The thing stopped working, is it normal for batteries go back in 1 year? I'm going to try a new battery... if this does not help, is that something that should be covered under warranty

 

yes covered by warranty.

The battery in the remotes usually last more then a year, but beyond a year it begins to degrade.

 

You should have received two remotes with the RDX. Try the other one. From experience the remote with a new vehicle should last a long, long (years) time b4 replacing battery. One year is WAY too short of a time period for the battery to die, but, I suppose it could happen.

Consult your dealer if you feel it's defective. If it's the battery that is a simple and cheap quick fix.

 

yes, the second remote works. I will try with new battery before going to the dealer. It died very strangely: the red light would stay on and it appeared that I could only lock the car, but could not unlock... shortly after it was totally dead. I removed the battery, its is a tiny battery CR1616, 2 times smaller than the one I use for my 2001 CLS. Believe it or not, but my 2001 CLS is still on original remote control battery.

 

This is off topic, but, I traded a 2003 CL-S when I bought my RDX. The RDX is an awesome vehicle, love the SH-AWD and turbo, and wanted the extra utility, but I miss my CL Type-S! It was a fun car and a "sleeper" if you will when spanking almost anything on the road!

 

yeah, I am planing to keep my CL, still going strong. We got RDX for my wife, but I get to do all the maintenance and trouble shooting

 

Did you check the manual to see if the vehicle would "alert" you that the battery is low?

 

The manual says that when battery is bad it will take number of times you would have to press the button before door opens/closes. Anyway, I replaced the battery and it seems to work fine now. Now, I am hoping that I got a weak battery to begin with, and that its not normal to replace remote batteries once a year. Original battery did not have "lithium" on it, so maybe it was crap. I got the one that is lithium, so should last longer. getting this batteries is a b*tch too, I could not find them anywhere, finally thanks to radio shack.....

 

My Saab tells me Battery Low (or something like it) in the information display when the battery is low....
was changing the battery easy? did you need any especial tools?

 

its fine, but you need to read your manual which tells you how to open a remote control. its not very intuitive, its also very delicate when you have to open a key piece, very easy to break plastic housing or key pad. so have to be careful and take your time, reading manual defiantly helps. damn, they make cars more complicated, on my acura CL there is a nob that you unscrew with a quarter to change a battery, for RDX you need a very fine screw driver, both Philips and flat blade. the battery is tiny and costs $5, maybe thats why it went bad....