Hmmm. we just returned from a 12 day vacation. My wife's RDX's battery is completely dead. My RSX-S started just fine. We didn't have time to call TLC this morning as I had to drive my wife to work. We'll see what happens tonight. Seems like it happens too much with the RDXs...

 

My turn today for a dead battery...RDX parked for 5 days...TLC jumped and all seems fine for now.

 

Was adding phone numbers in the HFL phonebook when the nav screen starting flickering & went on & off. Next, got a message that the passenger airbag was not functioning due to low battery. Now the car won't start. I've got it hooked up to a battery charger & will take it in to the dealer tomorrow.

 

I got in my car on Friday to drive home from work. It had been parked for a total of 10 hours after a 40 mile non-stop highway commute (off hours so there was no rush hour traffic to deal with). The car cranked long and didn't start. I turned everything off and tried one more time and it started after about 5 full seconds of cranking. Very scary that it should be low on battery after so little time and having driven on the highway (which I believe to be the optimal charging conditions, no?).

I had one stop to make on the way home and debated avoiding it in case the car wouldn't start again, but decided that I should expect the car to meet my needs, not the other way around. I only drove about 1 mile after it had that starting problem and parked it at a store. When I came out after 10 minutes I dreaded trying to start it again, but turned the key and it started normally - no acting like it was out of battery power at all. Very strange, although the engine might have warmed up sufficiently on the 1 mile drive that it required less of the starter motor. I've taken about 3 or 4 trips since then and no starting problems since.

 

To all the folks who have had the "sat for xx days and it was dead" problem ... make sure that you have your batteries checked - it's possible that one or more of the cells "died" and you'll have future problems.

I've been OK since replacing the battery back in December - and that's included more than a few out of town trips where the car has been parked w/o being started for >5 days.

Cheers,
mj

 

Hi Guys:
Just got my RDX this Mon night. Already my battery went dead on me twice between Mon and Wed. Both happened when the car was parked in the garage and not running while I was playing either Navigation or audio system. I've jumped start it twice to get my car going.
Took it back to dealer and they couldn't find any problem. From everything I read here, it looks like RDX has a major battery problem that they need to recall and fix it.

 

My dealer warned me not to run the nav system for more then 30 minutes with the engine off because that can kill the battery. I suppose audio can also be pretty hard on the battery if you're using most of the 450 watts.

 

For those with battery problems, how many have the tech package and how many have the base package? I'm just wondering if the battery problems are related to things in the tech package like the nav, HFL, etc.

I have the tech package and I've had some slow starts but it has started everytime so far with many times when the vehicle has sat for up to 10 days.

 

Although I personally haven't had any battery problems (and I suspect I have a VERY early production model having purchased in August), in my quiet garage I have noticed a significant hum in the engine compartment with everything off and the key out of the ignition. Sounds like transformer hum. I suspect that the tech stuff really is drawing a decent amount of current to keep it alive.

Mike

 

Hey...I just thought of something, and may be it's a long shot, but....

I was just reading the latest service bulletin on the parasitic current draw, and it suggests waiting 10 minutes before measuring to ensure that the HFL goes to sleep. It reminded me of the RDX's feature that keeps power on for windows, radio, HFL, etc. for a while after you turn the car off. I'm wondering if that's why I heard the hum in my engine compartment - and I wonder if I'd hear the same hum if I waited a couple of hours and then went back out into my garage. I ALSO wonder (and here's the point) if there's a bug in the code somewhere such that under some conditions the HFL doesn't shut off properly....thus the battery issues?

Here's some more evidence. I have noticed some freaky things with my phone battery life - and only when using it in the car. For the record, I RARELY use my phone. I'm talking single digit minutes per month. However, some days, if I leave it in the car (which I do), the phone battery will die in a day. Other times, it will last 4 days. It's almost like the bluetooth connection stays active sometimes even when I turn the car off and remove the key.

What do you think? Could I be on to something? Could the HFL be killing car batteries?

Mike

 

someone else here had mentioned before that the bluetooth doesn't disconnect from their phone after the car is shut off and it causes problems because the bluetooth is still connected to the phone even when inside the house and the car is off in the garage. I haven't had that problem on mine. My bluetooth disconnects within about 15 seconds of shutting the car off, usually quicker.

I haven't noticed any hum from my vehicle after it is shut off. As for the power windows and sunroof operating after the car is shut off, that all shuts off as soon as a door is opened.

I wish they had printed how much "parasitic draw" there should be in the service bulletin. the 200mA draw of the HFL shouldn't be enough to kill the battery by itself especially for 10 mins, but who knows how much other things draw....

 

So this is just building my case. MOST of the time, my HFL does disconnect from my phone - because I can hear it beep (indicating a lost bluetooth connection). It sounds like SOMETIMES it doesn't - which supports my theory.

I hear the hum IN the engine compartment, with the hood up. It's fairly faint, but there. As far as the power shutting off, I agree that's how it's SUPPOSED to work. However, maybe it doesn't all the time due to a bug somewhere that appears when the appropriate conditions are met?

I agree 200mA for 10 min shouldn't make a difference, but how about 200mA for 5 days? What's the battery rating? I'm thinking it should be easy to calculate...

Mike

 

The windows will work for several minutes after the engine is shut off for the convenience of being able to shut an open window without having to turn the engine back on....

As for the bluetooth, the connection does seem to stay on for a few minutes after the engine shuts off. In fact, if you are in a phone call and shut the engine off, the conversation continues using the car microphone/speakers (I did that once and then used the phone to transfer the call back to the handset)

But I have never heard any hum or sounds after the engine is off. Perhaps your particular cell phone is set to automatically 'reconnect' to its paired bluetooth handset when connection is lost. If that is true, its possible that your phone is forcing the car to keep its connection live. Especially if you have an attached garage so the phone is still within 30ft of the car.

 

At the risk of coming off a bit brash, why does everyone keep telling me this? Am I not phrasing my question clearly (which is very possible)? I know how it is SUPPOSED to work and why. I'm suggesting that maybe it doesn't work properly, every single time. Remember, not all of us are having problems with our batteries. It is very difficult to diagnose and debug intermittent problems. If the error occurred every time, I suspect that Acura would have caught it long ago. I guess I'm looking for feedback on:

1. Potential that this sort of bug might exist and might be the cause of some premature battery failures - or am I way off base
2. Suggestions on how to catch it - given that it is likely very intermittent

How about collecting some info like Sasair started a few posts back. How many with bad batteries have the tech package? How many use the HFL with their phone? Do you often leave your phone in the car? Do you think you might have when your battery was drained the first time? As far as the hum, a few folks have said they don't hear anything after the engine is shut off. Can you confirm that you have done this in a quiet place, and with your head in the engine compartment right after turning the car off? Is 200mA enough to drain a battery in 3 days? 5 days? Has anyone tested the parasitic current? Do you see it drop by 200mA after 10 min? Stuff like that...

I guess I'm looking for someone to tell me either 'there's no way', or help compile some data to determine if we can nail the problem and report it to Acura.

Mike

 

I constantly have the problem of the bluetooth not disconnecting from my phone. This problem will last for 5-10 minutes after I turn off my car and go inside the house. If I make or receive a call right after getting home I usually have to turn off bluetooth from my phone, otherwise it keeps telling me there is a bluetooth device attached and can't hear any sounds through the phone.

 

Ah - so this is good info. Given that the latest service bulletin says it takes the HFL 10 min to go to sleep, what you are seeing makes sense. Either way, this shouldn't cause a battery failure unless something causes the connection to persist indefinitely. Have you ever had it last longer than 10 min? Like hours?

Mike

 

I have not had any dead battery issues and can't imagine the HFL alone is drawing enough power to kill the battery. Unless there was a glitch where the HFL never went to sleep after the SB's stated time of 10 minutes. A situation where some electronic components don't shut down properly is a possibility since we are dealing with computer chips and computers are known to have the occasional glitch.

As a side note, since purchasing my RDX, it has been garage kept on two separate occasions for 8 days and 4 days and never had a battery problem.

 

Agreed...that's what I'm suggesting might be the issue here...

If I can work it out, I'm going to stick an ammeter on my battery one night after I get home and watch it for 10 min to see what kind of current is being drawn - and hopefully see it drop by 200mA. If I do it, I'll post my results here. Anyone else care to give it a shot? I'd actually try it once with my phone in the vicinity, and another time with my phone off.

Mike

 

If you constantly have this problem, you should take it to the dealer and show them. Something definitely isn't working right there, but maybe it is your phone that is not checking to see if the the bluetooth device (the RDX) is there or not. Have you tried pairing another phone with the vehicle? I have used 4 different Motorola models and all seem to release within about 15 seconds.

 

I have a feeling it is a problem with my phone (using a T-Mobile Dash aka HTC Excalibur). I will try to pair another phone this weekend to prove whether the problem is with the phone or the car.

 

While I had the car at the dealer, they repainted part of the back end as I had some paint peeling on the hatch, next to the left taillight. They kept the car for 8 days. They checked the battery at the end of the week & it was still charged. They couldn't find anything wrong with it. I mentioned that others were reporting problems on AcuraZine & that I would not be happy if the battery died again. They said for customer goodwill, they'd replaced it.

I was happy since this was not the dealer I bought the car from. They gave me a TSX loaner which I drove for 4 days, then they let me exchange it for a TL for the next 4 days. I liked the touch screen nav in the TL better than the nav in my RDX. The TL also had navtraffic, HFL & ELS surround sound.

So hopefully no more battery problems.

Catnippants,
I have a tech model, & usually have my cell phone turned off on weekdays. On weekends, when I leave the phone on, I have seen the disconnect message on my phone when I exit the car with it. I don't leave the phone in the car, but it is still within range of the HFL inside the house. I park inside my garage & have not noticed a hum.

FYI - I had the car parked at LAX for 11 days & it started right up. 2 wks later was when the battery died. That same Saturday morning I resubscribed to XM. Car was fine all that day until the evening when I was adding some names & numbers to the HFL phonebook. That's when it died.

 

Did you have the engine off when you were playing with the HFL? Was the stereo on or off? How many minutes of this before the battery died?

 

The engine was off, can't remember if the stereo was on, but the nav screen was on. I'm guessing it was 15 minutes. This was in the evening. In the morning I had the car powered for maybe 20 minutes, (engine off) while XM was downloading. Nav was off at that time. This should not have drained the battery unless it was already low.

 

If the car power is on then the nav is on. The screen being off doesn't mean the nav is off, and just because you don't hit the OK for the nav system, it is still running.

 

Did you drive the car between these 20 minute and 15 minute sessions? I think 35 minutes with the nav system and stereo on is plenty of time to kill the battery.

 

I hit the display mode button to turn the nav off. (day, night, off)

 

Yes, a couple of times, but only short trips.

Back when I first got the car (11/06), I had nav & stereo on with battery only, for long periods, as I was playing with all the features. So if this short period killed the battery, it would have already been weak.

 

That just turns the screen off. The nav unit is still running.

 

When I had my car in for an oil change yesterday I had them check the battery. They ran a battery health test on it (not sure what device they use to do that), and it gave a readout. According to the readout my battery's estimated "age" is 24 months - for a car built in November. The car had been sitting on the dealer's lot for about 2 months and 100 miles when I bought it so I imagine that it may have spent a few days inside the showroom with the doors open and various other power systems draining the battery.

I probably should have pushed a little more since the battery was showing so much age, but I figure at this rate it will fail a test and need to be replaced before too long anyway...

 

First I'd like to say I'm not sure what to make of this whole battery situation and the real cause, however I think i'd have to disagree with the dealer that told you the higher amps would blow out your system. Electrical systems depend on the voltage being the same as in if you need 12 volts for the system to work, you can't attach it to anything but 12 volts or you can risk damage (if voltage is too high) or just plain old not working if voltage is too low. The system will only use the amps it needs and no more unless there is another serious problem which will more than likely cause a short, then causing an open and death to some poor component. Acura just needs to do some QA on these batteries and/or the entire electrical system.

 

++

Although, not sure how that could possibly run your battery out...unless you didn't start your car for a week or something...

 

Another data point: I started my car today after leaving it off for 9 days-- no battery problems. VIN in 18000 range.

 

as far as a battery blowing out your audio, that is what fuses are for, so that should not happen even if it was to much amperage.

Secondly, i have a vin of 000975 and have not had this problem, just got back from 7day vacation and started right up.

Third, have had a phone paired to bluetooth and disconnects usually within 30sec-1min

Fourth, I dont think only tech packages have had dead battery issue, so most likely not the HFL, maybe a small short in the electrical system?

 

Drove 7 hours on Monday. Left the car at home from Monday evening to Saturday morning and the battery was FLAT (I'm assuming - reading this forum). Door would not open and nothing would work - no electrics.

Currently waiting for TLC to show up and fix it. Its a 2007 RDX Tech bought 2.5 months ago.

I'm concerned this has happened to a brand new car and that too one thats 'luxary' and expensive. I would not want this to happen on a roadtrip or at any time.

How can my battery be flat 4 days ina garagae/ apt parking lot after a 7hr drive?

I'll call my dealer and ask for a new battery. Seems like its a real problem. If any of you have any other ideas - I'm open to suggestion.

Thanks to you all for your posts.

Best.

 

Just to let you all know, I had my car in a parking garage for 23 days and it started up yesterday with no problem after that amount of time. My VIN is in the 18xxx range.

 

----
above was my post from Saturday.

Just so you all know the flat battery was my 3yo daughter's fault. She was playing with teh reading light in the rear and we did not check it was ON when we parked. It was more my fault for not checking.

Car is fine.

 

Good to know, thanks for the update.

 

My turn.

The car was not used for four days and today, the battery is dead completely.
I am surprised even with key turned, the tranmission does not shift to push the car out of the garage to be jumped. Do they replace the battery at the dealer or do I have to insist on that?

Thanks a bunch.

Cy

 

dang I was actually away for a week in mexico and I was a little worried about how the battery would hold out. Came back and it was fine. I guess getting a later production vehicle helped me out on the battery issue. Sorry to hear about you guys having trouble though...

 

Ugh, i think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Please don't buy your next car from them.