The "Center Console Light" problem -> RESOLUTION in post #180

[larchmont]

Originally posted by prolix21
so far no rattles. looks like they knew what they were doing. i expected to be able to tell they yanked that entire stack out, but there were no signs. nice and tight and everything fits like factory......

Cool!!!

Also I really appreciate your explaining so completely what was done and how it turned out.

[prolix21]

a little more detail; here is the part number of what they replaced on my car: 39050-SEC-A01RM

i tried to look it up on that sunnyside acura parts site, but didn't find it. this may be a special warranty part # though (non retail) b/c there is core credit on the invoice (the dealer returns the defective part to acura)

[larchmont]

Originally posted by prolix21
a little more detail; here is the part number of what they replaced on my car: 39050-SEC-A01RM......

Super cool. I was notified a couple of days ago that my dealer got the part we need. I'll check whether it's that part.

[larchmont]

OK.....the part number of what they got for me is a bit different:

39059-SEC-A51



Those numbers might look similar, but they're more different than, say, the chemical structures of estrogen and testosterone, so they're not that similar.

As I said, we'll see.


BTW I take it yours is fine, including no rattles......

[prolix21]

yeah, so far so good. still works, no rattles, etc. good luck on your fix

[dabuda]

i had this problem as well...took it to the dealership and they ordered a new center stack for me. they had it for a week and i had a loaner...no probs since

[larchmont]

Getting mine done on Thursday.

BTW "over there" I saw that one guy supposedly got his taken care of just by the dealer replacing the "volume" control button on the steering wheel!
I wonder if anybody else has heard of anything like that.

[larchmont]

Well, tomorrow's the day.

I feel like I'm going in to get my teeth drilled or something.

[larchmont]

Originally posted by larchmont
Well, tomorrow's the day.

I feel like I'm going in to get my teeth drilled or something.

Well, it was like I got my teeth drilled. It was not a good experience.

It was supposed to take 2 to 3 hours; it took 5 days.
They were just going to replace what they called variously a chip or a circuit panel; they replaced the whole radio/CD.
It was definitely not going to give me rattles; it did.

Don't know yet if the basic problem (center stack lights) is now OK, because I won't know until nighttime, but I assume it is.

I had discussed the problem in detail with them in advance, a couple of times, including particularly my concern that the fix might create rattles. Admittedly I had no reason to be afraid of that other than that the TSX is known to be particulary prone to rattles and that they often seem to come from the sound system, plus my totally unknowledgeable impression that fiddling around in there might ruin what had been a good fit and therefore create rattles -- and I told them all that. They swore up and down that they knew exactly what this was, and that the fix definitely would not create a rattle problem. I emphasized to them that I felt blessed that my TSX wasn't one of the many that had a rattle problem and that if the fix was going to involve anything elaborate -- I even gave the example of replacing the radio, since I knew that was what was done on some people's cars -- I didn't want the work done yet; I would have wanted to wait for Honda/Acura to have more experience on this first.

I quickly started doubting that they knew what they were doing. Turns out they had done the fix on ONE other car and there didn't seem to be any problem. And, regarding their being so sure the fix wouldn't create a rattle problem, that was based on their prior experience in doing anything similar on other kinds of cars.

On the first day, I got a call, which was supposed to be a call saying the work was done and the car was ready to be picked up. But it was to tell me that the chip that they ordered was defective and they needed to get another one.

The next day, the story was that the new radio was defective too, and they needed to get another one of those as well.
I asked wtf, and that was when they told me that they were replacing the whole radio/CD.


When I picked up the car today, they said they had tested it and everything was fine, including no rattles. But when I started driving it, IMMEDIATELY it was obvious that there was a rattle/click coming from the radio/CD, intermittently, about a half-second at a time. Never had it before. I went back to Acura, got the service manager to ride around with me, and literally within 5 seconds the rattle/click started occurring, and he heard it. He said he couldn't believe he didn't hear it before, but he admitted he had the window open.

He did some thinking out loud about what it was, and how maybe it will "work itself out" but if it doesn't, they could take it back and do this and that. I said that I hoped they could look into it a bit and be REALLY READY before we did anything further. He said they will. Obviously I was ticked off, especially because I had gone over my concerns so pointedly in advance and in such detail. And of course I let him know that, nicely, and he certainly was nice in return.

They were very nice about everything, every step of the way, which helped. And they gave me a TSX as a loaner. Unfortunately it must have been used for a tobacco convention or something because it reeked of smoke. I didn't mind much on the first day, because I assumed I was only going to have it for a few hours and then I'd have my car back. When it was clear this was going to take a while, I asked for a different loaner car, and they gave it to me. That was great.

But the rest wasn't. I don't expect people to do what they can't do, but I do expect them not to promise what they don't know.


FYI the numbers of the parts that were replaced:

39175-SEC-A82RM -- "6 disc unit"
39059-SEC-A51 -- "panel assy., audio"

No charge for the work.

[Whatchamacallit]

Whoa, sorry to hear about your experience.

After all the promises by the service technicians and all the homework you did to prevent the post-op problems, it's gotta be very dissappointing to still see it happen on your TSX.

Sounded like the service department gave their best effort to fix it without problem but they are guilty of being over-confident about fixing it without creating the rattles.

So have you tried the center stack lights to see if it works?

What kind of rattling sound is it and where exactly is it coming from? (Tapping vs snapping/creaking noise? Inside the CD/Radio units of the Center Stack?)

[larchmont]

Thanks, Whatcham. Yes indeed, very annoying, especially since I had made it so clear that I thought this could be an outcome and that I didn't want to take any significant chance of it occurring.

Originally posted by Whatchamacallit
.....So have you tried the center stack lights to see if it works?

Works fine.

What kind of rattling sound is it and where exactly is it coming from? (Tapping vs snapping/creaking noise? Inside the CD/Radio units of the Center Stack?)

"Clicking"-type noise, usually just a single click at a time (i.e. lasting only a tiny fraction of a second), kind of like paper clicking against paper.
Sometimes it's a few "clicks" in rapid succession, lasting maybe half a second to a second; then it's kind of like a "rattle."
Rarely it keeps going for longer than that.

Rough pavement and bumps make it happen, even the slightest bumps; also acceleration, deceleration, and stopping, unless it's extremely gradual. But not always; it's not like these things invariably cause the noise. Anyway I don't think I've gone more than about 10 or 15 seconds at a time without it happening.

Not terribly loud. It seems like many other people have had a much worse rattle problem.

As to where it's coming from: It's extremely localized, apparently from the bottom portion of the CD/radio or right beneath it. And it sounds like it's right near the outside, as opposed to deep within the unit.

Pressing on certain portions of the unit seems to stop the noise sometimes, but I'm not sure.

[Whatchamacallit]

Any progress/updates on the rattles? Has it gotten better with time and temperature? Worse? Have you made appointments to have them take a look at it?

Geez, hate to say it but "Welcome to the rattle club".

[larchmont]

Well, I'm trying not to think about it. Feels almost like I imagine it might be with Junkster and what he's trying not to think about. Although I realize this is perhaps a little less critical.

And trying not to think about it is sort of working. Today I hardly noticed it -- maybe in part because perhaps it really was somewhat decreased due to the much warmer temperature (60's F, mostly upper 60's). But it was still there. And I'm still pretty furious about it. As y'all know, the TSX has been one of my pride-and-joys, and I felt particularly blessed that I didn't even have any rattles. And it was extra great because one of the several reasons I was so glad to trade from my TL-S was because it had rattles (!), and what a joy it was to be able to drive such a fun car that even rode quietly. And now this. But yeah, trying not to think about it is the best approach, and it's sort of working.

No appointment yet, and I'm not in any rush. Besides having told the dealership that I would wish them to look into this further and really know what they're doing before any next step, I've told them also that if they don't come up with anything soon, I would actually wish them to consider putting my "old" radio/CD back in, to see if the car would again become rattle-free, because I'd rather have a quiet car than one whose console lights work. Really. But I also told them that if this were done, it should be regarded as only a temporary measure, because in due course I'd expect the whole thing to be taken care of. And I said that I would understand if they would decline to take such a step in view of that.

And meanwhile, I've noticed something else that went out as a result of this "fix":

The power outlets don't work.

[larchmont]

Oh....we picked up the story on this other thread:

http://www.tsxclub.com/forums/showth...2236#post12236

I picked up the car tonight, and it seems OK.
Including no rattles any more.

I hope it all holds up.

[tsxdoc]

I, too, have had the "center stack" light problem. Was driving at night and blink, it went out. Went to dealer the next morning. They say that "You don't have an appointment, we can't look at your car today, next available appt 1 week later". I convince them to look at it because I had read that several others were having this problem and there was a backorder on parts. They look at car and say "Yes", that the entire radio must be replaced, part must be ordered, will be here the next week. I call the next week, part not here and when I press them on when it will arrive, they tell me that it is on backorder and they're not sure. Talk to service manager, he says that the service advisor I had seen originally had been fired because of multiple customer complaints. Offers to rent me an Enterprise Rent-a-car Chevrolet Cavalier or similar while waiting for part. Will not give me an Acura loaner. I told him that if I wanted to drive a Chevrolet, I wouldn't own an Acura.

Call the 1-800 Acura Client Service, the person takes my name, phone numbers, and brief description of problem, says that a case manager will be assigned and will contact me "within 3 days". When they don't call me back in 3 days, I call again; they say case manager is sick. I speak to a supervisor, he says part is on ship coming from Japan, will take 2 weeks to get there and then to my dealer sometime the next week. Supervisor says there is a national backorder, 25 persons on the waiting list for parts, but says that since there are 25,000 TSXs on the road, this is 'not a significant pattern problem". Supervisor says that the case manager will call me on Monday (talked to supervisor 1 week ago Friday). Case manager has never called me.

It has now been 17 days since taking the car to the dealership and 18 days since the lights went out. Still no word on when part will arrive. This is my first Acura and my first experience with Acura service. Pretty miserable I think!!!