Well, as I appraoch 1500 miles on my new TL the cabin is starting to "loosen up" a little. As the car was so quiet before I can hear every little crackle that pops up. Seems to be mostly around passenger side pillar and door area. Haven't pinpointed it yet. Minor bumps bring it on and it's more frequent now.
My question is this: has anyone taken their TL in to the dealer for their rattles and what was fixed if you did?
I will say it's hard to know if I should make this an issue. It's my first entry level luxury car and I'm still figuring out what to expect. Feel free to chime in on this....
Thanks!
Mike

 

I have been in 5 times for serious rattle problems, good luck, the cure can be as bad as the problem....

 

Norse! Man, I'm aware of you and your problems. Sorry about that....How does the dealer treat you?

 

Do you think the warm weather has solved many of these rattle problems, i.e., all the plastic components are expanding?!

 

funny that you mentioned it and your milage. I brought mine in today at 1500 miles for pooping noise that i tought was coming from the plastic trim on the door frame. Instead, the dealer fixed someting in the headliner.I think it has eliminated some of the noise. But, I think now the culprit can be traced to the headliner. good luck

 

3 trips so far for back deck and headliner squeaks. Back deck took 2 visits, some foam and 5 screws, seems to be fixed. Headliner they pulled down twice and padded more, seems better by dome lights, but still occurs near driver and passanger doors.

 

Novice: yes I think the change in weather helps a bit.
:tflamer: Maybe warmer weather will burn the rattles out.

TimC: I'm interested in how the Dealer handles this kind of thing. Do they seem interested in finding a fix or are they going through the motions?

 

they did not call me to say that the work was done. The repair invoice says" R/I grab handle door weatherstrip expose headliner secure bracket" We will see

 

The tech working on my car told me what the reason is. It has also been mentioned on the board as well. Near the top of the headliner by our heads there is a clip that holds the side air bag in its place, and for some reason that clip is causing the rattling. Don't quote me on this word for word because I might be saying something incorrectly, but the premis is correct. he told me there is not much he can do, due to the fact if he was to pad it, if the airbag needed to deploy, the exptra padding, foam etc could disrupt the deployment of the bag.
It bothers the hell out of me too. My car is near 4000 miles and I notice it does not seem as solid as before interior wise. Unfortunately this is the negatives of a first year vehicle. I am sure there will be fixes, but it will take time.
On a side note, the tech also told me Acura is aware of the extremely soft aluminum is we might see something for that in the future.

 

My first trip was for glovebox door chirping in cold weather and for noise in the area around the front of the sunroof.

Ardmore Acura went 0 for 2, they lubricated the sunroof wind deflector rubber gasket, no help at all, I had to figure out on my own inserting felt weatherstripping in the channel under the deflector gasket was the answer, and I also had to diagnose the glovebox door noise over bumps as a plastic locator 'fin' on the frame rubbing against the door liner as causing the 'chirp', friction tape on fin was the answer.

As a former ES 300 owner I say give them Hell on the squeeks & rattles, this is NOT what one should expect in a new Malibu, let alone an Acura. Very poor development.

Like many, I have the crack/pops in the corners of the headliner & creaks in the middle around the overhead console area, something that's cropped up since the weather warmed up. Haven't yet been back for that (or tires, or amnesiac memory function), but I have zero confidence the dealer will fix it. The factory needs to sort this out & give their dealers a,b,c remedy to follow.

 

Now I'm worried, you saw they interiro squeaks and rattle more with age, dman, I already think mine squeaks more than all my other cars ever did, combined! And I only have 2000 miles! They have made some improvements quieting my interior, but not all gone, seems liek for every one the quiet a new one pops up. I know so many are happy with theirs, but mine has bene in shop over 6 days on 3 visits in first 7 weeks! All my cars togther never spent that much unscheduled time in the shop. You all may be happy with your TL, but it is my first and last Acura.

 

recieved the voice mail message from Ardmore (PA)Acura after I left office to pick up the car. They said it was the side air bag curtain bracket

 

The dealer, Ardmore (PA)Acura left me a message after I left to pick up the car. They said it was the side air curtain bracket that needed tightening

 

Anyone have a rattle from the dash or instrument cluster? I am taking mine in on Monday to have this looked at.

 

I was just wondering if there was anything definitive concerning this issue and if more recent build cars were any better. I have only one rattle now some where in the dash that only happens with low frequency vibrations and isn't reall bad yet. However, these comments of the magic 1500 mile mark worry me.

I have a March build with a Vin of 37219.

Thanks,

Stu E.

04 Satin Siver/Ebony 6MT Venture Clear Bra

 

Went in to get rattle fix in center console(seems likes its coming out of the air vents), said they insulated it , but I still got the virbraton rattle when I take of slowly from a dead stop.
Anyone else had this issue? VIN # 5554

 

See my VIN number from previous message

Stu E.

 

STU, Have they addressed the rattle? Waht did they say?

 

I have not taken my car in yet. No time lately. To be honest, it comes and goes and isn't really very bad at this time. I am waitng on more rattles (got my fingers crossed I won't have them) before I take it in or my first oil change.

Stu E.

 

Same issue here. They spent all day on it. insulated the vent area, as soon as I drove away from the dealership it acted up again.
So as of right now my two rattles are the airbag clip area and the vents in the center console.

 

Slight squeaks in the dash near and below radio, very slight, barely audible compared to other headliner, door and deck squeaks. I decided to not let dealer touch dash anc console or fear of making it worse.

 

Rattles started today but I'm not sure if it's due to 1. 1600 miles 2. windshield being replaced or 3. new tires but I can tell you I'm worried!

 

see my recent post regarding rear decklid rattle, one problem identified, hopefully fixed.

 

Regarding the air bag clip squeaks/rattles. I took my car in 3 and a half weeks ago for this and dealer said it was the air bag anchors. He didnt have a fix but was going to check with Acura. I still havn't heard from him and don't expect to. It seems people rarely follow through on anything anymore. In my business this gets you lawsuits. Can't treat people like that. Anyway I gently pulled the weatherstripping away from each door area. I then removed the grab handles. I gently lowered the headliner in this area and inserted two pieces of 1/4 inch padding between the airbag and the metal roof, wedged in nicely. This took less then ten mins per side. Rattle/Squeak now completely gone and they were terrible prior. Worked great. To think I wasted 4 hours of my day-off for them to do nothing. Also they were supposed to have fixed the third brake light headliner and cover that was coming down. When I got the car back, they hadn't even touched it. Basically a worthless trip to the dealer. This was Vandergriff Acura in Arlington, Texas.

 

Good for you! Now, if I only understood what you did. I don't feel confident about pulling anything apart.

 

Seriously it's very easy. I don't work on my cars. 1. slowly pull the tan part of the liner around the door frame away from the seal in the area near the grab handle. It seperates easily and goes right back into place easily when done. No adhesive or anything it just slides in and out. 2. Take off the plastic covers on either side of the grab handles. They just pop off with very little effort. Then unscrew the screws on each side, without dropping any of the pieces, and take the handles off. 3. Gently pull down on the headliner (Its very flexable). 4. Install foam or padding between the air bag you will see and the metal of the roof. The piece I used was about 3 inches long by two inches wide. There are two metal anchors there for the airbag and I gently wedged the foam in between them. Reinstall everything back and that's it. The pieces I used, I bought about 4 years ago at Home Depot for softening the rattles in my 2000 Accord V6. The stuff is about 1/4 inch thick, brown with an adhesive backing. I did not stick it to the metal though I simply left the cover on the adhesive part. (I found in my Accord that the adhesive didn't hold well when it gets hot.)

I hope this helps.

 

All I have to say is that my $23,000 Nissan Maxima SE (2003 Automatic) has NO RATTLES OR CREAKS .. no headliner issues, no vibration at 55-65mph .. NO PROBLEMS SUCH THAT THE TL FACES TODAY!!

There is no excuse .. Acura may have cut corners... but this is ridiculous

 

Osteoman-thanks! If I get the cajones I may pull all that apart. Though we shouldn't have to do this stuff I'm glad something can be done....

 

I think so, but I'm not totally sure yet ....
Does it rattle when you're first starting to accelarate and then stop?
Let us know what happens after your service visit.

Thanks!

 

Welcome. I agree we shouldn't have to do this stuff but if we waited on them, sometimes we would be waiting forever. I'm not that patient. Also it really was easy. It took longer for me to describe it then it took to do.

 

Thanks for the more detailed description of the padding operation, Osteoman.

 

Great post on this fix. Do you think that the fuzzy side of some velcro tape would work instead of the foam between the air bag and the roof? I have been using it throughout my car with good luck.

 

It's been nearly 3000 miles now and my headliner is really starting to make a symphony of creaks and rattles.... <sigh>

 

I think it probably would work. This stuff I used came in aprrox. 6inch by 4inch. pieces and is maybe a 1/4inch thick. It has brown, dense, fuzzy padding on one side and a adhesive back on the other. I bought the material about 4 years ago at Home Depot to quite the squeaks in my 2000 Accord V6. I didn't save the original packaging so I'm not completely sure what it is called, or if Home Depot still carries it. I will try to look next time I'm there.

I think the thickness is what's important more then anything else. I wanted it to wedge nicely between the air bag and the metal roof, so it would not move around. I cut the pieces approximately in half so as to fit between the two metal anchors for the airbag in that area. I placed the pieces with the long side perpendicular to the car facing. It is easy to see the metal anchors once you get to that point but you have to put your fingerbetween the airbag and the roof to see it.

I don't warranty the recommendation but I must say that since I have done it I hear not one squeak from my headliner and it was driving me nuts prior.

The last week I havn't thought about my headliner except to write this and previously I was angry at it during every drive.

Also I need to mention that Rick551i on this forum talked me up to trying it. Kudos to him.

 

Osteoman, I have the headliner squeak/rattle that sounds like it is right by your head/ear area when you drive. Are you saying you believe it is the airbag rubbing on the metal of the roof? I can believe it, but what about the other areas where the side curtain air bag might touch the roof, in front of and behind the section between the clips, the rear door area....?

 

I believe it is the air bag rubbing against the roof or possibly the metal anchors rubbing against the airbag. However, whichever it is this fix took care of it. I havn't noticed this sound from any other area around this airbag on my car. I did have a rattle from where the vanity mirror on the driver's side rubbed against the light above the visor when the visor was in the closed position. However, I cut a 1cm peice of this same material off and stuck it to the light under the visor to keep them from coming into contact. Worked fine although doesn't look so good. Now I have no consistent squeaks or rattles at all and I'm loving my TL better.

 

I also had problems with the headliner, dealer fixed it but its back after 3 weeks.

 

Other than the headliner and the dash, dynamat the whole car and it should cure the problem but it makes a quiet car more quietier and maybe u will hear more rattles, but for me all the rattles in the doors are gone and the guy also glued dynamat on the headliner then superglued the liner onto the dynamat and its quietier than a lexus. I get luxury with the sports feeling. the best 150 dollars i spent on this car yet!!!!!!

 

So are you saying you dynamatted the WHOLE car? That would be very impressive. Who did you got to for the work? $150 seems like the deal of the century if it will permanently eliminate rattles from now till when the car is no longer yours.

 

$150 for the dynamat may have been just for the materials. But just to put things in perspective, I must have over 20 or 25 work orders from 3 different dealers to fix stupid rattles in my car.

Yes, I am anal. Yes, I like a quiet car. And yes, I expect it from a $35,000 car that boasts close tolerances in manufacturing, etc.