I made a short video clip (link below).

~30,000 miles on the odo. This just started happening, and only when it's very cold. Seems to be road speed dependent, not engine speed or load or gear. After a minute of driving, it goes away. I have an appt with my dealer to leave it overnight and have them drive it after sitting out all night.

 

That sounds bad. Mine was more subdued...Like a slight low whistle that happened at a certain speed.

 

OP....Yup....I am not a mechanic but I would say that its the dreaded propeller shaft. I am happy that you have some warranty left.

 

Update... I brought it in Thursday and I left it over night so they could drive it cold. Unfortunately, we've had a bit of a warming spell such that when they drove it the temp was around 30F, so they didn't get the whine sound. I've only heard it with temps around 15F or colder, and then only for a brief time (until the car warms up, I expect).

BUT, when I brought it in they asked if there were any other issues and I told them about a clunking from the back right I'd hear when going over snow compacted roads or rough roads, and it was worse in the cold. I figured it was cold bushings and expected with the stiffer suspension, but if they put it on the lift could they have a look-see. Come to find out, it has a broken strut. I forgot to ask what they mean by "broken".

The SA was a little reluctant to let me have the car back until it was fixed, and that won't be until Tuesday when he gets the part. Until then, we are expecting colder temps, so he said they would see if they can replicate the whine I recorded.

They gave me a 2014 SH-AWD Tech to drive in the mean time, so I'm not feeling any hardship.

 

Also had the same problem I went through 2 prop shafts... Best way to determine if its the prop shaft - have them remove it and drive it . It wont damage the car - car acts like a FWD car....

 

Dealer confirmed it is a bad prop shaft and is replacing under warranty.

 

Op,thank you for the update and video.

I always appreciate when members come back to update their issue so that other members can be aware of how it is resolved.

 

KarKraze...I am fully with you on that one. We all try and help each other out and its nice to see the OP taking the time to come back and keep us posted....especially when the outcome is positive

 

When my TL started making a whine sound, I took it to the dealer and explained the problem in detail. The service writer said he never heard of a problem with prop shafts. I replied that "it will not take much time to put it up on a lift, so please humor me and put a listening device on the 3 support bearings when it is turning and tell me what you hear". He came back a half hour later and said he was surprised to confirm that one of the bearings was bad.
Checking for the tell-tale sound is harder to hear from the inside while driving. Have them check while on the lift running & in-gear. That way the bad bearing sound is not masked by road & wind noise.

 

Final update...car is back with a new prop shaft and a new rear strut. Nice and quiet, and they washed it.

The strut took the longest... they had to order it and it took 5 days. They gave me a 2014 SH-AWD Tech for the week, so I really wasn't inconvenienced. I drive by the dealership daily on my way to work.

 

Just had mine replaced in my 2012 awd..took one day..the service manager said they have replaced a couple but acted as if he had never heard of the issue..I think he was well aware I wasn't going to stand for being bs'd on this and had done my research..took it on a test drive and of course it didn't want to make the noise in the beginning but once I held it at 80 and then hit the off ramp sure enough there it was..constant between 20-40 mph..really makes the car sound like $-it..they gave me a 2014 RLX for a loaner..it is quite nice..but too many bells and whistles for me..barking at me about lane veering and braking if it felt I was too close to the car in front of me and such..just too much..to be honest I'm a very aggressive driver but smooth and methodical about it as well..it's like dancing with cars so I found the alerts very annoying..it's very very spacious and I was impressed with the power..still tho I think I'm 20 yrs too young for that car..also it is a very nice looking car in person..that seems to be a trend with this line up..not much in a pic but standing next to it it is completely different..nevertheless they took care of the issue no problem and replaced my passenger door floodlight or whatever you wanna call it under warranty..washed it as well..all in all a very positive experience..well done Acura of Johnston..well done.

 

Bought my '12 SH-AWD from a Toyota dealer last month with 39k on it. Shortly after purchase I began hearing noise. Not really a whistle or whine, more like crickets chirping. Heard it when I hit 20 MPH. Scanned these forums to learn about the propeller shaft issue. I called my local Acura dealer to describe the issue. Instead of saying I read about the issue online, I told the Acura dealer that Toyota diagnosed the sound and told me to see Acura dealer because the car was still under new car warranty.

Upon arriving at Acura dealership, a tech and I took a short drive to replicate the sound. The tech agreed that it was the Prop. Shaft. They replaced the part , which cost $1200, for free the same day. So far no more noise.

 

Thanks for the video OP.

Can anyone confirm if said prop shaft issue has affected 6MT models as well?

 

Yes, its the same part with the same problem (40100-TK5-A02)

 

Thanks for posting the vid. i read the posts on the prop. shaft, but it's good to know what to listen for.

 

So what happens when you leave the problem? The whine happens more often and that's it?

Also it looks like there's two versions:

40100-TK5-A01

and

40100-TK5-A02

Am I right in assuming the A02 is the newer one that has the issue fixed?

 

I would like to know this as well as my prop shaft will be getting replaced.

 

I also now see part number: 40100-TK5-A03.
Is this an update to the update?

 

Just got my car back from the dealer and the new part will not be in until Friday. The part number is 40100-TK5-A03. I'm FWD until the new propeller shaft can be installed.

 

Got the prop shaft replaced and no more whistling.

 

If the propellor shaft is removed, would the dash display for the AWD distribution show that? Meaning it would have no progress bars for the rear wheels? Or is that more of what the car should be doing.

 

^your dashboard will light up like a Christmas tree, right before the fire fighters arrive...

 

Got it, I know my dealership told me they test drove the car with and without the propellor shaft before the figured out I had 2 bad tires

 

I drove mine without the prop shaft for a couple of days and I was curious about this as well.
It still showed power going to the rear wheels but I could tell from pulling out a little quick that the rear wheels were not getting any.