At my next oil change, I'm going to have my dealer investigate some minor issues that I have noticed during my 2-month ownership of my 2014 SH, which
I am curious to see if anyone else has noticed. Maybe some of this behavior is normal and it's just me, saving me and the dealer the time and expense of my ignorance.
Or maybe there is a TSB on something that I don't know about but you do.

Here's what I got:
1. Steering column play/slack. When I sit in the car and turn it on, the steering wheel automatically moves to memory setting. When I grab the wheel, you can feel the whole wheel descend about 1/4". If I grab the wheel at 12 and 6, it moves up and down slightly.

2. Bouncy backup. Often times when backing out, the reverse process is bouncy, like one of my rear tires is low/flat.

3. Power window sensor. This one is simple: I roll the driver window down a bit. I pull the switch up a bit later and the window goes down instead of up. On 2nd or 3rd try, it works fine.
I've noticed this may happen when using multiple switches at one time, too, but again, only on occasion.

4. Rattle on dash right above the main screen. This comes and goes. I noticed there is a plastic molded piece on the underside of the dash that's screwed in just before where the screen starts. If I simply touch the top of the dash with little pressure, that sound goes away.

5. In two months, there have been three times (I drive car daily) that I have heard a louder buzz/noise emitted outside of the cabin when I make a turn. It's not a screech, more of a mechanical buzz. It lasts a split second and goes away. My thought is maybe something in SHAWD system/weight distribution? No clue, though...

Thanks guys!

 

werent the earlier models plagued with suspension issues?
#2 sounds like the spring rate is wrong/needs refinement

 

Try this for #2:

Put the car in SPORT mode, and back up. Is it still bouncy? Backing up in the SH is not smooth at all, unless you're in SPORT mode. It has to do with the rear electric motors.

#1 Definitely NOT normal. Get it checked ASAP!

#3 Not normal, or at least have never heard about it before.

#4 Not normal, or common. It is most likely the center speaker, or its grill.

#5 I've heard various noises like that with the SH, but I would still have the service department check it out. This car makes a lot of strange noises, all due to the hybrid system. This is normal.

HTH

 

Thanks - the good thing is these are minor (I believe) issues. I'll report back when I get some answers from service.

 

Recently got the car warranty serviced. Here are the results:

1. Steering column replaced. There was a component failure that caused the slack.
2. Bouncy backup was unbalanced tire.
3. Deferred.
4. Deferred.
5. Buzzing sound was heard on drive with mechanic on two separate occasions, but intermittent enough that they could not separately reproduce it after three days.

The original thought was some sort of actuator under the driver side of the hood. It is definitely near the driver side - no idea what it is and it doesn't reproduce well to video; you have to be in the cabin. Happens in both Normal and Sport modes.

Sounds like a rubbing/buzzing noise and it seems to occur at low RPMs and under 40 mph under normal throttle, especially in turns. I told them we'd do a longer test drive for it at the next oil change in a couple months and reevaluate then, as I can reproduce it about 1-2 times per drive. Not a life/death issue, thankfully, but just an odd noise.

 

Regarding (5), I believe you might be referring to a noise that we all have. If you rode with another one of us to identify the noise, I'm betting we're all having it. :-)

If it is the same noise, however, I'm surprised you said rubbing/buzzing. Most of us would say whirring/buzzing.

 

 

I have a flutter sound that I swear is coming from the driver's door on the outside like it is a piece of trim shuttering in the wind, but nothing seems to be loose. I only hear it above 80mph. I know just don't drive that fast and problem solved. But it is still there and can't identify it. Nobody else can hear it but me so I think I must be imagining it. Thoughts?

Also I sometimes hear a rattle near the center speaker from time to time, but that is not a consistent problem.

Lastly I am getting new front rotors as mine are not perfectly smooth anymore and at 71,000+ miles I'm not complaining to invest in a little maintenance. The pads still look new so that isn't the problem. I would have assumed that we would never need to change the brakes based on the hybrid regen handling most of that. Maybe my stop and go travels are to blame. Oh well. Dealer says it is $1100 for the front rotors and pads. My local shop says $525. Thoughts on that choice?

 

I think what the dealer is charging you is a bit much. Retail on the pads (set of 2) is $135, or if you buy them $98. Retail on the disks is $202/each, and if you bought them yourself $146/each. I would not have a problem with an Indi shop does this, because there is nothing special on changing the disks and pads........

Just insist in using OEM parts.

 

 

Do you think this is what you guys are talking about?

TSB 14-021 - Wind Noise At Upper Rear Corner of Driver/ Front Passenger Windows
Applies To: 2014 RLX - ALL - ALL
http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B14-021.PDF
http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/p...nu/B14-021.PDF

I had that noise, but mine turned out to be a slightly misaligned drives door. The master tech aligned the door perfectly, and the noise was gone....... Check the drivers door and make sure its aligned correctly, especially the top of the door. Compare it to the front passengers door, at least that is how I found out.....

 

 

Hope it takes care of the problem.

 

No, mine's not that kind of noise. :-)

My noise is definitely a piece of equipment, some pump or motor.

 

I had the fluttering issue with my '14 PAWS - it ended up being a pebble in the side skirt. There is a large enough opening for a small rock to enter and then wind gets in there at high speed and caused the pebble to float around and make nosie.

 

So I have my car in for an A1 maintenance and am revisiting the noise/buzz issue (#5 above).

My dealer/service advisor called and there are no similar reports on TechLine, likely because of the rarity of the car. Two mechanics have ridden with me on separate occasions and both confirmed have heard the intermittent buzz/noise at issue, but they don't know if it is normal or not. The intermittent nature of it tells me it is not.

George Knighton - you said this may be a noise "we all have." Is this noise you also have coming from the driver's side under the hood somewhere? It almost sounds like an intermittent faulty actuator of some sort.

Anyone else having this issue? If it's normal, I would rather not waste any more time with it. Thanks!!!

 

I'm not absolutely sure it's the driver's side, but it could be. It might be near the firewall toward the centre of the car.

Every once in a while, you hear a "mooooaaaannnnn....." that lasts maybe ½ s and then it's gone until the next time. Not sure how often it happens but I'll only notice it when the car is at very slow speed or stationary.

It has been 10/14 - 10/18 now, and nothing's blown up so it can't be all that important.

There is at least one noise TSB related to an HVAC system that I've never bothered following up on because the HVAC works perfectly. Because I am normally in AUTO mode, if it is the HVAC, I'm going to be hearing it.

 

When the ICE is not running, we have an electric motor the sole purpose of which is to keep the engine coolant circulating.

I wonder whether it's related to that, since I seem to be hearing it when the ICE has shut off.

 

 

The car's so weird and makes so many strange little noises. LOL.... Maybe we're not talking about the same noise.

 

Got the car back. Still nothing. They made TechLine calls and ultimately noted to contact me if any other Sport Hybrids come in for service (I honestly think mine is one of maybe 1 or 2 in my area) so that they can compare the two cars and see if the other has the same issue. I will lay low on it for a while unless it happens to get worse. So far the best guess was "noisy front actuators."

Side note, had an RDX loaner (older style, not new). I am so used to the RLX now that the RDX felt cheap. So much plastic. Oh man, I've become a snob! Yeesh

 

Its not just the RDX. I have had TLX, MDX and RDX as loaner cars and they all felt cheap compared to the RLX. Acura might be smart luxury but its evident why they are cheaper than other luxury brands. At the end of the day you get what you pay.

 

 

I also have issue #5: started a few months ago and now happens every time I drive now. It is noticeable whining or buzzing for a second or two at low speeds at driver side with the engine on (usually i'm accelerating while taking a turn from a stop). It may happen at higher speed but the road noise etc al may be drowning out the sound... don't know. I don't feel any pull to the left at low speed...... nothing different with the driving experience, just the sound. Weird. Tech couldn't reproduce the sound of course. Otherwise, still love love the car.

 

 

I have the bouncy backup. It does it pretty much all the time when backing up unless the gas engine is up to operating temp and the electric motors are providing the reverse motion. Under electric it is perfectly smooth. To me it likely has something to do with the fact that the car has a dual clutch transmission and I think it is essentially a clutch similar to a manual trans but computer controlled.

The dealer didn't seem to have a clue, called it normal, wasn't interested in fixing... I test drove a new SH and it was much smoother.

The fix would be for Acura to allow the car to back up under electric power all the time instead of waiting for the gas engine to warm up.

 

There's so much slack in the physical connection that if you are on a hill you can even roll forward for a couple of feet when you're trying to back up.

You get used to compensating, but it's not what you'd call a first class experience.