Hey guys--

Terrific forum, it's really helped me out, albeit after the fact.

My family bought two new TLs a week ago at Montaño Acura in Albuquerque: one white with nav, the other nighthawk black pearl, no nav. The black is mine, and I can honestly say it's been a dream car of mine since the debut of the 2004 model. Needless to say, I'm thrilled beyond all mention with the car, which makes me incredibly reluctant to admit it may have some flaws.

The audio system in the car was a huge selling point (hey, we all have our priorities). Acura makes a big stink of the ELS system and, truth be told, I was pretty impressed when the dealer showed me its capabilities. From what I could see, and from the sparkling reviews I'd read, it seemed like a killer system--certainly better than the anemic system in my '99 Trooper.

However, from day 1 when I took delivery of the black car fresh off the truck, I noticed it wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped. Here's what I'm experiencing:

I have never taken the volume of the audio system over 20 (which--correct me if I'm wrong--should technically be about half volume?). Normally I listen to it on about 12 to 13 with CDs, 17-18 for XM and DVD-A. But across all genres of music and all sources, I'm getting a terrible rattle from the rear deck, which sounds like a blown speaker. I have the Bass level set at 3 (factory setting); the subwoofer at only 2. So even at lower volumes, and with the settings in that range, the speaker rattle persists, and it's gotten really, really annoying, especially considering how much people prize this car for its cutting edge audio. It wasn't until I researched on this forum and others that I realized how widespread this problem is, and I must admit I'm really let down.

To make matters worse, while playing around with the system's settings trying to isolate the problem (hard to tell which speaker is causing it), I discovered another annoying rattle, this one coming from the front passenger side door panel. I was shocked, and I swear since I discovered it, I've heard nothing else. I can't even drown the rattles out with the audio, obviously; I've just been totally brooding over this.

Not that I'm having buyer's remorse; I still drool over the car, and I hold out hope that mine may be an anomaly, since the white car suffers from neither of the two problems, so far as I can tell. I just really, really want it fixed; I want this car to live up to its lofty reputation. I'm going to be driving this for a looong time, and I don't want to be jaded after only a week of ownership.

This brings me to my question: who here has experienced the same problem(s), and was the dealer able to solve them? I made an appointment with the service dept. for Friday, wrote out a description of the problem, as well as sample CD tracks for the techs to diagnose it, and I'm praying they'll be able to make it right. I've heard mixed reviews about dealer response to similar issues, but I really want to know if people have been satisfied with (a) the dealer's willingness to help and (b) their ability to correctly diagnose and fix the rattle(s). And should they not be able to, what do I do then? Do I just keep complaining? I hate to be the pesky, picky buyer who haunts the dealership with every minute complaint, but this is a really big deal to me, since as I said before this was a big selling point.

So basically any advice in my situation would be much, much appreciated. I kind of wanted to vent (hopefully I'm in good company), and I hoped that your experiences could provide some insight. Sorry for the long post, I hope to hear some good (and honest) news. Thanks guys,

Matt

 

Those are common problems with the car. You can do a search and find out what others have done. Oh, welcome to the board BTW.

 

Welcome to the club. I've had my car for a couple of months and have taken it to the dealer about 5 times for rattles. I have reached a point where I want to figure it out myself. If you do a search on this site, you will find instructions on how to take the door panel apart. I have not done it yet, but it doesn't look too complicated...looks like a weekend job to make sure that everything is secure.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I actually had it in at the dealer today. I provided them with a detailed problem description, and they claim to have found the source of the problem. I'll let you know in more detail when I have it in for the fix next week... they had to order a couple of parts. I want to say it has something to do with the child seat anchors...

 

Please let us know if this was actually fixed. Specially the one from rear deck.

 

MDominy,

Wow is all I can say... I could have sworn I was reading my own story when I read your post.

I have the exact problems with my '06 NBP that I bought 4 weeks ago.... exactly the same problem. My rear sub rattles on any type of bass driven tracks and the annoying noise, mine comes from the driver side door not the passenge side, drives me freaking crazy!

It is all I hear and sometimes I get so frustrated I just turn the music off. I too feel the way you do. I just want it right.

My concern is if I take it back to the dealership they may just create more rattles.



Good luck and let me know what you do.

 

I have not really pushed the bass to the max, but our 2005 TL does not have any rattles or odd noises from the speakers.

Other cars with better systems also have problems, the new VW dynaudio system rattles the doors (all of them), they have a tsb out to add some dynamat
type stuff inside the doors, but it does not fix the problem.


Brett

 

to the OP, I have the same exact problems........... it sounds like it's coming from the seatbelt clip on the driver door panel.... like a loose spring in there or something... and yes.. my subwoofer drives me nuts... i have to turn that sucker down like 3-4 notches from the default center setting to prevent any rattles... but the sound quality suffers from a lack of deep bass sound. if you find a solution, please post and inform us all. we are all victims!!

 

Exactly. It's depressing.

I will certainly let you guys know if the dealer's fixes help. BrettG, it's interesting you noted the Dynaudio system in the new Passat, as that's the car I was closely considering alongside the TL. The sound systems (for some of us, anyway) are important in so-called "premium" automobiles, and to know that the TL has been plagued with the same obvious problem for three model years is disconcerting, to say the least.

If the dealer doesn't fix it I think I may take the same route as some others I've seen on this board: bring some dynamat to my first oil change and tell them to put it in.

Thanks for the input all. Glad to hear from more owners in my shoes... misery loves company

 

From what I hear Honda provides dynamat to dealers to aid technicians in fixing or helping fix rattles. So im sure that will be part of the attempted repair.
Hopefully its done right and the rattles are gone.

 

I would agree that the door panels are probably pretty easy to remove but why the fuck should we have to fix something on a bran new car that the dealer should take care of?

 

I completely agree with you. But it gets aggravating when you take it to the dealer, you get the same response..."we couldn't find it", "we put some tape or padded something down" (the problem is still there). Plus, the dealer I go to recommends coming in on the weekdays. That means that I'll have to bring the car in the morning (it has to be on a day when a loaner is available) and come to work late. Plus, who knows how they're driving my car to find the rattles.

You just say to yourself...."you know, I could probably do this." I mean, how difficult can it be? Plus, you'll learn something at the end of the day.

 

The most amazing thing about this rattle is that it's been a well documented problem since '04 and 2 years later this still an issue. Is Acura listening to their customers?

 

obviosly No.
They do not care.
People like Acuras and they will be getting them.
Why improve?

TL was my first American built car and it will be the last.
Go German, Japan

Compare build quality of MB, or BMW or Lexus.
Acura did great shape , but they cut on interior materials , integrity.
Most reviews say : TL has rattles all around.
I am glad that there are some people who can honestly say that their TL does not rattle.
I personally tried 3 TLs. All of them rattle inside of the cabin.
Roll windows on driver /passenger side and close the doors.
You will hear what I am talking about.
So long

 

I agree, as much as I like TL's styling I refuse to put up with cheap/poor quality.
The car is offered at a great value until you realize (around 750 miles) that alot of corners were cut.

 

Yeah, that's what really gets to me. It's not at all an isolated complaint, and it clearly hasn't been addressed in three model years. What was even more astounding is that I talked with my salesman about it first--who is a TL owner--and he claimed to have never heard of the problem.

That's good, I guess. I really think that would do the trick.