Hi all...

I have a 2012 SHAWD 6MT with 90k miles on it

Prop shaft is whining, but not sure I want to replace it right away.

Has anyone had one of these fail completely?

What are the potential consequences (other than noise) that accompany a failing shaft?

 

The propeller shaft issue will sound like a whistle at highway speeds, it will sound like it is in the front passenger area. Make sure there is no music on.

Hopefully, it should be still covered under warranty (2012).

 

Yeah thanks for that, pretty sure the bearings are going.

The prop shaft is whistling already, my question is more around what are the next higher effects of a functional failure.

Like - what happens when the bearings fail completely, can the propshaft separate at the joint and break off? Can it have detrimental effects on the differential or transmission?

Is there anything that can be done to prevent this - ie, can the bearings be packed with grease periodically?

Thanks

 

The whole part was replaced under warranty so I can comment on when catastrophic failure will occur...

 

Did you replace your propeller shaft yet? Or still driving like that? I just got same issue started in my 2012 TL with 57.000 miles. Don't know if powertrain warranty will cover it

 

Mine was whining for almost 2 years, no issues. It would only be audible when it was hot outside, so I couldn't replicate the problem in the winter. When spring came this year it got really loud. Dealer replaced it at 137k KM. I have Extended warranty to 200k KM though.

 

Got it. Mine is not that loud now, but seems like getting louder. Will be trying to get mine fixed under factory warranty this week

 

2012 Acura TL Elite - SHAWD
Heard a very minimal whistle sound coming from my front passenger side wheel area. Took it into the dealer and they confirmed in 20 min that it was the propeller shaft.
Power train warranty will cover the propeller shaft problem ( Drive Shaft ).

If you do not have warranty it costs roughly 1500$ for the part and 500$ labour at the Acura dealership.

 

It was explained to me by a tech that it is the "hanger bearing" or "center bearing" that is making the noise you hear. Not a catastrophic failure any time soon. However super annoying, even with the radio on. You can go on for ever with that noise, but sooner or later you'll find that you get pissed off more often than you usually do

 

Still wondering the original question. Is there any chance for real failure or danger in driving on this for months/years while it whines?

 

I don't own the AWD. This is one of the reasons I went with the FWD However, having read numerous posts on the issue here on Azine as well as , I've yet to hear of one catastrophic failure occur. Being that it's the carrier bearing that's supposedly the issue, not the bearings attaching the shaft to the transmission or differential, even if it completely failed, it would likely result in some really nasty noises since it would then be metal on metal against the mount. At that point, it would be much worse than some simple "whistling" where you'd likely pull over and have the car towed to a shop. But I don't see how that carrier bearing would cause damage to other components unless for some reason it forced some sort of slipping which would put pressure on the rear differential or transmission.

I get it though. I hate adverse noises. I have some valve noises right now that I'm trying to pin down but have yet to figure it out. There's been absolutely no side effects such as power loss, mpg loss, compression issues, etc. but the noise is annoying.

 

OK that's exactly what I was wondering (and wanted to hear). Mostly, I just want to know if I should run it full out, or if there's potential danger of it dying going on an on ramp or something. I don't want to risk my or my wife's life, but the sound can be droned out very easily and I would rather wait a year or so to spend close to 2k on this. But not at the risk of health.

 

Well, don't take my opinion on it alone. Let some others chime in. I'm simply making a judgement on what I've heard, and my understanding of where the bearing is and what the theoretical consequences would be if it were to fail.

 

Agreed. I might just make a new thread that's more clear.

 

I have not had the issue (knock on wood) and am not an expert on this particular issue, but it would stand to reason that if the bearing itself seized or suffered a catastrophic failure (bearing races break, etc.) it could cause damage to shaft and maybe surrounding parts. But I'd think before that happened, the noise would be pretty obtrusive and obvious.