VerticallyChallenged

Note: This is a cross post. I put it under problems and solutions when I meant for it to go here. My apologies for that.

Hi all,

I'm strongly considering a purchase of a 06 TL. I recognize that no car is perfect but the idea that I'm going to buy a new 30K car and then have to get rattles fixed, well, it's not so good. And, I've read a lot of rattle complaints.

So here are my questions. Is some of it just due to people buying their first luxury car and expecting perfection? Are there really genuine issues with the rattles? Do only people with rattles complain while those who have a perfect car, well, we never hear from them?

I did read about a lot of rattle complaints on the review boards and I find most boards have a few outliers but most people love their cars (car bias) so I admit it leaves me wondering.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/comments.

bluenoise

Those are good and valid questions, IMO.

Truth be told, I am disappointed by the rattles in my TL. My previous car was a 1993 Mazda 626 with just over 100k miles on it and it didn't rattle. My TL still has a couple of rattles that appear in certain conditions after several warranty repairs to have them silenced. My dealer has been very good about fixing them, so it generally is rattle-free. However, some bumps trigger a sound that disappoints me.

It's probably true, though, that those without problems are far less likely to post about them, so reading forums like this is likely to skew toward the negative experiences. As a whole, I love my TL and can't think of any other car in its class that matches what the TL has to offer.

MR1

The short answer is yes!
I have an 05 with 24K and no rattles. That is except when I turn the bass and volume up near max. Do a casual check of the age demographic on this board. Factor in a number for the anal factor. Consider the percentage of total TL buyers that might be on this board. Go buy a TL but do an extensive test drive of your intended unit. If you typically drive w/o music or passengers talking, look elsewhere. Best I can answer, hope it helps. BTW some of the earlier cars did seem to have an abnormal number of rattles. The TL is Acura's top selling model by a large margin, that can be a mixed blessing.

Will Y.

I really love my '05 TL w/Nav. My TL has 11K on it (over 18 months) and has not been back to the dealer for any issues.

It has no rattles, but an infrequent (no more than once a week or two weeks...) occasional creak or two over rough roads, etc. It is the quietest car I've ever driven, too, so any noise is noticeable. I don't count contents rattles such as CD boxes moving in the door pockets (solution- move contents...).
My opinion is that no car should have rattles or continuous odd noises, regardless of price or manufacturer, as I have never had any car (including used American ones) have a rattle within the first year or three of ownership.

There may be a rattle survey on another thread here, but the rattle complaints seem to diminish with model year. I don't notice many '05 owners complaining compared to '04 owners, for example.
If any issue develops, we enthusiasts will be the first to notice and jump on it, so the sample may be skewed-- just take a look at the number of threads on why the windows are not remote-up as well as remote down...
...and I wish the TL was only 30K

trancemission

yes, in my opinion. I think some set their expectations to high...

yes....some just deal with them differently. some cant deal with them at all.

not necessarily, I have rattles and I have admitted to it several times, I didnt have any when I first got it but some have surfaced and some Ive induced myself takin shit apart. But I do not let them get me upset. There are more things in life for me to worry about...

There are things with the TL that have been "labled" on this site by members over time and rattles is one of them. Butt prints in the seat, trunk misalignment, bad turning radius, hard to back up, brake dust on the 6MT, lower HP on the 06, tint getting scratched, front wheel drive. People have disected this car inside out.

So will your car have these issues?? Probably so. Some things you will have to accept, some, if you have them, you will have to fix on your own. Will you appreciate the car for what it is? or will you come on here and say " I expect more out of a 35K car"?

The car for the money is the best value out there. So if you think you will get a better car by spending more, then by all means help yourself.


Its all relative......I will admit I am very happy with my car, but I think in my case its because I dont take very much for granted. I appreciate the fact that I am able to own one. I worked very hard to get it and I work very hard to earn the money to mod it

So a rattle here and butt print there just dont seem to bother me much. Theres so much more about the TL that out weighs the bad then the good for me..

dero79

The rattles are real man, don't believe the hype! Just because a few of these guys don't have them (myself included) should not have you thinking they don't exist. I had a loaner that had a serious rattle on the passenger side, not something you could just ignore. It's like someone with baggy pants walking with change in their pocket, you WILL hear it! Of course someone whom buys a $30k + vehicle would expect more and not obvious annoyances like a rattle.

trancemission

I cant believe you posted this shit after my post. What the fuck do you mean dont believe the hype? I just got done saying I have rattles. Go to problems and fixes and look in there. Freakin most people here have them. Go find me a car worth more than 30K that doesnt rattle, please.

Ernie Golfs

I have a new 06AT ASM w/navi. I test drove it and four other TLs before I bought this one. None had rattles and I purposely drove all on a bad road to test for ride and rattles. After one month and 1200 miles no rattles yet. I'm expecting a few and I'll deal with them as they come. I highly recommend a complete and lenthly test drive!

Good luck with your new car, I love mine.

coykiam

was just gonna post a similar one...but this is one of the best advice and move you can do. I have an 06 with Nav and at 450 miles about 1 month old, it doesnt have any rattles. One of the quietest car Ive ever been in. Theres alot of post regarding the rattles, read on as some of them have said no rattles and some have. Maybe just like what Will Y. said. from 04 to 06 the latest ones seem to be less or no rattles.

cristphoto

From what I've read the rattles were gradually corrected with each new model year. Acura seems to be good on making running change corrections on customer complaints. I have an 06 with about 11,000 miles and no rattles - very tight. The only real issue I've had so far was a mild squeak sound when lowering the right front window. It did this about 6 times over the first two months and then just went away. I tested the Lexus, Buick and small Cadillac before getting the TL. It was clearly the best value and also offered the best overall balanced performance. According to my MID I'm getting 25mpg overall and when I go on an Interstate trip I always get over 32mpg (typically 34mpg). The only changes I've made were the conversion to Mobil 1 5-20 oil with Mobil 1 oil filter and the larger rear sway bar from the 6-speed model. The sway bar made a noticible improvement in the handling with no negative ride quality issues. Installed it myself after reading on this forum how easy the installation was. It took about an hour start to finish and only cost $50 which included the brackets and bushings. I paid $34,100 total for an automatic NAV model back in April and have never second-guessed the purchase. Just my thoughts. Steve

bowton

Acura TLs are notorius for rattles. Ask any Acura mechanic. my '05 TL has had rattles from day one. most are temporary and turned on and off by the vibration frequencies induced by different road conditions. I have one rattle in the dash that sounds like buzzing light gauge sheet metal. I finally got the mechanic at the dealer to hear it and he spent 2 days trying to find it with no success. I appreciated his effort but I'm disappointed in the quality from the factory. He mentioned to me that there is one particular rattle that is well known and it comes from the steering column. avoid a car with this. he said it's been well documented and even the factory has acknowledged there is no fix for it yet.

cristphoto

I wonder if the guys with the worst rattles had the A-Spec suspension option which if I recall correctly had much stiffer springs and shocks. This could be a reason for the rattles. I remember a few years ago driving in two different Corvettes - one stock and another with the "heavy-duty optional sports suspension". The second one would beat you to death and make the entire car creak and squeak.

TriniBwoy

I had, or maybe still have, this problem. I toke it in and they told me something about a loose clip being broken in there. They didn't have the part, but told me to return in about four days to have it installed. The weird thing is that I haven't heard the rattle since. I'm trying to determine if I should even take it back...worried they might actually bring it back in an attempt to install the thing.

ruk11

I'm having this problem with my '06 from the 2nd day i brough it back. I'm planning to go back to the dealer after the car is broken in. it only rattles when i'm on rough road. if I pull down the lever that allows you to adjust the steering wheel the rattle will stop. I hope this will make the deal alot easier to pin point where the loose part is. I'm also getting noise from the ceter speaker there is a fix posted in this forum so i'm not going to worry about that too much. I "think" the passenger side door is starting to make some noise too on rough road but with these 2 rattles i mentioned above it's hard to tell.
I'm just letting you know that the '06s do still make noises, maybe less likely, but still do. so good luck.

dz06tl

Here's my rattle experience with my '06 TL (auto w/ navi) bought at the end of March with 14,000 miles so far:

Shifter trim plate squeak - fixed easily by dealer at first oil change

Heat shield rattle - fixed by dealer (I had to show them the March service news that detailed a fix - seems that they don't read stuff Acura sends them)

Sunroof left side rattle - fixed by dealer - took a little convincing on my part due to the mechanic not being able to reproduce the rattle that comes and goes - I was able to show them the support arm that was loose on one side - service rep made the mechanic take apart the track, insert spacers and realign

Door panel "buzzes" - these are extremely quiet and can't be heard unless I turn the radio off and really listen for them . . . . panels quiet down by putting pressure on the fake wood trim - there are directions posted somewhere here on how to get rid of this, but since it is barely audible I'm not worried about it yet

Window/sunroof seal noises - I've noticed that sometimes I hear what I think is the rubber seals for the windows and sunroof rubbing on the glass . . . again, not something I'm worried about since with the radio at any audible volume masks the sounds.

Passenger headrest - when in the fully extended position the headrest will rattle, putting this down 1 click keeps it quiet (I have to have these higher - I am 6'2" and have friends that are taller!)

All in all I am extremely happy with my purchase and would not rethink it (I chose the TL over a Volvo S60, Infiniti G35, BMW 330, Lexus IS350). I definitely went into this purchase with my eyes wide open on most of the issues mentioned here in this forum, so I expected rattles & squeaks to develop - and most of the posts here showed that in most cases the dealer is willing to fix the issues (or members have shared their own fixes)

Note that the rattles & squeaks seem to be related to where you live - i.e. Detroit, NY, Boston, DC & any metro area with bad roads seem to develop these noises faster than those in areas with smooth roads.

In comparison though - my past cars did not seem to have developed as many consistent rattles or noises so quickly ('98 lumina, '00 Blazer, '02 Avalanche, '05 Escape these were all company cars and I was a 33,000 mile per year driver).

As to it being a luxury car and people expecting perfection - absolutely, if a car is marketed as a luxury car that is better than the average "standard car" there definitely better be a difference!!

VerticallyChallenged

Hi all,

thanks so far on the replies it's been an interesting discussion which I hope continues. I just wanted to make a quick comment.

I once had a Ford service writer tell me that the dealership wouldn't pay for him to read TSB's. The techs could get them but not him. Friggin' amazing because the problem I was/am having is described in a TSB. No dealer would touch it by the way and it's still got the rattle from the front left at certain speeds just like the TSB said.

Anyways, can you imagine a Ford dealership running around fixing rattles on a car like Acura is doing? They sell 30K cars/trucks too. My parents bought a 76 Mercury Capri that shook at 35 to 45 mph. And when I say shook I mean that the steering wheel jerked around in your hands at that speed. The local dealership's reponse, "can't find any problems". Today that car would be a lemon but it's hard for me to imagine a Ford dealership fixing or even trying to fix half these rattles.

So, the fact that Acura goes to these lengths is, in a way, very impressive.

Anyways, your post just made me think of that.

quantum13

The rattles are real. My dealership does well to try to fix them but some things...just aren't fixable. I'm also not willing to drag my ass over there (30 miles away) all the damn time to get these things handled. My rear deck was replaced and it fixed the buzzing when the subwoofer hit but my door panels sorta rattle, i have a tapping noise in my steering column and all sorts of weird strange things coming from up above (headliner, doors near ceiling). Many times they are simply too hard to show the service advisor b/c of their intermittent nature. The roads generate so many different 'rattle profiles' its crazy. Quite frankly the rattles drive me up the wall - and yes, i expect alot out of my (expensive) car. It's not unreasonable to suggest that this car is full of value - you get so much for your money. However, no matter how awesome that bluetooth is - the rattles will irritate the shit out of you when you're not using the bluetooth. And keep in mind that there are cars for much less money that just DON'T do this. I would gladly have spent $500 more on my car for some extra quality control on some of the parts. I don't think it's unreasonable. I've driven three different TSX loan cars - and they just don't do this. They're just more solid. Granted, they DO have rattles, but not nearly as bad and not nearly as often. And these are LOAN cars that ppl don't give a crap about. Of course maybe you just dont HEAR the rattles over the louder road noise. I love my TL - It's really cool, but I wonder sometimes if the TSX wouldn't have been a better car for me. The TL is so much more comfortable and faster and better looking - and yet, driving the TSX just seems more satisfying compared to me being so bloody pissed b/c my passenger door won't shut the F**K up. The one's I've driven just seem better put together. If I drive an '06 TL, however, it's possible that those would be better too - who knows.

Bottom line - i'm too often disappointed with the interior build quality of my car and it kills me because I love it so much. It's so fun to drive - it's gorgeous....but knowing what I know now - I sometimes think maybe I should've bought another 4 year old Accord and saved up until I could afford something else - or waited until they came out with the '09 models....

TriniBwoy

Yep, fully aware of that. Mine is a 06 as well.

For everyone who want to know what type of rattles still exist even with a 06, here's what I'm hearing so far,

- Passenger door sort of squeaks or could be the glove compartment...not sure

- Turning the bass to Max makes the rear deck rattle as well as something in the driver's door.

- I'm not sure if I still will have a problem with my steering column rattle, but we'll see.

oppnyc

Rattles are real and very annoying.
TSX (I had it as a loaner) was solid as rock. TL is very prone to rattles (all kind)
Small squeaks in cabin, passenger door.
I regret that I got TL.
I wound suggest to stay away.
You will not hear rattles only if you turn music on all the time when you drive TL.

Adam9997

I did my homework and read similar posts stating that these were isolated issues etc. well the truth is my '05 rattles like hell and despite several trips to the dealer and multiple attempts to fix them myself the rattles remain. I'm certain that this is not an "unreasonable expectation" issue. I've owned many new cars and this is the first one I ever took back to the dealer to fix rattles before the first oil change. The only thing I regret is not taking these issues seriously before I bought the car. If rattles bother you look elsewhere.

jac167

I have owned a 99 TL, 2002 TL-S and now a 2005 TL. This is the worst piece of rattling crap I have ever owned. I am a traveling rep so I am in the car at least 5 hours a day and it will drive you crazy. I owned a 2004 Mercedes E320 and that is a greatly built car but they have major electronic issues. I went back to the TL to give Acura one more chance. My mistake. I am done with Acura for life. All I can say is if you putt around town then the car is probably fine. If you do any major traveling or extended hours driving, stay away from this car. Go to Lexus.

Jeff

chas083

I owned an 04 TL for two years with numerous issues. Dealer service was good but 1 year ago traded for a VW Jetta TDI. The VW has had absolutely no issues and is rock solid with no rattles. Much better build quality.

levitynyc

Rattle suck. I leased mine 6 months ago and they drive me insane.

If I would have known about them prepurchase I would have reconsidered.