silverrevlis

I have a 12' TL Advance AWD with about 2500 miles. At speeds of 40 and above, I can hear a whistling noise coming from around the front passenger side of the car. The noise is louder with the front passenger window down. Anyone else have this? I'm wondering if this is wind noise coming from the brake cooling ducts, the active noise cancelling, the A/C compresser or something else.

Update: This sound only occurs at 20mph and above.

FanaticFan

I had this but once I discovered the guy hanging onto the door from the outside, whistling to himself, and got rid of him, everything was fine......

Seriously -- it's probably something minor, bring it in to have it looked at, could be a small gap in the rearview mirror housing or something that with a little screw adjustment will be fixed. Or ditto something on the undercarriage.

Edward'TLS

The 4G TL does not have active noise cancellation.

Acura2010

It could also be a bad Propellor Shaft, had a similar whistling noise in my 2010, and had it changed under warranty at about 25,000km. And apparently it's a known issue. Even on the 2012's to my surprise, i read another thread about another member having a whistling noise also and could be propellor shaft.

silverrevlis

Yup, you are correct, I found this out this morning when me and the tech performed a differential diagnosis during a test drive. We found out is was the propeller shaft bearing. These were the symptoms:

• Sound occurs above a certain MPH, in my case, 20MPH
• Sound is not RPM dependant, and happens regardless of transmission gear selection or throttle application.
• High pitched "metallic tea kettle", sounds like lightly squealing brake pads.
• In the early stages, only surfaces once the vehicle has been driven for for several minutes. When I showed up to the dealer, we had to drive around for 5 minutes before the sound would appear.

Noman2006

I have a 2012 Acura TL AWD with 13k miles... And I am hearing the same crazy whistling noise above 60 mph. Took it to the Dealer and they are saying that it's not the propellor shaft and that this is the first time they even heard some saying that. I tried to explain to them I bought the car brand new had it for a year and I am just now hearing the noise, meaning it wasn't there before.
1st they said its the nature of the car, so then I asked why would it only do it when I go above 60mph, then they said that they are changing anything until it brakes or gets more louder. They just wouldn't listen to me, and I had to drive back home with this annoying noise. I told them I see threads about it online, but they wouldn't listen. Did anyone else have this same issue with their 2012 AWD TL and if so did you had your dealer fix it?

morbidz

go to another dealer

Noman2006

Yes.... I schedule an appointment with the Acura of Valley Stream for, will post updates after I get back from this dealer.

jek18

Okay.... My new 2012 TL started have this noise at 950 miles; when driving above 30 miles per hour; they thought it was a thistle coming from the front of the car.... have them put in gear and drive it up on the lift..... They replaced my drive shaft and all is good now. Check with Acura of Auburn in Auburn, MA... they've done two so far.

jek18

Noman2006

Wow at 950 miles...... Thanks for the info. I am scheduled for the appointment tomorrow. I will also show this thread to the dealer. I just couldnt believe it when the dealer to,d me its normal.

Your noise have been completley gone since they have fixed it?

DibbyD

I've got it too. 2012 TL Tech SH-AWD, about 1200 miles. I heard the noise soon after bringing the car home and plan on mentioning it at my first service. I usually don't hear it over the music, but its definitely there from about 25-50 mph.

Noman2006

Definatley mention it to them.... And they will definatly give you crap about it because its an expensive part. I have been arguing with the dealer for a week now, and now i am going to a diffirent dealer. If you are in the NY area i will suggest you dont go to RALLYE ACURA because they wont fix it......

KingMota

I've had the same problem for about 10k miles now whenever I go above 25 mph. Taking it to dealer this weekend.

DYPKNY845

Same here I also have a 2009 tl picked it up 2 weeks ago. And on the way home I noticed a high pitched whistling noise. It doesnt get any worse while braking or turning or even higher rpm. It's just a constant squeal after I reach 5mph. I just brought my car back to acura of Manhattan to see what they say. They gave me a loaner and I told them don't call me until the noise is completely gone. I will give another update once I hear back from the dealership.

DYPKNY845

Acura of valley Stream..good luck with them, I had a bad time with their used department so I just cringe when I hear that name

docboy

What does this "whistling noise" sound like? I'm going to assume this noise is very obvious with and without windows down?

Noman2006

UPDATE!!!

I went to Acura of Valley stream this moring, They test drove the car and then confirmed that its the propeller shaft and needs t be repaced. They have orderd the part today and will change it as it arrives. I hope the noise go away once it is installed. Will update everyone when the part is relaced. Thank you.

morbidz

cool, it's a shame that some service managers are such asshats

Noman2006

I am sure we all had some bad expereience at some Dealers.. But this is the 2nd time i went to RALLEY ACURA for some annoying noise coming from my 2012 Acura TL and both times they said its the nature of the car...! The funny thing is that both times i went back to Valley Stream Acura and they found the problem and fixed it right away.

I went to Ralley Acura a month ago because i had some tapping noise coming from my trunk of the car. They kept the car there for a week, foamed Taped everything in the trunk under the cover, and the nosie was still there. Their answer was that its the NATURE of the car!? Really?? I said NO its not... anyway we went back in forth but they didnt fix it. I went to Acura of Valley Stream and they fixed it in One Hour and also told me that there is a builliten on the noise, but the people at Ralley were just not checking, and didnt care.

I then went back about the Whistiling noise to Ralley Acura.. and the reason why i went back there because i live close to there... They once again kept the car there for a week, and then told me a week latter its the nature of the car!!?? I got very upset with them, and tried to plead my case but they wouldnt listen. So i then went back to Valley stream of Aura and here i am today they are fixing my Car.

I am definatly not going backto Ralley Acura but i am just letting you all know, if you go to Ralley Acura about some noise in your TL their answer is its the Nature of the car......But if you have the AWD tl and you hear whistling noise with windows up and music off... I suggest yuo take it to your Dealer and get it fixed before your warrenty is expired. Thanks.

morbidz

Was it the one described in this TSB? I had asshats in Open Road Acura of New Brunswick keep the car for 3 days and give it back to me saying they performed the TSB and they can't do anything else. So I ended up going to a local auto shop/ showed them a TSB and they fixed it on the spot for $50. And showed me that the dealer never even tried to perform the TSB as there were no signs of prior entry into the spots in question.

Noman2006

yes it is. You should have gone to another dealer.

Noman2006

I picked up my TL today, the dealer changed the propeller shaft but now the noise is twice louder then before..... Do you think the part they installed was already defected? Will they change it again?

morbidz

Sounds (no pun intended) that they messed up the install. Go back and complain, they should make it right

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

I'm at 44,000 miles on my 09. I had this replaced once in early 2011. It's now going again. Well, time to switch brands if this keeps up.

morbidz

Damn this sucks! Wonder if this is considered part of power train warranty.

Noman2006

I took my 2012 tl back to the Dealer, They change the propeller shaft again and it is still making the same noise!

Besides that below are all the things that have been fixed/replaced on this car in its first year.

They changed the Rack n pnion, Changed Gear box in the steering wheel box.

Fixed the sunroof twice because of noise.

Added some foam tap in the back widsheild from some wierd noise.

Went back because of some noise in the Front area.


Fixed something in the trunk that was making some more tapping noise.

Changed the signal switch shwitch.

Changed the Propeller shaft Twice...! and still not fixed!

Do you think this is a LEMON? If so what should i do to take this to the next level. The car still has problems and its driving me crazy. I feel like they sold me a lemon....Please help, with any advise....

KingMota

As previously posted I had the dealer check out my "whistle" during a free oil change and tire rotation. They told me they couldn't duplicate the problem. I needed to go somewhere and decided to fight the battle another day. To my surprise when driving home the sound was gone!

In hindsight the sound may have started after an oil change, tire rotation and air filter replacement at Valvoline. I find it hard to believe the original tire rotation could have caused the problem or that the rotation back could have solved the problem, but at least for now my whistling sound is gone.

cobra611

I had this issue on my '09 SH-AWD TL and just had this fixed last week. Yes, as others reported, defective propeller shaft. My car has 79k miles and they fixed it at no cost.

Tonyware

The issue is the "hanging bearing" (or center support bearing) in the middle of the prop shaft. Apparently there are two of them, the closer to the front has gone bad.

Even with the engine not running and the car up on the lift, all they have to do is remove the bracket underneath it and check for "play". It is a little loose.

diamondmit

I've got the same problem on a 2010 3.7 5AT AWD....noticed the sound just as I approached the 70K mile mark....thought it was the road, the tires, a panel gap....let it go for a couple of weeks. Drove a ton. Now I'm at 75K miles and out of warranty....the dealer doesn't want to foot the bill even though this is a known issue and I flagged the sound almost in time....hoping for a goodwill repair.

Sounds like a distant (or not so distant) tea kettle, with more rushing air sound than whistle. Frickin annoying. Even my wife heard it, and she blocks out everything, including me.

Wish me luck...
dd

Tonyware

I am leaning towards the thinking that this isn't about a defective part, like a bearing or two, but a bad design decision. If you look under the car you'll see how close these bearings are to the exhaust pipe and there is no heat shield to protect them. OK, granted, you can manufacture air-worthy bearings for jet engines that can take a few thousand degrees temperature, but this is just a car!

diamondmit: bet you when these bearings start seizing up after a long time, and a few cases are logged... Acura will issue a recall and/or advisory to inspect them. So hang in there!

Tonyware

Sounds to me like they forgot to do the last step in the procedure described in the shop manual....

"If you installed a new propeller shaft, test-drive the vehicle at 55 mph (88 km/h), and check for noise or vibration If there is a noise or vibration, rotate the propeller shaft 180 degrees from its current alignment with the rear differential companion flange, then recheck"

i recently had the opportunity to drive an RL with the same issue, and the noise is way way way louder than our TL, especially on the highway.

diamondmit

Still waiting to hear back from the dealer...going to Prime Acura in Walpole. If I have no luck there, I may try Acura of Auburn....problem is, I'm driving so many miles I'm getting farther and farther away from the warranty threshold (I'm at 75K already)....dang

diamondmit

Happy outcome here. Dealer will replace the prop shaft and I'll cover $298...pretty fair since I now have 76k miles on the car. The part alone is $1145 discounted so if you add in the labor I'm paying maybe 15% or so. I'll let you know how the repair turns out. Gonna go on a 1000 mile trip this weekend so that will be a great test.

diamondmit

Got the car back yesterday and the transformation is profound....car is much quieter at all speeds. I may be imagining things but the car feels like it exhibits less drag. When I take my foot off of the gas, it coasts better and longer. We'll see if this translates into better gas mileage. I theorize that the bushings surrounding the propeller shaft (which were replaced in this service) were bad and causing way too much friction / drag. In any case, I'm very pleased with the outcome and encourage you to pursue this if you hear anything similar to what has been described in this thread.

best,
dd

nuckles 3.7

I got the same problem and it seem my gas mileage is very poor.my be when they fix it I get better gas gas mileage.the stupid delaer gave me appioment for two week I am feaking out.but something got to happen to many people with the same problem not good.

doanle

Same problem with me. 2012 TL AWD SH Advanced. Prop shaft replaced at 16K, but it showed up around 12K.

At 12K, the tech sitting in the passenger seat when I drove it to show him was deaf. After reading this forum I took it back 4 months later and demanded a prop shaft replacement. Now the noise is gone.

Bobby39

I have 2011 AWD tech, my whistle noise is when the gear changes to 3rd. Not sure if this could be a prop shaft or something else.

jayare627

Had the same issue, only shows up when driving for more than 20 minutes plus at highway speeds. Just did a 3700 mile trip and oddly enough it would go away over 75, is definitely the worst around 40-60. 2012 AWD TL.

rthammer

iTrader: (1)

So is whistling and Whining sound considered normal for AWD TL's ?