I've looked high and low in the forums as well as through the TSB's but I haven't come up with anything that seems to match my problem.

I have an '06 RL that I purchased last fall from the local Acura dealership. The car was certified and I've only had work done by the Acura dealership since I bought it so I can (or should) be able to rule out anything that has occurred by another non-Acura shop.

After driving for 5-10 minutes I can typically hear a faint squeal sound (it actually sounds a little like 'shhhhhh'). If I drive for a couple of hours on a road trip the sound seems to get more annoying. It definitely comes through to the cabin when the windows are up and the radio is on a reasonable volume. If I'm driving between thick trees/brush or beside a barrier of some sort with the windows down, it of course gets louder and is extremely annoying. When I drive so that I can hear it being bounced off of something else it appears to have a slight high pitch whistle sound.

Keep in mind this isn't the typical whistle sound associated with it being AWD. That sound is also there (albeit faint), but is definitely a different sound.

I plan to have the Acura dealership diagnose this when I take it in for an oil change, but I'm still at 30% so I'm not quite ready for one yet. I want to be prepared to help them out with the issue by possibly being able to point a finger to what it could be.

Has anyone experienced this? It seems to go away if I don't drive for several days. The sound gets louder after ~35-40 mph and seems to level off after that. If I go 65 mph the sound is still there, but no louder than it was at 40mph. After it gets warmed up, it seems that even going 20 mph I get the sound.

Thanks!

 

How many miles are on your car? Does the sound change if you apply the brakes at all?

 

I'm thinking brake wear sensors as well.

 

There are ~52k miles on it. From what I can tell the sound does not change when brakes are applied, but since the brakes also squeal right after I apply them it makes it hard to know for sure.

According to the documents from Acura when I purchased the car, new pads were put on the front prior to being sold to me FWIW.

 

My guess would still be brakes. I'd suspect the Dealer didn't actually replace the pads.

I don't know if I'd wait another 1,500 miles to have it checked by the Dealer. Is removing one of the front wheels something you're comfortable in doing? If so, you should be able to tell if the pads need replacing yourself.

 

I go with the heat shield TSB. I had this problem, that started as a squeal that I first thought were chirping birds. I later realized that it was the car, because I couldn't believe I could hear chirping birds at the exact same spot leaving work every day. I narrowed it down by rolling down the windows and listening to the sound bounce off the terrain at certain (typically lower) rpms.

 

Unfortunately the sound that I have is being made at all RPM's. I'll see if I can make an appointment for later this week at the dealer.

 

Hopefully you'll let us all know. This is like a bad episode of Car Talk!

 

Ha, I agree! I'm not sure I want to go on air making the sound though. ;-) I know Tom and Ray would make me do that.

I'll update my findings!

 

I just got back from the local Acura dealership. Unfortunately they weren't able to reproduce the sound, though I'm doubtful that they drove it long enough or at a high enough speed for it to occur. The sound happened all the way to the dealership after ~10 minutes (took about 40 minutes to get there).

They did inspect a few things that may be causing it though and came to the conclusion that it was most likely the front rotors. The tech said they were glazed over and that they simply "did not look right." They resurfaced the rotors free of charge since they are blaming their machine or technician on doing it incorrectly when I purchased the car ~5k miles ago.

Unfortunately the sound is still there, BUT to a much lesser degree. I can barely hear the sound now if I have the radio on and the A/C running. The sound being emitted now has also changed to a higher pitch noise. I suppose it isn't a huge deal at this point, so long it doesn't get any worse.

 

wheel bearing?

 

At only 51k miles (started doing it around 48k miles though)? The sound also got better when the rotors were resurfaced yesterday and the pitch seems to have changed...but perhaps the issue was two pronged (the rotors and something else like the bearings perhaps).

There isn't any clinking or wobbling issues apparent from what I read on wheel bearing issues, and it only occurs after ~10 minutes of driving. I would think a wheel bearing issue would happen right away?

I don't particularly want to keep bringing my car back to the dealer each week for them to diagnose the issue.

 

I have another appointment for later this week. They're going to have a tech ride with me to hear the sound. I'll post the findings.

 

Took a ride with the lead tech and then took another ride with the tech who resurfaced the rotors the previous week...neither could hear the sound. My wife and brother can hear it, but obviously it would be much more helpful if someone who could actually fix it could hear it.

I did record it on my iPhone, though it is faint on the recording. I'm going to see if I can amplify it enough and post it on here.

 

It always amzes me how the Techs can never hear the sound when everyone else can. Then again, we ride in the car everyday, so a new noise is very noticeable.

 

I have the exact same issue with my 2004 TL.
Bought it last week and then after a day or two of driving it I began to notice this. Not under warranty

Gonna bring it to my mechanic this weekend regardless.

 

I had a similar sound paired with a vibrations at 35-45 mph, the mechanic said that my rotors were warped so I had to have them replaced. My RL is at 95,000 miles though so yours may not have the problem I had.