jimcol711

Ive got a question about the inevitable rattling and squeaking that seems to come along with ownership of an Acura.

I think its beyond safe to say that EVERY SIGLE ONE OF US has experienced or continues to experience some form or rattling, squeaking, creaking, popping, etc in our cars. even those of you that claim to have no rattles or anything, im sure if you turned off your radio, turned off your climate control, close the windows, and drive on a road thats less than perfectly paved, you will indefinately experience some form of rattling, its just a fact of life. now, i dont have alot of experience in riding in higher-end cars than acura....none of my relatives have the obligitory baby boomer BMW or Lexus. i want to know if this noise that we deal with in our Acura's is just something that cant be avoided or if its a defect or whatever the hell.....seriously...in every car ive owned, ive had SOME kind of rattling, actually, the CL-S rattles more than my 1997 Blazer 4x4 did and more than my 1991 Buick Lesabre i had as a younger lad. is there some reason that our cars are so prone to all this fucking noise???? is there something that higher end cars like BMW or MB do to their cars to prevent rattling that Acura doesnt??? and if so, what do they do??? its just a shame that Acura cant tighten things up a bit more seeing as how these rattles are costing them probably hundreds of thousands of dollars across the country, paying their techs and service advisors to deal with us and fix this crap under warranty, not to mention, the wear and tear on their loaner cars that they have to give out to us for something as foolish as a rattling seat, etc. if i were to buy a 2003 BMW or MB would i experience the same shit?? if not immediately, how about over time?? or in cold weather???

russianDude

I think CLS rattles just like an average US built car.... I noticed one thing for sure, when your car is Japanse/German built you will most likely have less rattles ( there are exceptions ofcourse ).

CLS is not the worst rattling car... some americans cars are much worse... BUT, I do belive it could have been better if compared to Nissan Maxima.

My mom has Maxima SE 2003, the car is much more solid on a bumpy roads.... but it rattles too.... ( just not as much as CLS).


BMW will probably give you the most solid ride you are looking for ...


PS. Rattling is not a deffect, its a cheap way for manufacture to build cars cheap..... if they tight up and design with the highest precision every single miroscopic detail of your car it will cost much more than 30K....
People say S600 Mercedes ($120K and up ) is very quiet..... I bet it is, they spent a lot of time and money desiging that thing to be *comfortable* and *smooth* ride....

DISRUPTV

i rmbred seeing some1 post that a few sc430 owners were complaining of rattling (albeit it is a ragtop BUT it is a lexus--a $65K+ one)

Overall bro, generally the the quality of the japanese cars have been decreasing...I was reading an article by a well known tech mechanic and he reiterated that...he commented on how 10yrs ago his shop only serviced japanese cars now they are repairing them like they are w/the american cars

Scrib

BMWs rattle like a mother humper too. It's not just in "cheap" cars.

With the shitty roads we drive on and so many damn screws, nuts and bolts, I find it amazing that cars don't rattle more than they do.

russianDude

Agreed. Japanse quality went down for past 10 years. But I still would prefer Japanse build than US build. I was driving RSX as a loaner, and car is much more solid on bumps.... RSX is built in Japan... CLS is built in US....

As I said, there are exceptions.... but over there is less chance to have rattles from Japanse built vs. US.

chikai

agreed w/ russian dude...if the manf paid more attentioned to detail and construction on this car, the price tag would have been easily higher (considering the std options on our cars)

Also a contributing factor is the length of the car. Every morning when I drive out of my parking spot, the car creaks and cracks over the slight off-cambered hump that I have to drive over. Annoying...yes...but can it be helped...maybe, if they added much more bracing (and weight).

JasonT

I have NO RATTLES. Maybe I'm the exception

topdaytrader

You think CL has a lot of rattles? lol...wait till you drive a Porsche

CO-CL-S

I don't think you are the exception, I don't have any rattles either. I think it is that a lot of people are frustrated with life in general and become real picky about things. Let's face it, into every life a little rain must fall, I like a little rain..

russianDude

Sure every car rattles .... but overall 325 will be more solid

jimcol711

i find that impossible to beleive, and even if it is true, it wont last long.

seriously, i think that the only way a person could say their CL-S doesnt rattle is if they are LESS anal and attentive about it. if youre a driver that doesnt let that stuff bother you, you probably wont be so quick to even notice them...id be willing to bet, you let someone like me who is anal as hell about the rattles go for a ride in your car, id be able to point out some rattles to you. i have a very keen ear to that stuff, i wish i didnt hear it, but i do hear that stuff and it pisses me off to no end, thats why my car is going to go into the shop this afternoon....more rattles...this is the 3rd time for me in the dealership for rattles...well this time my passanger heated seat isnt working correctly either but still i shouldnt have to take the car in every 4 months for rattles.

Shawn S

Just turn the radio UP and all the rattles go away !!!!! ......

russianDude

Let me know man how it goes with dealership about having those rattles fixed.... I had my rear dash tighten by the dealership, it helped... but now I got this anoying rattle in front dash near passenger's airback....
Is dealer gonna fix it? Its difficult to reproduce this problem, so I hope they know exactly what to do without first hearing it.

BTW, they ordered for me seat base and bottom for seat creaks... do you think this works?

mrwoodwork

I don't know after 47k miles, the only rattle/squeak I get is the Sun Roof, (when its open). When its cold, like this morning I may hear a slight noise that goes away once it heats up. But I enjoy the silence I get from it.

As for compared to other cars, this is the quietist I've every owned, my father in laws $50k caddy, rattles all over the place, my Uncle's 740 has a few strange sounds, don't know if its the car or something in the glovebox/door side etc.

Of course I've probably just jinxed myself, but I'll get over it, and still appreciate the fact that I saved a hell alot of money to own a car people druel over, and live with a minor squek or rattle every once in awhile.

crazymongol

spiroh

Lately, my car has gotten really bad with the rattles. I hear rattling from my vents, rear deck, and outside my car. I'm sure my system has something to do with it, but my integra didn't have as many.

spiro

lrutt

Well, my 2001 Ford truck and even my 10 year old Miata rattle less than the new Acura. They are not loud rattles. Just annoying if the radio is not loud enough to drown them out. Main one seems to be right in the dash by the instrument cluster. I would have expected better of Japanese Luxury car. Of course I would have expected not to worry about the tranny either. Oh well.

Mike

no rattles here at all.

IntegraVT

iTrader: (1)

Had the dreaded moonroof rattle, but PAA took care of it. Other than that, I can't really hear much else; unless it's really hot out (90+) then the dash creaks and squeaks like crazy.

Nitin

iTrader: (1)

Only major rattle I've had was from the sunroof. That was fixed by the dealer like a year ago and it has never come back. Sure the seats creak a little here and there, but that's nothing major. It's just from the foam padding inside the seats. I know this because I checked for myself, it has nothing to do with the seat tracks or seat belt.

joeshmoe

My car only rattles when its rockin!!!!!

Rod

I have more rattles in my CL than I ever did in my '91 626 after close to 10 years of use.

Fabvsix

nothing is made like it use to be, unless you pay $50K plus......pity, but we got what we paid for......

TypeSKid

I love this guy's philosophy on everything.


The best was:

1 pound of shit won't fit into a 1/2lb bag.

Fabvsix

Would you go to a heart surgeon from Costco or Stanford University ????????????????????????

Fabvsix

One other quote:

If youR going to be a BEAR, why NOT a FUCKING GRIZZLY ???

cusdaddy

my car has a few rattles, but nothing terrible. The sunroof and the passenger seat can be a pain sometimes, but that's about it.

My '99 Maxima always had about the same amount of rattles (and it's made in Japan)

I think for me, it's the combination of a fairly taut suspension mixed with NY roads

torqueaholic

yeah rattles suck, but I currently have none, and have gotten my passenger head rest rattle fixed by the dealer. To get rid of minor rattles, first, pin point the location. Do this by removing all items from your car, including pens, coins, and just about anything stashed away that could rattle. Drive on a shitty road, and pin point the exact location of the rattle. At your next service, tell the guys to check the locations you mentioned, and either tighten up loose screws, or add insulation.

I think all types of cars rattle, unless you buy the new german built ULTRA-expensive benz's that are now being glued together! thats right glued together, to ensure no rattles! The glue is a special polymer that binds for life, but costs manufacturers an arm! it should soon filter down to our lowley acuras!

hey just be happy we have dealers that give a rats ass. My 2000 cavalier Z24 rattles like a biatch, and when I tell the dealer, they just look at me like I fell from outer space or something! then proceed to completely ignore my crys!

Red Nj-s

My camaro is rattle free.

Seattle Cl-S

The sunroof is my only rattle. Got it fixed twice and neither attempt solved my problem. Other than that, I'd say this is a pretty tight car. It was, however, noticably quieter while driving before I lowered it and put lower profile tires on it. I certainly can't blame Acura for that though!

Nicky Pass

My friend works at a Pontiac dealer and I thought about getting a Trans Am, but he advised me not to. He said the #1 complaint from Firebird owners is rattles. I didn't believe him, so he took me for a ride in a 98 TA.........lets just say it made my CL sound as silent as a mouse pissin' on cotton!

Zootking

Im experiencing my first set of rattles, onlyl 7 months in to my ownership. It seems like the fucking cupholder wants to rattle. I dont know what else it could be and when i hold my hand over it, the rattle stops.....i swear for as much as i paid for this car, you would think the quality would be just a bit more

flipwhip

i tinhk it is mostly luck on whether ur car rattles or not. my '91 $8000 escort didnt rattle. i bet some BMWs rattle some dont, luck of the draw...

zeroday

F-bodies are notorious for rattles...are you sure?? Try turning down your radio. My buddy's 99 firebird is a rattle bucket. A very fast rattle bucket.

russianDude

how can you compare POS cammaro or firebird to CLS?

jimcol711

hahah, call it a POS while its flying by you and beating you in every race!!! seriously, those camaros/firebirds will outhandle and out-speed a CL-S any day (at least the LS-1 models) you cannot argue against american muscle or the LS-1!!! i gotta say, i will always have a peice of my heart missing with my 1996 Camaro...may it rest in piece...i totalled the poor thing in a freak accident a few years ago...i seriously wish i still had it and i know that in the future, ill buy one again for a fun car to play with.....i gotta say...there is NOTHING like riding around with the T-tops off and some good music blaring in a car like that, i LOVE t-tops, mark my words, i will own another t-topped vehicle again in my life.

russianDude

I did not mean their performance, the quality & luxary totaly sucks!!!

PS. I hate American cars!