nednj36

I have a 2005 TL with 15K miles with a driveline drone/humming noise @ 1500 RPM. The dealer performed the "Dynamic Engine Damper" TSB, but the drone persistes. Does anyone know of a fix or new TSB for this problem?

pvansh

How did you get a dealer to install that damper on an '05. I spoke to the service manager at the dealer I bought my car from, and he said Acura Engineering told him its already installed on the '05s.

Thorin78

Yeah, the TSB is only available to '04. I'm taking my car in next friday for this as well.

pvansh

Do you have an '04 or '05?

KilroyR1

Is this just a problem on the auto? These engines don't have much torque below about 2500 RPM, I would never lug my 6MT at that engine speed.

Perhaps manually shifting the auto to keep the revs higher is an option?

pvansh

You are right. If you're in 5th at 1500rpms and you shift the car into 4th (SportShift), the vibration completely goes away. The problem is, the car likes to drop to a higher gear frequently, so you often times end up driving at 1500rpms.

Thorin78

I have an '04.

I usually don't end up driving at 1500rpms in 5th gear. I think it's kinda hard to maintain that rpm if you want to either keep speed going uphill or just cruise w/o kicking in the gas. The latter, the vibration really goes away.

gainful

I have tried all the dealers around Philadelphia area, Metro Acura, Ardmore Acura, Montgomeryville Acura, and the much-reputable Davis Acura, all of them refuse to apply TSB to my 05, saying that the TSB is for 04 only, and the vib/drone is normal.

So you guys in PA beware!

Very disappointed at Acura service, will trade in the TL for 06 M35

pvansh

I agree. Normally cruising I'm not at 1500rpms. But sometimes traffic slows down or I'm merging and I get stuck in that range and its really annoying. What I don't get is why sometimes its so much less noticeable then at other times.

Thorin78

According to the TSB, you should be in the range of 1500 - 1800rpms driving at a slight incline. the incline part may have something to do with it

Jeffa1

I have an 05 AT and have that drone/hum around 1500rpm too. It's not annoyingly loud. Mine's more of a hum. I guess that will change when I get a new exhaust and it's accompanying drone. So I can live with the hum for the time being.

DanL

iTrader: (2)

Had the TSB done yesterday and it only helps marginally. The drone is still there, just not quite as bad as before.

whatjones911

If you lug on low rpm is it bad for the tranny or engine??

THe TL definately doesnt have enought torque below 2500 rpm. I feel like the 97 C230 i drove had more torque below 2500. or maybe im just thinking that?

nednj36

some early build 05's did not have the "damper" fix installed at the factory. They inspected the car, found that it did not have the TSB done, and installed the dynamic damber kit. It still drones at 1500 rpm

whatjones911

Wow i have an 06 and it vibrates and a lot of other 06 owners have the same vibration. So maybe the dynamic damper is not installed on the 06 at the factory

I like to mention that i have a droning noise when i decelerate quickly. I know this isnt anything big issue because higher performing cars have this drone but i didnt expect this in a Acura TL

Thorin78

can anyone tell me what the damper is made of? metal? foam?

Actuary

I have this vibration but this does not bother me. I think MT might have more issues since AT tranny will slip a little and avoid 1500RPM

pvansh

This is what I've noticed the more I try to isolate it the problem. I find my car is not as smooth and has more vibration if I drive it from a cold start. For example, if the car sits overnight, then I start it and drive it (even driving for 30-40mins) the car will vibrate more and not be as smooth. Once I stop driving, if I start the car again and it hasn't gotten fully cold (1-2hrs of sitting) the car will drive much smoother. That's not to say I wouldnt have any vibrations, but the overall drive of the car is smoother and the vibrations are less noticeable.

Can anyone confirm this about their vehicle as well?

Thanks.

Thorin78

What tires do you have?

I've noticed that on a cold start, my car still gets the vibration from the bridgestone tires and I attribute most of it to that. But my Bridgestone LS-Zs are better than the EL42s.

pvansh

I've got the Michelin's so I don't think its the tires.

AMIC

I have the Michelin tires and I get a vibration after the car has been sitting for a while. It is between 45-65 MPH it happens at rpetty much any RPM. If I drive for about 5 miles then it goes away and as long as I keep the tires heated up it seems to be ok. I attribute it to the tires and I just live with it.

pvansh

But mine doesn't go away after a short distance. I could drive for 30-40mins and still have the roughness in the ride. Only after the car is turned off and restarted does it change.

c4accord

Does this vibration occur on 2006 AT TL?

AMIC

OK. It doesn't sound like this is the same thing. I still think the Michelin tires are crap too.

gainful

I feel the same. My theroy is that the engine mount takes longer than engine to warms up and once it is warm it dampens out the vibs better. I think the engine mount/subframe/exhaust design on 03 TL is 10x better than what we have.

Overall I think the 3rd Gen TL has crappy design, Acura think the bullsh*t electronics they put on the car are attactive enough to allure ignorant general buyers, so they didn't spend enough time to test the mechanical design before release.

pvansh

Have you tried getting the engine mounts changed?

CJB

Gainful,give Acura of Reading a try.Their service department is pretty good.

A_UFO

I have experienced this issue with performance tires that use softer rubber. My previous car had the same issue due the performance tires. I just accepted the fact that you need to run 5 – 10 miles to get the tires to quit vibrating from the flat spot.

I think the Michelins are great tires. If the problem of flat spotting due to the car sitting is too great of an annoyance to you, then you can switch to non-performance tires using a much stiffer rubber when the time comes to replace the tires.

I am not sure what the ride characteristics will be like with the stiffer rubber.

AMIC

It doesn't really bother me all that much anymore. I will definitely be looking at some different tires when it comes time to replace them however it seems that people on here have gotten other performance tires that don't do this.

jerryle

I recently hit a pot hole and had to replace the original Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 tires to the new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. With the new tires I felt vibrations that I never felt before. At first I thought it could be the balancing and alignment of the tires but that wasn't the case. Are the new tires more susceptible to road noise and vibrations? Please advise. Thanks

DanL

iTrader: (2)

Are you sure you didn't bend the rim?

TonyS

Yes, I have an 06 TL and it has the same "drone" problem that everyone has been reporting since the 3rd generation TL came out. I have an AT and it is clearly an RPM related issue. The engine puts out a vibration like "buzz" between 1500 and about 2100 RPM's that can be felt in the pedals and floor boards. I do not feel it so much in the steering wheel as others have reported. I think that is just the way the car has been designed to maximize fuel economy. I don't think any car should shift to 5th gear and engage the torque converter lock at such low RPM's but apparently this is what Acura has done. The engine is essentially "lugging" at these low RPM's in 5th gear. If you use the manual shift mode and drive in 4th gear in the 40 to 50 MPH range you won't notice the problem. However, bottom line is, the car should not do this. The TL is supposed to be a luxury sports sedan but it does not feel like one. I traded a 1999 Lexus GS300 for the TL and even at 90,000 miles the Lexus was still smooth as silk at any speed or RPM. Sure the Acure gives you some great bells and whistles for a great price, but when it comes to chassis and drive train engineering they are not even close to the same league as Lexus. The Acura is faster, but if you want a quiet and smooth riding car this is not the car to buy.

xedap1998

FYI...04 Auto TL with the engine damper...seems to help a bit but still have little vibration...just this week i've had the heat shield replaced and maybe it is a little better...seem like cold morning idle a LITTLE smoother...i need further testing to confirm but as i pulled out of the parking lot i hear some vibration from the heat shield..wonder if it is too new and just need a little break in period...