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annoying rattle -- anyone else experience?

6K views 33 replies 18 participants last post by  Joker 
#1 ·
I notice some sort of rattle when I drive at high speeds. It seems to come from the door area? not sure if it has always been there cause I usually drive with radio or music on fairly loud. Has anyone else had this problem? I heard somewhere that the door lock button rattles on the TSX.
 
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#3 ·
yep ... not a biggie as far as car rattles go but still annoying when the stereo is not blasting ... anybody seen a dealer fix? I also have the trim at the base of the driver's seat not holding together and condensation in the turn signal light on the passenger side mirror. Still, despite these minor problems, I find the TSX is a great ride.
 
#4 ·
From what I've noticed, the rattling comes from the metal trim part of the door, not the lock. If you push your arm against the metal trim part, the rattling will stop. I too have noticed this over the past week (when volume is up high and bass is about 75% up). Any fixes-- please?!
 
#5 ·
HEY GUYS I HAVE ALOT OF TSX OWNERS COMING IN WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT THERE IS A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS WE HAVE FOUND #1 THE TRIM ON THE DOOR PANEL COMES LOOSE
#2 THE MASTER SWITCH ALSO RATTELS ACURA IS MAKING CHANGES AS WE SPEAK #3 BEHIND THE DOOR PANEL RIGHT WERE THE DOOR HANDLE IS THERE IS A METAL PLATE WE HAVE FOUND THAT TO MAKE NOISE IN THE DRIVERS DOOR AND PASSENGER DOOR. I HOPE THIS HELPS.
 
#6 ·
I've got a couple of minor ones as well. I get one from the front of the sunroof (every once in a while), and another from around the rear view mirror. I'm around the 6000km/4000 mile mark. The dealer said they'll do their best to solve them when I go in for my 1st service. It is an awesome ride, 1 month old and loving it.
 
#7 ·
Decaffinator said:
I've got a couple of minor ones as well. I get one from the front of the sunroof (every once in a while), and another from around the rear view mirror. I'm around the 6000km/4000 mile mark. The dealer said they'll do their best to solve them when I go in for my 1st service. It is an awesome ride, 1 month old and loving it.
damn you must really love it 4000 miles in 1 month lol thats like 133 miles a day.. :(
 
#8 ·
Absolutely loving the ride. I took a drive on the north shore of Lake Superior from Sault Ste. Marie toward Thunder Bay. Beautiful windy and hilly highway... made for this car. Had a great vacation. BTW, you know that numbness one gets in the @$$ after 4-5 hours of driving. Nothing after 12 hours nonstop... the seats are great for the long haul. Next trip.... California (but I think I'll fly thankyou).
 
#10 ·
Found the rattle around the rear view mirror. There is a 2 piece sleave which covers the electrical wire leading to the mirror itself. Move the upper sleave toward the top of the window, this will tighten the fit of the pieces, eliminating the ever-so minor rattle. :) Congrats "schalliol", you will love this car.
 
#12 ·
This site hasn't seen any mention of the famous "rattles" problem for a few months, and there never was a whole lot of mention. From this site, one wouldn't get the idea that the problem is very prevalent in TSX's. But on other sites, there has been lot of discussion about it, with many people reporting it (although it has slowed down). Not that it's a deal-breaker -- only a handful of people have regretted getting the car because of this (or anything else). When the complaints first started, I wondered if maybe the problem just seemed more widespread than it really was -- maybe it was just that people who DON'T have rattles are less likely to say anything. So, I started a poll on it, expecting that probably we'd find maybe 10% or 20% of the cars having rattles. But actually it's been coming up a consistent two-thirds "yes." That's what it was at the start, when there was a lot of buzz about the poll, and that's what it has been staying, up through the present, and there are now over 200 votes on it. Of course that could still just mean that people without the problem don't feel enough reason to pay attention to the discussion, but I had thought the result was telling. Even if the real figure isn't 67%, I thought it still meant the problem is quite widespread. But the fact that there has been so little mention of the problem on this site makes me wonder again.

BTW I haven't had any rattles in my TSX, 13,000 miles and counting.

It's very interesting what AcuraOfTempe said here. Firstly, many dealers have denied knowing anything about the problem and unfortunately have been less than fully cooperative in dealing with it, not to mention ineffective. It's nice to see an attitude like AcuraOf Tempe's. Secondly, I note that he said that Acura is working on it ("ACURA IS MAKING CHANGES"). I don't recall having seen or heard this anywhere else.

People on "that other site" have been wondering a lot whether the '05's will be rattle-free. Based on nothing other than common sense and some knowledge of Honda/Acura's track record, I said flat-out that the '05 will not have rattles. Assuming that AcuraOfTempe is right, indeed it looks promising.

BTW, elgage also did a thread about this on the Ownership Experience board here:

http://www.tsxclub.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=529
 
#13 ·
thanks for the info larchmont. I agree, these rattle problems are not a deal breaker but I am very disappointed. Acura typically has very high fit&finish standards. Plus, I was disappointed by the response from my local dealership whose attitude was basically to suggest it was the radio being turned up to loud or whatever... I have spoken with four other TSX owners and three of them said they notice the rattling as well.

The problem for me is that I/we might have to just live with it as being a first model year glitch. I've also noticed rattling eminating from new areas now -- the latest being from somewhere around the steeting column as far as I can tell. Generally, as long as I'm listening to music I might not notice it but, without music, the rattling really bothers me. I still love the car overall but I hope to have it fixed by the dealership soon.

If anyone has heard from a dealership about a fix available, let me know. My email address is listed in my profile.
 
#14 ·
elgage said:
....I agree, these rattle problems are not a deal breaker but I am very disappointed.....
Plus, I was disappointed by the response from my local dealership whose attitude was basically to suggest it was the radio being turned up to loud or whatever....
If anyone has heard from a dealership about a fix available, let me know.....
Why not contact AcuraOfTempe -- either through this site, if possible, or else by just looking them up? Not that you should take your car there, but maybe they have some leads for you.

If I had the rattles, I'd probably be very disappointed too. I had an '03 TL-S before the TSX, and the main reason I wanted to get rid of it was I wanted a smaller, nimbler car. But another reason was.....

.....rattles!

My TL-S almost always had this annoying rattle. I had never heard of car rattles before, and it never occurred to me that it was anything other than the rear seat belts or something like that, and that I had pulled them wrong or something, so I never even mentioned it to the dealer or anybody at all.
 
#19 ·
ACURAOFTEMPE said:
HEY GUYS I HAVE ALOT OF TSX OWNERS COMING IN WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT THERE IS A COUPLE DIFFERENT THINGS WE HAVE FOUND #1 THE TRIM ON THE DOOR PANEL COMES LOOSE
#2 THE MASTER SWITCH ALSO RATTELS ACURA IS MAKING CHANGES AS WE SPEAK #3 BEHIND THE DOOR PANEL RIGHT WERE THE DOOR HANDLE IS THERE IS A METAL PLATE WE HAVE FOUND THAT TO MAKE NOISE IN THE DRIVERS DOOR AND PASSENGER DOOR. I HOPE THIS HELPS.
What is the fix for #3 if you don't mind me asking? My dealer can not seem to fix that rattle for me.
 
#20 ·
RedTSX said:
i have been hearing rattleing coming from the passenger side of my tsx i have the body kit and thats what i think its coming from
RedTSX, I too had that rattle with a bodykit & found that a pin that holds the side strake on would work loose & the wind would buffet the strake and make a noise that sounded like it was behind the glove box. Fixed by putting a washer between the pin & underbody to remove the play in the pin.
 
#21 ·
miner said:
What is the fix for #3 if you don't mind me asking? My dealer can not seem to fix that rattle for me.
(#3 was: "BEHIND THE DOOR PANEL RIGHT WERE THE DOOR HANDLE IS THERE IS A METAL PLATE WE HAVE FOUND THAT TO MAKE NOISE IN THE DRIVERS DOOR AND PASSENGER DOOR")

I'd assume he meant that this plate can move around instead of staying still, so they look in there to see why/how this is happening, and do whatever needs to be done to keep it from moving.
Which I'd guess involves either just re-positioning it (like maybe "stuffing it in" harder), or putting in some kind of padding or insulation material.

What exactly has your dealer tried for this, Miner? Actually this could be interesting for all of us.

(If you don't know yet what they did, you certainly can ask them, and they should tell you.)
 
#22 ·
elgage said:
I notice some sort of rattle when I drive at high speeds. It seems to come from the door area? not sure if it has always been there cause I usually drive with radio or music on fairly loud. Has anyone else had this problem? I heard somewhere that the door lock button rattles on the TSX.
I have a friggin rattle with the driver window closed at low speeds. As soon as I open the window a crack, it stops. Went to the dealer last Monday for my 15,000 km check-up and it actually rattled more once I had left!!! I'm returning next Tuesday.
 
#23 ·
tradsf said:
I have a friggin rattle with the driver window closed at low speeds. As soon as I open the window a crack, it stops.....
That exact pattern was noted by many people in the TSX's first few months. And for a lot of those people, just going through the exercise of closing the window and then opening it just a crack -- a few times, not necessarily many times -- would "cure" the problem. Sometimes it would come back after a while, and then repeating the exercise would cure it again.
 
#24 ·
no rattle for me.
There's a strange "buzzing" sound when at speed > 75 MPH coming from underneath the front passenger seat.
Not yet had a chance to look into it.
 
#25 ·
larchmont said:
(#3 was: "BEHIND THE DOOR PANEL RIGHT WERE THE DOOR HANDLE IS THERE IS A METAL PLATE WE HAVE FOUND THAT TO MAKE NOISE IN THE DRIVERS DOOR AND PASSENGER DOOR")

I'd assume he meant that this plate can move around instead of staying still, so they look in there to see why/how this is happening, and do whatever needs to be done to keep it from moving.
Which I'd guess involves either just re-positioning it (like maybe "stuffing it in" harder), or putting in some kind of padding or insulation material.

What exactly has your dealer tried for this, Miner? Actually this could be interesting for all of us.

(If you don't know yet what they did, you certainly can ask them, and they should tell you.)
I have just noticed this particular rattle too, and it is the only rattle that my Euro has, you only notice it when going over bumps or going over a rough surfaced road but it is annoying anyway. At first I thaught it was coming from the Upper Seatbelt assembly on the middle pillar, between the front and back doors, then I fiddled around with the adjustable mechanism, no luck. This is on the passenger side btw, looking again at the noise I am pretty certain that it is coming from the back door around the handle area, is this where this plate is that vibrates/rattles ? I need to know soon because I am taking the car in for its 1000K service tomorrow and I have to point out exactly what to look for? Thanks !!

(I don't understand why it has taken 1000k's for this rattle to start, is it something that has worked loose? )
 
#26 ·
I notice a minor rattle in the passenger side door, but haven't pinpointed it since I don't hear it often. Looking forward to hearing more about the fix for it.
 
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