One more thread on this dreaded problem. I had the new EL42 tires and a new rim installed over a month ago. The vibration is back at about 110-120 km/h and at speeds greater. It's modest, but definitely felt through the steering wheel. I can only hope its not the drivetrain.

 

It's at least one of four things: the left front, the right front, the left rear, or the right rear.

Tires that is.

Mike
Month 5 of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S and loving it.

 

Well, I hope its the tires. At least that's readily fixable. I assume the new tires solved it for you? I'll be at it asap.

 

This is the thread I was hoping I wouldn't see. Well, I have had a week with no vibration.

 

I haven't had a hint of vibration since I switched to the Michelins.

Mike

 

Folks, I am becoming convinced that Acura sent a bunch of cars to dealers with out of spec tires and or wheels. Then BS had a weak nameplate and got lots of blame and rightly so on very cold flatspotting. I have the new EL 42 and had Falkens in between (will save for next set). The new BS rides, handles well on dry and has no vibration issues. Falkens had some due to dumb ass installation and hill billy (I am one also but came out from among them)tire changer who damaged rims. Incompetent. Anyhow, EL 42's new have been a pleasure. WARNING. The EL 42 is a pseudo all weather tire with marginal rain/wet traction.
In fact a super- hydroplaner. DANGER. A summer tire in vague disguise-- had a horrible trip to MD in rain. Felt as it floating on the rain filled highway. Very unnerving. Falkens had A1 wet traction.

 

I've had vibration problems since day one. After three trips to the dealer original EL42's were replaced with a brand new set of EL42's - vibration is still bad (flatspotting problem seems to have gone away however). I am waiting for the Acura regional service manager now for the next step. I do not want to "lemon-law" the car back - I just want it fixed. Someone suggested in one of the threads that it may be badly made (out of balance) alloy rims. Has anyone had that experience?! I only have 2,200 miles on the car.

 

My TL usually sits in the garage for one or two days between drives, and when I do drive it I notice the vibration for the first few minutes. After that, it goes away and it's as smooth as glass. I assume I have the newer EL42's since my VIN is 44XXX. I don't think flatspotting is unique to the Bridgestone tires as I remember seeing posts about it on ClubLexus as well.

 

Well, I can tell you guys categorically, it isn't flatspotting. Its plain out of round (or something else) - vibration. It's not overwhelming, but it's there. A car of this nature shouldn't have this problem, plain and simple. It's noticable at around 120 km/h and up.

 

Peters,
I had the same problem. It's not just flatspotting. Replacing the tires didn't help. Replacing one of the wheels did seem to help. You had the same thing done and vibration returned?

 

finishline

I actually had all the rims replaced, so I'm told. It could be that because my wife slightly scuffed the curb side ones, there off again and need to be balanced. I just haven't had a chance to really drive for long distances since the tires were replaced and once I did, I noticed a vibration. Candidly, I don't think the problem ever went away. It was definitely lessened by the tire replacement and the flatspotting is not nearly the issue it used to be. I don't know, I'll have to get it looked at.

 

I have vibration in steering wheel at freeway speeds- also I can let go of steering wheel and it will move back and forth. This can happen on pavement that is smooth as well. Do you experience this? It's very annoying when driving highway especially for extended amount of time. I'm suppose to get a Hunter RoadForce balance next week, hope this will help solve the problem.

 

At freeway speeds I notice the vibration in the steering wheel as you do. Its not shaking like a jack-hammer, but its a tremor. Bugging the hell out of me.

 

Does your steering wheel move back and forth on it's own as well?
It is very annoying.

 

After calling ACS and working with the dealer and district service manager, they have agreed to replace my original EL42s that had a PVC DOT code. At first they insisted on replacing with new formulated EL42s. I insisted that I don't wont BS tires and prefer Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. I had good luck with Michelin MXV4 on my old TL and they lasted 80,000 KM. After two calls, they finally agreed. Getting them changed in a couple of days. I had vibration between 80 and 85 km/h, subtle but still noticeable, and annoying nonetheless. I hope it works.

 

04SSMTLCanada,

Interesting. I have a very good relationship with ACS here in Toronto. My tires have been replaced with the new EL42. Are you dealing with ACS in TO? And to dheel, there is a little "shimmy" in the steering wheel, but I would describe it as vibration, like a wheel is out of balance. I'm thinking it may be a rim.

 

Peters,

That is exactly the symptom of a permanently flatspotted tire as well. I'm not saying that it's not a wheel out of round or some other problem, but that's exactly how my car felt until the EL42's were gone.

Mike

 

You may be right svtmike, I also notice it more around a particular temperature, about 12C and rainy. I was advised that data has shown that this is a vulnerable temperature for these tires. Too bad really. I have been a loyal Acura/Honda buyer for years. This is really bugging me. I know it will be remedied somehow, but the time and effort is too much.

 

Took my vibrating 6 MT back to the dealer. They repalced the EL42s with a new set of EL 42s, but it didn't fix the problem. Took it back again and was basically told I'm SOL. They agreed the Michelin (pilot) is a better tire, but cost a whole lot more. If I went out and bought them on my own they would mount them and balance them, but thats all they were willing to do. They would not reimburse me for the EL 42s. They claim they cannot put the mich. on because of liabaility reasons. The argument was thet the car was spec'd with the EL 42s, and by law they could not replace the tires without taking the car back to get it respec'd. Is this a load of crap, or does it make sence. Also the problem is only with 0.01% of the cars, so economically it was not if their favor to do this. I guess since I'm in the 0.01% minority, its economically OK if I took my business elsewhere for my next purchase. It didn't matter that this is my 5th honda vehicle . Still own 3.

 

Total BS that your dealer says he cannot replace the EL 42s with Pilot Sports. After three sets of "new" EL42s, my dealer finally replaced all the rims and put Pilot Sport A/S' on my 6MT. Problems solved. S

 

Total load of manure. :tflamer:

Any tire that is the same size and has the same speed/heat/load rating as the EL42 can be put on without incurring any liablility on their part.

The car may behave somewhat differently because of different tread design and compounds another brand of tire may have, but that's the objective in this case.

If you can't impress 'em with what ya know, baffle 'um with bull$heet is in full force on that response. :argue:

 

I'm not sure this is only a problem on .01% of the cars.
The two I test drove (one a couple months ago and one yesterday) both had the problem, though it wasn't terrible.

 

Actually on Tire rack, the speed rating is different on both tires.

 

I think you're one of few luckiest customers so far, not many 04TLers have been able to receive the free/paid upgrade such as Michelin Pilot Sport A/S as their replacement of EL42s.

Some dealers are willing to do so, others don't. And, this doesn't mean "your dealer does this for you" = "other dealers are talking BS..." :o




Since you have said your steering wheel is "shimmy" or "slight tremble" in the particular speed range, and some indicate it's similar to "flatspot" symptom. Do you only feel this shimmy on your steering wheel in the first couple of minutes or whenever you drive your 04TL?

And, your issue seems not alike "resonnace of exhaust", either...

As many ppl have done, changing tires could help.

 

The shimmy or vibration does not subside with time. It's more pronounced when the termperature is around 12C-15C and damp and it doesn't really go away. I have had flat-spotting but that subsides after about 10 minutes. I don't think its an exhaust issue. I'm pretty sure its a tire or wheel issue. I still haven't had a chance to take it to the dealer or ACS.

I have also heard the line regarding replacing the EL42 with a "non-spec'd" tire. I would have assumed that these other manufacturers made road worthy tires in a variety of applications. I'm thinking I'll replace these tires soon.

 

shaggy! did you buy from west palm beach?
i have the same problem with el42s.recieved no answer from west palm dealer.just ignore the problem!

 

Yep... WPBch. Cant ignore the problem. Its quite annoying.

 

BTW, Shaggy I meant the dealer is ignoring the problem. I had called them and they told me to put in a few more pounds of air. And said Accura would not change the tires even though I have a date of 49-03 on my tires which are the old ones. And I don't know what to do.


:shit:

 

gpman They claimed to have replaced my original EL42s with the improved product, when that didn't work they suggested adding more air, 2lbs or so. That didn't work either. Called ACURA customer service. They said unless a dealer makes a complaint about a safety issue, they cant do anything to help me. The tires are wear & tear items, and they dont get involved with that. Its up to you & dealer to work it out. Did you get the tire for life promotion they are offering as an incentive to do all your maintenance with them.

 

Shaggy- No, I don't have a deal with them I just bought the car from them, I live in Orlando. And right now I only have 750miles on the car. And I will take the car for service to a local dealer here in Orlando. Maybe I should mention the tire problem to them but I don't know if it will help.

You mention calling Accura CS does not help either so either the local dealer will do something for me or I'm screwed. So I can't say anything good about WPB Accura.

 

I had my 12,000 km service and had the seat memory module changed and the tires rotated and the front tires balanced. Of course now, it may be that the rear tires are still the problem. In any event, the problem seems to be a high speed problem. Up over 120 km per hour, which is the everyday speed on the highway around Toronto, it becomes noticable. At higher speeds, the vibration is there and now may be more concentrated in the rear. It's not overwhelming but I can definitely feel it. I have made a deal to swap my car with another one for a few days, and I will determine whether its mine, or the damn tires once and for all since I know what I'm looking for. Hopefully its not the drivetrain.

 

Had my EL42's swapped out by the dealer in January. They put on the Pilot Sports at no cost to me. The car has been great ever since. No vibration, no flatspotting, and they work great in the rain. Changes the whole complextion of the car. If the dealer wouldn't have swapped mine out I would have done it at my cost. Those Bridgestones are dangerous. Too nice a car to wreck because of crappy tires.

 

Pilot Sport A/Ss solved my vibration issues. Great tires.

 

I'm not sure this is going to tell you what you want to know. What you really want to know is if the problem is your tires/wheels. So, what you need to do is find a car that doesn't have the vibration. Then swap your tires/wheels onto that car and see if that car now becomes a vibroTL. That will isolate whether the problem is with your tires/wheels.

Another (much better way, IMHO) is to make the dealer swap on some good tires and see if it goes away on your car.


Mike

 

michael3314, Whats the name of your dealer, etc.. etc.. I need to let my dealer see that other Acura dealers have a concience... & know how to keep their customers.

 

Shaggy, I've sent you a PM with the dealers name. I promised I wouldn't post it in public due to them being afraid of a run on the service department.

I believe what worked for me was I complained about the vibration and flatspotting but my biggest complaint was safety. These tires are dangerous in the rain. I don't mean "marginal", I mean terrible. I felt like I was driving on ice every time it rained. Like I said before, if the dealer hadn't swapped them, I would have done it at my cost.

 

I recently got the new EL42 tires on my car and the ride was smooth. All of a sudden, I started to get vibrations. While sweeping my garage floor, I noticed 2 balance weights that fell off my right front tire. They were stuck to the garage floor. Took the car in to get rebalanced and now smooth ride again...

 

Well, finally replaced the EL 42s with the pilot sport A/S. The car now rides like a brand new car.

 

I had a new set of Pilot Sport A/S's put on the car a few weeks ago - the problem was 2/3's fixed - I still have vibration, but just have not had time to get back into the dealer. I am very glad to hear your problem was "cured" by the new Michelin tires, maybe my next trip back to the dealer will finally take care of this vibration once and for all, if it is indeed as simple as a rebalance - but I have a mild harmonic vibration coming thru the sterring wheel while sitting still. Even a Taurus doesn't do that...

 

I switched out my second set of shitty EL-42's for Pilot Sport A/S's -- no comparison. The EL-42's, oddly, look better on the car (since they're narrower w/ no rim protection).

I knew it was a good decision when I was in traffic next to a 540i sport package with them...