Rob144

Yesterday on the way to work, the dreaded battery light came on in my 2006 RL. It was quickly followed by a cascade of warning messages for VSA, SH-AWD, brakes, and a cacophony of warning bells. I quickly decided to head the 10-12 miles in the morning rush hour to the dealer knowing that I'd probably have to outrace the battery, but (wrongly) thinking that a running engine would keep things powered.

As I made my way through town towards the freeway, the car went into limp mode, no 1st gear, little pickup. Then the radio went out. All other screens are flickering from the NAV to the MID. I make it to the freeway with its on-ramp signals, but with barely any pickup to merge with traffic. Sadly, the climate control stayed on -- I didn't think to turn it off.

A few miles down the freeway I can sense the finish line, with just one exit to go. The speedo and tach go to zero, followed by the dash lighting, followed by the A/C...but I'm still motoring: for about 20 more seconds.

Just as I get onto the Must Exit at the off-ramp, all power goes away. I drift the car to the shoulder, and I'm in a construction zone where the're just starting to grade dirt on the infield, and traffic seems to think my shoulder is a right-turn lane.

I call the dealer, who is less than a mile a away. They connect me with AcuraCare, who dutifully asks for VIN digits, miles, and other info before telling me my AcuraCare warranty expired and it'll be $68 to tow the car to a dealership I can practically see. I decide to call AAA, who does the job free, without paperwork or hassle.

By the end of the day, the car is done and back home, and my wallet is $600+ lighter. I'm just glad it didn't happen on a family trip, no one rear-ended me, and my wasn't smeared into a pulp by a grading machine.

The lesson here is that if your battery light comes on, and the dash is lighting up like a Christmas tree -- you'd better be close to the dealer before trying to limp there. And turn everything OFF if you're going to try. Shouting words of encouragement to the car might help a little, too. Goodness knows I tried.

I suspect Honda shares this part with the Odyssey, as my '06 minivan had a similar failure earlier this year. Based on this limited sample, be prepared to get a new alternator at the 9 year mark, regardless of miles (each of them had about 70K at the time of the failure). And mind those warning lights!

Richard07C

That sucks, my wife had this happen to her a couple of days ago, dealership wanted $600 and now im getting ready to attempt to replace her alternator at the house this weekend. Trying to find some more info on 'how to' before i do though.

thomask

It seems alternator is another weak point of RL. I wonder what else could we put in there that's better quality... I've searched but it seems nobody else has tried anything else.

MtMan1020

Did mine about three months ago.... pretty straight forward except the part where you get it out of the hole..... I brought it out through the top. Now that I've removed the bottom cover it might be a LOT easier out the bottom.... I'll see tomorrow when I tackle the rust spots....

If you've never done such things before I can provide detailed instructions, but so far I'm assuming that since you are going to do it yourself, you have a little experience with automotive repairs....

TampaRLX-SH

Sorry to hear Rob. The RL was always sensitive to power fluctuations and eats batteries for snacks. I'd agree the car really needed a heavy duty alternator and battery to support all the electronics.

That story reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer drives a Saab with the salesman as long as he could with the low fuel light on.

If you step up to a SH RLX you will happy know the battery does not crank the car, and is for accessory use only. We are waiting for you to move over to the RLX forum!

grappler171

Last night I was driving back to the shop for an emergency call-out and took a hard turn which had a low spot with a bunch of water pooled up. Water splashed quite high and immediately following the bump in the turn my battery light jumped on and power steering was jerky and lights and bells went off. I pulled over and after about 15 seconds it stopped. I drove it rest of way to work and back home with no issues. It's a 2011 RL tech. Any ideas wtf happened on that corner? Appreciate any feedback. Sorry I just realized this might be a post jack. . .��

oo7spy

Check your battery cable connections at the terminals. A loose contact can screw a bunch of things up. You shouldn't be able to move the cables with your hands no matter how much force you use.

woodek

Exact same thing happened to me yesterday, but luckily I was near my girlfriends house, pulled into the driveway, dash went "warning light crazy", the speedo and dash needles dropped and 1 min later she shut off.

Had it towed to the dealer and they said it was a bad cell in the battery (Interstate) that quickly affected the Alternator so they are replacing both ($700). Know I could change out the Alt for considerably cheaper, but the car has been paid for, for over 5 years, so I'm just chalking it off as regular maintenance.