At 1500 rpm I feel the vibration(with whining sound) or lack of torque when accelerate right after deceleration.
It happens when the speed is 30~35 mph at 4th gear or 40 mph at 5th gear. In 3rd gear it happen as well but at lower speed

Acura should take an action. This is outcome of wrong engineering. Acura broche says Smooth transition(?). At least Acura should update the software or increase the torque in future model.

Am I the only one? Any suggestion?

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06 MDX(green/ebony): Nav. and RES
06 RL (black/ebony)
97 Camry

Previous
02 MDX(black/saddle)
88 Camry

 

Transmission....agree that some sort of software update is needed. Shift quality often tends to be slow and clunky, particularly during light load shifts. I thought the behavor of the TL transmission was much better.

Have not noticed engine shuttering at 1500 RPMs. Perhaps a dealership visit is in order.

Bob

 

Interesting. The tranny in mine is like buttah ... just almost greasy-smooth shifts that you can't even feel unless you try.

I agree the downshifts can be a little on the lazy side, but if you drive briskly most of the time (and therefore train the transmission), and also toe down pretty aggressively, the car downshifts about as well as any. I drive my RL about 50/50 with my TL, and I frankly like the RL's trans response a little better than the TL's.

Now, maybe a little of that is because the TL feels kinda heavy and truckish after driving the RL, but all in all, I really like the RL's transmission.
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Thanks for comment.

To save the gas, i drove conservatively. I'll drive more aggressively for a while. Hope this resolve the issue.

Is it true that our tranny learns the driver's behavior and adjusts the gear transition based on driver’s habit?

 

Oddly enough, I've found that my gas mileage doesn't suffer when I drive more "spiritedly". I don't mean to go nuts, but I think you'll find grannying the RL doesn't pay dividends in gas mileage. It actually seems to do better if driven with a little energy.

Yep - this was covered in another thread recently. It's an adaptive transmission, so it adjusts not only shift points, but also throttle tip-in. Computer management makes this possible.
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Thanks Mike_TX again..
I'll train my tranny....

 

Problem down here, due to traffic, is aggressive driving really isn't possible during my rush hour drive, or anytime before 9 PM for that matter. Under light throttle conditions the upshifts are clunky, especially if cruising at about 45 MPH, and then you let up a little and the tramission shifts rather ungracefully into 5th.

Also, those buttery smooth shift you spoke of just feel like a very slow shift to me (almost like its slipping), and I don't remember the TL doing that.

No car is perfect, and I appreciate this one is pretty darn close.

Bob

 

I do feel some vibration in my 05 RL at speeds over 60 mph. On a smooth road I can feel it even at speeds around 35 mph. I can feel the vibration in the driver seat and my legs...

 

My '05 has had the same vibration, always at 1500 rpm. My problem was much improved after one of the software updates, still there but not near so annoying as it used to be.

 

Hey, jumped over here from the TSX side for a moment. My father has an '05 RL and reports a shudder or a shimmy at 73-80 mph. He just had the tires rotated and there is no visible wear. Lives in Florida so there's no salt build-up. Is this software/shifting related? Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

Scottj

My RL was built in July 2006 and I bought it at Nov. I guess it has the latest software. When did you update the software?

 

I don't have all my records with me but it looks like it was back in March '06. They did the flash while I was in for an oil change and it made an immediate difference. The software update had been out long enough that I would have expected the '06s to include it already.

 

I have a 2006 RL built in April and I have exactly the same problem and it is very annoying, it shudders at 1500 RPM, I feel the vibration on the steering wheel and on the gas paddle. Once i remove the foot from the paddle it goes back to a smooth ride. Also the downshifting is horrible. I took the car in to the dealer and they said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. I did test drive the 2007 RL while I was there and it was a very smooth ride.
Is there a way to find out what software version I have now and what the latest is so I can tell those idiots at the dealership what to do?

Thank you,
Bruno

 

I've noticed it too. I have changed the fuel I use to Mid-grade instead of premium... I've been told that lower octane fuels ignite quicker...I experimented with reg/mid/premium ...and I seem to notice a little less of that '1500rpm' bog down with midgrade... I assume that the engine changes the timing to avoid pinging with a lower grade fuel... regardless of the cause... it has improved the symptom.
I very much agree with what others have written about the transmission. I took an opportunity with an Acura tech (while he was on a ride along with me trying to isolate a cabin noise) to ask him about this... he said that all acura's do it.. and from having a both TL's and TSX's as loaners... I can attest that in fact, they all do the same thing. Bog down a little...till you press the accelerator a little harder and cause the downshift.
I'm getting used to it... but coming from a Lexus GS300... that was a big bother.
-Navydoc

 

I went to the dealer last Friday and they said they couldn't reproduce the symptom and there is no service code on this..

Since last cpouple of weeks ago, I drove my RL a little bit aggressivley. I couldn't tell if the symptom is improved or not. But now i feel the hesitation(hiccup, dealy in gear hunting) in downshifting as well. I didn't have the hesitation problem before. It is annoying. My MDX does not have these kind of problems. RL is designed in Japan. MDX too?

BTW, i have been using premium gas.

 

i have used premium gas since day 1. the shudder has gotten worst. it happens at any speed now. i requested an appointment thru the owners link but this time with another dealer, not the 1 i bought the car from. i found them to be insulting to anyones intelligence. so lets see what these other guys have to say.

 

Any update on your visit to the other dealership? I am experiencing the shudder as well, but it's not as bad as yours. Mine is just at 1500 rpm. I wanted to know if it can be eliminated completely or a natural occurrence to the car. Thanks

 

I'm bumping this back up... I still have the engine bog at 1500RPM and was wondering if anyone (especially NYCBRUNO) had any luck getting a dealer to diagnose and fix it.
Even though mine is a mid year 06.. I'm going to ask about dealer about the 'software upgrade' next time I'm in for service.

 

I have an 06 Tech Pkg, and noticed this shudder at 1500 rpm. You can feel it in the steering wheel and the seat. It is very subtle, but definitely there. Easy to reproduce in 4th and 5th.

I have less than 3K miles on the car, so I have not brought it into the dealer yet for even the first oil change.

Hmmmm

 

I have a close friend that who bought her RL 2 wks before I got mine...so whenever I hear or feel something that I'm not sure is 'normal' or not...I take hers for a quick drive. She has the exact same vibration in the wheel.. and gas pedal... at 1500rpm in 4th and 5th. So I don't think there's anything 'wrong' with the car, I just think that it's the low frequency hum of the engine and drive train. I somehow doubt that the dealer could isolate this frequency from the cabin.

For what it's worth, I drove my wife's Toyota Sienna today...and sure enough, it does a bit of the same thing...but I've never noticed it before (and we've had it 2yrs). But then again, that has so much road and wind noise, tire vibe, etc... that it's difficult to isolate any one sound. I hear and feel so many more 'little' things in the RL because the thing is so DAMN quiet. So much for asking for a cabin you can hear a pin drop it... sure enough... the sound of the pin will start to piss you off.

 

I don't know if the shudder is at 1500 rpm but I do notice it at various speeds. Interestingly the smoother the road the more I feel the shudder. It feels as if I am going over a gentle rumble strip. The Acura dealer told me there was nothing!!!

As far as the statement that nothing is wrong with the car...that's right...the problem is with the engineering. I don't want to comare it with a Toyota Sienna. I have one too but it cost me less than half the RL.

 

I'm sure it can be handled by software upgrade. The other day I drove TSX as a loaner. After coasting, as soon as my foot is on the pedal, the rpm quickly went up to 2000 rpm from <1000 rpm (it was really fast) even with very light pressure. This way they can increase the torque. RL should have done the same thing. I guess because of gas mileage Acura intentionally didn't allow the quick rpm rise.
As you know the stock tires have low rolling resistance to save gas.

Also I drove a TL as a loaner again. It does not have the shudder.

 

Honestly I dont think acura wants to mess with there trannys. I mean if they are holding up and will last to 200k why mess that up? Look what happened when acura redesigned there tranny with the 2G TL. Not the best results ever. So I bet they figure if its not broken dont fix it. This is also the reason why they probably havent designed a 6spd auto. I think ever since the TLs acura has been very careful about there tranny designs.

 

Update

I followed Mike_TX's suggestion for last 3.5 months. I think the symptom has been improved quite a lot. I feel much less shudering or none.
Since I tried a couple of different tires(sticky,and less sticky), i'm not sure about gas mileage change.

Thanks Mike...