[Tsx96]

Hi guys, for the last nearly 4 months now I have multiple issues with my suspension and after replacing end links and bushings I'm at a loss. The car spent its whole life in Wisconsin and i'm the second owner with 145,200 miles on it(got it in 2017 with 113,500) I work for a local Toyota dealer and one day heard a squeak going over bumps and handling was a little lighter. So I took it in and one of the techs said it was my shocks/struts... I had a more advance tech look at the car and said they actually looked fine with no leaking fluid. So we mounted and balanced my tires to see if that would help for now and the squeak went away but my steering everyday was getting lighter. We then checked the alignment and found the rear to be out of spec with camber. At this point it was decided to take it to zimbrick Acura which is the nearest Acura dealer to me and I showed one of the advisers all the paperwork on whats been done to the car. He speaks to the master tech and says its my rear upper control arms causing everything. In my mind, while this may have given insight to the rear being out of alignment that still didn't explain the front end feeling funny/vague steering. I then took the car to a local mechanic who used to work on my Mazda 6 when I had it. They found out I had a bad driver side ball joint so I had it replaced there 2 days later and then a couple weeks later had Acura do the repair on the rear upper control arms. While the car was better it still didn't feel right and then I had a harsh vibration in the steering wheel so then I take the car back and they said that was caused by a seized brake caliper and that the driver front was the last original one. That was replaced with front rotors also getting resurfaced. Car braked better but the handling still felt not up to par. Upset I take the car back the following week and ask to speak with the Service manager and explained all the symptoms with the car up to that point and we went on a test drive. He said his daughter has a 04 TSX just like mine and never replaced struts/shocks, cv axles etc... and it had 265,000 miles on it.As we get back to the dealership we could here this strange clunk going over a bump in the lot which I was trying to explain before and they kept the car overnight to run some tests. They also had 2 other 1st gen TSXs in the shop so I thought this would help draw comparisons. A little later I get a call from the Service manager and he said there master tech basically nit picked the entire car. He said it was the front stabilizer bar end links, lower shock bushings, left control arm bushing and driver and passenger side compliance bushings should be replaced but they were not torn through, only slightly cracked. They also found the driver side wheel bearing/hub will need attention soon. So I order the OEM parts and take them to one of our advance techs at Toyota and he put them in for me. Then the following week get another alignment( didn't have time over the weekend) and the car still has vague steering at times and is now pulling to one side when driving. The same tech swapped the 2 front tires and now instead of the right and sometimes pulls more to the left. There's also a noticeable creak in the steering wheel at times when cranking it to the left. I'm really lost on what to do with the car and just hate driving it now. Everyone including the Acura dealer thinks i'm hyper sensitive and I should just drive the car and that there is nothing to worry about. Is there anyone else with more experience on Acura double wishbone suspension that can provide some insight as to what the problem is?

 

[phen8tk]

Since you mentioned harsh vibrations, I wonder if it’s an issue with the inner axle joint. It’s a fairly common problem with the TSX’s and is something that you might want to check out. Google “heeltoe tsx axle vibration” and you’ll find a great post about it.

Not sure if replacing the inner axle joints will address the vague steering, but that suggests a potential issue with the steering rack itself. Steering rack problems also frequent this forum, but steering rack issues typically involves some sort of leak that you can easily see.

 

[Tsx96]

So I took the car in to the shop that did the alignment today and half and hour later the guy says its my struts/ Rack and pinon that's giving me problems. Upset and wanting to investigate further I go to Zimbrick Acura and test drove an 06 TSX they had for sale and it felt closer to how to mine when I 1st got it last year. The 06 had 111,362 miles on it. I go to service and explain my dissatisfaction with the situation and once again we put the car on the lift and this time was aloud to go back and see the car. Zimbrick's tech said my struts were not leaking fluid so there is no reason to place and said my rack looked fine. Only thing we saw was there was a little grease on the driver side inner tie rod but they said its not worth replacing at this time. So now i'm at a loss cause everyone has there own story and I kinda just wanna trade out of it. TSXs are not known to be in and out of the shop like this and the dealer doesn't know what to do at this point

 

[sonyfever]

I think you have been either very unlucky, or have been scammed. Those things you replaced can contribute to the handling problems you have been experiencing, but looks like every fix you have brought new issue.

The issues you mentioned are impossible to debug without seeing the car. I suggest you go to a reputable Honda auto shop in your region, and have them check thoroughly.

If I were you I will check the car in the following orders, wheel-hub-brake-suspension-axle.

Good luck!