I have noticed that at about 6500 RPM I am hearing some noise coming from the passenger side. It sounds like a metalic rattling..not extremely loud but you can definately hear it. It sounds as it its coming from inside the pass side dash area, or maybe engine compartment.

I pulled everything out of my glove box to make sure that wasn't it .. and sure enough I can still hear it.

Heres my dillema. I want to bring it to the dealer...but I cringe when I think of all the testing they need to do to reproduce it..locate the problem...and test to see if its gone. This could mean repeated redlining of my poor car by some stranger (albeit a mechanic) and just doesnt sit well with me.

So if anyone has some ideas of things I can check myself, and possibly identify whats rattling that would be very helpful. Also if anyone else has noticed this noise let me know. If you want to test for it..dont rev too fast or you will miss it.

 

Help.

Any ideas? What in the engine bay on the pass side nearest to the cabin that could be rattling? Any ideas?

 

its the rockers and it's normal. all VTEC engines are a little noisy in the valvetrain at high RPM. its because there are so many additional parts in the valve train and when the high lift lobes take over at 6100 rpm 2 rockers get connected together with the third. these parts have some small degree of play in them to allow a smooth transition to the high cam profile.

 

Hmmm ... I hope it normal...but I have my doubts. I've never heard this in any other vtec motors ... and its just doesnt sound like a normal engine sound. I know that the engine gets that vtec growl past 6000 , but this is somthing different.

 

Damn it. I got the same exact problem, just that I have no modification at all. My TSXPOS meter is rising!

 

I have no mods either. Are you hearing the exact same thing? Is it coming from the right side somewhere behind the glove box?

 

yupz...same exact spot.......the tech said its normal....WTF!

I first notice that is when I downshifted to 2nd when I was in 5th, and the rev jumps to around 6K and it gave me this metallic sound, sort of like a bunch of coins falling onto the floor...

 

Ya me too. So noone else is hearing this??? Sometimes I dont hear it until closer to 7k..but its there.

 

I will try to see if I can hear it tonight, cause I didn;t hear it after taking to the dealer and they tighten the dashboard trying to reduce the creaking sound, however, instead, they make it worst......duh....

 

Me too. I thought my valves were pinging due to low grade fuel. Although, I do use 93 octane.

 

Have you spoken to your dealer about this? and what did they say?

 

All i hear is a snarl in vtec...maybe I need to turn the radio off and listen for it.

Also my v-tec crossover is more noticeable now that i'm at 9k miles. Not sure if that means i'm actually putting out more power or not.

 

I have yet to talk to the dealer about mine. I did, however, take it in for service today for my squealing brakes. They put on new pads and serviced the rotor under warranty. Car drives like new again.

 

Yup same thing here. I made an appointment with the dealer next week.

 

so...are we still completely happy with our purchase or would have done it differently? waited till the 05's or gotten the tl?

 

I have the same problem fdl. At first I thought it was sand or something being kicked up by my passenger's side tire but then I listened a little more carefully and noticed that it was coming from behind the glovebox. Of course I tried to replicate the problem but every time I took it to redline the noise seemed to get quieter. Now you can't hear it at all. I know you have a lot more miles than I do but I thought it could possibly attributed to the break-in of the engine.

 

How do you know I have alot more miles than you do? I have just over 6000 km right now.

kadenx: I am 100% happy with my decision. AS for this vtec noise, as long as this noise is "normal" i am fine. Just need to be sure though. And assuming its normal, the 05s would be just the same.

 

ya know the ecu is right behind the glove box. Maybe there is a loose clip or somethign in there which is rattling and it only gets bad with the vibration at high rpm?

 

speaking of rattles... at close to 6000 miles.... im starting to hear that BASS rattle!! dammmmnit.

 

Hey, I have noticed this weird rattling noise too when I was test driving the TSX~ I looked over to the sales and she didn't seem she wanted to tell me wats goin on~? lol..~ weird stuf~

 

It sounds like the VTEC valvetrain chatter. Since you go into high lift mode during VTEC you get the valves moving faster = making more noise.

Just a guess, but I've heard it to.

 

I'm watching you.......






I just got mine 2 weeks ago today so I assumed you would likely have a few more than I do...

 

like i told you guys it's normal if you know what was under the valve cover you would know why it makes noise. you cant have all thoes parts under there for the VTEC system and not expect some noise.
and for the record, how many posts have you read about anyone having engine failure? do you think your the only one to hit redline?

 

I remember reading about this at the old site....someone said something about a heatsheild vibrating and the techs just had to tighten it down. I am going to the dealer to have it looked at.

 

Jab, do you still have this rattling problem?

Anyone find a solution to this problem yet?

 

I've heard this noise as well. It only appears at high rpms (>6k). I thought it sounded more like air from a hose or something. I'm bringing my car in for its 1 year / 24 km oil change soon, I'll inquire about it then.

 

Metal Timing Chain vs a Rubber timing belt.

I heard it on the test drive, when the dealer said timing chain.
I knew, this was the sound i was hearing...they are just a bit Noisier...its the nature of the chain..

I will live with the chain, than having to worry about a belt replacement every 70k to 100K

 

for me... that loud noise coming from the passanger side of the car was the glove compartment. the high RPMs of the car was enuff to rattle my glove compartment. i was thought i had a bad engine or something, but then i took everything out of my glove box and the noise never came back. It was definatly the stuff in the glove box that was making the noise.

BTW, the vtec switchover is not very noticable (noise wise). it is quite noticable on a rsx however...

 

Yeah guys.....I've got the exact same thing too. It comes from right behind the glove box and 6000+ rpms. I'm pretty sure it's normal though. I actually kind of like it!

 

Actually with mine, it doesn't even have to be above 6000rpms. Anytime it hits 60 mph+, you can hear some noise coming from the passenger side dash or behind the glove box. The sound then goes away when I drive below 60. Kinda weird. Anyone else experience this?

 

same shit here, any updates on what the problem is??

 

I don't think it's a problem it's just the way the valves sound when the vtec kicks in.

 

I've noticed the same exact sound that seems like it's coming from behind the glovebox area. To me it's like someone is stirring a glass jar full of ball bearings with a screwdriver. There are two things that make me think it's *not* normal. 1) It doesn't make the sound every time -- although it's most every time now. 2) When it does make the noise it kicks in anywhere from 5500 - 6500 RPMs. I thought that VTEC kicked in at a fixed RPM?

Anyway, the car is about to go in for it's 10,000 mile maintenance and I'll ask them about it. I'm just afraid they'll either give me the old "Sorry, we can't reproduce the problem." or the old "it's perfectly normal." Either way, I'll let you guys know what I hear.

 

WegizTSX - how you describe the noise is exactly how I would describe it - very metallic. I noticed it recently. Everytime I hit 6000rpm it would happen.

This is what I did and the problem has gone away - for now-
- I came to a complete stop and put the car in first gear (6mt).
- I accelerated very slowly in first gear (just touching the accelerator).
- I gradually and slowly raised the revs until I hit 7100rpm - I held the revs there for about 5 seconds
- I then let the engine slow to about 5000rpm and then I gently raised the revs until I hit 7000rpm.
- I repeated this a few times (all in 1st gear and raising the revs as slow as possible).

For some reason this has fixed the problem for me. The noise has not returned when I hit VTEC.

 

if you ask me i think its the stainless steel timing chain. that is right in that location and im sure at 6K rpms its wizzing in there pretty good. even nylon guides if used wouldnt keep somthing like that quiet. i have also noticed it comes and goes. i suspect it has somthing to do with the viscosity of the oil

 

Thanks for the tip, yfin. The car is going in tomorrow so I'll see what they say. If they can't fix it, I'll try your fix.

 

Well I took it to the dealer and they first said that once they changed the oil (10k maintenance) they couldn't reproduce the problem on two seperate test drives. Of course, I noticed it right away after when driving the car back to work. Now they're telling me that it's normal for vtec cars. I'm not so sure though because that's not what they said at first. The tech even told me he drove another tsx on the lot and it made the same sound -- maybe so, but maybe it just means that two tsx's make the same noise.

The problem is that if it made that sound when I first test drove the car I never would have bought it. Maybe I'll try and record the sound and post the mp3. That way, those of you who think it's normal can tell me if it's the same noise you hear.

 

i have this exact sound too. i have a 6MT with roughly 1600mi on it. today on the way home from work i left it in 3rd as i headed onto I90 and sure enough around 6000 or so a pretty pronounced rattling almost like ball bearings being rattled in a tin. Interestingly i was accelerating very gently so even though the engine revs were high i was not hard on the gas. given it was rush hour the next time i got to test it was in 2nd gear - this time i changed down and then gassed it medium hard up to 7000rpm - no noise whatsoever. not a controlled experiment i know - i was in a different gear and the throttle opening was wider.

if it is a valvetrain noise it is really quite entertaining and amazingly out there. my next investigation will be to see if it varies with load on the engine (throttle).

Btw i have the whistleing idle noise too.

i am beginning to feel like my 6MT is like some kind of killer whale signalling to other TSXs on the highway with its bizzare range of engine "calls".

let me know what you guys find out although encouraging techs to rev the tits off my car is a less than ideal solution

peace

A

 

I appologise for bringing this thread back from the dead, but is this a common thing amongst all us TSX owners? This is my first honda/acura and the metalic rattling noise does not sound right....

 

mmm ... my intake is so loud that im deaf after the 5k range ~