I have a 2011 Acura tl AWD, and everytime I am standing at a red light or anywhere, I can hear a loud knocking sound coming from under the hood. Not sure why, but it's very annoying. Anyone else get this noise? And another thing, my tranny shifts are very rough, I feel a jerky reaction when it changes gears. Any idea what that could be?

 

did you have your timing belt replaced recently? How many miles on the car? I hope it is not a valve tap. Check your belts for wear.

 

The car only has 20K miles on it, the belt looks fine, not sure what a valve tap would sound like.

 

open the hood, take off all of the engine compartment covers, start the car and then listen. See if you can identify where the noise is coming from.

 

70k on my 09 and when in idle the car has always been loud esp with the air/ heat on but I've never noticed a " knocking" sound.

 

Problem is I only hear this knocking sound when the car is in either drive or reverse, once i accelerate the sound goes away. When the car is on park or neutral, there is no noise.

 

Its very possible to be a rod bearing. Have you run low on oil? downshifted and the rpm went in the red?

 

i think what he's hearing is the infamous honda valvetrain.
its very noisy.
not a knock but more of a tapping sound.

 

No never ran low on oil, just got my oil change last month and the noise is still the same from back then till now.

 

You may be right, but its such a annoying sound. I can hear it loud and clear inside the car and even the people in my back seat can hear it.

 

I am more worried if I can't hear the valves than if I can hear them ticking. Reason is tight valve lashes may cause serious damage to the engine, while loose valve lashes can only damage your hearing One way or another its a good idea to adjust the clearance once in a while if the get noisy. Tradition has it on the J engines the exhaust get tight over time (thats a bad thing!) and the intake get loose. What you are hearing is the intake ones. That means the intake ones got as loose as the exhaust ones got tight. So, better have a valve lash adjustment to protect the exhaust ones... if exhaust can't get out its bad news.

 

I have the same problem with my TL. The car seems to drive fine but the noise is driving me crazy. I have taken it in and they were not able to fix it. Suggested that I put carburetor cleaner in my gas tank. Not very happy with that answer.

Any help with this fix would be greatly appreciated.....

 

I think you are incorrect on the exhaust not getting out. if the lash is tight (less clearance between the rocker and the valve stem) then technically the exhaust valve will open further when the cam rolls around. The problem might be when you need to close the valve tight, if there is still pressure on the valve stem the valve may not seal.

Alternatively, loose lash is no good and things rattle around!

 

It's got 20k on it bring it in to the dealer.

 

The 3.7 has a good slap sound to it. It is not a pretty little Accord/Civic 4 banger. Remember the J37A4 is also a big SOHC VTEC. It does not have the smooth tapping sound of the twin cam's 16 hydraulic valves, it is a little more clunky sounding. The bearings in the engine are over-engineered. The pistons have lightweight aluminum cylinder heads that are forged and pressure cast, the crankshafts are forged-steel for high strength and minimum weight with crack-separated connecting rods.
Unless you are experiencing issues with lost horsepower, there is nothing wrong with your engine. It will be solid for hundreds of thousands of miles.

I plan on driving this car untill it turns over 200k like my Accord.

 

Bobby39

please call Acura and file a complaint about the noise. They need owners to let them know of these things before they can take it to the next level. The noise is driving me crazy, but I love the car.

 

I will be paying the dealership one last visit before I file the complaint. Want to see what they say about it. I also have a whistle sound that comes when the car changes into 2nd gear, and some real jerky shifts.

 

The car is too new to be having so many issues. Are there any TSB's on the 2011 TL?

 

I have this tapping noise, noticed it this morning. Car drives fine. No issues and the oil seems good. So I can't see an issue and suspect it is just loud valvetrain when cold.

 

I have not heard ANY noise from my 09. Engine is so quiet I can bearly hear is running.

 

Did you ever figure out what the issue was? I'm experiencing the same issue.