Rob144

I'm approaching my 2nd oil change (showing 40% left at about 7800 miles) and I definitely want to bring up the whine at my next service appointment.

You know how we have a talking points "script" for getting XM renewed at $77? I wish I had a script for this one...... I'm just worried that this problem will fall on "deaf ears" when the techs can't hear it on a test drive.

Bob - Does your work order indicate what parts were replaced? Or any diagnostic codes?

Rob144

kirbyflorida

I believe is the just the center bearing for the drive shaft, but due to the way it is made, the whole shaft has to be replaced, Bob can confirm.

Bob hope many miles on your car?

Thanks.

neuronbob

The only part replaced was the propeller shaft. No diagnostic codes were indicated on my invoice. I believe the part was sent off to Acura for analysis.

Kirby, my car has just under 17k miles on it currently.

A script would be nice, but supportive dealer service (which, thank goodness, I have) is better.

Rob144

Resuming the topic:

I brought my car in for an oil change and had them listen for the whine. As expected, they did not hear it, and asked me to take the tech for a test drive. Since I had no time, and I have to go back in for the power steering recall, I postponed the test drive.

The work order showed they test drove the car at 65mph, and also noted that they ran the car at 65mph in the service bay, presumably on a dynamometer. In all, they put around 14 miles on the car, so I know they tried. And the tech is the same specialist who worked on my '95 Legend, so he's a familiar face.

I'm wondering if they need/have a special dyno for the RL with its all-wheel-drive system, or if they have to disconnect something (i.e., the shaft) to run the car on a dyno. Something to think about for my next smog check.

I'm also thinking it might be easier to hear the noise on the dyno, if they'll let me in the car while its running. Or is the dyno environment just too noisy in a service bay?

Rob144

Mike_TX

I don't think you're going to find a dyno in a dealership. They probably just ran it up on a lift to get the wheels off the ground, or they might have the "wheel rollers" like some emissions testing places use to get the car to a certain speed.

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nisreo

I can tell you all that based on experience. The front diff, transmission and shift cable are not the causes of this wine. DWBostons car was in my shop a year ago for this concern, and we had no luck resolving the problem after replacement of those 3 parts. We spent a good amount of time with tech line trying to diagnose this problem. Unfortunatly we had to send him away with a "normal characteristic of vehicle" written on the back of his repair order.

neuronbob

+1

In addition, to dyno an AWD car you need an AWD dyno, which several companies make and for which there are front and rear rollers. My car was on a Mustang locally and on a Dyno Dynamics dyno in Boston.

More pertinent to the topic, that whirring noise I had is completely gone, and I've now put over 3k miles on the car since the propeller shaft replacement.

cbrose

I'm assuming this was never solved. I just drove from Philly to Florida and heard the whine much of the time (over the road noise of the Michelins). Was this ever solved by anyone with satisfaction?

plastikman

This thread was started in 2006 and was last commented on back in 2007, you might have more luck if you PM some of the people who actually had the problem. Also the person who started this thread had an Acura Case # 1789621 you might be able to contact your local Dealer and mention that to them, good luck.

neuronbob

I had the propeller shaft replaced and I never had the problem again in the 20k I drove my RL after replacement.

deaddawg

They replaced the propeller shaft on my 2005, but the problem did not go away. Been around 15k since they did that, I need to start bugging them again before I run out of warranty !

sleepinxlionhart

I usually drive with the radio on, so I have no idea if this noise was present ever since the car was new, but there's this whirring/whining noise at 70-75mph that seems to be coming from the center of the car, and only when the gas pedal is depressed. Looking on the driveshaft whine/whirr tread here: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/002-propeller-shaft-whine-differential-whir-754805/

I've noticed that if the center bearing goes bad, there usually is a noise for the first couple of minutes of driving, and it'll disappear. However, this whirring/whining noise that I am hearing is consistent no matter what the temperature, how long the drive, etc. It seems like Umalum1990 has also experienced this noise as documented here: https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=126. Which the tech said it's a characteristic of our AWD system. No offense to the tech or anything, but if it is the characteristic of our AWD system, then wouldn't all of our cars produce that noise? So what I sort of want to find out is whether or not everyone can hear this whirring/whining noise at 70-75mph with the gas pedal depressed. So if on your next drive on the freeway, if you guys can report if you hear this noise too, that would be great.

rlerman

don't hear such a noise in my 05.

dwboston

I hear it on my 06...and heard it on my old 05 as well. Same thing, always between 70-75 with the gas pedal is depressed. It's either some weird operating characteristic of the AWD system, or it's the fuel pump, which emits a similar whine at idle. I only notice it when I the stereo is off.

FWIW, I've heard it in other Acuras as well, including an 08 MDX.

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

I think i am hearing something similar on my 06 RL and my drive shaft/bearings were replaced 20k miles ago. All my fluids are fresh too.

I am not sure if it comes from the AWD system, the fuel pump, the tires, the transmission ... i have no idea and so far it is not such a bad or obvious whine. I live with it. I may mention it to Acura dealer next time i go for any work but i doubt they will take it seriously considering that they already replaced my drive shaft(very painless experience).

sleepinxlionhart

I see. Good to know that I am not the only one or that I'm not hearing things.

sleepinxlionhart

Interestingly, I've come across this post by White05rl, and it seems like he might have had the same issue, and had it resolved:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...35&postcount=6
"I just had my "drive line propellar shaft" replaced to fix a whine/whistle at approx 75mph. The Dealership could hear it and wanted to compare my 05RL to another (ie., to see if it was normal). After much debate AND me forwarding them comments from this forum (there were about seven clear examples of the same thing I was experiencing) they agreed to make the repair. LIKE MAGIC it fixed the noise!"

dwboston

The propeller shaft is the carbon fiber driveshaft - the center bearing wears out and makes a whining/whistling noise. If you're out of warranty, the part costs $2k. I plan on mentioning it to the dealer at my next service call - I believe the driveshaft is covered under the powertrain warranty.

sleepinxlionhart

I still have warranty on my car through the extended warranty, so if this is a problem, I would very much like to get it resolved without spending my own money. I'll also mention it the next time I am there.

danmm7

iTrader: (1)

I had the propeller shaft replaced, yet now after 1.5yrs, i still hear the slight sound at 70-80mph.

Did my "new" propeller shaft bearing go bad again?? Hard to believe it. I think the sound i hear is from something else.

sleepinxlionhart

So I PM'ed White05rl (much thanks), and he got back to me saying:
"Yes, i had a distinct whine at 75. it was fairly easy to hear and sounded like a short/bad ground in a speaker or like faint microphone feedback.

i went to the dealership armed with many of the posts from this website and told them i wanted the propeller shaft replaced. they disagreed and resisted, but ultimately replaced the shaft (40100-SJA-E01). their major concern is that they didn't want their technician to exceed the speedlimit to hear the noise!

with all that said, i swear sometimes i still hear it a little bit. it was certainly gone for the first few weeks, but every once in a while you can still hear a faint whine. fortunately (LOL) i went from ContiDWS tires-that were extremely quiet, back to the OEM michellins. they produce enough road-noise to mask most anything else. plus my job position has changed and my highway journeys have been minimal.

if it's loud enough to annoy you, don't tolerate it! most dealerships try to make you feel like they are doing you a big favor. bologna! if it's under warranty have it replaced. if it's not under warranty, i don't think i could encourage you to replace it."


Seems like that he also has a slight whine after having the propeller shaft replaced, just like in your car danmm7, which could mean that it can be a characteristic of our cars, or that the propeller shaft isn't the cause of the problem. I've read else where that a loose heat shield could cause similar symptoms. Either way, I'll bring it up when the car goes in for the brake master cylinder recall.

sleepinxlionhart

So I asked my service adviser about it, and he was pretty knowledgeable about it. I asked if there were any reports of customers hearing "whinning/whirring" sounds. And he went on to explain that it comes from a region at propler shaft (I forgot exactly where, but it wasn't the center bearings) and that Acura is aware of it, but they don't have a fix for it, and that it isn't exactly a problem, more like a symptom of the AWD. Additionally, he did say that they tried to fix some before, but they couldn't get rid of the sound. I ask him if he knew what speeds it was occurring at, and he said like freeway speed like 65 and over, which is like mine. So I feel much better about it now. However, he did state that if there were the noise around slow speeds like on surface streets, then there might be a problem (which is where the center bearing goes bad I believe, like all the other reports when heard around 30mph). Case closed!

poppintec

so your saying that the 30 mph whine will eventually lead to failure? I don't get how the speeds could mean anything different...also it is noted that it only happens in cold weather in the initial 2 miles of driving, I really want to know whether people are just adding their opinion and speculating that it eventually leads to failure or it is simply just a design defect and a mere annoyance...

sleepinxlionhart

From what I understand was if the noise is around highway speeds, 65+, it's not something to be worried about, more like a result of having SH-AWD. However, if it's surface street speeds (like happening in the cold and stuff), then it means there might be a problem. I'm not sure if the problem will lead to failure of some sort.

ichi d

i think its just more of a noise issue. i dont recall anyone's failing on them here. but i could be wrong.

db22

My 05 had this whine. They replaced prop shaft and bearings but it was still there. I went round and round with the dealer who got senior engineering involved. They said it was the torque converter and it is embedded into the trans. I then got a whole new trans + torque converter but it was months of haggling through Acuracare extended warranty. BTW - Acuracare is an independant insurance sanctioned by Acura so they won't pay until Acura admits that it is a covered issue.
Have not had the problem since.

dual rl

wow, I am so glad that i read this, I have an 05 RL with 52k. I hear the noise every morning at exactly 35mph. So is it the drive shaft? or something else? it happens either when really cold or at damp mornings in the summer. i had the dealer check this a few months ago but of course they didn't find anything. I thought it was the tires!

Swankzenheimer

Well I have a favorite mechanic that has never done me wrong, but I took my RL and told them about my noise that I kept hearing if the radio was off. It would only start whining/whistling though after it warmed up and got up to about 35 mph and wouldnt make it during idle or stopping. So that cancelled out needing new brakes or a belt(which would be a first assumption) as too what was wrong with my baby! After 2 x my mechanic was like man we drive it and cant hear what you're talking about...I FELT LIKE I WAS CRAZY!! So the 3rd time I took after hearing it ALL that wkd and drove me NUTS and said take it home tonight and I promise you would hear it... well HE FINALLY DID! He then told me it was the ball bearing in my drive shaft axle. Then asked how bad does it bother you because there was no aftermarket part so thru the dealer with labor $2600.00 was how much it would cost to fix it!!! I feel like Im not doing my baby justice by not forking that out but GOOD LORD THAT ALOT OF MONEY as Chris Rock would say...! So this is my first post and would love any type of advise from fellow Acura owners. I love my RL and would love it if anyone knows where I can get this done cheaper, if there is a loophole with that warranty that is probably expired, OR ANYTHING!! My mechanic did put some grease on the ball bearing and it id quiet it some...so should I just deal with the noise or ....what?? Please help!

getakey

I've had the 30mph noise for 3+ years. It goes away after warm up so I just deal with it rather than the expensive repair. No problems yet (knocking on wood)

beekermartin

I recently bought a 2005 Acura RL. I am in the process of fixing it up. I have a whining noise but I very much doubt it is the drive shaft. The noise I have is only at very light throttle and while under a very light load. For example, if I am driving at 40-50 mph on a straight flat road and I am just giving it enough gas to maintain speed there is a noise that is coming from the engine compartment area. It sounds to me like a vacuum or air intake leak. As soon as I apply more or let go of the throttle completely the noise goes away. Keep in mind this is a very quiet minor noise. I can live with it but I would like to fix it if there is a way to. I owned a 2008 Ridgeline that had the exact same issue from the day it was new and it never went away. Again, a very minor issue but it was there.

After reading this thread and people's descriptions of the issue mine seems different. I even saw a thread with a video of the drive shaft issue and mine sounds nothing like that.

Any ideas of what the issue might be or something I can try?

jonp2005RL

I just turn on the radio. It's so faint that I see no point in doing anything about it.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

try posting a video vs saying it sounds like nothing we've talked about.

beekermartin

I will try to do that heavy. I don't know if my phone camera will be able to pick it up well but I'll give it a shot.

I did put the car in the air and drove it between 30-40mph like the tsb said too and there was no noise coming from the propeller shaft. We didn't use a stethoscope but I believe if it wasbad we would have heard something. It was dead quiet.

HEAVY_RL

iTrader: (1)

so since it was quiet in the air then its in the cv shafts, front end, or bearings?

beekermartin

I tried recording it with my phone but it isn't clear enough to hear it well.

I am at the point I might go to an Acura dealer and have a tech go for a ride with me. It might be something minor but my best guess is the final drive gear in the transmission. It is a minor noise but it is high pitched and extremely annoying when I am on a road cruising between 40-45 mph. I can hear it at @70 mph as well but it isn't as bad plus the road/wind noise is higher to help cover it up.

beekermartin

Can I remove the propeller shaft and test drive the car without it? That way I can be 100% sure it is or isn't the propeller shaft.

beekermartin

I called a local Acura dealer today and the adviser told me they remove them then test drive to verify the noise is gone. If the noise is gone then replacing the propeller shaft is the only option.

I also called a local drive shaft shop and they said they don't rebuild them.

I am going to remove the shaft when I have some free time. I will be sure to mark the shaft and the hub so I install it back the same exact way.

beekermartin

I had my two most experienced Honda techs look and listen with the car in the air. There is some minor noise coming from the shaft and rear differential but it is not the high pitched whine I am hearing. The noise I am hearing is coming from the transmission. Probably the final gear tooth pattern causing the noise.

It is really only annoying between 40-45 mph. I can hear it slightly on the highway above 70 mph but it is barely noticeable because of the wind and road noise.

So I need to learn to live with the noise or replace the transmission. It shifts perfectly it is just noisy at the speeds I mentioned. My 2008 Ridgeline had a similar transmission noise from the day it was new. It doesn't mean the transmission is going to fail it is just annoying as hell!

mark1980

Did any one find a solution for this? I had the 40-45mph wine and they replaced the propeller shaft. Now after an year I hear a faint whine above 65mph. I am still under warranty for another month. I want to get it fixed before it runs out. Any ideas on what it might be.

beekermartin

My car has a whine between 40-45mph and above 65mph. I put my car on a lift and listened for the sound. It is coming from the transmission on mine. I thought about removing the propeller shaft and driving it without it installed to make sure but I don't feel I need to. The noise is definitely coming from the transmission. It is a high pitched, extremely annoying noise that is only present at part throttle and under a light load. Let off the gas and it goes away. Increase the gas and it goes away. The transmission could last with the noise forever. How long I can deal with the noise is another matter.