yesterday I accelerated onto the freeway and my SH-AWD light came on and a message on the nav screen said to avoid slippery roads and hard turns I believe, I'm only 4K away from my next differential oil change and transer case so I hope its not mechanical, So when I got back in the car to leave my destination all the warnings were off which I find strange.

Has anybody experienced this?

 

Had it come on (SH-AWD warn) when a wheel was accidentally mounted incorrectly on the hub. Be careful.

 

Not to worry. There's a very low likelyhood that it's mechanical.

It might be an electrical anomaly -- weak battery or bad connection.

Or the SH-AWD diff fluid may be just low enough to occasionally trip the low level warning and show those messages. If that's the case, you may start seeing it more often.

You should probably have the SH-AWD diff checked for signs of leakage and proper level.

 

I have had that happen 2 times in my 2007 RDX, I brought it to 2 different dealers,(paragon acura & Kings acura) and both said it was not an issue as long as the light does not stay on. When my light came on after parking it and letting it sit, the car will attempt to reset itself, If it is a problem the SHAWD light will stay on. Let your service provider know just so there is a paper trail. You never know.

 

Ironically this happend to me today, A day after I posted my comment. Now I am in the same situation as Vividsi, My SHAWD will not go off, and to go with that sensor, An emmissions error popped up and a transmition error. SMH. Some one pls HELP!!!

 

I had a situation where I had emission codes P0135, P0498 and P0171 along with All-Wheel Drive code 77. To the best of my knowledge all that was required was replacing one (or more?) O2 sensors. The dealership wasn't clear since it was done under their warranty.

From what I could find online, I believe that the SH-AWD was going into a fail-safe mode to reduce stress on the engine since it wasn't running correctly. I also found a number of articles that indicated that the entire transmission or exhaust or etc. had to be replaced.

$.02

 

I took it to my independent shop for inspection and also brought some Acura diff/transfer case fluid and they said the fluid was red and that the diff fluid I brought was a different color. Looks like Acura put ATF fluid back there?

Well at any rate the fluids were different and now they are correct, the light was off on the way to the shop so it looks like it was cleared on its own but its good that I brought it to the shop anyway.

 

update: this happened again in manual mode from a stand still, the car is only in FWD according to the MID then I restarted it at the next red light and its back to normal, ive been thinking about trading it in or selling it.

 

I just thought could this be due to the fact that the motor is making more power due to the intercooler and reflash and the SH system isnt liking it?

 

I had the sh-awd warning when my i-Vtec solenoid was going out and I think it happen when I had a faulty brake booster sensor. You might have to take it to Acura to read the codes because sometimes the sh-awd warning may be a response (limp mode) to another drive train problem. You still should be under the 7yr/70,000 mile drive train warranty if you gone past the 4yr/50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper.

I have hondata, K/N filter, and still haven't installed my intercooler. I haven't heard of anyone else having problems with the extra power?

 

I think i just hit 71K

 

I did get a notice in the mail a couple of years ago for my TSX for extending my 4/50 and 7/70 warranties because of a class action lawsuit for a 4% error in the Speedo. It wasn't much, only about another coulple thousand miles. I don't know what models were included and up to what year? I did not see anything for my 08 RDX (purchase the RDX used in 2010 compared to new for the TSX).

Sometimes the service manager will perform the work under warranty if you are close enough.

 

This week has been fine and I was flying in "M" mode this morning so hopefully its nothing major, if its only a vtec solenoid on its way out then I would feel more comfortable changing that vs any SH-AWD components.

I think I have too much in it to sell it over a repair costing less than $150

 

Wow, odd error for HMCo

 

I had the same SH-AWD light. Still under warranty, Acura replaced 1 Rear Passenger Sensor that was faulty.

 

Good to know, I called my service advisor and he said the diff never needs to be changed under normal conditions, but the sensors may need replacing so not a huge deal, my trust is renewed in the reliability of this car.

 

FYI: Found out dealer had used VTM4 in my rear diff. Looks very close to ATF. It's used in the Pilot rear diff.

 

yea, its a scary thing when that happens, that's why I change my own engine oil because I know M1 synth is going in, now I have a reason to change all the other fluids myself. There must be a reason why Honda makes specific fluids for each application, but some people don't care and just take one fluid over the entire car. Might as well start putting the acura windshield washer fluid throughout the entire vehicle.

 

another update, this has now happened for the third time and I've had to restart at a stop light. For those of you who have had acura replace a sensor of some sort do you have a part number? I'd like to order it myself and swap them out.

 

Just happened again today, I'm thinking about letting acura look at it...

 

Vividsi: Can you provide any word on what Acura says is the problem?

 

I never took it to Acura although I did order all 3 sensors, 1 for the bypass valve and the other 2 are for the wastegate. I did the bypass valve sensor myself but I had to take it to a trusted shop for the other 2 sensors which are behind the motor and I think removal of the intercooler is necessary. Labor was $200.

After I replaced the bypass sensor the light would not come on however there was still hesitation under acceleration, now it just pulls strong after all 3 sensors have been changed. With parts and labor i'm out almost $300, still cheaper than what Acura wants which is at least $500 from what I hear.

 

Thanks for the update. I will file this in my "hope it never happens" file.

 

I have had the same issue with the engine light and SH-AWD light coming on (then off and on again, etc). Its been with the dealership for a week and they say I need to replace the full turbo for $7,000.

Can others in this thread tell me how this was fixed?

 

All 3 turbo sensors have been replaced as well as the vtec solenoid, The light will not come on however I am still noticing the car hesitating and jerking not wanting to excellerate sometimes.

 

DO you think this was related to your mod's? I'm considering/hoping to do an IC/DP...

 

Do you have any intake mods?

 

stock intake, and this happens to people with stock RDX's.

 

Possibly check your intake clamps, I was having a hesitation similar to what you are describing and it turned out my clamps were loose right after the Mass Air Flow sensor causing the engine to suck in air that wasn't being metered.

 

Yes, and also make sure that the Mass Air Flow sensor is clean. All the symptoms described in this thread CAN be triggered by corrupted readings from the MAS.

I used to have this problem and found out that water would drip unto my CP-E air filter causing the MAS to get soaked.


Just another thing to check on.

 

Thanks, I'll check it out when I change the oil today, I let it go to 5%, yikes.

 

Run your gas to empty. Pour in fuel injector. Fill up your gas tank. Disconnect the negative wire from battery for 5 sec. This should reset the Sh-AWD error code. Best of luck!

 

A few days ago my 2007 showed an emission control code, then a SH- AWD warning, I was entering the Hwy for a 200 mi trip, stopped, warnings went off for a minute, then the emission showed again, and after a few miles the SH-AWD; decided to keep driving since I didn't feel any strange on the SUV, anyway noticed when the Tranny warning showed the computer disconnected the rear traction, just Front Wheel Drive showed on the display, ( the good part is the mileage improved ), called to the dealer asking for an appointment next day in Guadalajara, where I was heading to,
they did a scan and diagnostic, bad fuel it was, replaced the fuel, pour a fuel injector cleaner and everything is OK, just drove another 200 mi without any warning showing!
How a bad fuel problem become a transmission warning, I don't know!

 

Well, a brief update, after some 500 mi, the emissions control warning showed and a few minutes after the SH-AWD check also, after a long diagnostic running using a chart at the only dealer in Guadalajara Mexico, they found the problem was the duct from the inter cooler to admission was cracked, it wasn't in stock, so they ordered it and today they replaced it, what I noticed is a smoother running engine I guess the crack developed over some time, because I didn't felt the engine so smooth since a couple of months at least.

 

have you had any more issues with the warning light on your dashboard???

 

I know this is an old thread but my car with 11k miles on it recently started doing this. Anyone have any updates before I go back to the dealer? 1st time they said they called Acura and it passed all the tests so it got new differential fluid I guess that's what they called it. Now it's happening again with the AWD light coming on and the car slowing down in the middle of traffic. Getting pissed.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

You should go re-post this in the 3rd gen forums. This is first gen (2007-2012 model years). You're more likely to find what you need there, but honestly with a new car under warranty just take it to the dealer and let them figure it out. You're a ways away from having to DIY.