CAHobbs

04 TLs in the shop! Turns out the front motor mount is broken... Would like to hear from other TL owners who have had the same issue and what was the cause and resolution ( i.e. how did it break and was it covered under warrenty or did you have to pay and if so, how much). Thanks!

dsc888

You know...I am beginning to suspect a similar issue in mine. I get a "thunk" in my steer wheel that can be felt slightly in the floor board of the car upon acceleration from a dead stop. I have been trying to figure out if it's suspension or a motor mount. I have brought it to the attention of the dealer at the last oil change and they couldn't reproduce it.

CAHobbs, what sort of symptoms are you having? How was it diagnosed? I am very curious as to the details of your situation. Thanks.

dsc888

CAHobbs

Sorry for the late response... was away for a while.

Anyway, my wife and I started to noticed that many times when we began to gradually but quickly accelerate on a hill or small incline from 1800 to 2200 RPM in what ever highest gear the car was in there was a unusual vibration coming from the front of the car as if the engine was lugging. It could be felt through the steering wheel and under the driver’s feet. Looking back now, this might explain why sometimes I would get wheel hop when trying to merge into fast moving traffic from a stop sign as the engine was probably rocking back and forth.

One way you might be able to check the front mount is to have someone in the car, hood open, engine running, brakes ON and in low gear. Stand to the side of the engine from a safe distance and make sure the driver has the brakes on real good! Have the driver give some gas to load up the engine and then let off quickly. What you’re watching for is the engine to rock backwards then return to its normal position.. As the car tries to move forward, the engine torque will cause the engine to rotate in the opposite direction (Top of the engine towards the driver). This movement should be smooth and around one to two inches or so. If the engine rocks quickly and then "drops" back into place when the gas is let off quickly, then you may very well have a broken front motor mount. Another (safer) way is to use an engine hoist and attach it to the side of the engine towards to radiator. Slowly lift the engine while examing the motor mounts for excessive movement. Be careful doing this as to not damage any linkages, plumbing or wiring.

Let me know what you find out about your issue when it's resolved.

Good luck!

ACCURATEin

Is your TL supercharged? I forget if yours is or not.

CAHobbs

Yes

Tripnbeats

yup so im gonna order the type s motor mount I saw the type s at acura and I looked at the mount...shit looks beefier than that on the previous stick tl's.... which I personally think honda realized oops we f-mucked up

awood

I had to have a couple mounts replaced after I had my 3rd transmisison put in (this was a 2002 TL-S). They covered half the cost since the car was out of warrenty.

[Then I traded in on a 2006 TL and got a whole new set of problems. ]

pohljm

I just had to have all three motor mounts on our Odyssey replaced it has 100,000 miles on it. The tech mentioned that it was not uncommon to see the front motor mount go out at 60,000 This is a fluid filled bladder with a vacuum line that seems to deteriorate and then leak. It looks to be of the same design as the one on our 06 TL.

U8INIT

Mine does the exact same thing. I will be making an appointment today.....Thx

CAHobbs

Not that I want to open a can of worms here but........ Is it possible this bladder can leaks into the vacuum line, then into the engine where its burned, then out the exaust and to the Cats where it can possibly cause damage?? One of my cats went out too...

Just a thought.....

whatjones911

I don't have the sound you are talking about when you accelerate but i do have excessive vibrations in the steering wheel and pedals when accelerating. Is it the bad mounts causing the vibrations?

CAHobbs

It could be.... if you look at my earlier post, I described how our vibration felt.

That said, I want to emphasize that our front wheels were rebalanced 3 times and also run at different tire pressures and lastly, they were balanced using a “load balancer” and even rotated with the back wheels to eliminate them as the problem.

I would always start with the tires and wheels first before looking elsewhere for the source of the vibrations.

To give you an idea of just how difficult it is to isolate “road” vibrations, here is a small list of things that can cause it, courtesy of Discount Tires:

Very often the wheel/tire assemblies on a vehicle may be in balance but you still feel a vibration! Here are some of the other causes of vibration:
• Bent wheel
• Tire out of round (radial or lateral runout)
• Wheel to axle mounting error
• Inconsistent tire sidewall stiffness (force variation)
• Brake component wear or failure
• Drive train or engine component wear or failure
• Suspension wear or failure
• Wheel bearing wear or failure
• Wheel alignment is out

So, after you have insured that your tires and wheels aren’t the problem, it wouldn't hurt to get the mounts checked out assuming that your TL doesn’t have am enormous amount of mileage which could mean something else is wearing out.

Good Luck and keep us posted, OK?

Tripnbeats

dude ive been through 3.... just buy new one because acura notes down that they are broken....hence abuse.....lol no one here abuses their car though so I dont understand y it would break hahhahaa.....yea anyways its like 45 shipped =)

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Something similar going on here......(my car is only 2 months old, this sucks!) Mine happens only at startup though. At the end of startup right precisely when the engine turns on I get a weird slight "thunk" as well through the steering/floorboard or somewhere. Sounds like something is loose like a motor mount or something. It started so smooth when the car was new. Funny things is there is no type of clunking any other time. I wonder if anyone has had anything similar?

KJSmitty

My 04 does the same as you describe.... Not every start, but the majority..

Hmmmmmmm

CAHobbs

rockyfeller and KJSmitty,

What your probibly hearing is the ABS system doing a self-check. This is normal for may Hondas and Acuras. As you have noted, it only happens when you first start up. It seems to be more noticable in colder weather.

There have been many threads on this noise, here is an example: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107082.

Hope this helps!

KJSmitty

You are correct, the ABS check has been discussed since late 2003 and I don't think one would confuse that with an "engine start-up noise".......

Quoting Rockyfeller "Mine happens only at startup though. At the end of startup right precisely when the engine turns on I get a weird slight "thunk" as well through the steering/floorboard or somewhere."

Now, if your ABS check is at the moment you release the key from the start position,,, you may have issues. The ABS check is once you're actually moving etc.. What is being discussed here is a "thunk" that occurs during engine start - a noise that reflects the engine may be rocking further than should be due to a possible broken mount.


Thanks

CAHobbs

I disagree, I have had the ABS clunk right after startup and other times, after moving about 60 feet down the road.

I don’t believe the motor mount is an issue during engine startup as it requires the engine to be under some type of load before it can rotate enough to lift the broken motor mount then the load has to be released quickly to cause the engine to "drop" back in place causing the "clunk".

Unless you’re in gear when you start your car, there is no load on the engine during start up, therefore the engine will not lift off of the mount. I doubt the 3.2 has the torque to lift the engine while in neutral or park.

As I stated earlier, the typical broken motor mount "clunk" only happens when you put a load on the engine. Putting the car in gear and taking off adds the load because the engine is now fighting the weight of the car, the engine torques opposite the rotation of the drive shafts causing the engine to lift off the front motor mount. The engine falls back in place when the load is suddenly reduced like during the next shift or when the car is no longer accelerating.

Look towards the beginning of this post and try the method I described and see if the engine “moves”.

Let me know, ok?

Good luck!

KJSmitty

Not trying to rant here just stating that during start, "my" TL (and others) do have an engine-rocking induced thunk/thud. And in all reality, it definitely could be due to a bad engine mount as well.

Thanks CAHobbs

- Cheers!

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

OK I know what is meant by that ABS sound....almost as if the wheel was stuck on something right? (I've expereinced this with other high end luxury cars I've owned, usually those with "brake by wire" technology make similar electonic buzzing sounds etc at startup associated with the ABS and electronic brake distrubtion systems.) This is not like that at all and seems to have a pure mechanical quality. And it isn't a few seconds after starting. It is right at the instant the engine starts....the engine may have a tendency to rock a little at the very start and it feels as if something is loose. It isn't a light click but more of a solid heavy but muffled/insulated thud. It's easily reproducable and happens at least 75% of the time when I start the car, warm or cold. I'm gonna make an appointment with Acura and I'll let you guys know what the mystery is all about.

CAHobbs

Thanks rockyfeller!

We look forward to hearing what you discover!

Glenn Davis

For all those with the thunk at startup...

I noticed this in all my 6thgen V6 Accords, and now in my Automatic TL.
In my case, it is the shift lever/parking pawl...
To avoid the noise, I pull the E-brake all the way up BEFORE shifting into Park.

If you've got the same noise, it'll seem to come from under the driver floorboard and maybe under the front console too.

Had broken motor mounts too: My defective trannies killed the mounts. The tranny would rev up high and then slam into gear (basically a neutral drop) because the tranny was broken. With broken mounts, there was also thunk/clunk in the floorboard when first accelerating from a stop. Idle was a bit rougher in Reverse than in Drive (kind of buzzy). When accelerating from a stop going uphill the clunk was most noticeable. I was able to best reproduce the clunk for the dealer by using the accelerator to hold the car on a moderate incline and letting it rock back and forth by applying and releasing the throttle. There would be a highly audible and easily felt thunk as the car would roll forward and backwards. After the mounts were fixed shifts from the New automatic were smoother too.
I'm trying to remember if I had another thunk at startup with the broken mounts, though.

neuronbob

Wasn't there a TSB on motor mounts in 2004 TLs? I seem to recall it in one of the Acura service bulletins. I'll have to look to be sure....

HuKaShI

I don't know if I have a motor mount that broken but can you guys tell me if I do?

I get a clunking or some sort of noise from the front end when I go over speed bumps.

Its kind of a creaking noise. Sometimes it sounds like when you rattle a metal canister around.

Could this be a borken motor mount?

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

Well I haven't gotten to the mysterious thud but an interesting little story developed that's got me more concerned. It was enough to get me to start a new thread. A little OT here but if you got 5 min. read this:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147528

CAHobbs

Hello neuronbob,

I know if been a long long time, but I was wondering if you ever found a TSB on the motor mounts? Oh, and now I have what appears to be a bad rod bearing too. Murphy's law.....

Been checking the Service Bulletins but the old eyes aren’t what they used to be..


Happy Motoring!

Tripnbeats

my tech at acura said if the side MM blows its because something is off on the suspension... and if one of the hydraulic ones blow something is blown either sensor wise or the mechanism that keeps the mount up, the thunk in the steering wheel is a rubber bushing under the rack n pinion... it took them 2 weeks to diagnose that sucker and that included the side motor mount being broken too. The type S motor mount I thought would be different maybe in size or something else but its the same from what ive seen and compared.

rockyfeller

iTrader: (6)

I still have this thunking problem but it has gotten worse. None of these morons have fixed it yet. It's not just at startup. I found a way to reproduce it finally! My steering feels "clunky" at low speeds in a parking lot. It doesn't happen at high speeds. If you slightly jerk the wheel left/right you get a dull clunkyness instead of smooth action. It's not a loud sound but more of a sensation you can feel through the steering column and even slightly through the brake pedal. I always felt like it was some kind of bushing or rubber component high up. Tripn's description of a rubber bushing under the rack sounds like it makes a lot of sense. I took the car to another dealer yesterday and they are trying to find other nonsense this/that bent etc. They wouldn't fix the primary problem until they looked at other "more important issues". Sounds like they were just trying to sell me an alignement. On to another dealer! I got to get to the bottom of this!

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

There's a GB happening for aftermarket motor mounts to fix this issue: https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178215

Fulani has a TL

iTrader: (1)

Err scratch that group buy.... Astro has closed the thread due to some sort of confusion with Innovative

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

I wish I had the balls + a DIY to do this myself ..

My car is doing the same exact thing.

If I'm at a dead stop, press the accelerator it makes vibration in the pedals @ 900rpm.

Time to make an appointment.