bfogarty

I wanted to update evryone on what has been happening with the buzz or vibration problem I was having on my TL. I picked an 05 TL about a month ago. I noticed that there was a buzz coming through the floorboard and steering wheel that made me uncomfortable and made me not want to drive the car. (one month-700 miles) I had an appointment for last Monday, but cancelled it because last Sunday the car ran great with very minor vibration or buzz. This vibration is not a tire related vibration. It is there at idle. I have the 05 with NAVI so the tires are the Michelins. Well during the week the buzz appeared again so I scheduled a new appointment for this morning. Well they looked at the vehicle and rode with me and the vehicle ran good without much or any buzz so I could not duplicate what has been bothering me. The folks at this dealership, Rahal in Mechaniicsburg, PA were very helpful in not making me feel like I was an idiot. They were so nice I felt bad I did not purchase from them. Since I did not buy the car there they said that they could not vouch for the fact that the engine was taught idle,etc correctly and they would be willing to do that to rule that out as being a problem. Well, after they did it I immedialtely felt what I thought the car should have felt like from the begining. It seems to have solved the buzz problem totally. I have only driven the car 10 miles since leaving the dealership but am hopeful this will rid the car of the buzz/vibration I was feeling. Hope this helps anyone with a similar problem.

zax123

I'm a little confused. What exactly did the dealership do to fix your problem?

willz822

Hey bfogarty....what did you mean when you said the engine wasn't taught idle correctly? I'm having the same issuesd with my 04TL and will be bringing it back to the dealer again for this problem. Thanks.

bfogarty

They did not say it was not set up correctly. They said since I did not buy it there, they could not vouch for the engine "learning" process it went through at the dealership I bought it at-----so to eliminate that as a problem they said they would do the engine set-up procedure again. I think that with all the computerization the tech goes through a process to teach the correct idle settings, etc. to the engine. All I know is that on the ride to my office the TL felt very good. I will be taking it out again soon and will know better if it is still as smooth. I also have a 2004 Pilot so I know how these Honda V6's are supposed to run.

willz822

Hey bfogarty, just a quick question. Before you took your car to the dealer, did your car idle roughly? Meaning was the needle on the tach fluctuating or was it steady at around 700rpms? The reason I'm asking is because my tach stays at 700rpms but I can still feel the vibrations coming thru the steering wheel and floorbaorad. Thanks.

bfogarty

My tach was ver steady.

bfogarty

It apparently does not take much to throw things off a little. By riding in the car and feeling the engine (yes, I made the tech feel the engine while it was running) he did not notice anything unusual. But I know the difference. My hope is that it remains this smooth. I should know in the next day or two. It has never run this smoothly. Hopefully it will continue.

willz822

Thanks....I will let my dealer know about this solution as well....g'luck with the car.

JMan

Hey bfogarty-
Keep us updated. When you take the car out later, let me know if the vibration is really gone. Thanks for the info so far!

bfogarty

Here is another update. I have been on the road since earlier today with all types of driving; stop and go and highway. I made three different stops and the car sat for 20 minutes to and hour each time. Every time I drove it I felt it was much smoother than it was before the engine "setup" they did at the dealer today. I still can feel exhuast a little at times, the road and the engine, but the feeling is more a trait of the type of vehicle and not the electric shaver feeling in my seat, steering wheel and floor board I had at times before. That feeling was very tiring and I would keep my hands off the steering wheel at lights or my hands would tingle like I just finished using a weed wacker. So far so good.

JMan

bfogarty-
I'd love to know EXACTLY what the dealer did to fix the problem. After I read your post, I called my dealer and told them what was happening and mantioned about the engine set-up. They had no idea what I was talking about. The only thing they stated was something about resetting the ECU (Electonic Control Unit). Any ideas what they really did to fix your problem. Thanks!!

GTFISH

To re-set your ECU unplug the battery for a few minutes and then get out and drive your car. That should clear any codes.

I have never heard of this type of pre-delivery set up before.

bfogarty

Here is what the service write-up says...tech recommended that the idle be relearned. Tech completed relearn procedure. Car is operating as designed. No problems found at this time.....

I picked up my car about a month ago. The "buzz" was driving me crazy. I think the engine was working the problem out to some degree (whatever the problem was) because on a few occasions I felt that the vibes had decipated somewhat only to come back again. I know about the placebo effect but I truly believe that whatever they did to the engine has made a difference. I drove the car more today than on any other day and it is now relaxing to drive. It still has the engine rumble but it feels and sounds good. Before I could not stand holding on to the steering wheel. I just hope when I wake up tomarrow this is not a dream.