XSNRG

Thank you RL poster jettyjett23 (and Rex Kramer for the reply), for the errant post.

I have had the identical symptoms on my 02 TLS, for two years. Struts were changed during that visit @200K miles, along with oil pan. Indy mechanic (he's maintained this car since 2009) insists all is well.

Is there a published torque spec for the strut bolts? Other possibilities?

I've also seen increased tire wear on Right front tire, it wears twice as fast as the Left Front. 70K mile tires(rated) wear down to 3/32 in 15k miles. Alignment is good (maybe), have had it checked at multiple shops. The Acura dealer (Roanoke, VA) is the only facility that told me my alignment needed adjustment when I drove in for the Airbag recall last year (along with a host of other 'adjustments' that totaled a good sum of cash. My indy states his alignment rig is checked/maintained annually. I forget the make/model, but can look back in my notes, if needed.

My front end shake comes when braking down a specific hill (I live in mountains), @62-70mph.
The rattle generally occurs while on curvy paved or gravel, or transitioning from gravel to pavement (but not pavement to gravel).

Keep in mind these symptoms have been, in tandem, doing this for two years (20K miles). All the normal checks have been done multiple times, multiple mechanics for 2nd and 3rd opinions. Only result is head scratches. Would the addition of 200# of passenger change anything? The rattle only happens when I'm alone, not when I have my wife, or commuting buddy. Not when my kids (2 boys + car seat weight) are in the back seat. I'm pretty sure I've nearly been fired as a customer. Grateful for the RL poster above. Now I know I'm not alone.

Kris9884

Definitely a head scratcher. Since all of the alignment shops agree there are no alignment problems, the car must be in alignment while sitting still. Then to explain the tire wear, while driving, something comes loose enough or leans on something enough to push the toe or caster off a bit. Where is the tire wearing the most?

Completely shooting in the dark here but I would guess worn control arm bushings or a ball joint going/went bad. Could be tie rods and/or steering rack but any half decent alignment shop would've tested those while aligning the car. I would go through and try to tighten any and all of the nuts and bolts in the wheel wells and see if anything tightens. Don't stress about torque ratings, most anything suspension related will be fine with about as much pressure as you can handle giving it.

XSNRG

I don't believe the tire(s) on the RF has any visible signs of an issue (ie: innerwear, outerwear, cupping)...it simply will wear faster and hit 5/32 to 3/32 when the other wheel is up around 7-9/32. Depending on the time of year (ie: snow), I end up replacing both and keeping the better one for a 'spare'. Which then dry rots out (yes I keep them cool and dark). Not a fan of wasted resources. I'll take some measurements and date stamp the installation date. If it's been six months, I'll likely have some interesting metrics.

I had mentioned the Acura dealer indicated they didn't like my current alignment, but at the time, I simply chalked it up to 'Dealer Discretion', which I've read much about on this forum.

It had gotten undrivable again, so I took her into my Indy in early May. Replaced rear rotors and pads, and turned front rotors. It's back to where it only has the front end shake down the specific hill. I did get pushback from indy on the strut bolt torque check. It would appear they are difficult to get to or have no published torque spec. My indy is used to me coming in with ideas and requests, so we're good. Iron sharpens iron in that regard. You may have figured by now (correctly) I'm not a shade tree or DIY.


@Kris9884 thanks for the tips. I'm going to drop it off again, with your specific recommendations, with the reminder that the dealer saw 'something funny' and I'll let the Acura dealer have a crack at it if he can't locate anything unusual. Where I live, in the mountains, that competitive spirit may kick in, and be enough to bring the issue to resolution. It could be I am blessed enough to have a good, upright, Acura dealer in Roanoke. I've not gotten any resounding recommendations from anyone I trust. Their recommendation (during the airbag recall swap) came with the printed metrics, and it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the other local shops all had uncalibrated alignment rigs. I should have let the dealer have at it that day, but I wanted to give my indy another shot (or two) with this specific issue. If they align (and/or replace any parts) and the issue resolves, I'll have some good solid feedback for him, with a paid receipt to back it up. I've never been a dealer mechanic type, but I definitely have an appreciation for the systems and the methodologies of Honda/Acura 'systems thinking'.

Kris9884

Sounds like a plan. Also, the only other thing I can think of for the uneven tire wear is having an open differential. When you lose traction you will only spin one tire and the car will try and steer in that direction. So, if you are a spirited driver that could be a cause but very unlikely unless you've physically floored it from a stop on numerous occasions lol.

RONE

Interestingly I just had a significant amount of wear on my right front tire, although the wear was most heavily in the middle of the tire (all tires have been kept at 44psi, which is max load rating on sidewall). Swapped that tire with the right rear last weekend. Not really sure why I'd get wear in the middle of the tire, but I do plan on getting the alignment checked. I also have bad front end shaking when braking (warped rotors presumably - rotors, pads, and calipers were replaced a couple years ago). Please post back if you find any reason for the one tire having excess wear.

XSNRG

Thanks again Kris9884. Definitely spirited in past years (ie: 2007), not so much these days.

Rone, how many miles on your TL? I'm right at 230K. Not as much as some folks on here, but that's a different thread!

The thought has crossed my mind it's a 'wear issue', but haven't found any other chatter.

Buzzman996

I'm surprised you have your teeth at 44 psi. I would say that is why your wear is in the middle and its because your over inflated. The least path of resistance for air is the middle of the tire thread or until the sidewall blows. As why the others are not they way, I bet they are it just may not be as prononced. You must have some smooth roads, because that pressure would likely break my dash on a pothole.

Kris9884

Oh wow that's very high, I keep mine around 35psi. In my town, many of the gas stations have replaced the air pumps with an automatic, digital compressor. I just type in the PSI I want and then run the hose to the tire, so awesome. Only positive factor for higher tire pressure is less rolling resistance, aka slightly better gas mileage but at the cost of tire wear so its really not helpful at all.

RONE

I just hit 259K miles yesterday.

This car does a lot of highway driving, so I set the pressures high to keep tire temps a bit lower and for minutely better gas mileage. I'm sure the higher pressure is why there was wear predominantly in the center, but that doesn't explain why just ONE tire had extreme wear compared to all the others. It's dramatic the amount of wear that one tire had.

This car does a lot of highway driving, so I set the pressures high to keep tire temps a bit lower and for minutely better gas mileage. That's really cool your gas stations have digital compressors - I've never heard of those before.

roscoethug

Have you checked the sway bar links? I had an '01 Eclipse with a similar problem, and found the sway bar links (dog bones) were shot. Cheap fix and it drove like new.