Acura TL High Speed Shaking & Vibration

acuradriver1

Help! Has anyone experienced violent shaking and vibrations at speeds of 60 - 65 mph? I own a 2000 TL 3.2 Sedan which I took delivery of last November.

Within 24 hours of taking delivery of my new car (it actually had 2,500 miles on it) I was driving from Boston to New York for a meeting when the Acura began to shake and vibrate so violently that I couldn't even hold onto the steering wheel.

I pulled over to the side of the road, believing I had a flat tire. All tires looked fine so I looked under the hood any everything appeared normal. I started the car again and built up to a speed of between 60 - 65 MPH when the vehicle began to shake violently again. I used my cell phone and Clair Acura, in Walpole, MA where I purchased my car. The service director saild maybe I had a bad tank of gas (which the dealer gave me) or the the ABS brake computer may be N/G. He advised me to bring the car back the next day.

The car ran flawlessly the rest of the trip.

Upon bringing the car back, the service manager said that since the violent shaking and vibration was no longer present, and was intermitent, I should "watch it" and bring it back if it happened again.

A few months later, it happened again, two days in a row. This time Clair Acura kept the vehicle for a full week and still could not determine the cause of the problem. I was told to "watch it" and bring it back if it happened again.

I told the dealer that the best scenario would be to take back the car, since they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and give me a new car since my wife was afraid to drive it. I even offered to split the depreciation 50/50 with the dealership since I had already put a few thousand miles on the car.

The owner of Clair Acura said they he could offer me $21,000 for a car that I paid $30,000 for just a few months ago. This was totally unfair, particularly since the problem originally occured within 24 hours of my taking delivery of my new car.

By the way, I have owned three Acuras...all purchased or leased from this same dealership.

I then contacted Acura Corporate consumer divisions and explained my dilema. I asked them to subsidze the depreciation of the car since Clair Acura was not willing to do so.

A day later, Acura called me and told me there was nothing they could do, since they sold the car to their franchised dealership and it was the dealers responsibility.

I blew up when I heard this, since Acura designed and manufacured the car. If their own service departments can figure out what is wrong, why shoud I be penalized?

Two weeks ago, the car did it again. My wife is scared to death to even get in the car anymore.

Acura claims that the violent shaking and vibrations has not been experienced by anone else in the country.

My question is, has anyone experienced a similar problem, or does anyone have a solution to my problem?

Thanks alot.

wlsjk@aol.com

[Deleted User]

It sounds like a tire balance problem. I would demand they first balance the tires. If that doesn't work, or if the're equipment shows that they are balanced, DEMAND new tires AND wheels.

You might also try a different dealership's service dept. They may have more knowledgable techs that will delve deeper into the cause of this, which may also be related to suspension or drive train issues.

ldsax

Do not believe Acura when they say that they have never heard of this problem. My accountants partner lost control of his brand new Acura TL with severe vibration while coming back to L.A. from Vegas. The car rolled many times, and both he and his wife were injured.

Mr_Shiftright

Good grief, how can you lose control of a car with a wheel shimmy? Did he attempt some sort of violent maneuver?

But anyway, back to the problem. Vibration at a certain fixed speed is usually tire or wheel related, since anything really loose or broken stays loose and broken no matter what the speed...but a balance issue or out of roundness is very speed specific.

If you want some piece of mind, it costs $15 a wheel to get a high speed balance at a competent front end alignment shop, and I've have front end alignment checked as well. I'd then take the dealer to small claims to recoup the expense, since I presume you have written evidence that they could not fix the problem? If the wheel balance, alignment and inspection of the tires do not reveal the problem, then I suggest you examine the Lemon Laws in your state and proceed to implement the procedures outlined in those laws for the buy-back of the car or the lease as the case may be.

I don't consider this a really dangerous problem, but it can freak some people out and they can do something dangerous.

anjang

Hi, I just bought my 2002 TL with Navi last week from Stevens Creek Acura in Santa Clara, CA. I'm very pleased with the car except for one thing. The Acura Bose system has static to the extent that it is not even as good as an ordinary radio. It is very noticeable on loud volume. This seems to occur on both radio and CDs. Are other owners experiencing similar problems? Or is it some wiring problems specific to my car?
Thanks for any help.

Mr_Shiftright

Sounds like maybe bad speaker ground wires or speaker phasing? The antenna would have nothing to do with the CD, so that's why I'm thinking speakers.

Also, you are in the wrong discussion, sorry---you should post in a TL discussion on general repair issues...this is about wheel vibration. Thanks!

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genebeach

I have a new 2002 TL-S. While driving from NJ to Cape Cod, I suddenly got a thumping noise from my tires. It was very loud,(even slowing down it continued to thump) I thought I must have blown a tire. I pulled over, and could not find a thing wrong with the tires. I had control, no mech. vibrations--just a loud thumping noise. Started up again no noise. The rest of the 600 mile trip there were no problems (even at 85mph). I thought maybe going thru a construction zone, that I picked up stones. However, I will watch it... been driving 35 years, and I think this was unusual.

Also, is the 1st time I've had the low profile 17" wheels and they are very noisy compared to my SUV with nice fat "balloon" tires.

Mr_Shiftright

Probably the road surface, yes.

jmmctighe

Believe it or not, I had a 71 cougar that did the same thing at lower speeds, 35-45 mph. It would drive fine, then it would shake and the steering wheel was hard to hold on and control the car. It was a powerful car and no matter what speed, the shaking wouldn't stop. It was one power disk brake caliper binding and pulsating. For Acura do deny this is a joke. However, I'd shelf the car for your own safety and get the brakes checked by a reputable local shop. Keep the bill and then proceed with compensation from Clair. I'll bet it's something with the ABS....

Mr_Shiftright

I don't think a binding caliper by itself could make a car do this...it would have to be in conjunction with some other front end defect, perhaps loading a weak or defective suspension part causing a change in caster.

kellogg_dk

To the owner with the vibration and vehicle shaking. Hopefully you've received this information already but in case you haven't, there is a global bulletin that Acura has sent to all dealers regarding this problem. The problem seems to be with the rotors. I had my 2000 TL for 23K miles when the same problem ocurred. The fix was a new brake job which included new rotors. The problem was fixed at the same dealership that I made the purchase, and there was no charge. However, I'm concerned that your problem happened so soon after your purchase. Please check the town hall for more stories regarding this problem. Everyone else with this problem has had it fixed by the dealership for FREE !