Hi guys,
I own a 2012 Acura TL that I bought in May 2012. Since I bought the car I noticed a very annoying noise coming from the rear suspension.Every time I go over any bump or imperfection in the road I can hear the strut making a loud bang. Over time, this noise became very irritating and started to bother me.It is very uncomfortable to realize that you 38k car cannot handle properly the road imperfections and is producing so much noise.So, I took the care back to the dealer I bought it from, Boardwalk Acura in Southern NJ. They serviced it not before I took a drive with one of their mechanics and he heard for himself the noise I was mentioning. Few days later, they called me to pick up the car and said they replaced some clips in the trunk that might have made that noise. That was not the case since the noise was still there. So, I took it in again after a week. I left the car for a few days and when I picked it up , they said that they checked everything and nothing seems to be loose so they did nothing to the car. I took the car back and because the noise was still there I decided to contact Acura customer relations and tell them about y problem. They sent me back to the dealer and , just as before, the dealer said they found nothing. We went to their lot and took a brand new TL from the lot and drove it and I was able to hear the same noise immediately so they said that it must be a design flaw. At this point, Acura client relations said that they cannot do anything else for me.
A few weeks later, I decided to try it again and made an appointment with another dealer located about 40 miles away. I took the car in and immediately one of the mechanics said that it is the rear right strut because he encountered a similar problem on a MDX. So, they order a new strut for me and for 1 day it felt like an improvement but by the second day the noise was back.I went back again, and their op mechanic said there is nothing left to do, that this is a design flaw since the top part of the strut is anchored right behind the back seat.
Now, I have an attorney filing a case against Honda for a lemon car. Hope they can take it back.
Has anyone noticed this noise coming from the rear suspension? How is your rear suspension reacting when you go over bumps? DO you hear anything strange? Mine feels like the strut is loose or broken.
Thanks for taking the time to read my post.

 

yes I have I own a 03 acura cl type s same problem as you. rear suspension clunking. I have not brought it to a dealer but from reading these forums doesn't look like there much you can do. maybe buy some after market struts since the factory ones are flawed surprised they haven't come up with a better strut since 03

 

many of us dont have that rear clunking nose.. but some persist with that issue..

i for one never had it.. without really hearing where it is coming from it is hard to fix.. but i do believe this can be fixed.

 

Here is my experience...I had '12 with the same issue. Dealer thought it may be the trunk, rear strut, etc etc. everything was tried just the same as you experienced. I was relentless with my dealer, dealer Service District Manager and I too called Acura. Turns out that the frame at the rear of the car was not welded to the body correctly which was causing the popping sound going over bumps and driveways etc. Acura sent my car to a body shop, pulled out the entire rear suspension from the car (ALL of it) and re-welded the body to the frame, which took 4 weeks. When I received my car back the sound was decreased by 80% however not completely removed, which the dealership agreed with. Acura agreed to replace the vehicle, which I was ok with. I'll tell you that my replacement does not make the sound and I've put 20K miles+ on the new car and I love this car. I'm proud of Acura for committing to find a solution for me and in my opinion that is why I'd only own Honda vehicles (5th Honda vehicle in 10 years). Not certain if my situation can help you but I'd continue to work with the service department Manager is possible.