Hello.
I just bought an MDX (2009) about a month ago. Great vehicle and I love it.

I have a small issue or annoyance and I'm not sure if it's just me or there's actually a problem with the car. I can't find anything in the owner's manual, so I thought I'd try here.

Basically the problems with the instrument panel brightness. Let me see if I can explain the symptoms.

The other day when I pulled out of my garage in the morning (it's dark in the garage, but bright outside). The instrument panel lights started out in full brightness then when I pull out into the light it stayed at full. I thought this was odd and didn't remember this happening before. I checked my brightness adjustment and it was not set to max but the notch just under (therefore auto was in effect). The brightness control worked correctly if I lowered the setting the lighting dimmed. Turning on or off the headlights had no effect so I left them in "Auto" mode.

Since I couldn't change this effect I thought I was just going nuts and this is the way it's supposed to work. Then today I pulled out of the garage and the lighting appeared to be dimmer than normal or at least the other day (same brightness outside). I drove a while making sure it wasn't going to change, which it didn't. Then I pressed the brightness control and immediately the panel lighting went to bright as if it had been stuck at half. If I adjusted the brightness it appeared dimmed correctly up and down. It looks like it was showing about half bright before I hit the adjustment button. It stayed bright until I pulled into work (an hour later). I turned off the ignition and restarted to see if it would dim again but they stayed bright.

Sorry to be long winded but I just wanted to explain it in detail. Is this normal behavior?

Thanks in advance.

 

I think I understand what your describing. The interior panel lighting should dim when the headlights go on and brighten when they go off. If you have your headlights on Auto mode, I would expect the headlights to come on when you first start the car in the garage with the interior lights dimmed. After you pull out of the garage the headlights should shut off and the panel lights should brighten. As i said, this is all based on the assumption you have your headlights on "Auto" so they go on and off based on ambient lighting outside.

If your interior panel lights are not in sync with what your headlights are doing then I'd bring it in for a service check. Could be a bad light sensor causing your panel lights (and worse) your headlights to not operate when they should.

 

Thanks SpicyMikey for your quick reply.

I think the headlights are working as they should. They go off and on according to the ambient light outside. I think I may have a problem with the panel lights though. I don't think they are "in sync" with the headlights or something is out of wack. It's hard to track down because different things are happening and I haven't been able to consistantly reproduce it. This morning when I pulled out into the daylight the Headlights turned off and the panel lights were dimmed. however the second I pressed the brightness adjustment button the panel lights went bright and stayed bright..weird.

However, the other day when I pulled into the light the headlights went off (as they should) but the panel lights stayed bright.

Again sorry for the long winded replies. It's just hard to describe. I think your right, something might be wrong with the light sensor.

 

Well, if you can reproduce it on demand then it's an easy thing to present for repair. Just show it to them happening. Even if you can't reproduce it, bring it in anyway so they can check for logged error codes. If something is malfunctioning, and can be detected by the ECU, it will throw an error. From my experience, I've had codes thrown for non-engine issues before. It helped my tech determine I had an intermittently bad side mirror actuator which was preventing the seats and mirrors from repositioning to the preset positions at startup. Without that code it would have been hard to figure out what the issue was.

 

I'll do that, have them check it out. It seems really trivial but it's driving me nuts.

All and all though, I love the vehicle. Best car I think I've ever owned.

 

Yes, the MDX is widely considered one of the best (if not the best) in it's class by most reviewers. That's regardless of price. Include that factor and it's probably the best valued 7 seater out there.

Good luck with your issue.

 

Hey SM, good to see you over on this side. I miss your repartee from the RL side. I am on the RDX side for now with my '08, but have a '10 MDX ordered, which I hope I get before the first snow falls and I make my way back to Kissimmee in January.

 

Yep, I'm around. Not much going on with the RL these days so not much to talk about over there. My 08 MDX is doing good. I spend time on the Off Topic Auto News thread a lot. Good luck with the RDX.

 

I have an '09 Sport/Ent and experience a similar problem as gnash. When the lights are on Auto and I depart my garage, the panel lights are dim. After I pull out into the sunlight, the headlamps go out but my panel lights remain dim. I notice after a few minutes of not being able to see my instrument lights, they suddenly appear brighter.

 

That I've seen happen on my RL. Sometimes there is a slight delay (30 seconds or so) after I leave the garage before the interior dashboard lights and nav screen go to full brightness. I always assumed the headlights were staying on as well during that delay.

I'll have to have someone stand outside the car and tell me if the headlights go out immediately or also delay shutting off

 

The problem may lie on the "Auto Interior Illumination" setting on the MID Personalized setting. It's on page 95 in your owner's manual, it's probably set on "Max". Try a lower setting ad check it out, the interior illumination includes the nav screen as well.

 

auto dim is controled in three places ...the dim buttons on the instrument panel ,,, the navi screen under setup and ,,, personalized setting under HID if one of them is set to max then that is your problem