NHTSA Complaint #10262520 — 2009 ACURA TSX

2009 ACURA TSX WAS PURCHASED ON 12/29/08 IN PA. DURING THE 1ST 3 MONTHS OF PURCHASE, THE CAR HAS DEVELOPED AN ENGINE/KNOCKING NOISE WHEN DRIVING AND ACCELERATING. THE CAR HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER A TOTAL OF 4 TIMES THUS FAR FOR INVESTIGATION. PER THE DEALER, THIS ISSUE APPEARS TO BE OCCURRING ON MANY 2009 TSX MODELS. . THE NOISE IS CONSISTENTLY PRODUCED WHILE DRIVING AND ACCELERATING, FURTHER PRONOUNCED WHILE RPMS ARE BETWEEN 2000 AND 2700, AND HAS BECOME MORE PREVALENT AS TIME GOES BY. AS INSTRUCTED, THE VEHICLE IS ONLY RUN ON PREMIUM FUEL. THE DEALER HAS BEEN ABLE TO REPLICATE THE NOISE, BUT IS UNABLE TO DETERMINE A FIX. ACCORDING TO THE TECHLINE, THE METALLIC KNOCKING/PINGING THE TSX MAKES WHILE DRIVING AND ACCELERATING IS ?NORMAL AT THIS TIME? AND THE ISSUE IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. I ALSO CALLED ACURA CLIENT SERVICES PER THE CASE NUMBER ABOVE AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS NO KNOWN ISSUE FOR THE 2009 TSX. ACCORDING TO THE DEALER, MANY TSXS ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUE AND NOTHING CAN BE DONE BASED ON NO RESOLUTION FROM CORPORATE. GIVEN HONDA?S STRONG ROOT IN RELIABILITY, VALUE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE, I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT THIS METALLIC KNOCKING/PINGING FROM AN ENGINE WOULD BE CONSIDERED ?NORMAL?. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THIS KNOCKING/PINGING NOISE IS A DESIGN FLAW THAT WILL DEVELOP INTO LONG-TERM SAFETY AND RELIABILITY ISSUE GIVEN THE DETRIMENTAL IMPACT TO THE ENGINE/POWERTRAIN, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO SHUTDOWN DURING DRIVING, ETC. IF THIS ISSUE IS WIDE SPREAD AS THE DEALER REPORTS ACROSS THE 2009 TSX FLEET, I AM CONCERNED OF THIS ISSUE AND HONDA'S FAILURE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE OR PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION OF THE CAUSE. THE AUSTRILIAN GOV'T IS ALSO INVESTIGATING A SIMILAR ISSUE WITH THE HONDA EURO, PRESSURING HONDA TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUE AND PROVIDE A FIX BEFORE LONG-TERM SAFETY ISSUES ARISE. ? YOUR CONSIDERATION OF THIS PROBLEM AND ANY RECOMMENDED SOLUTION WITH HONDA ACURA WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. *TR