. Their frequency seems to have dropped off a lot over the last few months, but there are still postings about squeaks & rattles. Have these problems gotten a lot better in the more recent builds (mid '05 and beyond), or is it just that the common noises have already been written about so the new posts are dropping off?

At this point I'm really torn between replacing the RX-8 with an almost-new IS300 and a new TSX (the TL is not an option due to its very "floaty" handling vs RX-8). From what I've read, the IS300 would be more problem-free, but I much prefer the TSX interior.

Can anyone guess about my chances of getting a rattle-free car if a buy a 2005 TSX today? Should I wait a few months for the '06 models, assuming they make more improvements?

I may also post a poll on this one later.

Thanks

Jeff

 

I have a 04 TSX and i have not had any rattles or squeaks and i have about 30k on mine. and actually my lil brother has a IS300. i have been able to drive it and i much rather the TSX. i actually was looking into a IS300 myself but i didnt like that it wasn't a true manuel. That might mean nothing to you but for me i wanted to actually have a clutch and everything.

 

Yeah, if I got an IS300, I would definitely get the manual version. They didn't offer it in the 2001 model, but you can get 2002+ models with it.

I'll be posting another thread about performance of the two cars (versus RX-8 & each other) in another thread... in the "problems" section, I am very curious to hear about the rattles!

Thanks

Jeff

 

I have a rattle which sounds like it's coming from the passenger side door. I've had it in to the dealership 3 times so far with no luck. Guess I'll be calling them again. It's only one rattle, that I know of, and it's annoying. But other than that, the TSX is awesome! Test drive it first.

 

I'm glad to hear not everyone has rattles! I will post a poll.

Yes, I've driven the six-speed manual TSX twice (as well as the IS300 and several other cars). It's pretty good stock. I'll post my impressions in another forum.

Jeff

 

Your chances on a 2004 were 50/50. I would think it would have improved on 2006 models as Honda has issued rattles TSBs, so one would assume those corrections would have been done on the assembly line as well.

It should be even better with 2006MY if you can wait untill then.

 

If you are bothered by rattles and noises, dont go with a TSX. They bother me because the car is so isolated from outside road noise . My Miata probably has more rattles but it has so much wind and road noise, it is not bothersome or very noticable.

My pre-TSX Audi A4 had no rattles in 45,000 miles, so I was suprised a Japanese car would have them in only 1000 miles.

 

wow. That's pretty amazing about the Audi.

There are probably more in the RX-8 than I even know about, as it is a noisy car like your miata.

It turns out that I took the plunge on Saturday. The RX-8 is gone and there is a shiny new TSX in the driveway. It can't possibly be worse than the RX-8, and the sound system is so impressive that I actually WANT to play the stereo in the TSX. That will help.

 

If you decide to go for the TSX, then at least make sure to take delivery of one that you've test-driven a couple of times. I made the mistake of getting one that was brought from another dealer, because the colour I wanted wasn't available. Let me tell you....8.5k miles and squeeks, buzzing, rattles and creaks have been annoying the hell out of me, from the start. This is a car with a relatively sporty suspention and if you live an area with anything but the smoothest of roads, your TSX could turn out to be a rattle nightmare.

The only other advice I can give - don't get stock mp3 player (absolute dud) or fog lights. Better to put the money towards a navi.

 

The rattles have started already This, on a car that I bought basically straight off the truck with 9 miles on it.

I am really hoping some of them just go away as the car gets broken in, but I am skeptical. I took it for a test drive around town before signing for it, and didn't hear any then, of course. The car has all of 110 miles on it. Not off to a good start.

 

.... i alrdy gave up on the rattle issues .. ~ sign

 

only thing my '05 has is the damn sunroof crap...gotta just use my silicone lube i have

Edit: oh and if you have sunglasses in the holder and the bass is up high...that annoys me that i cant use the holder

 

I have the exact same rattle and its driving me nuts. Its a single small creak you hear when you hit small bumps or bigger.

I,m going to try to put a shim in the window sill and drive around for a bit and see if that is the problem. I also am thinking it might be the seat belt tensioner flopping around?

 

You sure it's not the passanger seat belt hitting the side piller?

 

Unless they change the interior design.