Hey all, 2 quick questions...

My TL is about 3 mos. old and I've noticed a few things:

1) When, and seemingly only when I park in my work garage and start the car after work, I hear a quick "bump" or knock sound coming from the engine right as I turn on the ignition. At first I thought it may be because it's not warmed up or whatever, but it doesn't do that in the morning when I leave for work and any other time...and it seems to come from different parts of the engine at different times...it doesn't always happen but pretty frequently...any insights?

2) Am I being nit picky or has anyone else noticed their steering wheel to be slightly off? By this I mean, it seems like I have to turn the wheel a lot more to the left to make it actually veer that way than I do to make it veer towards the right. I can almost have the steering wheel slightly turned left but the car still goes straight for a while...

Thanks again as usual...


<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">[This message has been edited by MikeP on 09-26-2000 @ ]</font>

 

does the sttering wheel slightly off thing happen all the time or just on highway or when high speed? I got that sometimes on the highway because of the wind, and the ultra high speed that I am. If it's not too much, don't bother or when it happens like sometimes. Sorry can't answer the 1st Q.


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2000 Red Hot TL w/o nav
Burlwood Trim and Shift Knob
Wood Trim Set
Gutter Guard Grill
Photos Of My RED HOT TL

 

My wheel is perfectly straight. I don't know if this is true of the TL, but on my last car, if the wheel was crooked, it meant the front end was out of alignment! The wheel could only be installed with the correct orientation, and there was no way to re-orient it other than straighten the tires.

You should call your dealer immediately to find out if this is true of the TL. If the alignment is wrong, those tire are gonna go quickly (maybe that's not a bad thing...)

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David

Black-on-Black non-NAV 2000

 

I had thought it should veer slightly to the right. I think this is better than veering slightly to the left as you could end up in oncoming traffic.

 

For your answer to the engine noise question refer to Honda-Acura.Net. Go to their forum and then Acura, then TL and finally the topic is THUMP. There is an explanition about the noise-- something with the liquid filled motor mounts. My car does the same thing and the answer on H/A.net makes sense.

 

Great...now that I know it's a "common" problem with a legitimate explanation, I feel a lot better...thanks again.

This board really is a great resources...

 

It happened to me once.

So is it NORMAL?? Explanation on HA.net sounds it's normal to me.

 

With regards to my post about the vehicle veering to the right and the steering wheel being off center, turns out that the alignment is indeed off as Black2000 mentioned.

Since the dealer I went to (Acura of Pasadena) didn't have an alignment machine, I need to take it back to where I bought it (Cerritos Acura).

Hopefully, since I only have about 3,800 miles on it, the tires won't be too jacked and there won't be any problems with anything else...just in case, any things I should look for?

Thanks...

 

dont hit curbs again and avoid potholes, two of the most common reasons for wheels to go out of alignment.

 

That's the weird thing, I've never done either of those things. I'm a pretty "calm" driver and am not hard on the TL; just like to punch it once in a while on the freeway to pass cars, etc.

My commute to work is like 5 minutes on a normal street in good condition...there is no way this is due to the way I drive (I'm sure it's a preexisting condition that I happen to notice)...at any rate hopefully, it will get fixed...

 

I have the alignment problem too. My car pulled to the left, apparently the toe was out of alignment when the car was delivered.

 

for the second question...

check your front tires and rims. Both the rim and the tire might be defected.

 

How was it after they fixed it?

 

Well it took them a couple of tries to fix it, it seems okay now. It still pulls a bit, but I am going to take it to a tire dealer and have it done properly

 

1} their all like that
2} get it checked out, cas my's perfect

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Bad ass TL...but...
Cant afford Mods.....

 

As for the steering wheel...it should be straight, but the car should pull (or wander) slightly to the left on flat roads. The spec for all cars allow for the crown in the road. The problem is, in states without much rain (CA) most of the roads are flat.

I worked a Firestone shop a while back, we had a problem with a 20 year-old guy who kept coming back because his car veered to the left. When we drove it, it was fine. We re-did the alignment to spec and he came back again. This went on for about 5 times, until the guy's father came in with him. The father was all pissed-off (it was his car). We solved the problem right away after seeing the father. He was at least 400 lbs. and was causing the car to veer. We re-di the alignment with the father in the car. Problem solved.

I'm not suggesting you're overweight. When you go in for an alignment, have the car loaded the way you would have normally (stuff in the trunk and all). If you a bigger guy, ask them to make the proper adjustments. But, the steering wheel should always be straight.

 

Mine veers slightly to the right, not the left???

 

check the tire pressure, mine did the same and i found out it had a nail in the tire and it was leaking air. good luck

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3.2 Tl
WW Kit
Fogs
Tinted Tails
White Signals

Clear Orange DRL's
Custom Grill

 

My TL drives stick straight. The noise from the engine is normal.

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Acura-TL.com - Forum Moderator

'99 TL Satin Silver/Ebony, Non/Nav, Comptech lowered, Comptech Air Filter Element, Inspire Tails, AEM Brake Pads all around, Comptech Axle Back Exhaust, "Guy Smiley" doll on the dash as my Co-driver...

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