george3761

Just got back from the dealership. The head mechanic heard it thankfully. They are going to now order the entire rear strut assemblies. I guess the first time they just replaced the cartridge? Now they will try the whole thing including springs. I'll let all of you know after i get it done. Could be a day or two. Could be a week or so if it's not at the distributor.

undertaker

Hi there George,
I will take my car to the dealer for a second time thursday this week,and I `m gonna call acura about it...this is bs...
Did you call acura 800 number to complain and if so did they give you some incentives???

george3761

Haven't called the 800 # yet. They are ordering the entire strut assembly which should take about a week to come in. The dealership here in Spokane has been great so far. I will give the 800# a buzz and let them know this will be the 3rd repair in less than a month. I'll let you know how this unfolds.
Let me know what happens on your end.

George

dansienk

Undertaker & George

Can you please describe the noise you hear in the rear of the car? The noise I get in the back of my car is prominent over any bump in the road...but I've noticed its really loud when going over a bumpy road at slower speeds (20-30 mph)... it sorta sounds like a bowling ball is bouncing around in the trunk

as i said in my previous post, the dealer heard the noise but told me that the noise is normal...what a bunch of BS

it seems like their is definite design flaw with something in the rear of the car, which explains why fixing the car with new "flawed" parts does not alleviate the problem

whats the chances of acura actually coming out with a fix? i am starting to have doubts since this problem has been around since the car was released

george3761

Best described as a klunk. Like the strut is "loose". Happens on what i call a quick or sharp bump. Where the strut has to compress and release very fast. Happens at low to medium speeds. Does not have to be a big bump either.
If i get a chance i'll test drive a TL-S at the dealer. I'll wait to see what the next "fix" does. I will ask them about "aren't you replacing the part with the same flawed part" question. I thought of that also. I've also heard some people don't have this problem so maybe the 3rd time will be the charm.
I'll post here when i have any more info.

undertaker

Hi there,
As George said,I got the same noise,mostly with the low speed,like there is something loose in my trunk....
In our (mine and George) case replaceing the struts did not help,but notice
that MOST of the guys on this forum said that replaceing struts fixed the problem for them.....why is that???
what dealer did wrong?
is it the struts or some assambly problem,maybe when they replaced them they fixed something else like some loosen part or something???
I dont get why others had it fixed but not us??

george3761

I was told that on the first visit they only replaced the strut cartridges and on the second visit they replaced the bushings. Now they are going to replace the entire assembly including the springs. We'll see what happens. At least they are trying. I'm calling the 800# this afternoon and at least get a file started on this.
I hope this next visit fixes this. The fact that some cars have this and some don't leads me to believe it's fixable.

dg in MD

I am literally getting ready to go pick up my new TLS this week. I've negotiated a smokin deal and I have given the dealer a small deposit to get the exact color combo I wanted because he did not have it. NOW I'm reading about this rear strut problem. NOT GOOD! I did not notice any abnormal noises in the one I test drove which had about 125 miles on it. I had it for a good 20 minutes, solo (no salesman). Needless to say I got all over it and I intentionally took it on a wide variety of road surfaces and made sure to hit some bumps because I was worried the S type might be a little too stiff for a "daily driver" ....... the stereo was off and I was looking for imperfections and I noticed none.

I might proactively call the 800 number provided in an earlier post to see what they say to someone who has not purchased yet and has "reservations" based on what I have learned in these posts. Just for grins I will also ask my sales guy about it to see what he will say. I've driven the 07 G35 Sport and it is nice but I still like the TLS better. The bottom line for me is I love the way this car looks/drives and I have faith in Honda/Acura. I've owned almost every type of product they make over the years (two and four wheeled) and I have always been satified. I believe they they will fix any problems if I have any....... especially if I can point them in the right direction for the diagnosis. So I'm going to buy it anyway and hope I get a good one. I hope I don't regret it.

Wish me luck...

george3761

Good luck dg. It'll be fine. I hope to have my problem solved soon. Other than this current issue i'm loving the car.
I called Acura tonight and started a case file on the suspension issue. Just in case i have to go further with it.

dg in MD

I picked up my TLS today with 33 miles on it. It didn’t take long to noticed the slight noise in the rear suspension almost like something is loose back there when going over certain types of sharp quick bumps at around 30MPH. I read about this problem in this forum but I was hoping to get a good one. Knowing what to listen for helped greatly. It is barely noticeable at this point but I was told it will get worse by my sales guy when I asked him about it. The good news is they have a service bulitin on it now so it's just a matter of scheduling a service visit. I also hear and feel a slight vibration coming from the rear when breaking at highway speeds. It sounds like the rotors are slightly warped. I recognize this well because I had the same issue with my 2000 accord EX.......... but only after about 75,000 miles. I had those rotors turned and it was silky smooth again for a while but the mechanic who did the work told me once they warp and are re-turned they warp again fairly quickly. He recommended buying new rotors because it was not much more expensive. He was right they were warped again in about 12,000 miles. Why my brand new TLS with 33 miles on it has warped rotors is baffling to me. I am literally going to call them tomorrow to schedule a service visit. Good thing my dealer is only 10 miles away.

dansienk

dg in MD -

your sales guy is right... the car i chose had a very slight noise in the back when i picked mine up ( 17 miles on it)... now at 2,500 miles the clunking noise is 100 times worse in the rear

what did he say about the service bulletin? ... what are they going to repair?

MikeElmendorf

I originated this post when I first got my TL-S in January. Struts were replaced after a couple weeks (took time to get the parts, which were on national backorder, gee whiz.) Unfortunately, I think the sound is slowly but surely coming back...not good. I'm not going to make a special trip, but it will be addressed when I go in for my first oil change shortly.

Who else has had the sound return after the struts were replaced?

I hope this isn't going to be a repeat performance of the nightmare I had with Acura and the transmission on my 03 TL-S. They ended up having to buy it back after they lost in arbitration, and their handling of the whole matter was one of the worst consumer experiences I ever had. It was very reluctantly that I got the 04 TL immediately after that, but nothing came close in terms of equipment for the price (I had owned a 98 STS prior to the 03 TL, and the 04 had MORE stuff than the STS for $20k less).

The 04 was probably the best car I ever owned, perhaps tied only with my Lexus SC400 which was flawless. No problems. Great experience. Replacing it with the 07 was a no-brainer, especially when it became clear I couldn't get an 07 G35X with the color and equipment I wanted for months. However, this strut thing really has me worried that there is yet another design defect that Acura is going to be either slow or incapable of fixing. Let's hope not, as otherwise I am very pleased with the car.

undertaker

Hi guys,
here is the update on my car (2007 tls)
I took it to the dealer for a second time( after they said they fixed it-the noise was still there)
They said that they replaced ONLY ONE !!!strut not BOTH!
I can`t belive it since I told them there is a wide spreaded problem with struts on tls!
I`m waiting for a part to arrive and they going to replace the second strut.
I only hope that this will fix the problem for good.
On the other hand Mike said that the noise in his car is comming back...Not good!!!
so far I drive a loaner 2007 tl navi auto and must say that there is no such thing like noise-looks like only s type have it.
07 tl is more comfortable then s type I must say....not a bad car at all,but still prefer s-type...
I will keep you informed after I pick up my car around wednesday....

george3761

The parts are in and i have an appointment for install on Wednesday. They say it's a different part # so maybe this will work. I'll let everyone know.

Silver_Surfer

I just got off the phone with an Acura rep. He told me that he is unaware of this issue. I told him about other owners having problems with their struts. The Acura rep still had no idea. He just told me to take it to the dealership and he'll put a note under my account.

Silver_Surfer

Would u happened to have more infomation on the service bulletin? The Acura rep knew nothing about it.

george3761

I'll be out at my dealer tomorrow for the swapping of the struts. I'll get the TSB # when i'm out there. They showed it to me on my first visit.

Silver_Surfer

Thanks in advance George. This would be helpful to all of us.

dansienk

i think acura customer service is an absolute joke... everyone that has called ACS to complain about the strut issue, they always say they never heard of such an issue, which is such BS...

i called to complain about the rear noise and strut problem and like everyone else the acura rep said he never heard of the issue and acted like i was from another planet....i than had my girlfriend call about a half hour later to complain about the noise, she got the SAME acura rep and he told her that he never heard of an issue like that

...sorry just had to vent, it really makes me angry

BustedJack

man.... problems with Type S... Acura has on going problems of producing more problems as each new models come out.............

2000~2003 has tranny
2004~2006 driving vib, rattles, etc , you mention them... I had my both rear struts replaced at 11,000 due to defect.....

now the Type S.........

george3761

Well i'm back and i think this last trip fixed it. But i still need to drive it home tonight for a better test. I wonder if better tires would help the ride a little.
As far as the TSB goes on this it reads as as a "Tech Line Summary Article"
With a # BTS070204. It reads: Knock from Rear Suspension
Applies to 2007 TL Type-S

A faulty rear damper can cause a muffled, knocking noise

when driving. To silence this noise: replace the affected rear

damper.

Now the first time i went out to the dealer they just had replaced the damper which did nothing. This time they replaced the entire strut assembly.
So we'll see.

gdfthr

I hope it works out for you. I am on my third set of struts and the problem comes back after a short while each time. I am going to bring it back to my dealer when I need an oil change but I have a feeling I am going to have to either get used to it or get rid of it.

george3761

I guess the next step would be to go to a set of ASPEC struts or Teins.
I wonder if the dealer would "help me" with a set of A-SPECs if the problem continues?
I'll give it a good test tonight and report back.

undertaker

Hi there George,
I just get my car from dealer after they replaced second strut(first time they replaced only one!!!)
I still got the noise...You mentioned "faulty rear damper"
Can you please tell me what that means ,if this is some separate pert or what?`couse some people say that replaceing struts helps,but nobody said anything about rear dumper?
thank you very much for any expl.
I`m going to dealer tommorow and will tell them about that damper thing...

dansienk

hi george - thanks for the feedback and updates

when you say the dealer replaced the "strut assembly", is that the same fix others have had done, when they say the dealer replaced the "struts" ... if not, what else did they replace?

george3761

I was told the first time they had just done the "cartridges"? I assume this is also known as the dampers. Meaning the "shock" part was replaced.
Today they did the entire assembly. ie: springs, dampers, etc.. Like if you were buying coil-overs.
This is my understanding.

I wonder how the handling would be affected if they were to install standard TL struts all around?

george3761

Also the service tech and service manager pulled the back seat out took the car for a ride and clearly heard the klunk. They drove it again after replacing the struts but still with the seat out and they said the noise was gone.
So far the dealership has been great. If this didn't fix it or it comes back i'll approach them on trying the ASPEC struts with some sort of deal. I'll buy the struts if they install for $0.

dg in MD

Sorry for the delayed response but I see George already provided the service bulletin info. This is the same one I was told about. Technical bulletin BTS070204- Replacing dampers on the rear suspension - Knocking noise in the rear suspension. As I mentioned in an earlier post I purchased my TLS knowing about the rear suspension noise but I had faith in Honda based on past experience. I am still hoping I don’t regret this purchase. I didn’t mention in my earlier posts that my wife bought a standard 2007 TL with AT and Navi about 3 weeks ago and it is flawless. This was a driving factor in my decision to buy a TLS. Anyway, I picked up my car on Friday 4/20 and the next morning I stopped into the dealership because I wanted them to listen to the brakes and the suspension noise. As luck would have it it was customer appreciation day and a guy came up to the side of the car as I pulled in and asked me if he could help me. I told him that I had just purchased the car the night before and that I wanted someone to come on a ride with me so I could let them hear the noises. So the guy got in and as it turns out he was the manager of the service department so without even knowing it I had snagged “the guy”. He seemed like a good guy and he was aware of the service bulletin. Anyway, he acknowledged the problems and told me to make an appointment. I dropped the car off Tuesday (3 days later). Later that day service called to let me know they are replacing my brand new rear rotors and replacing the rear dampers per the bulletin. I also showed them a crack in my front windshield in the dark area just behind the rearview mirror so they are going to replace this also. He said they may have it done by Friday but most likely it will take till Monday. Here is the scary part, the 2007 MDX loaner they gave me with 5900 miles on it makes the same clunking sound in the rear suspension on certain types of bumps (YIKES). What the **** is going on with these cars? Did the Acura engineers go on a crack binge or something? I never would have believed this kind of dumb crap is happing with brand new Acura’s. Monday when I pick my car up I will have owned it for 9 days and it will have been in the shop for 7 of them. I hope this is not going to be a trend. So far the service department at my dealership has been very accommodating, almost too accommodating which gives me a bad feeling. Based on some of the other posts I’ve read on here these seem to be on-going problems for some people so I get the feeling they are buttering me up so I take it easy on them when I have to keep bringing it back. I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now and hope the problems get fixed and stay fixed but man am I going to be pissed if this crap keeps happening. I work too hard for my money to part with this much of it for a problem vehicle. I will keep you all posted.

george3761

Well after the drive home it does seem a lot better. I think what i hear now is simply the taught suspension. I need to take out a regular TL and compare.
As one of my previos posts had asked... I wonder if i could get Acura to install a standard TL suspension on the S?

cbbutlercm

The 2004-2006 TL had a stiff but not too stiff suspension. I read that for 2007 the Standard TL was softened to make it more luxury than sport, making room for the TLS. If you do a search I'm pretty sure i read a post that said that the TLS is almost identical to the A SPEC suspension. If you change your TLS struts for TL struts you will degrade your handling significantly, i have the same sound you all describe and i will take one of two routes ; 1. wait for a fix from Acura as i love the car or 2. like you said purchase after market struts.

all-in-all i still love this car, clunk or no clunk...

cbbutlercm

Did you perform the break-in procedure for the brake system outlined in the owners manual on pg. 234 (200 miles no hard stops, just gradual)? Brembo calipers pump about 2 1/2 time the fluid of the standard break assembly and can warp rotors in a shorter amount of time if not properly broken in. I have a motorcycle and noticed the same problem with warping when i first got my bike but i didnt allow the brakes to conform to the rotors before applying full braking power and had warped rotors as a result.

hope this give you a few ideas as to your break problems...

george3761

I agree. I love the car. The power, the brakes, all the cool little extras that the TL-S has.
The sound is not as bad as it was but it still sounds a little weird to me. I'll have to drive another TL-S and a TL and compare. If we didn't have these thrashed winter roads here in Spokane i probably wouldn't have noticed it the way it is now.
So i'll live with it and if it gets worse look into changing out the struts to Teins.
I wonder if we just changed out the springs if that would cure it or should the entire strut be replaced?

<<se7en>>

So, am I reading this correctly? Acura does have a TSB for the "clunk in the trunk", but it does not correct it...right? It sounds like they are replacing a bad part with the same bad part, only manufactured at a different time. At least that appears to be the general consensus here. I think I'll wait for a couple months to see if they come up with a REAL solution.

This is my first Acura. Is this something that they WILL get resolved permanently, or is this going to be something we have to deal with ourselves???

george3761

They did tell me that the new struts they put on had a different part #.
Like i said it seems to be much better. I'm going out to the dealer on Saturday and drive a TL so i have a base to compare to. Also a TL-S to see what it does.

<<se7en>>

I've an appointment tomorrow AM to have them "diagnose only" the problem. I don't want them taking crap apart 3 and 4 times. I'll be interested to hear what your results are on your test drive this weekend. Problem I see with your test ride though, is that a BRAND NEW CAR typically doesn't make that noise, right? I mean, mine started about 300 miles.

george3761

My car had 125 miles on it when i got it. The noise was there from the beginning.
I'll report back Saturday night on my drive results.

<<se7en>>

cbbutlercm

Do you live at the Gap? I plan on making a trip down there this summer after i get my suspension setup. I wont come there if my bike and i aren't ready, don't want to add to the tree of shame...

<<se7en>>

Live in Knoxville, but go there regularly. Come on! Always looking for new meat for the tree.

DMZ

The head mechanic at Acura of Manhattan told me that they're getting baraged with complaints about Noisy Rear suspension from '07 TL-S owners.