Tony407

Has anyone brought up the lemon law with their dealer regarding this problem? The clunking on my car is now worse than ever with almost 3,000 miles on my 08 TL-S.

Tony

ltkaufman

Yup I did with Acura Client Services. they claim this is not a lemon law issue as ther is nothing wrong with the car. The clunking is a normal trait of the POS car.

StreetLegal 2.2

Do you have any pictures? I want to see the drop.

Tony407

Why would they issue a TSB if there is nothing wrong with the car? How unbearably frustrating!!!!

Tony

MWalsh9152

they seem to have perfected the clunk now. Mine started at 500 miles, and now at 1100 its driving me nutsas it gets progressively worse....sounds like the blown out suspension in my old 200k Accord used to.

Has anyone gone away from the Acura suspension both stock or A spec to Tein or the like? I have a set of Tein ss' and I plan to put them in soon...hopefully they will cure the problem

pttl

Of course that's what Acura is going to tell you. I'm wondering if Acura would change it's tune if the whole lot of you TL-S owners got together and slapped Acura with a class action suit.

Tony407

Has anyone discussed this on this thread yet? I don't know about everyone else, but the clunking was NOT present when I test drove the car. It was extremely quiet...like I believed an Acura should be. I have an appointment with my local dealer Tuesday morning to have the car looked at. I'm not going to mess around with them. I'm so tired of car dealerships not taking responsibility for a faulty product...especially one that costs $38K. If this problem is not taken care of to my satisfaction I am absolutely going to seek the advice of an attorney. This whole situation is already making me sick just in anticipation of what I'm going to have to deal with based on what everyone here has been saying.

Tony

korrupted

SB#070-39
Replace both rear damper assemblies and alignment.
Make sure they have the parts in stock before you wast your time going down there.

Bcc335

This is what would get Acura moving to correct it and while your're at it combine it with the pinging issue and see how quick they address it. It worked for the 3rd gear issue and fast. Nothing like dragging the truth out into the light. If I were experiencing these issues on a new 38,000 dollar vehicle and Acura was telling me this is normal I would be organizing a protest this weekend at as many local dealerships as I could man.

http://consumerist.com/368037/honda-...-transmissions

pttl

^
Agreed. I'm not a litigious person by nature, but Acura deserves to be dragged into the light by their customers. I don't own a TLS but those who do should certainly organize a suit against Acura.

Maybe we as Acura customers don't want to admit fault in our vehicles? Maybe we don't want to admit that we bought an "upscale"car to have it be plagued by problems not seen on Huyndai Sonatas. There must be nothing like the embarrassment of having one of your friends in your nice new TL-S for the first time, to see the puzzled look on his face as he hears your "clunking" Acura motor down the road.

Loyalty to Acura is ridiculous. You can see how quickly Acura will throw us, the "loyal" paying customer, under the bus. The customer of Acura should expect a PROPERLY designed and executed product. I wish i were an attourney - I would gladly offer my services to the TL-S owners who have suffered this affliction with their car.

dimsumlo

I think it is time to bring media attention on the Noisy Rear Suspension, however, the first thing we need to do is to find out how many people were having the issues and get them all together in one place. I know it is easy to say but hard to do..... any suggestion on what we need to do as the first step?

ltkaufman

I am in, I think there are hundreds of people, it is false selling as the car did not make the noise when I test drove it either. Not sure what to do but perhaps call a local news station "on your side" type of thing and have them feature the story as in the transmission before?

pttl

Just to get an idea, you could start by posting a poll/memberships thread, here on AZ just to get all the "bad suspension" TL-S owners to "come out". PM one of the mods to see where you should post a thread like that.

Also, find out how many TL-S's were produced for 2007 & 2008. Find out the % of bad ones. How many were fixed properly BY ACURA....NOT by the owner buying some after market suspension components.

That should get you started

clttr2002

I took my 2007 Types S in a month after I bought it and have had it in for at least 3 tries over the 17 months I've owned it. I just posted a new thread on "How much for a 2007 Type trade in" where you can see where Acura has led me. I will never buy an Acura again.

Tony407

Took my car in yesterday. The tech that rode with me said he heard nothing in my car's suspension that he hasn't heard in every Type-S. Meaning, the clunking noise is normal. I had a salesperson take me out for a test drive in a brand new Type-S and the clunking was also present, but not as loud as mine with 3,000 miles. As if his opinion really mattered, he said he owned a 2007 Type-S and his car does the same thing. He told me that it's normal for a car with a "stiff" or "tight" suspension. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Absolute nonsense! I tried to get him to explain to me, in detail, how a stiff or tight suspension could cause a clunking and he wasn't even able to tell me how a suspension system worked. Of course, his opinion mattered later on when the service and general manager were listening to my concerns.

Their tech said it was normal. Everyone there told me that the suspension in the Type-S is "all new" and should sound that way. I tried to get them to buy the car back from me and they wouldn't even give me an offer. After mentioning I would be contacting a consumer affairs attorney they told me they would have the Acura rep guy give me a call when he's in town next and go for a ride with me.

I think I'll do both, and also start with a letter to the dealership telling them how I feel and outlining my plan of action should they continue to tell me that this problem is normal.

Tony

korrupted

Clunking is not normal, they fixed mine.
I don't understand why they won't fix the problem, they get reimbursed by HQ.

ltkaufman

I agree this is crap.

I started a pole in this group for the noisy rear suspension.

PLEASE VOTE IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY

Thanks

cheizy

keep us updated!

Tony407

I called the service department at Valley Acura in Spokane, WA where I purchased the car. The service manager there was able to immediately recall the service bulletin information by memory. He said it applied specifically to the 2007 Type S rear suspension but said that the 2007 and 2008 models are identical and he has been performing the fix for both years. He further stated that if I had taken my car to them he would have performed the fix for the rear suspension and if it fixed the problem but the clunk was still present in the front (as it is in my car), then he would perform a fix for the front as well. I then called my local dealership back and told them about this. The next day (today) I received a call from them saying they would order the parts and they scheduled me for a service appointment next week.

Quite the hassle, but at least something will be done. Even if the fix is temporary, it sets the precedent that something indeed is wrong with the car and it is being addressed. Assuming the problem goes away after the fix, even if it comes back later, would mean that the clunking is not normal. I would think this would only strengthen our case that no matter what it takes to fix the problem, there is something to fix. At the very least, if legal action later needs to be taken, an attempt at fixing an admitted problem would assist greatly in establishing responsibility upon Acura for a permanent fix, if one exists.

I'm not an attorney, but this seems logical to me. Any second opinions are welcome!!

While writing this, I received a second call from the dealership saying that this fix did not apply to my 2008 since the TSB was issued for 2007. Apparently he had not listened to me during our prior phone coversation, as that would have been the time to have brought it up. So far, I am not impressed with his listening skills, but he is friendly, and that goes a long way with me. He said he would call Acura and get permission from them to fix my 2008 for a 2007 TSB. Hopefully I'll hear back from him soon and the answer will be YES.

Tony

Bully4me

I had my struts replaced 2 months ago, the noise went away and all is still well. If the noise comes back, I will take car back to dealer and if they can't fix it, I will begin filing for a lemon law. Acura does not want this on their records, that was apparent by what my dealer said. I would not initially file the lemon law but offer to work with Acura under the idea that nobody wins. This will be even more helpful if the car is leased or financed through Honda. This previously worked for me with BMW on a Z3. They went out of their way to resolve the matter. When things slowed down, I wrote another letter to the CEO of BMW NA and his assistant pushed the local people along.
I subscribe to all the auto magazines and nothing is mentioned in the tech questions about this problem. Suggest someone who has a long history without it being fixed send a question to Car & Driver, Road & Track or Automobile. Or call/email Click & Clack on public radio.

Jake1221

2008 TL-S, quiet as could be for the first 3000 miles. Now, around 3500 miles, the clunking has started in the rear. At this point, it seems focused only on the driver side rear. Also, very pronounced when hitting bumps at slower speeds. Hitting bumps at higher speeds does not seem to produce the noise. Maybe it is just beginning, and the noise will occur more often?

Anyway, any suggestions on how to handle this right, from the start? Should I reference anything when I call the dealer on this? Thanks, guys.

Jake1221

Update - Took the car in to the dealer yesterday. After not finding a problem yesterday, they called first thing this morning and indicated it was a noisy strut. I only have the noise on the driver side, rear. They are replacing the strut (do not have the part in stock, need to have one overnighted). Will see if that works.

Others who have had their struts replaced - has this been a fix? This thread has gotten awfully quiet, which leads me to believe things are beginning to be fixed.

nalek

iTrader: (1)

Or people are just giving up..which is my status.

flyingteddy

2008 TL-S, 12,000 miles on original struts, the noise is getting worse. T.T

Jake1221

Got car back - the driver's side rear strut was replaced with part # 52610-SEP-A17. Now, from reading back in this post, this appears to be a TL part, not a TL-S part. Is the correct? Car is very quiet now, though

Bully4me

New struts fixed my car and it remained quiet. I never adjusted to FWD and switched back to BMW 335i. Same mileage much better performance and handling. TL-S kept having quality issues, lots of little things.

Bike Effects

I have a 2007 base and there is clunking in the rear. I had one strut replaced but the clunk sounds the same. Any ones else with the base car that clunks?

spiffy07TLS

I posted in the "suspension" section and was directed to this thread, too. My 07 S is at the dealer right now and he say's "no, no TSB for you". A few questions before I pick it up in the morning:

1. Is 07-039 the most recent TSB for the problem?

2. My car VIN is about 1000 beyond the VIN's covered in the TSB (A000001 to A031980). Are those of you that have "newer" VIN's still getting the suspension mods done per this TSB or some other fix or arrangement with Acura?

This is really bad...

ltkaufman

Here is an update. I have been dealing with this for 8 months now. TLS has been in the shop 4 times. They have replaced sway bar bushings, end links and struts. The noise goes away for 2 or so weeks then comes back. Last time it was in the shop I had the district parts manager drive the car and he confirmed the noise from the right rear only. Both he and the dealer have no idea what is making the noise or why. They did tell me however that the car was safe??? How can you say this with a suspension noise if you do not know what is causing the noise? Especially from only 1 side of the car.

Noise is driving me crazy!!! I currently have a lemon law case open with Acura.

A while back I set up a pole but very few people responded?

korrupted

Damn you're still having issues?
I noticed that it was also my right rear that was making the noise, but it was corrected when they replaced the dampers.

ltkaufman

Unfortunately still having issues.
They have replaced all parts and noise returns. What bothers me is that they dont know what is making the noise. (but it is safe - yeah right)

spiffy07TLS

where is the poll; I'd be happy to opine on this issue!

blakura

I have the same problem, 2008 TL-S with 3750 miles, I've been noticing the noise on the rear-driver's side when I get out of my car. I actually noticed it before I had 150 miles on it, but I just tried to ignore it, because I hate the hassle of going back and forth with the dealer waiting for them to finally notice what I'm talking about. I think I'll take it in now though since I can be sure that it's not my imagination.

ltkaufman

THe pole was closed, do you want to start another one?

spiffy07TLS

I'm a new user so I missed the original poll. This is such a problem, I'd like to see a poll again.

virafp

So, the TL-S is with Power Acura in Torrance again. The last time they replaced the incorrectly installed TL suspension with a the correct TLS set up. That was at 6484 miles. Now at 14700 the noise is back.

Acura had me go for a test drive with the tech. The front right clunks over speed bumps - only the right, not the left. The rears are very noisy. To this, he said he would drive another TLS to compare - so I know where this is going. They are going to say that it sounds like another TLS. That does not change the fact that the suspension has a problem.

I guess we will wait and see. I now know I made a huge mistake passing on the Euro delivery 335i I had on order for this car. Love everything about it, except the problems that are very uncharacteristic of a Honda product. Even worse, they do not know how to fix it.

Viraf

blazinginder

For the rear I believe the problem/noise may be with the dampers both of which need to be replaced if your VIN falls in the TSB for that

I just had both rear dampers on my TLS replaced under warranty and it seems to have done the trick, not completely quiet but definitely much quieter/better then before

virafp

They have replaced both rear dampers...twice! This will be the third time. Actually, if you count the time they put in a TL suspension by mistake this will be the fourth time.



QUOTE=blazinginder;10151612]For the rear I believe the problem/noise may be with the dampers both of which need to be replaced if your VIN falls in the TSB for that

I just had both rear dampers on my TLS replaced under warranty and it seems to have done the trick, not completely quiet but definitely much quieter/better then before[/QUOTE]

Ahmad310

i have been dealing with this since about a month after my car was new, they replaced them and that worked about 3 weeks before the noise came back, then when the SB came out they installed new ones, didnt last long either, i argued and tried to get the A-spec after weeks of going round and round on this, they didnt agree. Next they threw in a set of base TL struts all the way around the car. This lasted the longest but after a few months the "clunk" was back. By this point i had ordered Tein springs but was holding off on installing them until i was happy with the fix. When the base TL ones started clunking i told them i wanted 4 new type S ones, they argeed but said this was the last fix they were going to do, unless a offical fix from acura came out, they also agreed to install the TEIN springs at no charge since they would have the suspension out.

after getting the car back, it was the best it had ever been, now its been about 7months and 6000K miles and the clunk is back!! So good luck guys, not matter what they do i think we are stuck. I dont see another "fix" coming out as they think they have solved this problem!

virafp

So, I got a call yesterday that they were still looking at the car, and cannot seem to find anything wrong with it. They are trying to get their hands on a 2007 TLS to drive it for comparison.

So I guess if the car they drive clunks as well, there is no problem, and Acura will call the problem "normal characteristics" of the car.

I so regret passing up the BMW 335i. My 1981 BMW 320i with 135K rides quieter than the TLS!


Very frustrated......Viraf