SoCalCarDude

I've been fighting the creaks and rattles since almost day one with my RL and after a recent trip to the service department without any resolution and many hours of putting little felt pads in every orafice in the dash area and taken her out for a spin to test to see if it fixed the problem, I've finally been able to eliminate one out of the two that I've encountered.

Initially, I thought the creaks and rattles were coming from the glove compartment, so that is where I focused most of my attention. Well, I don't know what made me do this, but I was looking at the dash from the outside of the car trying to see if there was anything near the front windshield and the dash that would cause the sounds that I was hearing, and while doing that, I pressed on the outside area where the front quarter panel touched the a-pillar. Low and behold, it made a creaking noise, and as I pressed around that area, it also made a slight rattling noise. I went to the driver's side and pressed on the same area and no noise! AHA!

It seems the rattling noise was caused by either the quarter panel or the front hood hitting the plastic that covers the windshield wipers. I opened the hood and put a felt pad near the area where the hood came in close contact with the plastic and I also sprayed a teflon lubricant in all the joints near the a-pillar. As for the creaking noise, I believe it was due to the joint where the front quarter panel touched the a-pillar. After applying the lube and felt, I took her for a spin and WOW! The front dash creaks and rattles were gone!!!

Now that this particular noise is gone, it's amazing how solid my RL feels. I do have one more rattle to address, but that is coming from the back deck area (or so I think) and I'm going to have a very patient friend of mine, chauffeur me around on bumpy roads to see if I can isolate and fix the rattle.

dseag2

Thanks for the heads up. I've had a slight rattle from the glove box area that comes and goes, so I've never really paid attention. I'll try your fix!

8-)

Dang, me too! And only on the passenger side. I think I'll just print out your post and give it to the service manager. Too cold out for me.

Thanks!

fifty_rocks

Interesting info, thanks.

I test drove an RL and was amazed at the number of rattles in a car with 14 miles on the odometer. (I also didn't like the dynamics, so rattles weren't the only reason I chose not to buy an RL just yet).

rllakeshore

Hmm, I must be lucky because my RL has no rattles or creaks at all. It drives solid.

marks

I too noticed a rattle a couple of weeks ago. I narrowed it down to the plastic on the front part of the rear view mirror. I also noticed a rattle that seems to be coming from the rear window area. When I raise the sun screen, the rattle goes away. So, it must have something to do with the sunscreen.

A little frustrating since this car is the top model and it is built in Japan where quality control is considered to be the best.

My S2000 has fewer rattles!!!

Mark

larryka

My RL slept at the dealer last night. It's in to have the 05-006 product updates applied, as well as for creaks and rattles. I have a rattle from the passenger side, near the glove compartment, but maybe the a-piller. I also have a rattle from the rear deck near the sunshade. The service manager mentioned that they had another RL in for the "sunshade" rattle that they were able to fix. I'll report the results...

akelley

I have the rear "sunshade" rattle too. I'm going to call the dealer to set up an appointment to have the 05-006 update applied and to fix that darn rattle!

AcuraRLBlue

I don't have a rattle from my RL. The body panels around the front window area are pretty rigid. Is it more possible that the plastic pieces by the rear end of the hood are doing the rattling instead of the panels?

AcuraRLBlue

I said "no rattle" too soon. It is happening. It is the plastic holding the windshield water spray outlets. It is only the passenger side and only started today. Any suggestion in how to deal with it is appreciated.

petemc

How did you manage to locate the rattle so precisely?

I have a small rattle that I would like to fix sometime, but locating the source is always difficult.

Pete

AcuraRLBlue

I just remembered the first post in this thread when I noticed a rattle coming from the passenger front direction while driving. I checked this area when I first read this thread, but at that time I did not notice any noise by pressing on all the parts in this area. Today, this end of the plastic is making a loud popping noise when I pressed on it. I can't entirely rule-in that this is the source of the rattle I heard when driving until I could eliminate this popping noise.

This is the value of a forum like this, and my time spending on this forum is justified whenever I learned and applied a piece of information from the forum.

SoCalCarDude

I had two major rattles that were TOTALLY driving me crazy. The first one I fixed in the original post in this thread. The second one was more of a mystery. I have spent many hours trying to figure out the origin of this rattle and I even had a friend drive me around town on the bumpiest roads to try and figure out the source. I thought I narrowed it down to the rear sunshade so I was somewhat relieved, even though it wasn't fixed. My plan was to wait until the second update (hopefully soon) that fixes the problems that were caused by the first update and then I would take my car in and have everything done at once.

Well it must have been my lucky Friday, because when I was driving home today, I opened my sunroof sunshade and I noticed a rattle that sounded exactly like the rattle that I thought was coming from the back deck area. AHA!

When I got home, I opened the sunroof and just started pressing on different areas. I found one spot that consistently caused a rattle. The noise was emanating from the front driver side area of the sunroof. I slid my fingers under the pop-up wind deflector and put my finger in between a gap. When I did that, and when I pressed on the "spot", the rattle stopped. I then cut a square piece out of a rag, rolled it up like a fat cigar and stuck it in the gap. I then drove around town for 30 minutes and the rattle was no more!!!

legendguy

My rattle is from the front driver's side dash near the round air vent. In fact I reported to the dealer it would stop if I pressed on this vent while driving. They test drove it too, noted the location and applied some type of sealer around the inside of the vent. Did not work at all. I am experimenting myself now as it seems that I can push anywhere on the dash near the vent (even on the plastic BELOW the wood) and the rattle is silenced. Does anyone else have a driver's side rattle?

aphotog

Yes, my RL has the very same driver's side rattle (A-pillar area), and a similar rattle in the passenger-side A-pillar. My dealer has worked on these problems 4 times (yes, 4 separate trips for service), and has had zero success in resolving. After the last attempt, the technician popped off the driver's side round vent - and that did seem to help. The problem is not with the round vent itself - it seems that when the vent is in place, it causes the problem to occur elsewhere. When I popped the vent back into place, the normal rattle returned.

For those of you with "quiet" RLs, I am envious. On my commute yesterday, while coming to a full stop, I had both of the A-pillars rattling, while at the same time the brakes were squealing, and believe it or not, the doors re-locked themselves.

konst_ms

I have EXACTLY the same rattle. EXACTLY! But it is very intermittent and every time I drive in a vicinity of any Acura dealership it disappears. Darn!

petemc

I was looking at mine and just happened to tap on the access panel at the top of the door handle, and it created a very similar sound. While I cannot say this this is the source of the pillar/vent rattle, it did feel like it could cause the rattle...and it is in the right area.

So why didn't I fix mine? Well my passenger side rattle hasn't been around for a while, and I don't want to play with any potential fix unless I can determine if the fix really does fix it.

So maybe someone with a more consistent rattle could try a test. This access panel simply clips in, and can easily be removed using a small screwdriver in the hole at the bottom. I have already removed mine to see what was underneath...it's only access to the bolt that holds the door handle..so I know you can do this without fear of breaking anything. Once removed, it simply clips back in.

Pete

soapkng

The dealer is, apparantly, ordering a new set of rear armshade 'arms' since that is what they think is causing the rattle while it is lowered (no rattle when raised like the others I have read about). However, there is still a 'creaking' coming from the rear somewhere (I really need to get someone else to drive while I listen in back there) even at the slowest speeds. It's too bad, because it gives the car a cheap feel - I mean, they worked so hard to make it quiet with the noise-cancelling/etc. it's a shame...and quite annoying! I hope I can figure it out.

DF

SoCalCarDude

I second you on that! Great handling, quiet ride, luxury features, but then you have to listen to those creaks, squeaks, and rattles.

8-)

I have a rattle that sounds like it is coming from the glove compartment area. I can't find it while driving, so I got my kid to go for a couple of rides to try to pinpoint it. Dang, it doesn't rattle when someone is in the front seat! So I figured it was the seatbelt, but that wasn't it. (I guess I should check the headrest, but it really sounds like it is coming from the dash.) I can push on the dash wood and get a very similar squeak, but I don't know why it wouldn't squeak with someone in the passenger seat.

By the way, if I did pinpoint it to the dash (probably where the wood meets the center stack, on the passenger side), what's the next step? Some kind of spray lubricant?

Any ideas?

aphotog

My RL has the same rattle (on both the driver's and passenger's side) - I'm convinced it's coming from the A-pillar area or the AC ductwork in that area. This anomoly is apparent on multiple posters on this forum - but I don't believe anyone has successfully resolved it yet.

My dealer has tried to fix on 4 separate occasions (and my RL now has copious amounts of black sticky foam all around the perimeter of the dash and behind the round side vents). I have also spent a few hours oogling the dash and the round vents - even stuffing some foam padding here and there myself. But the rattles always come back on the next drive.

Any guidance on this would be helpful. I am especially disappointed Acura does not have a solution logged in their troubleshooting database for the dealers (this is according to my dealer's service manager).

This problem and the exceedingly squeaky brakes are making it very difficult for me to enjoy the vehicle as they are apparent on every drive.

Acura4

I've had the RL for a month now. During the past 2 weeks, I noticed a rattling noise coming from around the center control buttons panel (the chrome panel area below the nav monitor). The funny thing is, this rattle noise only happens in daytime! When I drive it to work in the morning, no rattle. I drive it again on lunch time around noon - 2pm, it rattles....not continously but on and off. If I drive on a steady freeway flow, rattle stops, when I hit the brake, it starts again. The most rattling noise occurs when I switch from brake to gas pedal to move the car. NO rattle when I drive home from work, and it's quiet when I drive it at nights. So weird. I'm thinking if this has something to do with the peak warm temperature at daytime, or sunlight/warm temp triggers something inside the chrome panel to loosen up and make noise.....and here we only have an avg high temp in the high 50s. When hot weather kicks in, am I in for super noisy annoying rattles....hope not but who knows....
It's not too bothersome for me if I'm by myself as I usually listen to music and the noise isn't obvious, but if I am with some coworkers talking in the car (no music), wow it's an annoyance!
Anybody else has experienced this kind of rattle (daytime only - center panel area)?

SoCalCarDude

I have a few new temperature related rattles that have developed when the car is warm.....one from the steering wheel column and another somewhere from the dash. As with you, these particular rattles do not happen when I drive in the morning or in the evening, only when I go to lunch with my co-workers. Just my luck!!!

monwe

I also have the rattle that seems to come from the glove box area. I only notice it at very slow speeds. I also had one of the techs ride with me and he heard it. It sounds to me like it's either coming from the suspension, the glove box or under the hood. Never gave the A pillar a thought and will listen for it later.

AcuraRLBlue

Pete:

Did the rattle go away after you removed the panel? Was it the panel that was doing the rattling or was it something inside the door? Thanks.

petemc

My rattle has gone away, so I don't want to mess with anything...that's why I asked if others with the rattle could try the experiment. It's really easy to remove these little panels and see if it makes a difference. Certainly they are in the area that the rattle seems to be coming from...around the front vents.

Pete

mjmorrismd

I have the exact same one and others have it too. It stops when I press on it while driving but then comes back. Between this and all the other problems I've had on the car, I'm turned off to Acura for good. Time to go look at the new Lexus GS.

427

Just recently, I've started to experience the dreaded Driver's Side Dash Rattle. Reading the posts here and doing some experimenting on my own, I seem to have eliminated the problem ... At least for the time being.

At first, I thought the sound was coming from the A-pillar. Then I took some suggestions and pressed on the "round" vent ... The noise did subside. Upon further testing, the noise was also eliminated if I pulled up on the dash pad near the round vent ... Hummm. Next, I placed a small piece of thin black leather (I have an ebony interior) between the padded dash and the wood dash ... This is the corner in the upper left of the SQUARE vent (below the round vent). When the door is open, you can easily use your fingers to gently lift the padded dash and just squeeze the material in the corner between the padded dash and the wooden section near the SQUARE vent. So far, itz worked for me ... Your mileage may vary ... Void where prohibited ... Do not open before Xmas ... Out of state residents add 5% tax.

Hope this helpz,
427

RL GRAY

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=7][COLOR=Blue]
I HAVE FOUND THAT THE SOUND IS COMMING FROM THE REAR WINDOW RETRACTABLE SCREEN. I DON'T YET KNOW HOW I WILL ADDRESS THIS SITUATION. I WAS ON A ROAD RUN TO KANSAS WHEN I NOTICED IT. TRY DRIVING WITH THE SCREEN UP AND DOWN AND IN MOVEMENT WHILE DRIVING. I THINKYOU WILL SEE

RL GRAY

The Rattle Is Most Likely Comming From The Retractable Screen In The Back Deck. Check Into It.

Rob L

the rear sunshade was designed in a piss poor manner (it's very flimsy) so I could easily see how it is causing problems for owners. Mine may have a slight rattle to it (I drive with music on all the time so if my car has any interior rattles I never hear them) but I havent done any hardcore testing to see...one of these days maybe I will just for piece of mind.

larryka

Going along with the rear shade theme... My dealership has tried a couple of times to quiet down the rattle from the rear deck in my RL without success. If I tap around that area, the plastic "vents" just behind the shade seems to be what's making the most noise. I showed this to my service adviser during my last trip and we then tried the demo car he had access to with the same results. He said that they would start "experimenting" on the demo car and let me know when they have a solid fix. We'll see what happens.

Big Dog

Has anyone taken their RL in to have the Driver's side rattle muted? If so, what has been your experience with the success of the effort? I thought I could wait on this until I needed other work done, but it has reached the point where I can't take it anymore. It goes away if I put my finger between the dash and the door.

My experience with other cars is that these things never really get fixed. Wonder if this may be an exception???? Thanks for any input.

mjmorrismd

Both my brother and I have new RLs. We both have the same A-pillar rattle, mine is much more pronounced. However, when he took his in to get his new wood/leather steering wheel installed (got mine couple days ago...sweetness!), he also had the dealership (Pohanka, Chantilly VA) fix the rattle. They pulled the dash apart. Apparently, they fixed it. When I had my steering wheel installed I spoke to the service manager who said, "yes, its a problem, and yes, they know how to fix it now." Should take about 2-3 hours...mostly to pull the dash apart and put back together.

M

larryka

I've had my rattles unsuccessfully worked on in my RL each time it has been at the dealer for other stuff. During the last trip they had some more feedback from Acura on solutions that other dealers have reported. They seemed to have addressed my rear deck rattle with that information. However, they were told my CD changer rattle is something that Acura is aware of, but they don't have a fix for yet. Regarding the driver side rattle, from what I can tell mine is coming from the vent. They were told by Acura to take it apart and wrap it with insulating tape. That didn't help, as the rattle was back the next day. It looks like the vent itself is a little lose, I can move it up and down slightly. When I hold it in place the rattle stops. I didn't notice the movement before though, so we'll see if that helps them fix it on the trip. I'd have to say that even though I'm having these issues, I'm still a lot happier with my RL than with my previous cars due to Acura and the dealer's reposiveness, VW never had this level of communication with me.

catsailr

I haven't noticed any rattles in my RL, but rattles don't really bother me that much. I think rattles in the RL are noticed more since it is so quiet. In my Trailblazer you can't hear the rattles over the wind noise.

petemc

I finally found my rattle

Mine is the glove box door, on the right side under the vent. I had a friend in the car who just happened to push on it as it was rattling, and the rattle stopped. We repeated the exercise and every time my rattle was glove box door.

I saw that there are two pins to latch the door, and I suspect that the right hand side is not latching properly. Now at least I can go to my dealer and see if they can do anything about it.

Pete

kph3

I have had several rattles appear in the first 5000 miles. The passenger side A pillar and the drivers side vent area....however, these come and go intermittantly. The one that is always there is the center console squeaking/crackling. Temperature changes seem to make it worse...however, its always present to some degree. If I push down on the silver plate for the shifter, it seems to lessen the noise. This is driving me nuts...has anyone come up with a fix? I would like to know before I have to take it in for its first service.

Thanks in advance for the info!

ASP

OK, this is scary. This is one reason I am trading in my TL for a RL. Now I'm nervous. I can't stand interior rattles.

DCRL

I would strongly suggest you test drive the exact car you are getting on several bad streets and make sure you're happy with it. My new RL (purchased 10/15/04) is as silent as the day I bought it. Not one rattle or creak has appeared.