My daughter drives a 2002 TL with 110k miles. She complained to me yesterday that a "rumbling" noise can be heard sometimes. I drove it today and didn't notice anything but then she told me you had to put the windows down. So I did - and put the A/C on - and there is a noise that appears when the compressor engages. I would not call it a rumbling noise - more like a light screeching sound. A/C blows cold. Seems less noticeable when you rev it (could be the engine noise is drowning it out - or maybe it's rev related?).

Anyway, it totally disappears when the compressor cycles off or the A/C is turned off. I drove the car for about the first 6 years and didn't notice this before and it's not even noticeable with the windows up. It's been well-maintained - all new V belts and timing belt/water pump at the 7 years mark (even though the mileage wasn't quite there at that time). Thought about trying some belt dressing but I am pretty skeptical about that. Any thoughts on what I should do - if anything?

 

NO on the belt dressing--it mask problems

YES to cking the ac belt tensioner pulley- top pulley you can see behind alternator

common failure

 

+1 tensioner pulley

 

mine made noise starting just after warranty ended, then went for another 30kmiles til lit get really bad and had it replaced- $85 for the part with pulley and spring assembly complete (aftermarket) a few years ago
1-1.5 hours labor at shop--those shysters

 

Thanks for all the info. I was hoping it was the tensioner and not something more costly. Love this board!

 

One more thing - any downside to waiting on this repair? It's noticeable but tolerable.

I know from 01tl4tl's post that he waited another 30k after it started making noise but it doesn't sound like he had 110k miles on his car based on what he posted ...

 

mine was replaced at 80 due to increasing noise
you could tell it was getting bad without opening the hood--thats how loud the noise was

a long screwdriver or mechanics stethascope will tell you if and how bad that bearing is

 

if you are going to change the tensioner it goes without saying to replace the serpentine belt.

 

a shop replaced the belt on my car without cking or noticing the tensioner was going bad--that was right before I bought it,,and got 15k more out of it,,but acura had noted it at 45 as needs new- not warranty,,so 80 as a final was pretty impressive

 

Interesting. This car is serviced exclusively by the dealer - and they have never mentioned this. It was last there a couple of months ago for an oil change, and the 105k maintenance (spark plugs, valve adj, etc). I guess the racket may have just started or slowly gotten louder. In any event, I plan to get it fixed at the next oil change. I am assuming that waiting a month or two on the repair won't hurt anything. I just hope the pulley doesn't seize up where she'll get stranded.

 

it will be a mess if it fails and chews the belt--seen it happen
If you can get it done sooner- that will be better
Assuming a sound test has confirmed this is the failing part

while we can offer our diagnosis based on experience, without your modem being closer to the car, we cant be certain~

 

dealer service LOL
unless YOU mention it,,, they dont ck for anything like tenioner noise, not looking for that on a test drive
Often the car is not driven before service- so its cold for spark plug change or water pump job-valve adjust etc

If its really loud on the test drive afterwards-they notice and tell service writer it needs replacement.
They want xxx$, its already late in the day,, and customer declines

it would be smart to do a good inspection with any service, can get more work for them.. but often the techs are on a time cruch and only get paid for work the customer authorizes

 

Thanks again for the info. You are certainly right about the noise - it could be the compressor (yikes). I did view some videos that were posted in other threads and the sound is almost exactly like mine - and their issue was the tensioner. So I am hopeful ...

As for the dealer, they are good but it always seems like you go in there for one thing - and they find something else you need. I called Honda and Acura today. The tensioner cost is $110 at Acura. I couldn't seem to get a price on labor from them (they kept transferring me around). So I called the Honda dealer and they said about $150 for labor (give or take). So it looks like a $300 job - or slightly less. That's not including a belt though ...

 

I went aftermarket part at $85 for complete unit, pulley and tensioner

Didnt feel like losing too many layers of skin that day so a shop did it for 1.5 hours labor
It should take less than that if someone actually knows what they are doing

try a private shop or 3 in your town for more info
look in phone book for an import place

 

if the ac is still perfect cold, its more often the tensioner

 

For the 105K maintenance, did they change the timing belt and water pump?

 

I really really really would like to find an import place that specializes in Japanese cars - I have 3 and a German car. I know they exist - but I have never had any luck finding a place that did the job right and/or wasn't an hour drive from my house. Also - the indepedents usually have hours that are something like 9 to 5 M-F. That just doesn't work for me unless I take a whole day off work - and that doesn't save me any money in the long run.

All 4 dealers are within 5 minutes of my house - they always seem to get it right the first time and they have very convenient hours (Acura service is open till 7 pm each day, open on Saturday and even Sunday!). Nissan and Mazda aren't quite as good on the hours - but they also seem to do a good job. VW dealer service, although rated lowest in satisfaction in the last CR magazine - seems to always do a good job for us. Maybe it's just that we have a good dealer here (a lot of enthusiasts work at that dealer). Even the Honda dealer that I mention in the earlier post is just minutes from me. I could care less about the Starbucks coffee, USA Today newspaper and Big Screen TV in the waiting room, but the location and hours of operation are really important to me. I guess I am paying for that convenience.

As for the other question - the timing belt and water pump were replaced at the "105k maintenance interval" but the mileage was a lot lower than 105 because we hit 7 yrs when the car had around 85k on it. So that work was performed around 2 years ago or so. I wish I had had the foresight to have the tensioner replaced then (I have asked them to do that on other cars when the timing belt and v-belts were replaced) but it slipped my mind.