waymay1305

Here are my particulars. Stock tires replaced with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Experiencing droning noise at low level rpm and around 60-65 mph. Recently took the vehicle back to the dealership (Vandergriff Acura, Arlington, TX) to have the transmission checked. Service technician ran whatever diagnostic tests and found no problem with the transmission. The service advisor seems to believe the problem is related to the tires. Could he be correct? Has anyone else experienced this type of noise with the Micehlins? Other than this droning noise, I'm quite pleased with my car. If I'm not able to resolve this problem, I'm affraid I'll start to question ny decision to purchase the TL. I'm paranoid because my last car was a JAG S Type which was riddled with problems.

AzNxJ32Aspec

droning noise? well it coudl be due to the fact taht we are a Low Emissions car.....the manual did mention that one might hear a rumble...even "Droning" i think...cuz the car is controlling the emissions of the car

TLGator

The EL-42s are to blame here. Even though you had them removed from your car. They are that bad.

Tripp11

I'm assuming that you had this "droning noise" before you swapped the tires? Or did the dealer swap prior to pick up?

Regardless, I'm assuming you have the 5AT. A few people on this board have complained of a harmonic noise coming between 50-65 mph (or thereabouts). They'll be along soon enough to voice their opinion; however, I don't think Acura has come up with a solution yet.

I have a 6MT and have no vibration/droning noises.

Tripp11

LOL

My lunch was terrible today....think that might be a result of my EL42's?

HuKaShI

My having to cancel my order due to me having financial issues probably has something to do with the EL42's that my future TL will come with.

dseag2

I have a 5AT with the EL42's (just purchased mine so I guess they are the newer version). The only "droning" noise I hear is what I believe comes from the exhaust. It actually sounds pretty good. BTW, I had Michelin Pilot Sports on the GS300 that I owned previously and, although they are great tires from a ride/handling perspective they did make quite a bit of noise on certain road surfaces.

cliff

i think this is normal, it happens too when its at idle and you rev it jus a little bit and when the rpm comes back down is usually when you hear it. it is a deep noise that comes out of the exhaust, but after the low rpms, the engine loses that noise.

rets

I do have this slight vibration with droning sound, especially at 5th gear/1500 RPM/50-55 MPH, (actually all gear's 1500 RPM will give you this feeling). Many ppl said the new tires, for example Michelin Pilot Sport A/S or Bridgestone LS-Z, do reduce the vibration a little bit, I think the better tire design and rubber would absorb this vibration nicely. But the droning sound would exist still.

Due to many sources indicate this droning sound and vibration come from the resonance of exhaust, without having Acura doing new adjustment in Exhaust system, IMO, no ways make this disappeared. (As MDX has this similar symptom at 2000 RPM, Acura seems to find the way to adjust it and make sound and vibration less.) Acura called this vibration and droning sound "characteristic".

TOV site ever did the test that the averaged reading of droning sound is about 72 dBA at 5th gear, and 66-67 dBA at 4th gear. And, vibtaion is varied by cars, not all 04TLs have the significant vibration.

Droning sound seems to happen permanently. But it could be varied by cars or everyone's abilities to feel about, too.
:o

cliff

i like that noise...i wish it keeps happeneing after 1500

BrandHdriver

It's the transmission, not the tires.

Kick the shifter over into sport shift, and downshift into fourth gear. The noise goes away.

I wish the auto TL had a "D4" mode. When I'm driving under 70 mph, I don't need 5th gear!

need4spd

I wish luck to all with this issue.

KeithL

Sounds like the exhaust in mine, and I kind of lick it, the low rumble of tamed power. Too bad it does not drown out the squeaks and rattles.

maecrispy

Like rets said, the 'droning' will occur around 1500 rpm, regardless of gear. You might also 'feel' the droning (some describe the sensation as 'lugging'.)

For a while, it bugged me so much that I was always in SS and running at around 2200-2400 RPM just to get rid of it.

Lately though (after about 4000 miles), I've noticed that while the droning is still there, it's greatly diminished and the lugging feeling is almost non-existent as well.

I'm no expert so I won't even begin to guess why the change has happened. All I'm saying is give the engine time to break in a bit and then re-evaluate.

dcarlinf1

Wrong. It only happens at certain RPM's. It's not a problem. It is normal. I guess most of you have never owned older cars with V8's. Little 4 bangers rev so high just to get the car moving that you never will encounter this. It's what I call "bogging down". The engine "bogs" when the RPMs' are not high enough. The result is the sound you are hearing. Raise the RPM's and it will go away. Like you said, put it in 4th using SS. But, it's not the transmission. You will hear it in any gear at any speed at ~1500 RPM's under load. Get over it. It will not be fixed. It is characteristic. Man, am I sick of this topic.

PaulKCK

Here in Kansas City we have a lot of concrete highways and I commute daily on I 70. I have droning on certain sections of that highway that I believe is related to the tires and type of surface they are on.

cdgatti

Your experience mirrors mine exactly. I too thought the lugging/vibration fairly obvious at ~1500 RPM in 5th gear when I first got the car. But now, with 4200 miles on it I hardly notice it. Has it gotten better? Have my senses dulled to it? Do I drive differently but don't know it? The list of questions could go on forever... but I don't notice it anymore and this is good.

rets

As maecrispy and cdgatti said above, Lugging is the way to describe this feeling, yes, it's said the manual car has the similar feeling if you upshift and stay in this kind of low RPM.

However, except some inexperienced drivers or purposeful reasons, no such ppl will ride their manual vehicles like this, they will definitely feel "lugging".

IMHO, all we can say is ECU of 04TL Auto has been programed to upshift as early as it can in normal driving conditions, this result in the early engagement of high gear with low RPM, which causes the droning sound and unlike vibration, at this circumstances, lots of ppl and Acura seem to discover resonance of exhaust could be the main factor. (Of course, personal feeling, tires, engine mounts... could be factors, too. These may make each car varied and emphasize feeling of vibration.)
:o