Rough idle
 

In addition to other problems listed on this forum (check engine light, forgetful memory seats, etc) my biggest issue with my 2004 TL is a rough idle. To me the car feels like its out of balance or a cylinder is misfiring or something. Mainly I feel it in the seat of my pants when the car is running but not moving. Thankfully I haven't gotten any of the engine vibration at speed that others have talked about.

Does anyone else feel that their car doesn't idle smoothly? I know this is a subjective issue so maybe it's just me. I've had the car for 2 months and have been to the dealer 4 times. At one point I was given a 2003 TL as a loaner for a week while they worked on the check engine light issue. The 2003 seemed to idle just fine and the car I test drove before ordering this one didn't seem to idle rough (although I was only in it for about 15 minutes). The dealer says the car idles just fine... which means that when they plug in the diagnostic computer, no codes are registered... I don't think many Acura "mechanics" even know how to open the hood.

The rough idle isn't constant. Some days it seems to idle better than others and I noticed when I was parked on a slight incline to the driver's side in a parking garage it seemed to idle just fine. Anybody out there have any thoughts? I really want to love this car.

04 TL
Green w/ Camel
Navi automatic

No rough idle
 

It feels very quiet at idle. I have a 5AT. What I feel when the car is pushed, the throttle is open and the VTEC is engaged is a very slight resonation through the chassis. I think it may be a characteristic of the car, not the tranny, tires or anything else. Its not like my '01 TL, but then again, this car is sneaky fast.

I drove a 6mt after drive
 

about 10min later I started car and reved between idle speed an 1500 rpm, engine vibration is felt throufgh steering wheel and seats. car was of course in netral it was about 46 degree, that's what bmw temp read, Tl s was 52 degree , maybe that is part of vibration many are feelling, Did not notice vibration when driving but it was short test drive ,and salesman was with me, I then decided to pass on car, too bad silver /quartz, nav 6mt.

Re: I drove a 6mt after drive
 

Sorry to hear that, I will try the 1500rpm idle when I get my car back.

when the engine first starts and is cold, the idle is very rough for me. even when my rsx is completely cold and first started, there are no vibrations whatsoever, but in the TL rough vibrations can be felt through the steering wheel and cabin. pretty disappointing, hopefully it diminishes with time.

I can feel small vibrations from the engine when the car is idle but it's not as bad as our TL-S. Now that car feels like it's going to stall. I mentioned it to the dealer before but they said the idling is okay. Maybe I should tell them again while they are fixing the transmission.

[/I]"In addition to other problems listed on this forum (check engine light, forgetful memory seats, etc) my biggest issue with my 2004 TL is a rough idle. To me the car feels like its out of balance or a cylinder is misfiring or something. Mainly I feel it in the seat of my pants when the car is running but not moving. Thankfully I haven't gotten any of the engine vibration at speed that others have talked about"[/I]

I have the same identical problem..
On the highway its smoothe as hell,no vibrations.But while
im at a red light with my foot on the brake or while warming
up the car,i feel a vibration on the lower back of my seat near
my Butt. Its not constant but its there and enough to annoy
you.. It seems better when the weather is warmer..
It does feel like a cylinder is misfiring,but you would get a
message on your MED,I dont know what is causing this.
A brand new car should not have this annoying vibration.
I have a 1992 Q45 and till this day no vibration,i cant tell if
the damn car is on, 132,000 miles..
Ive been wanting to bring it to the dealer and i will very soon,
do you guy think i will pick up the car and the vibration will be
gone? or is acura gonna run me around the mill with a nice
explanation and take off with the same problem..?

Thanks

Well, if my experience is any indication, the dealer won't be able to find a problem. Now, I don't want to bad mouth my dealer too bad because they always seem very eager to make me happy, and they do look at the car and try and fix it, but they still state the car is idling fine.

I think part of the problem is that, in the old days, mechanics would sit in the car, feel the vibration, open the hood, hook up vacuum gauges, check the timing, listen to the engine carefully, etc. Nowadays they don't even try and recreate the problem... they plug in the diagnostic computer and see what codes are set. If there isn't an error code, it ain't broke. Or at least that's the philosophy. Problem is, what if the sensors are wrong, or were calibrated to the engine when it was idleing rough, or the particular sensor doesn't set an error code if it's broken (as was the case with the crankshaft angle sensor).

When mechanics became technicians, I think an art was lost. Just my opinion.

I only have 2000 miles on the car (partly because it's been in the shop for 2 weeks of the 2 months I've owned it). When the first oil change is due, I plan on asking the dealer to address the problem again. I'm hoping to have more ammunition from the fine folks on this forum.

Have you guys noticed they deleted all my messages. I do not think they wanna hear about this vibration issue and litigation.

I am not going to stop until I find a solution for this problem.
There must be something they are hidiing from consumers about a major defect

It's just not your messages. Every post from the last 10 days are gone in every forum on this board.

I have the same problems. I am chalking it up to a low RPM idle when the engine is cold. -10 after sitting for >8hrs and the engine is a bit rough until it warms up. At temps >0 I don't notice the problem.

I am thinking that the computer is idling the engine just a bit low in cold weather starts. My old Honda would rev at 1500 RPM's when cold as opposed to the 1000 or so I get eith my TL.

Just my observations.

When a mfg tends to push the limits of an engines HP designs, this seems to happen. There is a fair amount of low-idle vibration when cold/just started. But none on the roads. Mine seems to "go away" after the car is driven a little. Seems normal to me but then again my last car also exhibited a good bit of shake. Of course, it could also be a simple adjustment of a counter-weight I've seen on other posts. Anyone tried having the dealership look at it from that aspect (i.e. Not the engine but the engine mounting/counter balance measures)? See pics over at TOV

yes... i have the same problem w/ my '05 tl that i just purchased 2 weeks ago. i took it to the dealer, they cant find anything on the computer. personally, i think they need to replace the spark plugs or do a valve adjustment. im taking it in a 2nd time. very annoying.

I also exhibit this problem on my 2wk old TL. I just had my car in for service and they said there is no issue.

I got a loaner car for the day, and ironically this 05 TL with NAVI (same as mine) does not have any rough idling. The car has 11K miles on it.

So my conclusion is that this is a characteristic of the car that will go away after some time. OR it may be that many TLs need timing adjustments or spark plugs replaced. If it were the latter, I would think there would be a TSB by now?

Don't get me wrong, I don't like the rough idling. I kinda wish there was something wrong so they can fix it.

Yes, my TL also has intermittent rough idle. If the car sits for anything longer than a day...I have weak/rough start up...followed by the check engine (emissions) light coming on. According to the dealer its normal because of ULEV. Who knows? Never had that from any of my previous cars. All I know with the number of rattles and this....this will be my first and last Acura. It's a shame really, because the engine and ride is supreme, but the car feels like its been glued together by kindergartners.

My Camaro SS with T-tops didn't even rattle, and yet the vaunted Acura feels like its coming apart as I drive it. I'll be sticking exclusively to GM in the future, that is for sure...they are second only to Toyota in quality. The stigma of GM having quality issues is over. Cadillac can rival anything the Germans throw at them now. When the CTS-V gets the LS2, my TL is gone.

update on rough idle...
i spoke to the district mgr of acura corporate headquarters today. he sat in the car w/ me and said, "this is expected on a powerful performance engine. each tl is different." i asked him for suggestions. just enjoy the car. personally, not very satisfied w/ this outcome. im thinking next time, lexus or benz.

Rough Idling
 

You guys are right, most of the 04+ TLs are idling rough at time. However, on my TL I noticed that the vibration is more detectable when I have the automatic climate control on. But when it is off, the car is much more smooth. Aslo, you can have the automatic climate control on but turn off the A/C. This will allow fresh air to come in the cabin. It works for me up here near north pole. :yuck:
I always looking foward to summer and spend most of my time cruising around town after work. Over all, I love my TL.

I recently became a member here. It's great community and a lot of useful infomation and a lot talented people. Thanks for those who spent their valuable times helping others and come up with new ideas. Keep up the good work! :thumbsup:

Thanks,

I think most cars with auto transmissions give some engine vibrations
at idle, because the motor is stressed on its mounts.
One reason we got the manual transmission is smoothness of the engine
at idle, with our car, you can not tell the engine is running with the clutch
in or in neutral.
If you put the auto trans cars in neutral, you should not feel vibration other
than the AC compressor which does introduce a little vibration.

If you DO have vibration in neutral, you might ash the dealers to adjust the idle speed a bit, its computer controlled and they can likely program it up
or down a little to eliminate vibrations.

My last car (Passat GLX) had the auto transmission and the vibration at idle,
worse when cold (stiff motor mounts), but the AC system was
totaly unfelt, you could never tell when the compressor was running or not.

On the TL, the electric fans likely come on with the compressor, and the blade
balance might come into it....

Brett