2002TLSNavi

Today was one of the first hot days in jersey (high 80's low 90's). I had my car parked outside in the sun all day in the parking lot at work. For almost the entire drive home (30mi) my center console kept popping open. It was really annoying. Everytime I'd go to rest my arm there, I'd wind up smacking my elbow into the corner of the lid.

You'd think the designers would leave some elbow room (no pun intended) for thermal expansion being as this is a car and all.

Has anyone had this problem and come up with a simple solution? Yea, I know I could just toss a piece of velcro on it, but I didn't pay $33k for a car to be holding it together with duct tape and bubble gum at 5400 miles.

I'm going to have the dealer take a look at that when I bring it in next monday for the moonroof squeak. Just wanted a temporary fix for the weekend (road trip).

Also the heat seems to have brought out every other squeak imaginable. I think I heard just about every noise I have seen mentioned on this board tonight. moon roof, center console, passanger seat, dash and that's with the radio on....

I really like this car, but these little things are starting to really get to me. My cousin's new civic is built better than my TL. What gives here. At first it was just a little moon roof squeak, which was fine, just close the cover and you can barely hear it. That kept getting louder to the point that I can hear it with the cover closed. Then the center console and passanger seat started making noises last week.

There has always been a slight rattle from the dash when I hit a largish bump or pothole, but that's ok. I have enough junk in the car that rattles when I hit a bump anyway (cd's, change, sunglasses, etc).

But all the creaking and squeaking, god it's killing me.... I'm thinking about driving my toyota to work tommorow. At least when it makes funny noises, I have 12 years and 100k miles on an economy car to blame. I just can't come up with any good excuses for the Acura.

Just needed to vent a little. Just one of those days where everything that can go wrong will.... (car, long day at work, traffic, etc)

Dave

DHB

I just had the same exact thing happen with my 03 TLS. I didn't want to take it to the dealer because I am apprehensive about letting them work on anything that's not a real problem. You always run the risk that they will break something else. Here's the simple fix I used to fix mine:

You will need a phillips screw driver and pliers (needle nose works well).

Remove the two phillips screws that hold the plastic latch assembly on the armrest and remove the latch assembly.

Place the plastic latch assembly in a full glass of water and place the glass in the microwave on high for about three minutes. This should soften the plastic latch to make it pliable without damaging it.

Turn on a nearby faucet on full cold and leave that water running.

Quickly remove the plastic latch assembly from the very hot water and bend the actual piece that latches into the armrest back about a 1/8 to 1/4 inch and hold it there with the pliers. NOTE - the direction you are bending it should be toward the rear of the car when the latch assembly is installed in the armrest.

While holding the bent piece in position let the cold water from the faucet run over the plastic latch assembly to harden it into position.

Reinstall the plastic latch assembly on the armrest.

Hope this works as well for you as it did for me.

Myers

This has been reported many times before.

I just went through this with my dealer. Same exact problem. I'm in FL.

First they replaced the latch, then they replaced it again, and finally they replaced the entire center console which fixed the problem.

Bad design. Apparently Acura doesn't see a need to fix this even on the 03's.

If you look how the latch works, it is really a very cheap design. Looks like what you would expect in a Hyundai… not an Acura.

Myers

MotionEffects

yea i have a similar problem....but mine broke off?!?!?....i got in my car the other day and it was pretty hot...well i see the center console up i put it back down and it popped back up again...i was like wtf...i took a look and it and it broke off.....I was *****ing...cheap Honda
i need to get it fix its been a week already and does ne one kno how much it will cost to buy a new one?

pianoman41

Don't know what they cost but I do know several members here had theirs replaced under warranty for free. So if you're still in the warranty period, time for a trip to the dealer....

ScotTLTypeS

Yep... Just started happening to me two days ago...

It has been hot (90+) around here the last few days!

copland007

It hasn't happened to my center console yet, but it has to my driver's side door panel. The pin that holds it in place nearest the engine (where the door meets the side of the dash when closed) keeps popping out.

Kramer

Funny you should mention this, they TL-S I test drove last weekend had the same problem. Salesman said someone must have pulled it up to hard. My 01 TL-P never had this problem.

heyrandy

My new '03 developed this problem after a few days so I took it into the dealer on a Friday at 5:20 pm.

They said that they had a service bulletin on it, came out with a new plastic latch (that looked identical to the original) and it solved the problem.

I was out of there at 5:30 and have had no problems since. We'll see what happens when it gets hot here.

Acura_Fan

Get it replaced at the dealer. My '01 had the very same problem.

ferizzo

When I checked this post out I didn't know whether I was reading it or writing it! Exact same thing happened to me in that the moonroof started queaking a little louder and then the center console popping up yesterday. Samething has been happening today so I will be taking the car in tomorrow morning for the moonroof and console! Like I said before, I love this car but you can definitely see some places where Acura cut corners. My gf's accord center console is alot stronger. You can tell ours is cheap by the weight and feel of the lid! At least they

While on the subject, does anyone else's center console rattle/squeak when you rest your elbow on it?

Still love the car but I agree that I am a little annoyed with the moonroof and center console.

bluedragon

I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, I WILL HAVE THE DEALER REPLACE IT NEXT WEEK WHILE DOING MY 15K CHECK UP

IntegraVT

iTrader: (1)

Wow, same exact story here with my CL-S! She's been rattle-free for seven months and 4.5k except for yesterday. There were strange rattles from virtually every interior body panel.

Luckily everything was back to normal this morning; no squeaks or rattles. I guess maybe I should invest in a sunshade or something. (I suppose it's my fault for picking Nighthawk Black & Ebony.)

BlackFire TLS

i got mine replaced on the first month of purchase, dealer made some scratches on the plastic area around the door

FTM-1

This is old news guys old to me but new to you.
I had this same problem with my car a 2000 TL.
They replaced the latch last year on the car.
The armrest would pop up all when driving along.
If you look underneath you may see some little screws missing from the armrest.

2002TLSNavi

All fixed. Just got back from the dealer down in princeton where I bought the car.

Got that and the moonroof squeak fixed in under an hour.

And got a complimentary car wash... I was suprised they were still doing them with the water restrictions.

Dave