My 2021 TLX SH-AWD w/Tech Pkg has started to shake/vibrate while braking from highway speeds (around 55+). My guess is that the rotors are warped since this only happens under braking, but has anyone else experienced this? Seems odd to me since my car only has ~4700 miles on it and I don't use the brakes aggressively. I've never had this happen with any vehicle I've owned before at any mileage, and I drove some of the much more aggressively.

Warped rotors were briefly mentioned in this thread (on pg. 3): https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tlx-...issues-991597/ - I thought I'd start a new thread though to document cases of this specific issue to see if others have experienced this and to offer a resource for people where this issue may come up.

I have an appointment scheduled with the dealership to look at this issue later this week and will report back. I understand brakes are a wear and tear item, but I expect this to be covered under warranty since the mileage is so low and the car is used for daycare drop-off/pickup and commuting to the office a couple times a week.

 

There’s a chance the rotors/brakes aren’t appropriate for such a heavy car.

 

Despite all of my efforts defending this car and how much it otherwise still performs well on a day-to-day basis (aside from what I suspect to be warped rotors), this unfortunately wouldn't surprise me. It's a heavy car. However, if the brakes were not right for the TLX, then I'd expect to see more reports of brake issues online since the car's been out for a while at this point. I haven't seen many forum or reddit posts of warped rotors for the 2021+ TLX yet though.

I don't drive the car aggressively very much, but I'd expect it to be able to handle occasional spirited driving at least. If anything, I drive the TLX much more conservatively than I have some of my previous cars (even on hot summer days) and none of those ever had issues with warped rotors. We'll see what the dealer says later this week, I guess.

If Acura won't try to cover this brake issue (at least on this first go at it) and if the brakes end up being a chronic issue, then my perspectives on the TLX and Acura are going to change very quickly, which would really be too bad because I actually really like this car and Acura right now. I could understand hesitation to cover the brakes if the car had more mileage, but I got the car less than a year ago and it has less than 5000 miles.

 

There is a known issue with the brakes squealing but I hear that has more to do with type of lubrication used than the rotor itself. Unfortunately, this issue is across other models as well (not just the TLX).

Did you notice any of this squealing, especially when driving for the first time on a cold day?

 

Yeah, I've encountered that issue. From what I understand though, it's not a safety concern at least. I brought it up with my dealer last time I had the car in for service and even mentioned the TSB, but they said they couldn't find the TSB in their systems and that the noise was because of the "performance brake pads" that the car uses. I don't believe for a second that the TLX uses performance brake pads. This admittedly has me feeling pessimistic that my concerns over warped rotors (or maybe brake pad deposits on the rotors?) will be solved to my satisfaction. I hope I'll be pleasantly surprised though.

The squealing noise didn't really bother me that much though and it seems it's actually gotten better. There's some mornings I don't even hear it.

 

Update: Acura will cover a replacement of the front rotors. I suspect that this is largely due to the low mileage (~4800 on the car) or maybe Acura's starting to see more reports of this? I don't know. Either way, no complaints from me and I'm happy with this resolution. I might start paying more attention to my braking habits for good measure, but I really don't the car too aggressively, at least not nearly as much as some of my previous ones.

I'll add that just because this is being covered for me, I wouldn't necessarily expect the same for everyone who may have this issue. Obviously some dealers may handle the situation differently or maybe my dealer found something that wasn't explained in full detail, mileage, etc. may also differ. I just hope that this doesn't become a recurring problem or more widespread.

Also, as it relates to "performance brake pads" - I should have mentioned that I admittedly don't know what kind of brake pads the TLX uses and perhaps the definition is relative so I should give my service advisor more slack here. I think she said one of her techs told her that info anyway. I actually don't know a ton about brake pads relative to other things about cars, so maybe I am wrong. Maybe the TLX does have performance brake pads but the weight and OEM tires are what really hurts the braking performance (which is plausible).

Anyway, new rotors are on order and will be installed tomorrow. Happy with the resolution. We'll see how the new rotors hold up.

 

You can buy optional track pads for the TL-S but not the standard model. They certainly aren't performance oriented otherwise they would be dusting quite a bit more. Most aftermarket performance pads have metallic compounds which OEM manufacturers cannot really use because of the EPA such as copper.

 

Yes, I'm also experiencing some vibration in the steering wheel when braking at highway speeds... doesn't happen when I'm braking at low speeds (e.g. driving around town) or accelerating.

Does anyone have pictures of their rotors up close? I'm just curious as to what the wear pattern on the rotors looks like for everyone else... thanks!

 

I can try and remember to get pictures tomorrow. Mine are awful. It’s to the point that I don’t feel safe when braking it vibrates so badly. These brakes are definitely
not big enough to handle the weight of this vehicle.

 

Anyone have really strange brake pad wear as reported during a recent service visit?

I'm guessing they'll tell me I need new brake pads with ~ 10k miles on the car.

 

There's a TSB for front brake pads
Had them replaced, free of charge, last month
Brakes don't squeak, & have better stopping power
I had 11,000 miles on my TLX/ASPEC/AWD/2021
DO IT!

 

Would you happen to know the TSB number?

 

http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/B22-002.PDF

22-002

 

The plot thickens: https://acurazine.com/forums/second-...judder-999559/

Looks like Acura is interested in collecting info/parts for vehicles experiencing juddering under braking, particularly from highway speeds, which is exactly what was going on with my car. Replacing the front rotors was enough to fix it for me (for now), but I'm curious to see if more comes of this.

 

Hey dude - Ive been having this issue since I bought the car and never really dealt with it. But it seems to just be getting worse.

How did you go about getting the rotors replaced? Was it a warranty job?

 

In my experience with service bulletins it’s something you’d take it to your local dealership and explain what you’re experiencing. The work would be done under warranty since it would be unexpected premature wear.

 

In my case, I brought in the car and mentioned the symptoms it was having while braking, under what conditions, etc. A tech also went for a ride with me where I was able to easily reproduce the issue.

The dealership let me know that they'd do the job under warranty and I didn't have to try to push for it or anything, so hopefully your dealer will do the same!

Otherwise with this new technical service bulletin being published, I think it'll help your case a lot to print it out and bring it in or tell them the TSB # and they should be able to find it in their systems (assuming your car is a 2021-2022 TLX non Type-S).