I traded in an 02 Lex (never had a rattle in 4 years) and bought a new 05 TL on the last day of 2005. It now has a rip-roaring 600 miles on it. Every time I hit even the slightest bump, there are rattles coming from the driver window, moonroof, dash and sometimes other places. They are not particularly loud, but to me VERY ANNOYING! I've had it in the shop twice. No luck. I'm ready to trade it in. Anyone else out there having similar experiences or am I crazy?

 

i hate having window roll down half way and clsoing the door...
it sounds like the window is gonna break or something...

 

Yeah, but it's the only way to get rid of the rattle!

 

HAd a 04 non-navi TL and it was rattle/squeak city. Minor bumps and you woudl hear panels rubbing and squeaking, in particular the dash was getting very noisy. Had all sorts fo foam stuffed between it and windshield helped a bit. I think the TL is awesome car and swore off Honda for poor cusotmer service, but the resale value on my 21 mon old 33K TL was $25K so I could not resist and got an 06 Navi. I expect the fading dash to return and som squeaks, but I don;t usually hold a car more than 2 years so we'll see what is out in 08. I feel the TL is the biggest bang for the buck that still has awesome style and ride, Honda, just cheaped out on interior build quality, but then I hear that is a big probelm of theirs.

 

Is it really cold where u live? That has alot to do with it.......My bmw had lots of rattles when it's cold but when its warm out not a squeek. I only had a tiny rattle in my sunroof when it was open. If it bothered u that much then probally trade it in for one that doesn't rattle. U proballly got a bad batch.........Make sure u test drive the hell out of it and keep ur ears wide open!

 

You should have driven the car before you purchased it. I'll never purchase ANY car, used or new without driving the car before I sign the paperwork. My '04 TL, purchased new, still has NO rattles...NONE. Yes, before I accepted the car, although it was getting late at night and everyone at the dealer wanted to go home, I insisted on taking the car for a thorough test drive which included bumpy roads etc., just to make sure the car was OK. It passed with flying colors and still doesn't have any rattles. I can tell in the first 15minutes if a car is assembled properly. I've driven TL's that were a POS...and others that were great..I guess it depends who worked on the assembly line the day your car was built, and possibly what day of the week it was built. Mine was built on a Tuesday.
Steve

 

I guess mine was built on a tuesday too.

I have an '04 TL and this is the so called "worst batch, cuz they just came out with the new body style".

But I still don't have any rattles or squeeks.

I do hear the occassional nagging coming from the front passenger seat sometimes, but it turns out that it's just my wife telling me to drive slower...

 

I do notice that it is worse on cold days and I did test drive the dang thing, trying to hit every bump I could find beofre buying it. No rattles until I hit 500 miles and then everything seemed to come loose. Is there really such thing as a bad batch?

 

There r so many factors in the so called "bad batch". I would say it has to do with build quility and parts quality for the most part. They could have rushed the job to supply demand. The parts that were made or assembled had humidity or cold issues, ect.......All tl's r not exactly the same and there r going to be ones that have rattles or other defects and thats y we have a warrenty. my

 

Dude, mine rattles like crazy ... oh well, my previous Acura rattled like crazy as well.

I've learned to live with them since first discovering them on my '02 TL Type S.. and then later on my '04 TL

 

My 05 TL is full of rattles as well. Having owned Audis, Volvos, and , a few years ago, an Acura Vigor I am really dissappointed with the rattles.

My worst is a rattle under the passenger seat (when unoccupied). This rattle dissapears in cold weather, but when it gets warm it drives me crazy.

 

TL is good car outside only. Look is cool.
But when you drive it sound like it is going to fall apart.
Mine has all rattles (B pillar, dash, under Navi screen, passenger sit)
Most of them are just annoying and dealer will never fix them. The car was in dealership three times already. "I can not hear any rattle" that what dealer says, but I do hear...
I am about to get rid of TL.
Sure TL is winner in design, look, but these rattles kill it for me.
As an example my wife has Maxima 1999 (so it has 80000 miles and 6 years)
Of cause it has less cool staff then TL, but it also has ZERO rattles on any/every bump).
One think to mention - Maxima built in Japan: TL in USA...
TL is not luxury car any more for me... It was when I got it, but in ~ 1 year it shows its quality...
Many TL owners who say that their TLs do not rattles just do not hear these rattles or play music.

Mine 2c

 

:IBgainful:

sorry you are having these problems FCO, doubt the dealers going to be able to do much for you at this point. I wish you luck in getting these problems solved...

oh yeah, no rattles, with or without music...

 

I have had many rattles since I bought the car last year, some of which have been removed and others which remain. The two most annoying rattles are coming from the center console and the windows.

When I press against the radio next to the silver metal strip I can duplicate the sound (sort of a crackling sound). I have yet to find a way to eliminate this rattle, but I will keep trying.

The rattles in the windows are the typical ones that a lot of people are experiencing. I have tried felt and other material under the rubber strips and I have generously sprayed silicone spray and Armor All. No matter what I do the noise always comes back.

I have no confidence in the dealer fixing the problems so I 'll continue to work on them myself. A colleague of mine is driving the 300C and everytime I drive in it I know how blissful it is to drive in silence. Things have certainly changed over the years.

 

I think we need to solve the rattles issue once and for all.

We need a poll to see what percentage of TL owners are having the rattle issues.

The truth is I feel discriminated against cuz I didn't get any rattles.

 

MY 05 TL had 7000 miles on it and it rattles like crazy. I dread taking it back to the dealership because I know they won't be able to fix all the interior noise.......other than that, the car drives like a dream.

 

I took my TL in yesterday. I had one rattle fixed. IT was from the sunroof wind deflector. When you close the sunroof the little plastic deflector folds down but rattles - acutally its not really a rattle, more of a vibration that you can hear if you have shade open and the sunroof closed.

There is a service bulletin to fix this rattle, they replace the deflector. They did this yesterday - so far so good.

There is also a service bulletin for four rattles in the rear shelf (behind the rear seat) - two in the shelf, one in the speaker and one in the high brake light. Its posted on this site.

The B pillar seems to be the most common. I have a really bad one under the passenger seat, but only when its hot out - anyone else have this one?

 

I have a rattle under the passenger seat as well. Any luck with yours?

 

No. I am not able to find it. It seems to come from several points...

My old 1995 Maxima (which I sold and got Acura) had 135K miles = zero rattles on any road.

F. Acura quality...

 

I have an 05 TL (got it in Aug) and have 13,000 miles on it. It rattles everywhere in that car! My dealer hates me. I take my car in non stop to have them try to fix the rattles. I had a 99 and let me tell you I loved it - NO rattles. Seems Acura is getting cheaper and lazy!

 

I just got back from riding in the 97 Camry with 120K on the odo which I sold to my buddy to get my 04' TL and boy she was still silent as a vault. I have numerous "ticks" and "popping" noises in my car and I have just given up. The TL is definitely a noisy, rattling car. I have gotten used to most the noises.

dsc888

 

My '89 Accord SE-i Coupe at age 15 years and 142,000 miles had no where near the rattle, click, tick and pop noise issues my TL's had. It's blatently obvious Acura cut corners on the assembly line.
.
.
.

 

there is a thread, with pics, on this forum about how to fix the passenger seat rattle. it's a metal piece under the seat which hits another piece. i would link it but no time to search for it right now.

 

Our 1994 Infiniti J30t was totalled last February. During the time we had it I cannot remember a single rattle. Our 2005 TL developed rattles immediately.

Some are easily avoided: Sun visors not clipped; Sun roof visor fully closed (just open it slightly)

One has been fixed by the dealer on the second attempt. A highly intermittant rattle in the drivers side door actually turned out to be in the rear view mirror.

The other two rattles come from the the area behind the NAV system and the passenger door area. Now that the dealer found the one in the drivers mirror I am going to have them look at the passenger side.

I am disappointed to hear of what appears to be a widespread problem. However it has been pointed out that people whose cars don't rattle don't look for forums discussing them.

 

My drivers window on my 2004 TL rattles and it bugs the hell out of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Do people know we can do detail search on this site? it will come up with results faster than you can post a new message. a lot of good info to fix rattles here.

i once provided some solutions to a guy's rattles. just some ez fix and lube things. he told me he's too lazy to do it. i guess it obviously didn't really "drive him crazy" enough as he mentioned.

 

My 04 TL had a bunch of rattles and a general "loose-sounding" interior. I'd drive on rougher road and it sounded like everything was jiggling and shaking. Two trips to my dealer's service department and all is good now. The first trip corrected some creaks and squeaks and the loose headliner. The second one I did after isolating all my rattles using a sine generator. Now my car sounds solid with no creaks or rattles.

The only thing left to figure out is a little clunk I occassionally hear from the radio area. It sometimes happens when I slow and turn right. I thought it was my key fob hitting the steering column as it's a similar sound, but that's not it. I then thought my flashlight was rocking in my glove box, but it happens even after I empty the glovebox. My guess now is a large wiring harness behind the navi screen is swinging. It's so minor of a problem, though, I'm probably not going to worry about it.

 

I have an '05 TL with about 14K miles. At around 10K miles, I started hearing what I can only describe as a "ticking" sound over bumps and uneven pavement, and this sound was very prominent at freeway speeds. I noticed that if I put my hand against the back of the front passenger seatback and pushed forward, the noise would go away. I fixed this problem by tightening the bolts that hold the seat to the floor, and the rattle has not reappeared. I hope that helps some of you who have voiced this same problem. Like most of you, my relationship with my TL is love/hate - love the style and toys, but the squeaks and rattles drive me nuts!

 

This is my major concern with the TL. I have been to a number of forums, and the rattles issues is consistent across the board. It really bothers me. I have my finger on the trigger, ready to pull it on a new 2006 TL, automatic, navigation. BUT, I am hesitating because of the rattles. I do not want to spend $35,000 and have a car that rattles. I would rather spend more and get something I do not regret.

Anyone else have any more comments regarding rattles?

 

I've got 600 miles on my NAVI TL and noticed a creeking sound coming from the passenger side. When I push up on the headliner in that area, the sound stops. Also, when I close the sunroof shade it stops.

I agree with the rest of you. A $36k car should NOT do this.

Hopefully the dealer wil fix this.

 

almost 1k miles and no abnormal noises in my TL. I am a little disappointed with some of the exterior fit, the gaps where the hood joins the front cap on either side of the grille are not the same and the trunk lid has a little different curve than the 1/4 panel, where they join. it's little stuff that only I notice probably. oh well, I guess it's to be expected since it was assembled in good ole USA.

I dont drive the car much but if it was noisy, my wife would be bitchin for sure. In the past, when she's complained about noises, I have found that it is lipstick, or some other little knick-knack in the glove box, console or under the seat. Loose stuff can make alot of racket over bumps and often sound like its coming from somewhere other than where it is.

the TL isnt the only car made that has rattles and squeaks. when you are feeling frustrated with rattles in your car, go visit some other forums and read some of the rattle complaints with Lexus, Infiniti and BMW. My brothers 328i had plenty of rattles once it hit the 20k mark. he had to put tires on it and he found that once the road noise went away, the thing was a rattle trap. he bought an 04 TL and he has had a few rattles that were fixed and it is rattle free at 22K.

 

Try putting a piece of felt between the front right mounting bolt. This was particularly nasty rattle that this fixed. Unfortunately, now I have the dreaded window rattle.

 

Hey politics2u, I own 2 of these vehicles, an '04 (wife's) and an '05, 6 months apart. Dollar for dollar, the technological features of these cars cannot be beaten. Honestly though, the interior build quality is poor, and it shows eventually. Honda makes a darn good car, just not a darn good luxury car (for the TL at least). I would strongly advise considering some of the other high-end players such as Audi, M-B or Lexus. I have leased cars from all 3 manufacturers before, no problems with the interior at all. Wish I could sell my '05, but I'd lose too much right now, so I'm stuck for another 24 months. My next car? Either A8L or CLS500. Just my 2c.

 

even though my tl has some rattles like window and the plastic area where the shifter

But I still love my tl