t-bone

Hello All - I now have 550 miles on my 05 TL, almost broken in. I am starting to notice a thumping vibration at the 1st startup in the morning. It's difficult to describe but it is not a sound, its like a quick thump vibration right before the engine starts. After the car is driven for a while and I stop and start the engine again, it is very smooth. Do I have a bad starter motor? If the car sits for a few hours, it will thump again right before the engine starts. Anyone else notice this?

Thanks

t-bone

The symptom is a little difficult to describe. It doesn't make a thump sound at startup, it is a thump feel right before the engine starts. The feeling is similar to going over a speed bump and it occurs mostly after the car has been sitting for a while. After the engine starts, I can immediately turn it off and restart and it will not do it. Can someone please tell me if this happens to other 05 auto models?

Thanks

mgs24

This happens to me it seems to be the first start in the morning. Like t-bone says its hard to explan.

Prolanman

Do you have your climate control on auto? It could be the compressor kicking in. Try turning the Climate control off and see if you still get the noise.

djarovsky

Hi!

I am from the CL board and your issue sounds like it is from the engine mounts. Go to the CL board and search on clunk on startup and you should get 1 post that discusses this issue.

My 01 CL-S has always had this issue and it is normal. Looks like newer TLs have this issue too.

t-bone

All - Thanks for the input. I tried it with the AC on and off, same results. I was more curious if others were expierencing this symptom. I even tried to turn the key to position 2 and let everything startup before starting the engine and same thing.

I took my car in last night for a vibration while driving 1600-1900 RPM, this startup clunk feeling, and the brake pedal making a noise. If the dealer has a good fix, I will be sure to pass it on to everyone.

Despite minor issues, I love this car. I will take these minor squeeks and other issues anyday. Go buy a Mercedes E class and up, they will define a whole new meaning of "Problems" for you. My Mercedes service manager told me, "If you want to keep a car for a long time and have it reliable, go buy a Japanese car". "If you want to keep a car for 50,000 miles with no major responsibilities, buy Mercedes".

Enjoy...

dcblacktl

it could be the ac compressor turn ac off when starting see it still does it

t-bone

I just wanted to update averyone after the trip to the dealer with this issue. They said they could not finf anything out of the ordinary. What I don't get is if it was normal it would occur everytime at startup. It wouldn't matter if the engine was cold or not. I tried it with the AC completely off and even turned the key to position two and let everything startup before starting the engine. I even test drove one of there 05 demo cars and no vibration at 1600-1900 rpm or so symptoms of this thump vibration at cold startup. I am getting a bit concerned. If they acknowledged a problem, I was going to ask for a new car with only 650 miles on the car.

nfnsquared

Are you sure it's not the anti-skid system doing it's self-check? It makes a kind of "thump".

t-bone

Thanks for the input. I am almost sure it is not the ASC. I tested 2 other TL's on the lot and I could not duplicate it at all, not even close. I also noticed that the vibration between 1600-1900 rpm did not exists either. The other cars were much smoother in this rpm range. They must have a new software update or something, because it was more difficult to keep this rpm range while driving. It was like the engine did not want to stay in this range, it wanted to go either higher or lower.

TampaMike

Perhaps the less than slick turnover is due to the ULEV2 emissions? I have noticed the TL turns over smoother when warm. When cold, it seems to stumble as it is cranked. When I took delivery of my TL, the dealer when through great pain to explain this, and there is mention of it somewhere in the Owner's Manual. I would assume they have had many TL owners complaining about this matter? That's my guess.

davepel

Hello all,

I just bought a 2005 TL in late July and recently the car has developed a clunk at 1750rpm when shifting from 1st to 2nd gear. This clunk only occurs once when the car has just been started after sitting for at least 3 hours. After the initial clunk the tranny shifts smoothly. Just dropped the car off at dealer to have it checked. Has any one else had a similar problem. This new car only has 1300 miles on it and I fear I may have purchased a problem child.

tejesh83

Today, I noticed a loud clunk noise when I started my TL. The clunk happens a few seconds after starting the car. So I searched the forums for clunk and found this thread.

I have a 6sp with around 600mi. The AC was on, so it may have been the compressor kicking in. But, I will experiment some more this week to see if I can narrow it down.

I can also feel some engine vibrations even at idle at cold startup. Is this normal?

tejesh83

Sorry to double post, but it appears I can't edit my original post.

It appears the engine vibration is normal. Its a side effect of the ULEV emissions.

consultauto

This has been discussed before, sounds like the ABS self test system, when not driven for a few hours between first and second gear at about 1500 RPM you feel and sometimes hear a thump,clunk sound, it is normal.

tejesh83

consultauto:

I don't think its the same issue. The OP hears the noise right before the engine starts. The ABS self test usually kicks in at 10mph well after the engine has started.

In my case, the noise happens a few seconds after starting the car (while still in neutral and not yet moving). The few second delay may hint its the AC compressor, but I will need to experiment some more to confirm.

ANTHONY741

I get a loud thump when I turn my AC on- louder than any other car I have had

tejesh83

I confirmed that it was the AC in my case. I suppose its normal (albeit louder than my previous cars).

Unfortunately, after researching the problem and coming across the ABS self test, now I always hear/feel that too. I didn't even notice before.

ALPHSTER

What ever happened with the thumping noise when starting the car?

ElmerHiggins

YEs, I have heard the clunk, i believe someo ne in the past had it and their dealer found it to be a timing issue, may want to have the dealer check that,

please do inform with what you find

johnny--2k

I got it too....05 6MT just after starting to drive in 1st gear, around 10-15 MPH. Only does it the first time in gear, after the car has been sitting for more than about 45 min to an hour at minimum.

I'm assuming it's normal.

davepel

The dealer checked out this situation and claims it is the vsa and antilock systems doing a self check. They actually showed me a supporting document alert from acura. You'd think they could have made it less noticable but I guess we have to live with it.