So my car has been sitting for a few days, 4, to be exact. The last time I turned it on it complained about low electrical charge. I figured one of the kids prob left a light on or something. So I warmed it up for a bit, shut it off, then turned it back on and warning went away. I also made sure no electrical accessories were on.

Tonight, the car had a hard time starting. Once it does start up I get warnings for the follow:
- check transmission
- check vsa
- check engine
- check trailer hitch
- low electrical charge
- check emissions


I can't imagine all these this went bad at the same time. Im Thinkin its an electrical issue of some sort. I'm worried cause tomorrow I have to drive 200 miles round trip to go see a client. Great timing. Hope I can make it back so I can get it dropped off at the dealer. Luckily it's Under warranty but still sux. I needed to vent.

 

have the battery checked.

usually if the battery goes bad, the car can start to act funny (like electrical stuff) for no reason whatsoever.

if the battery checks out ok, then...????

 

Thanks tltrigirl. I will post up once I get the issue diagnosed.

 

Have your battery tested at the dealer. I had a similar problem, and they wound up doing a 2+ hour battery test which involved discharging and recharging. For me, the final diagnosis was that since my wife takes many short trips (<1 mile), and uses EVERYTHING, the battery never had a chance to recover. My fix for now is to swap cars with her a couple of days per week, do the longer drive, and thus keep the charge level up. Seems to be working according to my tester. When I had the problem, the charge was around 60%. Now with the new regime it consistently sits at over 90%.

 

Thanks fx. As soon as I can get out to the dealer I will have them do that. I use my car like 4 days a week and each time use it for like 50-100 miles so I don't think it isn't holding a charge. It is winter here so maybe the cold is making it act up.

 

if the slow/hard start is persistent...then you have a parasitic draw somewhere in the car (assuming the battery checks out ok).

 

Especially for those who live in cold climates, it's a good idea to invest in a battery maintainer to keep your battery fully charged.

 

I agree I am willing to bet its the battery. Even if they say the battery passes it does not mean its good. One of the six cells could be not holding a complete charge and messing with the system. Acuras are so finicky with constant draw I have seen batteries pass the test at Advanced auto/ the dealership and roll the windows down when locked just because of a bad battery cell not showing up. I would start with replacing the battery and I bet it will fix the problem. All acura warranty batteries are Interstate I believe. Why they put such crappy oem Panasonic and other brands is beyond me. I have seen them fail at 12 months.

 

I have an appt for 10am Friday to get it checked out. the service tech said its probably the battery. i asked "after only 1.5 years?" and he said it was a common thing in the winters. Hopefully thats all it is and they replace it through warranty and then i'm done.

 

Some of the batteries that are in Honda/Acura cars will fail early. I guess it's just a crappy AC Delco battery.

But anyway, the issue you have is due to a bad battery. When there is not enough power to turn on the car, or barely enough it'll starve electronics of power and thus cause these errors. BMW and MB owners have been going through the same issues for almost a decade! That's why they use AGM batteries now that can last 8-10 years without replacement!

 

I went to my local dealer and told them what was happening. They said it was the battery and just went ahead and out right replaced it. I don't think they tested or diagnosed anything else. Since they replaced the battery last Friday I have had no issues or warning lights come on. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Wasn't there a recall for some 2010-2011 VINs to have the battery power sensor itself replaced? The sensor was reading low batt in error, even with a good battery. I had the low batt power warning come on intermittently before the fix and since the fix it's been fine. I'm on the original battery that came with the car 14k miles ago.

 

Just curious = which dealer

 

There is a tsb the number is 11-017. You use a module that updated the battery sensor and changed its specification for setting off the low battery charge in the MID. But the car sets alot of different low voltage codes when battery voltage is around 10 volts which explains all the lights op had. Sounds like a battery with a dead cell. the ed18 battery tester that the dealer has will be able to tell if the battery is good, needs to be replaced, or has a dead cell

 

My bad the battery update TSB is 11-033