ottoman101

This only happened to me about 5 times in the past 4 months I've owned this car, but I just want to see if anyone else has the same issue.

Every now and then when I push my start button to start my car it cranks for a very long time and the engine doesnt turn over. It almost starts, but then it loses it, so the starter keeps cranking. I'm talking about around 5 seconds of cranking. Normally it should start in a second or two. It happened again a few days ago, but this time it didnt start even if I let it go for a few extra seconds. I pushed the button again to stop it, then pushed again and it started right up. I'd blame the cold weather, but the first time it did this was in the fall when the weather was much warmer.

This is my first push button start car so I dont know if this is to be expected or not. But it's a brand new car, it shouldnt have any problems.

I know if I take this to the dealer they will not be able to duplicate the problem since it happens so sporatically, and they'll just say nothings wrong.

randumnutz

This happened to me once, the first week I had it. I thought maybe I wasn't pressing the brake hard enough. Hasn't happened since.

dc5k20z1

happened to me as well.... probably about 3 times since i took ownership 2 months ago. Happened again last night. I also think I am not pressing the brake hard enough. Going to have the dealer check it out when I go for my first oil change

matt7869

Have had the same issue over the last couple months about 5 times on my 13 rdx tech awd. Brought to the dealer and was told this is a known issue with no fix. Happened to me yesterday again. I am bringing it in again tomorrow and will let you if any fixes are proposed.

ottoman101

It hasnt happened for a while now. I've been making sure to press the brake hard lately. Maybe that really was the cause.

dc5k20z1

ehhh, this has happened about 7 times now since I bought the car on December 15th. I'm starting to get a little annoyed. A couple of those times the engine just wouldnt start. My oil life is at 40% and I am not so sure I want to wait until my first maintenance with the dealer. I have been making sure my foot is firmly on the brake too

For some reason I am thinking its the crappy Acura battery but I am also wondering if problems starting/ long crank is somehow associated with the fuel system and the "Tighten Gas Cap" warning some of us have experienced.

Its going to be damn near impossible to replicate this problem when I take it to the dealer

matt7869

dc5k20z1, I have been having the same problem since December. Already brought the vehicle to 2 different dealers a total of 4 times. Noone can seem to replicate. Now, I have been taking video with my phone every time I start the car hoping I can show them. I am starting to wonder if it has something to do with the gas level being too low or too high. I am keeping an eye on this and will let you know what I can find out...

dc5k20z1

I am actually contemplating on buying an optima yellow top battery... I have had that battery in all of my vehicles and its been superb. I might go for it in the next month or so. I might just avoid Acura batteries altogether. I'll still keep the Acura battery on hand just in case I have the same problem with the optima.

ottoman101

The starter still cranks fast so I dont think it's a battery problem in my case. It's more like the engine isnt getting enough gas, so it just keeps cranking.

I should add though it hasnt happened again since I started this post (knock on wood). I'm now very concious about pressing the brake pedal firmly when pushing the start button. Maybe that had something to do with it.

matt7869

I believe the dealer and I figured out this problem. There is a certain gas station that I was using and I noticed that when I filled the tank, this would happen on the next start-up (or soon thereafter). When I went back to this station, I noticed that the gas nozzle did not fit deep into the gas tank (it stuck out because of a rubber stopper on the outside of the nozzle preventing the nozzle from securely fitting into the tank). To test this, I filled up again and (to my surprise) the issue returned. The dealer confirmed that this could happen when the nozzle is not securely inside the tank....Something to keep in mind. I have avoided filling up at this station since and have not had the problem again.

Acurahater

I recently purchased the 2013 Acura RDX and have experienced the delayed start (approx. 5-6sec to start). It seems to happen almost all the time after I drive the car and then turn it off for at least 20 min and then try to start it up. If I shut the car off after the delayed start and try to start it up again, it starts up normally. I can replicate the issue fairly easily. I have captured on video on my phone and hope the Acura dealership can figure out what's the problem.

Does anyone know if there is a recall or if this is a known issue?

mdfree

This happened to me this weekend (2nd day of ownership) I thought that maybe I let off the brake too early or didn't press the button long enough. I asked the dealer and they didn't know anything about it. I guess I'll keep monitoring this post and hope it doesn't reoccur.

techman707

I have a 14 RDX and haven't noticed it....yet. From your description it sounds like what used to happen with a carbureted car in warm weather. When the engine is hot and turned off it would become what they called "vapor locked" and either wouldn't start or required a long cranking cycle before it started. It had to do with the way the fuel lines were routed. I haven't heard about that type of problem in years, especially since the introduction of fuel injection. I guess it's just ANOTHER problem to look forward to.

strato10

I have experienced the same not starting issue about 6 times in the past three months. Brought it to the dealer. They could not find anything. Does not seem to be temperature related since it has occurred just as often in a heated garage.

YeuEmMaiMai

fuel pressure relay or fuel pump intermittent power

disgookonfiya

This happened 3 times in the past 3 months of ownership (2014 that I bought on new years eve). And this morning, my acura left me stranded on the side of the road, and wouldn't re-start...

pkolanko

It seems to happen to me in cold weather. It happened to me this morning at 15 degrees.

thoiboi

Get a new battery

pkolanko

How could I need a new battery? I've only had the car for 16 months.

thoiboi

Batteries are extremely temperamental (pun intended) to temperature. Weak batteries are exasperated in colder climates.. If it's an Acura battery go get it tested and warrantied. If it's any other store, do the same.

Is it surprising that a battery is a maintenance item?

dbarnhart

As the old-timers would say, It's either not getting gas or not getting spark. Unfortunately we don't have access to the RDX's wiring diagrams (How I miss not having a real service manual). so finding the source is going to be difficult.

Anecdote: The W124 Mercedes-Benz was famous for this problem. It was almost always caused by a faulty fuel pump relay. It was cheaper and faster to just blindly replace the fuel pump relay that to try to actually troubleshoot the problem, since it was almost always the relay anyway. (Lord, how I miss my W124).

pkolanko

I agree with you, I actually didn't think it would be covered under warranty. I will bring it to the tech's attention the next time I service my vehicle.

thoiboi

Acura has 100-month pro rated batteries I believe.

Nelson23

This happens to my 2016 RDX all the time. The car starts just fine every morning no matter how cold or warm it is outside, but if you try to start after letting it sit for an hour or longer, it really struggles. Long cranking, and sometimes fails on first attempt. I have taken it to several different Acura dealers and they have replaced the battery, spark plugs, reflashed the computer, replaced the starter (twice), and checked the teeth on the fly wheel, checked the alternator. They do see an issue, but can't seem to diagnose it correctly. The issue remains and I do use different gas stations. Another thought was water in the gas tank, but that wasn't the case either.

If you guys have other suggestions, let me know.

Poolman

I would be checking a fuel pump relay or fuel filter . Once that buttons pushed it should fire and no one above complained about the engine turning over slowly while trying to crank the car.

Nelson23

@ottoman101 I never said the engine is turning over slowly.

Just replaced the fuel relay as well. Didn't fix the issue.

Nelson23

Anyone else hear it might be caused by the fuel pump not keeping pressure for long enough after shutoff?

BadAcCLS

Anyone ever get this figured out? Recently started having the same issue and I was thinking starter or fuel pressure issue.

SilverMDX13

?

acrdx13

Having the same issue with my 2013 RDX Base. It hasn’t not started yet, though it’s seemingly come very close, cranking very long and acting as if it’s going to stall out for a split second before finally catching. This started maybe a month ago, and seems to only happen after the car sits in direct sunlight/heat. It doesn’t happen when the engine is warm, in fact, I don’t think it has ever happened with the engine warm, but when the car itself has sat in direct sunlight. I thought for a minute that it was tied to the cabin temperature (frequently over 100° this summer), but it happened the other day with the cabin temp in the 80s, but it had been sitting in direct sunlight for an hour or two. I’ve had the car for about a year and a half now, bought it with 59k on it, currently at 98k, just had timing belt, water pump, and plugs done. Ironically, I’ve been adamant about only using premium gas, even as it soared past $5 a gallon here in Alabama. Right before I started experiencing this issue, I went to fill up and ran in the store for a drink. I was in the store plenty long enough for the tank to fill, but when I returned, it was pumping very slowly and had only reached $14 and some change (was spending around $70 a fill up at this time). My initial thought was that I sucked up a bunch of junk and it’s my fuel filter or pump. However, my wife ran it till the gas light came on the other day, and I thought that if it were trash in the filter/pump that it would especially give trouble when that low on gas, but naturally it started just fine at that point. Have previously had issues with the battery connection. It’s not had a connection a few times, also very randomly. A few times the terminal had obviously come lose but a few times it seemed as if the terminal was secure and just required some wiggling to get the connection. Maybe a short in the cable itself or something? There doesn’t seem to be any corrosion on the posts or terminals, though the top of the battery does have a mud like substance on it (have just assumed it’s dirt/debris). Also experiencing jerking/vibrating on acceleration when taking off slowly or moderately (if I floor it it doesn’t do it or isn’t as bad) that stopped for about a day or two after cleaning the mass airflow sensor. I want to refuse to believe that it’s a problem with the transmission and think it’s also related to an electrical connection issue or a fuel/air mixture issue. Not sure if the transmission fluid was changed prior to me buying it at 59k, but I haven’t changed it since. I checked the transmission fluid and the level is good. The color is a very light pink/brown and the fluid is very thin. Idk much about ATF but the internet tells me that that’s either exactly the way it’s supposed to look, or exactly the way it shouldn’t look. LMAO. Anyone solve their issues? Open to all suggestions!

Kelsen

Paragraphs are your friend.

Very interesting thought that the problem is related to the heat of the sunlight rather than engine temperature; seems unlikely, but if you're seeing a correlation, there may be some clue there.

In this thread, there is a reference to the fuel nozzle not being fully inserted (message #10), which also seems unlikely to be the problem, but your experience of slow filling could be related somehow.

Some things do not seem related, but there are quite a few problems talked about in this forum that are nonetheless somehow related to a low battery, or a battery that is in its early stages of failure. Yours not having a connection (engine not turning over, as if there's no battery?) could be an indicator of this being related to a weak battery in your case, or a connection that is intermittently loose. I haven't had this problem, but reading through the above messages, I am inclined to look toward the fuel pump, which is likely the most expensive-to-fix potential cause; eliminate everything else that you can, and good luck!

Finally, I would highly recommend that you do the "3 times drain and fill" with your transmission fluid; it is not as cheap as it should be, but it is as easy as draining and filling the oil, so there's that. There are a bunch of potential problems with the transmission that can be headed off or mitigated by doing this. A search of the forum will turn up quite a few threads about this. I bought my 2014 (with 116K miles) 2 years ago, and although I had experienced no transmission problems, I did this myself.

On an unrelated note, Bama opens against Utah State a month from today, so there's a positive thing!


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper. -- Aristotle

samiam_68

Possible vapor lock, happens sometimes in hot weather. That might cause both long cranking and slow gas filling. Check that your vapor canister is operating properly.
https://www.acurapartswarehouse.com/...1-t0a-a01.html

Tech

Maybe someone else commented, but that statement does not make any sense at all.

If it cranks, how can the engine not turn over? Are you talking about the starter cranking and not engaging?

acrdx13

Positive battery terminal appears to be the culprit in my case.

I’m just confused about why it seems to either come slightly loose enough to disrupt the connection even though the terminal is screwed as tight as possible, and/or seems to have a disrupted connection without actually coming loose even though there is no corrosion.

Mechanic seems confident in his securing of the connection and says he wouldn’t want to swap the terminal without swapping the entire harness for fear of not having enough wire, (understandable, it is super short!) He’s quoted me $250-$300 to do this but we’ve decided to hold off until time to replace the battery unless it continues to give me problems.

Will update as I learn more!

Kelsen

I think it is pretty clear that the person thinks the word 'crank' means the same as 'start' in this context. You are of course right, it does not, but it's not that hard to understand.


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
I told my psychiatrist that I've been hearing voices. He told me that I don't have a psychiatrist.

acrdx13

UPDATE: Apparently not the connection. Looking like a fuel issue. Really wish it would throw a code (never thought I’d say that)! Hoping like hell it’s the relay and not the pump (or anything in the pump - filter, regulator, blah blah).

Kelsen

Keep us posted!


RFT!!!
Dave Kelsen
--
"Reality is that which when you stop believing in it doesn't go away." -- Philip K. Dick

acrdx13

Finally figured it out. Battery must have tested good a dozen times. Luckily the shop kept testing it. On the last test it showed a dead cell. Put a new battery in it and it fires up like it should every time again! I don’t know who’s more excited to have our RDX back - me or my daughter who was having to be dropped off and picked up from school in her aunt’s Ford Fiesta while it was in the shop! 🤣🤣