| dc78_mdx |
Well like many other owners here, I have experienced the god awful vibrations and distortions coming from the subwoofer area. I took the x to the dealer and they pointed out that the sound appeared to be coming from the rear quarter panel, and that they would happily dynamat the area for 200 bucks. Being a DIY kinda guy I decided to do it myself.
So I dynamated the sub mounting bracket and the area just behind it, but still I could here a loud rattle coming from the bottom part of the rear quarter panel. After a little more investigation, I found a plastic bracket deep down in the sub encloser that has a hard rubber flap of sorts on it. I figured out that the subwoofer was causing this flap to bang against the rear quarter panel and cause the rattle.
Well in the mean time I took a piece of dynamat and rolled it up and I shoved it into the bracket.
This actually works great and now I can only hear a slight rattle if I get real close to the panel.
Does anyone what this little bracket is for, and is it possibly something the dealership should fix? |
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| andreseng |
| That dealer should refund you for all your costs and then do their job and perform this service bulletin under warranty. Going forward I would avoid any dealer who tells you that you have to pay to fix a problem. |
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| dc78_mdx |
| Thanks, Ill call the dealership tomorrow. |
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| dc78_mdx |
Well heres the update.
I took my X to the dealer and explained the situation to them. I explained that I am 99% sure that the rubber flap in the rear quarter panel is the source of the rattle. They told me that the bracket and rubber flap is a pressure equalizer that conteracts the high pressure build up inside the vehicle when closing the doors.
Anyway they gave me a loaner TL and told me that they would probably have it for the whole weekend.
Well they called me back and said..
1) that service bulletin only applies to the first lot of 04 X's.
2) the rattle is on every 05 X and therefore is nothing that they can fix, since it is not an isolated incident with my X.
What do you guys think? |
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| IT_Guy |
| That service bulletin that andreseng posted is for my car. I posted that a little while ago when I took my X in for the subwoofer rattle. That bulletin is NOT only for 04 X's but for 04 and 05 X's as is proven by my scanned service invoice. The rattle is on the 05's, is not isolated, and that's why there is a service bulletin. While the fix they performed for me didn't take out the rattle 100%, it's a hell of a lot better than before and I'm satisfied. I was going crazy with the rattle. Now I can listen to my music without that godawful rattle. I would print out the service invoice and go back to the dealer. If they don't perform the service, go to another dealer. One other thing; my dealer took about 4 1/2 hours to perform the service bulletin. If your dealer needs your X for an entire weekend, I would suggest finding another dealer. |
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| dc78_mdx |
| I printed out the invoice and gave it to them. They looked up the service bulletin number and showed me that the bulletin states it is for 04 X's. The service guy asked the service manager if they could perform it on my X anyway, but the manager said that they can not perform a service bulletin for and 04 on an 05. |
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| andreseng |
| How freaking aggravating.....DUMP THIS DEALER FAST.....It is a problem.....THEY NEED TO FIX IT. Whether under that service bulletin or not. Don't let them hose you. You paid good bucks for your vehicle and it should work properly.....It's obvious from that receipt that an '05 was repaired under that bulletin. Get on the horn to Acura Customer Service. Don't relent! |
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| jowardb |
Great info.. Just wondering if anyone has the actually Service bulletin 04-025. Is it the same bulletin in Canada? I don't know if my dealership would believe me if I just bring a copy of "andreseng" receipt. Tim do you happen to have a copy?
dc78_mdx. prior to having the problem fix. was it consistent? |
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| dc78_mdx |
Prior to me putting in the dynamat between the pressure equalizer and the metal, you could hear the vibration from outside the car at medium bass level and the volume around 10. Now you cannot hear anything and the bass sounds soo much cleaner than before.
I have the number to acura customer service and I will be giving them a call this week.
The dealer verified the issue on the other X's on the lot, and they said that it is a normal thing with the X. I told the service manager that it is B.S. that I pay 40K for a vehicle and have to live with this. I got the number for Acura's customer service, and I will be filing a complaint. |
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| Maldoman |
Great information!!!
I have the same problem, I'm going to take
My X to the dealer for the fix, in addition to the fix
There’s another issue about downloading minutes to the on star.
I'll kill 2 at once. Thanks for the heads up.
:29: |
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| soesed |
I got the same story from dealer, re: my '05 MDX subwoofer rattle as in they all do it. I mentioned service bulletin. They had already looked it up, checked and mine had fix applied, but still rattles as they state all '05s do. There solution was to reduce the bass level. After having an '01, I'm pretty tired of "it's a feature". Customer relations took report for research, but indicates not a known issue.
I'm now wondering if they just need to re-apply bulletin fix. |
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| BLEXV6 |
quote:
Originally posted by soesed
I got the same story from dealer, re: my '05 MDX subwoofer rattle as in they all do it. I mentioned service bulletin. They had already looked it up, checked and mine had fix applied, but still rattles as they state all '05s do. There solution was to reduce the bass level. After having an '01, I'm pretty tired of "it's a feature". Customer relations took report for research, but indicates not a known issue.
I'm now wondering if they just need to re-apply bulletin fix.
It is stupid of them to suggest to turn down the Bass. What the Hell is the purpose of the subwoofer anyways. Oh yeah, Bass. Mine has been in 2x for this and they said they did the supposed Bass fix, what ever that is. They said they could not replecate the vibration, which is stupid as I could hear it when I was driving from the dealers lot after alledgedly being repaired. I suspect it is something we have to live with. I have a subwoofer in my TL and it NEVER vibrates. |
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| soesed |
| At least they admit (this time) that they can replicate it, ad naseum. The loaner TL doesn't have it at volume 40 bass +++ |
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| oilchange |
| SB 04-025 rattle subwoofer |
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| soesed |
| Thanks. I'll bring this in, but indications was that X came with it already applied. It's an '05. |
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| dc78_mdx |
| Yeah thats the service bulletins for the 04 model that supposedly was fixed with the 05. Ive taken my X to two different dealerships and each one has said that they cannot perform warranty work on the X for a bulletin that does not apply to that year. |
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| soesed |
| In my case, there are not saying that they can't do it. Their indication is that the car came with it already applied. |
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| Mahereb |
May be it's a lot easier to do it ourself without aggravation from the dealers. I believe it will not cost us much to do it ourself.
Can anyone tell me from where I can buy a piece of dynamat and little guidance on what is the best way to remove the subwoofer and install it back without leaving any marks or scratches on the cover. |
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| dc78_mdx |
| You can buy dynamat at bestbuy or circuit city. As far as removing the subwoofer cover, look at the cover and on the side you will see a small notch. I used a butter knife and placed it in the notch and pryed the cover off without a mark. |
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| Mahereb |
cd78
What about the cushion tape posted in Acura bulletin? Is it still needed?
Is it necessary to disconnect the battery, just in case? |
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| dc78_mdx |
If your X is an 05 model then applying the cushion tape is not necessary. My problem was not with the washers in there rattling, it is with the pressure relief flap. Lets say your front passenger door is open. As you close the door, the inside of the X builds up pressure and becomes a higher pressure then the outside. The pressure relief flap pushes out towards the wall of the quarter panel and helps to equalize the pressure inside the car so that you can close the door.
That flap is what I found to be my problem. The subwoofer would cause the flap to push out and hit the side of the wall, causing the vibration. |
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| soesed |
| How do you access that flap and is there some port for the subwoofer? |
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| dc78_mdx |
| If you remove the subwoofer and reach your hand down into the area behind the sub, you can feel the bracket and flap to the pressure relief. |
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| Mahereb |
dc78
Should we remove the subwoofer by removing the four screws as shown in the Acura bulletin?
Do we need to disconnect the battery?
How mush approximately the size of the daynamat to be inserted between the subwoofer and the panel, length and width?
Thanks |
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| dc78_mdx |
| I removed the subwoofer by removing the four screws. Then I applyed dynamat all around the sub mounting bracket. Right behind the sub you can see the acura installed sound absorption cushion, i lifted that up and put a square piece of dynamat behind that. I also rolled a 6 inch long piece of dynamat like a cigar and placed it between the pressure relief flap and the rear quarter panel. If you do this make sure the rolled piece of dynamat is not too thick otherwise the flap will not be able to open properly to let the pressure equalize. |
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| 04mdx4sq |
Place a flap that moves in response to pressure changes in a chamber with a subwoofer that causes pressure change.......BRILLIANT!
What an idiotic idea! |
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| pianoman41 |
| I just came back from the dealership for the OnStar fix and I had them look at the subwoofer rattle. They deduced the same cause of the problem--the pressure relief flap. The tech said they compared it to their loaner MDX and it did the same thing, and so there was nothing they could do about it. I can't imagine Honda engineers signing off on this, say it was acceptable. How could no one have picked this up in the pre-production model? I'm going to attempt to silence the flap and if that doesn't work I'm going to just unplug the subwoofer and be done with it. |
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| Maldoman |
| Took my X back for the Sub recall, they did a very nice job with the fix, rarely I can hear a very faint rattle, depends on song and bass. No drought it’s 110% better and am very satisfied on how the handled the problem. |
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| soesed |
| Customer Relations indicated that their research group reviews reports each day after calls and will investigate if there are sufficeint number of reports. I suggest everyone owning an '05 with this problem call them on next week so that they'll suddenly realize it's an issue. My '01 did not have this problem. It turns out that the dealer compared my '05 to an '06 and it also has the problem, but without a fix from Acura, you just get some mechanic fooling around with your Audio system if they're willing to experiment. If you want a real fix let's start a phone-a-thon. |
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| dc78_mdx |
quote:
Took my X back for the Sub recall, they did a very nice job with the fix, rarely I can hear a very faint rattle, depends on song and bass. No drought it’s 110% better and am very satisfied on how the handled the problem.
Maldoman,
What did they do to fix your problem? Did they actually do something to the pressure relief flap or did they just apply the cushion tape like the 04 service bulletin says? |
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| pianoman41 |
Solved my subwoofer rattle on my '05 MDX FOR FREE :2:
I was doing my 20K oil change/tire rotation and while doing it I had the windows rolled down and the ignition on so I could have some music in the garage while doing the work. Well, the volume is on 4 and all I can hear from the outside is what sounds like someone filled the subwoofer with marbles. Sounds absolutely terrible. As you may recall, I already took it to the dealer for a fix and got the 'could not duplicate' and 'they all do that' responses. Finally I had had enough and was going to silence it once and for all.
I took the advice of others here who (correctly) deduced the problem to be the right-rear pressure relief flap causing the vibration. When you hear the rattle, if you crouch down on the outside of the X and put your ear against the rear quarter panel at *bumper level* you can hear it plain as day. So here's how I fixed it:
Disclaimer: This was done on a 2005 MDX. Other models may vary in their design. Follow these instructions at your own risk. Also, once the flap is removed it will be next to impossible to replace so make sure you really want to do this before doing it. I haven't noticed any ill effects from not having the flap.
1. Remove subwoofer cover. Take a flat blade tool, preferably something with a plastic tip so you don't scrape the interior trim, and place the tip in the slot of the cover and gently pry it off. There are clips around the edges so once you pry it loose you need to take your fingers and pop it off. Don't worry--you won't break it.
2. Remove the four screws that hold in the subwoofer. You need a metric socket (I forget the size but it's small--something like 7mm or 8mm) and a small extension bar to help clear the front of the subwoofer. The subwoofer has a "hook" at the top center that helps hold it in place when the screws have been removed.
3. Gently pull out the subwoofer and set it aside. You do NOT have to disconnect it--just rest it gently with its face resting against the wheelwell. It won't hurt it.
4. CAUTION: The screws hold the subwoofer in place by screwing into four metal clips. Although these clips are captive on the subwoofer hole edge, they CAN be removed and if you're not careful you can knock off the two upper ones and they can fall down inside the quarter panel, which would be a real PITA to retrieve. You can either take them off yourself first or just take a piece of masking tape and secure them tightly to the edge. It will be self-explanatory how to do this once you see it.
5. You don't need a mirror to do this although it will help if you want to see your target. If you reach down deep into the opening and feel around you will feel the pressure relief flap frame. It is at the very back at the bottom corner and it feels approximately 3" X 5" and sticks out about 2". It has a horizontal and vertical cross-member on the exposed side, so if you could see it from the side-on, it would look like a rectangle that was divided evenly into four sections.
6. Stick your fingers in any of the openings you can reach, and you will feel the pressure relief flap. It is a rubber-like membrane that you can push freely outwards, as it is hinged on the top by two tabs that hook into the top inside of the frame. I just reached inside one of the openings and pulled until I freed one of the tabs on one side, and then kept pulling until the other side came free as well. You do have it to put some force in it, but just make sure you are pulling on the flap only and not the frame itself. Don't worry about damaging the flap either--it's pretty flexible, and once you do this you're never going to be able to put it back again. Once it is totally free you can then pull the flap through the opening and up out of the quarter-panel.
7. This step is optional, but I thought I would do it just to be safe. The rear-most corner of the pressure relief flap frame rests against the inside of the metal that makes up some of the cargo area walls. I took a piece of soft pliable foam I had laying around (approximately 1" X 1" X 3" long and reached down in there and jammed the foam between the frame and the metal, so it was between the two. This further isolates the frame from the vehicle.
8. Carefully put the subwoofer back in place by setting the hook in the top hole first, then put the screws back in. You may have to reposition the metal clips to line up with the holes and be careful again not to knock the upper two clips into the abyss below.
9. Snap the outer cover back into place. Look at the back of it for proper orientation--the hooked tabs go at the bottom and the slotted tabs go into the slots at the top.
10. You're done! :D :cool: :2:
I can say from first-hand experience that this mod got rid of about 95% of the rattle I had. There are still some other various components in the back that rattle occasionally in sympathy when the frequency is just right, but it is few and far between. I can actually turn the bass UP now (what a concept!) and hey, that's a half-way decent stereo system now.
Again, as stated in the beginning, for all intents and purposes you are damaging the flap because you are removing it from the frame. Remember, this flap is really just to allow air to escape when you close the doors in the cabin, and since the flap is permanently removed, it still serves that purpose. The only ill effects I could imagine by removing it would be (1) ever-so-slightly increased road noise in the back (but if your stereo is on even at the lowest setting you'd drown out whatever is there--if it's even there at all) and (2) the possibility of exhaust fumes having an easier time getting into the cabin, but again--vehicles for years have had passenger cabin vents with no flaps and it hasn't been an issue. Besides the subwoofer itself is pretty sealed anyway so anything (noise/fumes) coming into the cabin is still going to have to come through a second barrier.
All in all, I highly recommend this mod for anyone with the subwoofer rattle who has been unable to cure it by traditional or dealer-approved means. |
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| StLB5 |
| What about just putting some foam around the lip of the flap? I'd think the only downfall to not having the flap cover is road noise and heat/cold being able to get it. No big deal I'd imagine. |
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| soesed |
| What about getting Acura to come up with a factory fix that we ALL could have the dealers address for us. |
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| pianoman41 |
quote:
Originally posted by StLB5
What about just putting some foam around the lip of the flap? I'd think the only downfall to not having the flap cover is road noise and heat/cold being able to get it. No big deal I'd imagine.
The opening of the flap is not direct to the outside, so the heat/cold/noise thing is really a non-issue.
As for the foam, it would be a good idea in theory, but first it would be next to impossible to get in there to put foam around the inside of the frame or flap without taking off the bumper, quarter panel (or both), and second, the flap is very flexible and acts like a membrane. Know what else is a membrane? A drum head! So this thing is going to vibrate whenever the sub moves air, regardless of what you put against it or on it.
If you have a home subwoofer and it is ported, put a piece of heavy paper over the port and tape it down on one edge and then turn it on. You've just recreated what's going on with that flap. It never should have been placed in the subwoofer enclosure to begin with. |
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| StLB5 |
| Or they should have just sealed off the sub. Thanks for clearing up what that "flap" is. I don't know what Bose was thinking putting this thing in there. Bose is known for all their chamber designs, not this free air POS. I'm working on a stealthy solution though. |
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| soesed |
| Has Acura now admitted that this is an issue v. feature and are they considering a fix? |
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| StLB5 |
| I don't think so. I'll have mine in on Wednesday morning. We'll see what they say, I'm sure it won't be anything new. |
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| Mahereb |
| I contacted Acura customer service, checking out on the subwoofer rattling problem on my 05 MDX. The customer service representative acted as if he has never received any similar complaints. He said that it is the first time he heres about this issue. Honestly, I expected a different approach from Acura, since the fix is easily and does not cost much. Knowing Acura's reputation, do not Acura customers deserve better handling to the problem? :4: |
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| soesed |
| Well, I called them several months ago and got the same reply. They were to reasearch, but I've heard nothing further. The dealer was able to replicate the problem on other '05s on lot. |
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| StLB5 |
well, just got the first oil change done and asked them to take a look at the rattling sub. He said no problem, they get that a lot. I said that it was an 05 and that I thought it was supposed to be already fixed on it. He said they did something, but it wasn't enough.
Supposedly the dealership "insulated" the entire panel back there. I'll pop the sub out later today to see what exactly they did. I didn't hear any rattling on the way home. I was happy to not get what seems to be the standard reply. He acted like it was no big deal, they've heard of it before, and would take care of it. Props to McGrath Acura in Westmont (Chicagoland)! |
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| soesed |
Could you possibly determine from your dealer if this is an Acura fix or if there is a Service Bulletin detailing procedure?
Thanks. |
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| timbrwolf9 |
quote:
Originally posted by oilchange
SB 04-025 rattle subwoofer
After reading the TSB, I am not sure I understand why they say to disconnect the battery before doing this procedure. All they have to do is remove a plastic panel piece, and put tape in multiple locations. I know they remove the sub, buy that shouldn't require disconnecting the battery.
Anyone know why they recommend disconnecting the battery?
Thanks. |
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| soesed |
| Is there a TSB for 2005 models? I think that I had seen one for earlier years and when mentioned to dealer was told that fix already applied when built. |
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| dc78_mdx |
quote:
After reading the TSB, I am not sure I understand why they say to disconnect the battery before doing this procedure. All they have to do is remove a plastic panel piece, and put tape in multiple locations. I know they remove the sub, buy that shouldn't require disconnecting the battery.
That is purely for safety reasons, just in case you accidentally ground something out.
quote:
Is there a TSB for 2005 models? I think that I had seen one for earlier years and when mentioned to dealer was told that fix already applied when built.
There is no TSB for 2005 or later. The new models supposedly have the SB 04-025 applied already when they are built, and unfortunately acura is acting like the sub rattled caused by the pressure relief is an isolated incident. |
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| soesed |
| My Dealer indicates that every 2005 on their lot at time of comparing mine had the same problem. Hence, a feature. I reported it to Acura Relations. How to get some action? |
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