It's about time. I was about to smack you upside the head with a toaster.


Indeed, these systems sound very complex, but they isolate and react to specified frequencies. As an example, ANC works best with low frequency boom that engine's produce, but not the higher pitch whine from tire noise. Hence, the Helmholtz resonators in the wheels. The stereo volume is mitigated by a triggered decibel threshold.

I did notice an interesting resonance that ANC created with my Nokia Lumia. The Lumia also has noise mitigation in the microphone (to cancel background noise when on a call). This noise cancellation reacted to the RLs ANC counter frequencies causing the phone volume to cycle high then low, repeatedly. Fortunately a software patch to the phone resolved this issue. ANC in cars must all isolate the same range of sound frequencies.

 

I have an app on my Tablet that measures sound. Think I'll try it out in the car.
Wish there was a way to turn ANC off to measure differences (other than putting finger over mic)

 

chewing gum

 

But it loses its flavor on the bedpost overnight. Sorry brought back memories of an old song

 

I don't know if I'm really hearing noises or you guys have talked me into it!

:-)

I think that I am hearing the whine of a fan. I might be hearing a slight knock noise that might be the HVAC issue.

And I might be hearing some slight wind noise to have developed around the driver door.

Maybe. Might.

I think you've made me paranoid.

 

^ they exist. trust me. I've got more sound samples coming up soon.

 

It seems to be inherent to the Honda DI engines. This is from an MDX (basically same engine as RLX) and much more pronounced as it is recorded from the engine bay. But similar flutter / clatter sounds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72v1x...ature=youtu.be

 

Yup, sounds like DI noise + 10. The person with the MDX video above revealed the solution--it was apparently misalignment of the water pump at the factory and the sound was the belts compensating for the misalignment. Hmmmm...

 

wow, that video sounds EXACTLY like my RLX noise issues. And I'd have to say that mine became that way roughly around the 6k mile mark as well.

No need for me to do anymore recordings. That's exactly my issue. Except it bleeds through the cabin in mine a bit more. Add to that the A/C moaning/whine/howling sound and It's pretty darn annoying to say the least.

 

man, just did some more research on this and it appears to be plauging MDX owners. This is definitelt the same issue I'm having. Going to bring up this waterpump thing with my service center.

 

What is it with Acura QA lately? The RDX has a horrible rear suspension issue, also some have VCM issues and then this with the water pump alignment. I know they can't design perfection, but I also know they run these engines and test mules through thousands of miles of torture, how come they never catch this stuff? For all that are complaining you know there are other ignorant folks that don't even notice some of these things, yet they are there.

 

I have to agree...the QA is starting to raise my eyebrows. Software issues I can almost understand based on the complexity of electronics and features manufacturers are racing to market. They usually can be patched. But I am seeing too many issues with suspension, body & panel fit (remember the Acura days of the ball bearing rolling down perfectly aligned body panels?).

A couple of things come to mind. Acura is racing to revamp its entire line up in a short period of time. By the time the NSX launches in 2015 (or planned to launch) the entire line up has been revised: 2013 RDX, 2014 RLX, 2014 MDX, 2015 TLX, 2015 NSX. That is a short period of time. Secondly new plants (Alabama) ramping up and settling in. I see teething pains in some MDX assembly issues. For this I am hoping the silence of the SH RLX launch is an attempt to get it right on the 1st try. A flub in this model will be a lot worse for Acura than low sales of the model.

Not excuses IMHO, I expect more from Honda and especially Acura. It makes me pause if I should love my RL another year or two to see where this trend runs. I have faith they will bring it around, but my new car fever is rising and if I am going to gamble on new products and reliability, there are less expensive options in the mass market. I have an adversion to paying for new models, at sticker price to be the brand's Beta tester.

 

Problem is they do this to themselves, loos bolts that cause wheels to fall off, RDX strut issues, etc. I still think they build one of the most reliable cars, but somehow they just need to get back to the basics that Honda was known. Let's hope the TLX launch goes smoother.

 

I think that the issues noted are a function of Honda's growth. It becomes ever more difficult to maintain a very high level of quality when the scale of production increases. You can hire the best, most conscientious workers to build your cars, but when demand outpaces their production level, you are forced to "settle" for less qualified workers and forced to rush production and inevitably quality suffers. When you add rapidly changing technology and the need to bring out new models within a shrinking time frame...and the likelihood of quality control slipping a bit increases.

All of that said, Honda still does better than any other manufacturer at putting systems into place to minimize the likelihood of problems and they seem to be among the best in finding and fixing issues when they do arise. I dont' spend any time on forums related to other manufacturers, but I'm confident, you will hear an equal or greater number of complaints there as well. Design, engineer and build millions of vehicles each with thousands and thousands of parts and assemble them with human hands (or robots programmed by human hands) and problems will ALWAYS occur. The good people of this board are kind enough to share those problems related to their Acuras so Honda can get to work fixing them.

 

According to Consumer Reports, you're right.

For all our bitching, Acura is at the #2 spot with overall reliability, second only behind Lexus.

That's taken directly from what owners are reporting to them.

 

More noise issues
I have a 2014 RLX with about 12,000 miles on it. Beginning about a 1000 miles ago I began to hear a sound as if a loose piece of metal inside the door or something dragging from the car that is noticeable only at speeds above 60 miles per hour. It was initially intermittent. It is now a good gauge of when my speed hits about 58-60 miles per hour. It is unrelated to the road surface. I can drove slower on bumpy roads and not hear anything. It occurs on straight roads and curves. It is mostly on the driver's side but in recent days has started, albeit intermittently, on the passenger side.
I will be bringing in the car for an inspection this upcoming week. Any thoughts as to what I should mention? I am reading the threads on Amplitude Reactive Damper, Heat Shield, Torque Convertor. It is something that is speed, not acceleration related

 

NYNJAcura - good luck with that. Hopefully you will get a good tech that knows what to do. My ex-RLX had the same thing, went in 4 times for the same thing, the techs could reproduce but said could not fix...they mentioned torque converter several times, reflashed ECU,adjusted suspension, heat shields, and then they said it was my driving. Long story short (really my driving?), I sold the car...Acura dealership could not fix.

 

I'm not saying these kinds of studies are perfect, and we all know there are limitations when it comes to statistics.. but look at these JD Powers numbers. Now these are 'quality' and not 'reliability' but I bet problems play a part in these statistics. Acura dropped a ton... to below average... from 2013 to 2014. I wonder why? Could this be from dampers that go unfixed? Outdated tech? I don't really know. Honda stayed above ave, Acura dropped well below.

 

wow, short of the variances that you already mentioned...that is pretty eye-opening. And I think is more proof of the overall "what is wrong with Acura lately" perception that is evident across the brand as a whole.

I hope they pull it together over the next 12-18 months. I want to continue enjoying the things that they do get right in their products, and I want to stay loyal to the brand.

 

J. D. Power IQS is garbage and doesn't tell you anything.

It's just stuff people gripe about in the first 90 days of ownership, and they make no effort to "rank" those gripes. By that, I mean that a rattle in a glovebox door gets the same weight as a failed transmission.

All gripes big and small are just all lumped together and a mfr gets a bad mark for each one.

No consideration is given to how a mfr responds to these items, either. No matter if they promptly fix them, they still get a ding. And even if the next 900 days of ownership are perfect, that ding still hangs around.

On top of that, most people who complete these things are people with some kind of gripe in the first place. People who are happy with their cars usually toss 'em in the trash.

Anyone relying on stats like this to buy cars is fooling himself.

.
.

 

Sure these things are not perfect, but generally the guys above average tend to stay above average, those on the bottom tend to be there year in and out. Now Acura is suddenly closer to the bottom when they were closer to the top. Like I said I don't know why, but there is an over 30% increase in problems per 100 cars. That is statistically significant. You can't assume them all away as squeaks and rattles. I'm sure there are a lot of buyers who look at these things and perhaps they are tie-breakers, or maybe they just pass on Acura, but they do have influence. If they didn't than car manufactures wouldn't be so quick to put our press releases then they get favorable JD Powers ratings.

 

:-)

I'll go along with this.

 

Oh, I think they're definitely not squeaks and rattles.

More than any other brand Acura inherits a base of buyers who are (1)enthusiasts to begin with, and (2)have grown up inside the brand.

Civic --> Integra --> Accord --> TSX or TL --> RLX

So it's maybe less about squeaks and rattles, and more an objection about particular design elements, or particular methods of execution.

I don't know about you guys, but it's very hard for me to accept fake wood in the RLX.

And although the seats aren't really what you'd call uncomfortable, you might have expected better if you're going to an RLX from a 4G TL.

If you're sitting in the back seat of an RLX, you become aware that it's a product of the Japanese design team, despite all the leg room. From sitting in the back of a 4G TL, you'd expect more head room in the back of a 5G Legend.

Our problem is that we know how good Acura can be, and we don't think they are necessarily doing it any more.

And another problem with having enthusiasts in your long term purchase base is that we tend to be likely to fill out these long surveys!

 

But I have to hand it to them.

After being dissatisfied enough to look into various Mercedes vehicles of the current model year, I do not see enough reason to spend 70,000 v. a 50,000 Acura, or to spend 110,000 v. a 50,000 Acura!

Acura's still the "logical" luxury and "logical" performance choice, if you ask me.

Some of it was tempting, but even though you can afford it I don't think an informed buyer is going to move from Acura to buy something costing that much more for basically only incremental improvements in quality, content or performance.

 

^^^ I have to agree with you on that one George.

 

I am surprised to see Jaguar's numbers....I keep hearing about their reliability issues and yet they are all up there with the best of the best....

 

Yup, this is me, too. 3 Civics->Accord->2 TLs->RL and yes, I actually fill out Honda/Acura surveys! LOL

Agree and this is me. I can afford an S-class but don't need that extra special badge. In addition, I like the idea of the "stealth wealth" look in these uncertain times.

 

I'm pretty sure you can turn off ANC in the diagnostic menus. On the Accord you can hold down a series of buttons to get to it, then the settings are all there.

 

Updating this thread to the recent TSB posted, that from the documented information, appears to be addressing the very issue I brought up at the start of this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rlx-2013-412/rlx-tsbs-905784/

 

New noise
This morning when I was checking the air pressure in the front tires with the engine running, I noticed a fairly loud sound coming from the engine. I opened the hood and heard a sort of chugging sound, chu-chu, chu-chu, etc.). It occurs at a regular cycle when the engine is idling, roughly 60 cycles per second, I.e. About a one second delay between the chugging sound. I turned on and off the hvac to see whether this had any effect. It did not. Standing in front of the car, the sound is clearly coming from the left side of the engine down low.
It doesn't sound good and is audible from inside the passenger compartment.
Anyone experience this noise issue? If so, any idea as to the cause and/or the possible fix-if any? Would be helpful to know prior to taking it back to the dealer.

 

Could you record a video and post? Would be super helpful.

 

does the cycle/RPM of the sound change with the RPM of the engine?

Might need your wife to help test this out and you listen, while she hits the gas pedal...(in Park of course )

If it does, then it could be the TSB i linked to earlier in this thread.

 

Park does not work either, remember.
Ok just kidding

 

That sounds exactly like what I used to hear in my first J Motor car, a 2006 Accord 6-6 HFP Coupe.

But...I didn't hear it inside the passenger compartment.

 

Could this possibly be the camshaft pulley/timing belt pulley issue/TSB?

 

Listened to car carefully the following way in my garage that is very quiet (custom sealed doors and walls).

Start car (cold as blue temp light on). Hood closed + Windows closed + No radio or hvac; result=ice engine kicks in and no "Strange noises" inside car.

Leave car running=ICE engine is still on, go outside and listen with hood closed; result=regular noise from engine but more noise coming from right side of engine bay--lower down (as you sit in car looking out).

Engine kicks off=clicking and other noises coming from engine bay for a short while then nothing. Very consistent with my other hybrid (fans, switches, etc...)

Engine kicks in=loud whirring noise and thump followed by ICE idling and then at various low rpms. Also, other noise that I am assuming is the starter motor, possibly an alternator, and fans.

I have not heard any weird sounds from the engine bay....keeping ears open if anything unusual comes through.

 

All I hear in the sport hybrid is the standard clicking that goes with DI engines. No untoward sounds at all.

 

Likewise. Sounds all normal here.

 

i wouldn't describe the noise i heard as a "chirp" as indicated in the timing belt tsb, however, i suppose the same root cause defect could manifest itself in different ways depending on the severity of the condition.
is the timing belt on the passenger side of the engine? based on the photos in the tsb, i would say it probably is.
anyone have this repair done? results?

 

^ it's probably the TSB. I had the same chirp...it was very predominant over the course of this last summer, and it was definitely from the same area as described in the TSB. I even remember hunting through the engine one night with the car on trying to isolate where it was coming from and all I could tell is that it was loudest from the area that is shown in the TSB. And this was BEFORE the TSB came out.

Interestingly it has since "gone away" on it's own. I'm wondering if it eventually just physically wore down the components that were "touching" where they are no longer causing the chirp. It went away before the TSB finally came out. And it also went away BEFORE my recent accident.