Pacgas

my daughters 2009 rdx turbo;
upon inserting key and moving to "on" position, ALL the lighting in the instrument panel will flash on and off until she steps on throttle to start car. it does start and the flashing stops. she lives long distance but will be here this week-end. she thinks I can diagnose long distance? I know members of this site can do that, please, make me look good, much appreciated for any help people can offer me.

Jdrum1

Do you just mean all the warning lights come on? If so, that's normal (I think all my car do that).


Side note; no need to step on the throttle when starting. Sure, I have to do that to me carbureted pickup from the 60's, but it shouldn't be necessary on a modern car. Keep in mind that when an engine first starts, it has very little oil lubricating it (don't want to rev it until the oil can circulate).

Midnight Mystery

A few lights do flash about five times when turning on the ignition, such as SRS air bags...

The seatbelt light will blink until it's been fastened...

Some other lights will just illuminate, such as:

Check engine
Battery
Oil pressure

Maybe another one...

That's normal operation!!!

Now she could have a Christmas tree effect, that's another story...

If the vehicle is running fine, don't worry about it until she sees you this weekend...

Now, needing to throttle upon startup... The starter may be dragging, see if it's starting slower than normal...

Also, ask her if it's worse after she's been driving for a while, i.e. warm engine...

My starter failed three weeks ago today...

I started a thread, and several members have come to me reporting similar issues...

If she's in a warm to hot climate, that will further cause starting issues...

Or maybe that battery is failing causing low voltage...

Check to see if it's charging properly, any deviation from the voltage specs will cause elections to act up...

The three are linked, battery, starter, altinator...

If one is acting up, it can make things a bit tricky...

Best of luck and I wish her a safe trip to visit you!!!

Pacgas

thanks for all your help.
I suggested she go to autozone or the like and have the charging system and battery tested,
autozone testing determined the alternator was putting out 13.2 volts whereas her battery was holding 8.8 volts. I had them install new battery and all is well!
she made the trip just fine!

Midnight Mystery

Ok, well good...
Keep an eye on it just in case as those Auto Zone aren't entirely accurate, but her problem is likely resolved!!!