navigator

Hello, I have done some searching where I can and everything keeps pointing me to the tires. This is a brand new car with less then 2K miles on it. Problem from the beginning. The dealer has even exchanged all 4 wheels and tires and the problem is much better, but still there. It use to start at 55 and got worse up to 80 then tapered off. I am taking the car to Goodyear to see if they can balance it better or have some insight.

If it is not the tires or wheels, what could cause a vibration in the steering wheel at speeds 80-85? (it starts around 70 and clears at 90). This is not a pronounced vibration that you can see the steering wheel vibrate, it is subtle and the dealership is trying to tell me it is the 18" wheels and the road surface. I have owned many cars with low profile tires and I have never had this feeling.

Thanks, Lance

JM2010 SH-AWD

Sure sounds like a tire balance (or out of round) situation.

NJ SHAWD

Do you by chance feel it in the brake pedal when braking?

navigator

I do not feel it in the break pedal or at least I haven't, will take note tomorrow on my way in to work.

I am on my third set of tires from the dealership.
1. Original
2. they replaced the tires, but I kept my original wheels
3. Now I have a new set of wheels and tires from a 2011 SH-AWD (wheels are a little darker, but same manufacture and make of tires)

My issue is I feel that the dealership is stuck on that it must be the tires.....what if it is not, what else could cause this?

How do you contact Acura to ask about this or at least get them involved?

Thanks for all input, comments and suggestions.

Lance

cl0ud8888

i have the same issue since i bought the car....been to dealer 6 times n they keep tellin me they dont feel nothing...atleast yours changed your tires...my dealer told me they put more air in tires and thats all....i know have 3000 and still have the issue............let me know if you find out what the problem is

navigator

Hello cl0ud88, is yours a 2010 sh-awd 6sp mt?

cl0ud8888

no its a 2010 base model auto

navigator

I will let everyone know what I find out tomorrow at GoodYear, I am really hoping they find it to be tire/wheel balance and fix it.

cl0ud8888

??

navigator

SORRY, been out of town for work and have not had much time to drive the car since GoodYear. They did balance and it is a little better, but not fixed. I removed the locking lugs as they weigh more then the regular ones and again a little better, but not fixed.

The dealer says "well we have changed out tires and wheels and so we don't know what else to do"

I say it is still there and not sure what to do next. The biggest problem I have is that it happens at speeds above any posted speed limit, so it is hard to get help on this.

The dealer says they can involve Acura but then they will start tearing the car apart and replacing all kinds of thing and that i may not want that......well I think I do and will most likely push this. I just want it fixed and I think they will find it is not just my car with this problem....

My next step is to see if any of the performance car places can do a road force balance or on car balance at this speed.

I have tried giving it some time and to see if it is just me and a mental thing or if it is real.....well it is real!!!

SaNdSuKkA

I have the same problem as well. I blamed the wheels/tires being unbalanced. I keep meaning to take it in for a balance, but haven't got around to it.

normallywho

I am absolutely not an expert in this area, but I recently went through a similar exchange with the place that installed some new tires and the dealership. Basically, after replacing my stock summer tires with some all-season tires I was getting pulling and vibration at speeds starting around 70 mph. I went back to the tire place four times for re-balancing and they moved the tires around and replaced two of the tires and was still having problems. I finally took it to the dealership where they did a road force balance which basically turned up that the tires are crap. I had a choice between pulling or vibration, but I wouldn't be able to completely resolve the issue without getting new tires that weren't so defective.

Has your dealership performed a road force balance? That should turn up defects/eccentricities in the tires you have that should explain your vibration issues (at least as far as I understand how it works). The caveat is, this is just a computer testing tires that aren't on the car. Humans will perceive things a differently and the situation can change once all the tires are on the car in the new configuration.

navigator

I have had them road forced balanced at the dealer on two different machines multiple times, even after the Hunter rep came in a calibrated them. I have also been to Good Year and had them road forced balanced and still have this steering wheel vibration.

I have unfortunately had little time to deal with this as my work is real busy, but in March I will take it back to dealer and force the issue. I believe the problem is in the drive train.

Wish we had some acura dealer mechanics online that could investigate this or comment on it.

JPSMAN

has anyone tried a different type type....like using a Michelin ILO Goodyear? Maybe its the design of the tire or some sort of flatspotting.

jnc2000

I have the same problem with my SH-AWD -- both the factory OEM tires exhibit this problem, and my winter Alpin PA3's.

caps59

same for me on my SHAWD 2010 (tech) with oem and Mich PA3 winters that have been balanced twice. I'll be visiting my dealer next week. caps59

navigator

Sorry for the delays in my response but I travel for work alot. Here is an update:

- Took the car back to Dealer and told them that it is still there I wanted to escalate the issue to Acura corporate.
- They ask for me to drop the car off last Wedensday when the acura rep was going to be onsite.
- They drove the car and drove some other TL-SHAWD models and said they drive the same.
- They contacted Acrua and Hunter Engineering. Hunter makes the wheel balance machines.
- Hunter told them that if I drive the car at these speeds then the balanceing magic number (not sure what this is but lower is better) needed to be below 19. One of mine on the front was a 29 and the other a 21.
- My car now has balancing all tires under 19. 10, 14, 11, 12.
- I picked the car up thursday and drove to the airport and parked it as I am traveling again. The road tot he airport is all concrete and not the best test, so I do not know for sure, but on the drive it felt much better.
- This makes sense to me as it has always felt like a balance problem and that it needed to be done with more precision.
- I also think it is a factor of the tire, I do not like these all season tires. I like michellian, but have never liked all seasons.
- As soon as I can I will be exchanging them for higher performance summer tires.

I will of course update everyone later next week when I return home and have some time to get her out on some smooth black-top.

For now I am very happy to finally find some help and resolution in this, I just wish we could have envloved Hunter from the begining.

rsteagall

I'd love to hear back from you on this when you get a chance. I've had my car about a week now and have experienced a bit of vibration and some pretty loud noise.... kind of like if you have your back windows down and hear that "whoom,whoom,whoom" sound at a fast frequency. Heh... hopefully you know the sound I'm talking about. It seems to clear up a little (at least the sound) after 10 minutes of driving though. I do feel the vibration in the steering wheel and actually feel it a little in the seat. I notice it a little in the rearview mirror too.

acuratech1

well i belive i have the answer for you guys complaining of the noise on your sh-awd tls....at your next service ask them to inspect the prop shaft...i just had 2 cars at my dealer complaining of a "wind noise" but i diagnosed it as the prop shaft and i installed them both today and im prob to say problem fixed......have them run the car up on the lift and i bet they will hear it...

navigator

My problem with the vibration is pretty much gone since they rebalanced all under 19 on the machine.

I am interested in what a prop shaft is? My car never made any noises just a slight vibration.

acuratech1

the propeller shaft it connects the transmission to the rear differential...one of the bearings on the propeller shaft went...its funny becuase all these peoople come in at the same time too...

George Knighton

In my case, I have these symptoms and I *DO* feel it in the brake pedal, some.

So...what's that mean?

:-)

gibjer

Potential warped rotor, how many miles on your car and have you ever replaced or had the rotors turned?

Pseudomaniac

iTrader: (1)

^^Warped front rotor. Get some drilled/slotted.

George Knighton

40,000 miles.

I've thrown weights.

Again.

:-/

navigator

Mine now has a loud whine between 75-83. It sounds like engine noise whine that you would hear out of a car stereo. It comes from the center of the console under the radio up front in the engine compartment.

It only whines when you step on the gas or should I say you give it a little gas. You can tap the gas pedal and the sound whines with it tapping. If you let off the gas it goes away. All of this only happens between 75-83.

I noticed it by having my cruise set at 80 and going down the highway, when you go up in incline you hear the whine, going down it goes away.

Will ask about prop shaft....

Dam frustrating.

Mr Marco

Hanger bearing?

Can2012TLdriver

My 2012 TL has the high speed vibration discussed in this forum. The 2 dealer demo's also have exactly the same problem. This is an inherent fault and I will be contacting people I know at Acura head office for further feedback. I am leaving the car with the dealer for a week when travelling but don't expect much success. I will re post after I return.

alrello

Had my Acura TL SH-AWD since February 2012. I drive 35 highway miles each day, round trip to work with the posted speed limit of 70 MPH. As soon as I hit 70 the seat and gas pedal vibrate at a fairly high frequency. Had it to the dealer three times and they told me that this problem afflicts ALL Acuras like mine. Could that be possible. Anyone want to join a class action lawsuit?

ionian2k

I have 2012 TL SH-AWD 6MT since May of last year. I regularly hit 80MPH and sometimes 90MPH and I don't experience the issue you're describing. However I have another problem: it burns between 2.0 to 2.5 qrt oil about every 5k and dealership told me this is normal. I call it bs.

njsimons

Thats BS somethings wrong!!!! Just make sure they have it on file that you losing oil so in the long run your covered.

ionian2k

Apparently this line of burning 1 quart oil every 1k miles is a common story given by Acura dealerships. I have been to 3 different ones and they told me same line. I logged complaint with Acura Client Relation and they told me same line. I am going through BBB autoline now. The lady from Honda mediation spent first 10 minutes trying to convince me this is normal too. Crazy stuff.

Greggsg

I have a '10 SHAWD 6mt that I picked up at an Acura Dealership in Charleston and drove home to South Florida. I didnt notice any vibration when cruisng in the low 80s on I 95. I have to admit, I cant afford tickets, So I dont drive as fast as I used to.

Gregg

alrello

Yesterday I received a phone call from April in Customer Service at Acura. My problem with my 2012 TL SH-AWD was vibration at 70 MPH. She told me that the Acura engineers acknowledge this problem and have NO solution. I have been referred back to the dealer to discuss different options such as returning the vehicle or switching to another Acura model. With all the sophisticated electronics on this car it is hard to imagine that they failed to ensure a comfortable ride at 70 MPH on an inerstate freeway.

under9hell

wow very interesting. Keep us update with your story. If you are going to return the vehicle, how's the money/past payments going to work out...?

B20SOL

Have noticed vibrations (felt throughout the car) are more noticable in front wheel 2012 TL's than SH-AWD models. It is usually felt upwards of 70 mph. Honda acknowledges it as a normal characteristic which is pretty sad considering my 95 Integra feels smoother at 80 than a brand new $40K TL. Going to your dealer is a waste of time at this point, because Honda knows that there is no known fix at this point and your just gonna waste your time, to only be handed back a car in the same condition.

alrello

Recently I ran into one of the senior individuals from the dealer where I bought my 2012 Acura TL. He has been working with me to "solve" the annoying vibration problem the car has at 70 MPH. I guess they can be honest when not "on the lot." He told me that all of the 2011 and 2012 TL's vibrate. Perhaps to somehow make me feel better he said "we tested the three TL's we have on the lot and they all vibrate. One of the cars actually vibrates worse than yours. Acura has NO solution to the problem. Acura had the same problem with the 2003-2004 model. I really don't know why more people aren't complaining."
Tonight I have been instructed to leave the car at the dealership for the fourth time and tomorrow the regional Acura representative will drive it and assess the magnitude of the problem. This should be interesting.

B20SOL

The 04-08 TL was plagued with chassis vibration that coupled with the low profile 235/45/17 was quite annoying too many people who expected a smoother ride. Several strategically placed chassis dampeners were added over the years between 04 and 08 with hopes of eliminating the complaints. The only way too significantly improve the vibration is to add a taller tire which most people will not want to do. I believe that is the reasoning behind the bigger tire (245/50/17) in 09 and newer TL's. However, the chassis vibration in the 2012 seems to be worse than any 04-08.

Edward'TLS

The 4G TL's are using even lower profile tires than the 3G's.

Other than the 245/45/18 on the SH-AWD, Acura has also made standard the 245/40/19 tire size for the 2012 AWD-Advance.

Maybe this is why the vibration is worse.

B20SOL

It's not gonna make a difference which wheel/tire you run, you will notice it with even the base 245/50/17