Hi everyone,

I am new to the forum and is having an issue with my new RDX (weird crackling noise from center speaker area). For the last few days, dealership has been trying to pinpoint where that noise is coming from, I called them for an update earlier today and they still have no clue what is causing the noise. They took apart the center speaker and panels but apparently the noise is still there, any advice or insight will be greatly appreciated.


-I moved my phone midway through the video as I was trying to record the crackling noise better.
- RDX is only a month old and I first started noticing the noise two weeks ago.

Thank you.

 

 

yes - the sound can be heard after reaching 50km/hr and gets worse as i go faster.

 

i am getting extremely frustrated as the dealership has no answers for me - hope you guys can shed some light to what might be causing the noise.

 

 

haven't tried revving the car, but if the car is idling the noise is definitely not there.

 

 

it almost sounds like feedback through the center speaker. Maybe pull the fuse for the amp and see if the problem goes away?

 

 

I have started hearing the same crackling sound intermittently. I feel it is coming from somewhere on the left side of stearing wheel column/dash area. I hear it only when the car goes over rough roads and there is a slight vibration. But I don't hear it always. I have been trying to pin point bug since it happens only while driving, it's a little difficult. Please post any updates here if you are able to find a fix or pinpoint the source. I will do the same in case I get to it.

 

 

exactly the same sound i got from my 19 RDX too. Mine is from the center speaker grill. Try pressing your screen or grill down to see if you are able to stop the noise. Let me know.

 

I tired hearing for the source, but does not seem to come from the brake pedal or the center speaker. Although when I tried tapping the brake pedal, I do hear a very mild crackling sound. But I am pretty sure it is not the source of mine. One thing I noticed is that the actual sound has stopped since temprattem went up yesterday.

 

 

I've had this problem for about a month now, and it's not easily reproduced. Here is what happens to me:

- It's definitely coming from the center dash speaker.
- It's on and off: sometimes during my half-hour drive it's constant, sometimes no crackling at all
- The crackling volume varies, sometimes louder, sometimes softer
- Doesn't seem to depend on the environment -- electric poles, EZpass booths, etc.
- I can hear it when the radio is on, when the radio is off.
- I thought it was interference from my cell phone, but it's not.
- I turned down the center speaker volume from the settings menu, but the static/crackling still persists.
- AND, it crackles when the car is off as follows: after shifting to park, press ON/OFF button to turn off
the engine, crackling still persists. Now I open the driver side door, and the crackling is gone.

I'm guessing it's interference from the electronics, but I don't think it's a top priority issue for Acura.

 

Hello and thank you for responding. I’m still having the difficulties. Acura is going to fly in a specialized engineer. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!!

 

This is an update to my last post:

"- AND, it crackles when the car is off as follows: after shifting to park, press ON/OFF button to turn off
the engine, crackling still persists. Now I open the driver side door, and the crackling is gone."

I tested again, and the sequence is:
- shift to park
- press engine start/stop button to turn off the engine
- the crackling still persists
- open the driver side door and close the door, crackling still persists
- wait a minute or two, and then the crackling goes away --> I assume the car is really "off" now.
- but then get out and get back in, the display between speedometer/odometer does the fancy
acura thingy, and the crackling comes back

I can't figure out what starts the crackling. It's so intermittent, but it sometimes lasts during my
entire drive, and other times I don't hear it at all. I think I turned off the bluetooth in the settings
but that didn't help.

 

This crackling noise is now happening to me all the time. As soon as I unlock the car,
get into the driver's seat, close the door, the crackling starts without me turning on
anything. The crackling isn't so noticeable when I have the radio on, but it's so
annoying. Most likely, I will take the car to the dealer when I can't stand this noise
anymore.

 

Update #1: So I took the RDX back to the dealer. They replaced the center speaker and a "harness" that took 2 weeks to arrive. And.....the static crackling noise is still there. In fact, it seems to be worse now. So the RDX is back at the dealer, and who knows how long it'll take to fix.

 

that is the fear and risk that I did not want to take. I had the same issue from the center speaker grille. I was afraid of getting worse after dealer takes it apart and put it back. Dealer also recommended not to.

Sorrry for your situation. I know it is frustrating. I fixed my prob by inserting a firm foam in between the monitor and the grille to press it down. It works so far

 

Something to try if you haven’t done so yet. I had what I thought was a blown speaker on a 2009 Acura MDX (center speaker). When I pushed down on the speaker grill the noise stopped. With the expansion/contraction that happens over time the speaker grill might just be “vibrating at times from certain frequencies or road surfaces” and it sounded just like a blown speaker. So try pushing down on your speaker grills to see if you can get the noise to go away. Simple enough to try just to rule that possibility out.

 

Update #2: I'm kinda happy to report that this noise is now gone (at least for 3 days now) after they "reset/rebooted" the amp. However......a new issue has appeared, but I'm not going to bring the car back to the dealer because I'm pretty sure they won't be able to fix it (and also because I don't want to leave the car with them for over 3 weeks to have them wait 2 weeks for a harness to arrive).

So to summarize, the crackling static noise was totally fixed after the dealer replaced the center speaker + harness AND THEN reset/rebooted the amp.

So you ask what the new issue is? Now, there is a low level hiss coming from all the speakers (even with the radio off and with the car/engine off): most prominent from the center speaker, lower volume from the door speakers, and very little from the roof speakers. I suspect it may be due to (a) poorly shielded wires or (b) a crappy amp. Anyway, it's not bothering me as much as the crackling static, so I'm gonna leave it as is.

 

Update #3: This is a FYI in case others have this problem. My specific case was a first for the service dept. However, the service manager himself experienced this problem with a different RDX, and his fix was to "un-plug and re-plug" certain wires/connectors in the dashboard infotainment area. They actually tried that first with my car, but the problem persisted - hence the new speaker, new harness, and rebooting the amp.

 

i believe the new issue you are talking about is ANC system. please confirm.

 

I had a rattle, but it was due to a loose A pillar on the driver side that flapped around on the dash....

 

What is the "ANC system"?

 

ironically....active noise cancellation

 

I couldn't find the ANC System description in the Owner's Manual. Does this really exist? The dealership didn't mention this to me, so if it does exist, it doesn't / didn't seem to work very well. Anyway, it's been a couple of weeks, and so far, no more crackling noise from my center speaker (fingers crossed).

 

Bump

 

Reviving this thread as my 2020 a spec started doing this every time I drive it. It’s driving me crazy.

Anyone find a lasting fix?

 

Sounds like an ANC bug to be honest. Doesn't sound like a typical interior rattle, but a crackling like when I speaker gets blown out. I also have a '20 A-Spec with 4k miles and don't have this issue yet. Then again, it might just be that the actual interior rattles galore in the interior have masked this noise for me.

 

Been through hell with this. It is the Amplifier(!), going bad. It will get worse as time goes on. It is odd when it changes with speed. For me, it sounded like the windshield was coming in on me. Scary!

Bottom line, fixed! Dealer replaced the Amp and all is good.

 

t

Can you scan and upload the work order so we can see the parts they replaced?

I am going into the dealer this Thursday for squeaky front brakes and a noisy rear hatch but also want to point this out. Mine makes this noise intermittently which means of course it won't be doing it when I get to the dealer.

Did yours make noise all the time or intermittently?

thanks

 

 

Thanks for the quick reply.. it looks like they had to replace the amp twice?? Is that correct?

 

Mine was intermittent and impossible to identify as the sound system. Sounded like it was a windshield issue. They had my car for over a month before I took it to a different dealership, who tracked it down rather than just guessing.

 

They did not make comments about the second replacement, but I can assure you that the issue is fixed. I saw that they also replaced the antenna, but I think that was due to damage done by the previous dealership.

 

i see where konyo1 is thinking the amp was swapped out twice, in the techs notes he states he swapped the amp then rechecked and rest everything back to factory. then he tested the car again the noise was still there so he rechecked the connections and swapped the amp, but they only put QTY 1 for the amp part number.

 

i thought the same thing, but i wonder if he just installed it to troubleshoot it and then swapped it out completely. it wouldn't let me add this to my first post as it was over 15 minutes.

 

The weather stripping thats on the hood just above the grill makes a flapping noise while driving. Had ran into this before.