passingsoul

Hello RDX owners/Acura enthusiasts. Just some quick background, I have owned my 07 Acura RDX for around one month now and it has around 175 KM. The car runs smooth and the transmission shifts perfectly. Upon minutes of starting my car the D light starts to flash on my dashboard. I am pretty sure this is transmission related. How should I go about diagnosing this? And is it safe to travel short distances with this light flashing?

Tomtwtwtw

Any related codes that you're able to view? There are a number of different things that can cause the "D" light to flash (low fluid, bad solenoid, bad sensor, etc), and generally speaking a flashing light is a signal to not drive. I'd recommend towing it if you need to get it to a shop, even if it seems to be driving normal, just to minimize risk to anything else.

passingsoul

There are no related codes. The transmission oil is good. I turned the car on 20 minutes after I arrived home and the flashing D light disappeared.

passingsoul

I suspect the humid weather may have played a role in this. Once it cooled down the flashing D light did not come back. The pressure switch might have to be changed?

schen72

I'm really surprised there are no codes. Did you use an OBDII scanner to check?

thoiboi

How did you determine this?

MtnRDX

You are new to this car, and probably have the same issue I do with it, as I do a lot of driving for work (in my jeep) and drive the RDX only when I am not working.

Here is what I have figured out that I am doing that pisses the RDX off and causes this to happen.

My Jeep has pretty instant directional shifts from park to reverse, or from park to drive, or from reverse to drive, or from drive to reverse.

The RDX does not. I don't know a thing about either one, but I can tell you it is like one has a mechanical shifter direct to the trans and the other is controlled by a slow computer or electronics. One is instant and one is like grandpa.

The RDX shifts much slower. And what I am doing that pisses it off is I am shifting and driving it like I am in my Jeep where time is money. Pull it in reverse, immediately get off the brake and go to back up. Well that pisses it off. So does backing out into the street, then shifting to drive, letting off the brake and trying to get going quick because someone is coming.

This will set it off almost every time. If I habitually shift my direction change, hold the brake in and wait seconds before I let off the brake it never happens. Never. If I am hasty it sets it off almost every time.

There are 3 of us that drive this car. I'm the one driving every time it happens. Every time. And it is always when I am backing out of my driveway, or when I have backed into the street, put it in drive and started to drive away from home. Or when I get back in at a store and go to get going out of the parking lot. Every time. My wife has set it off once in the time that we have owned it. She was forced to make a quick transition and bing.

Try to remember to shift and count to 3 before doing anything else. I try but still forget sometimes.

Midnight Mystery

Check your range sensor/nuetral safty switch...


Mines doing it right now, too.

CSmoney28

If your fluids are correct in color, smell, and level then it looks like your transmission pressure switches need to be changed. They go bad all the time you just have to find out which one is causing your issue right now.

MtnRDX

I had to come back and find this thread to say that I think I was wrong in what I said above. Yes I think I was causing it to trip more by being a little more hasty than other drivers in my house. But I am wrong in that it turns out there is an underlying issue that needs fixing. It just so happens that if I shut it off and crank it back that the D light quits flashing.

Recently mine has started doing this more and the last couple of times caught my attention a little better. Like for example more than once it has happened after leaving the car idling in park for a bit after starting to let the AC cool things off. Or leaving someone in the car while I run in the store. Instant I shift from park it dings and the light starts flashing which is different than what I experienced before.

I've been kind of stumped (and stupid) so I was looking for parts and also looking for more symptoms. It ended up a few times that after this occurred, I turned the car off, turned it back on and the flashing stopped. But after going somewhere and parking, when I turned the key to start it did nothing. Of course at first you try again, and then kind of panic and start trying different stuff to get it to start without really being specific in what you are trying. I think the first time I ended up pressing the brake, turning the key and shifting to neutral and it fired. So I tried to tell myself to be cool next time and see what I could figure out. I think the next time I just pushed on the shifter a little in park and it cranked. And another time it didn't crank just reaching in. But after I got in and pressed the brake it did.

All in all, I got to thinking it was a shifter sensor. But I couldn't really find anything in acura diagrams, and the box store sites were not pulling much up either except a neutral safety switch so I was kinda confused. Later I realized I had totally forgot about the tech package and that I could go in and look to see if there were any stored codes in messages. Sure enough there is one instance of P1717 code stored in there. After a lot of digging I finally found "Sensor Assembly, Position" 28900-RJB-043 and then noticed it looks pretty much like what the parts stores have labeled as neutral safety switch.

In the end though finding it in the Acura parts diagrams helped me locate and look at it on the car. And now I feel stupid. It all seems to make sense. It looks like this is a sensor that mounts in a way where the shift shaft goes through it. And it senses gear position based on rotation of the shift shaft. So now I feel pretty confident this is what is wrong. It's kind of intermittent and needs changing out.

I am not sure if mine is just really wonky, or if I had let it go on until it was completely dead this is an item that could strand you in a no-start situation? But I am not going to wait around to find out. It does not look particularly fun to change out. But I don't think it is beyond my mechanical ability. It looks like once you do the work to be able to access the part, it looks like the job consists of an electrical connector, a couple of lock tabs, a nut, and 2 bolts to remove. Then the reverse to install, and possibly an adjustment at the end of the job?

Thinking about the job makes me wonder if it's possible it needs adjusting or is loose rather than it actually needs replacing? I guess I will find out when I get around to the job. It will be a week or so before I have time. So if you have experience with problems with the shift sensor and or swapping it out, let me know.

CSmoney28

Mine was swapped out but it was done under my extended warranty by the dealer. So unfortunately I cant give you advice on how to change it other than I had the same problem.

MtnRDX

Looks within my abilities. If it is not loose once I get to it I will replace it.

I dig the blacked out look in your avatar pic. Mine is black also and I have been wanting to do the same thing.

CSmoney28

Sounds good, glad you can handle it. Thanks, the blackout look is for sure the way to go.

electricScrewer

Did you end up replacing yours? Was it a pain to get at? Do you have any advice for me, I need to replace mine.

yanga001

I did the range switch a while back and it was a pain in the ass because of corrosion. Be careful with the threads on the switch and do not over torque it one way or the other. If you can get the bolt and switch off easily then its not to bad of a job, say 15-30 minutes. If it is stuck on there then prepare for a battle.