'06 RL, Flashing "D" in gauge cluster
 

Hey guys,

Today I noticed as I was cruising along, the green illuminated "D" in the gauge cluster flashed a few times in my RL. It did it a few times and went back to normal. As I drove for another 20 minutes to my house, it did not reoccur. I was doing some reading and mostly found threads on the 3G/2G TL's having this issue and it seems to be caused by a variety of different things. But I found no information on our RL's about this problem. The car seems to drive and shift normally to me. I will say I have noticed the occasional hard downshift at low speeds going up an incline or when braking hard. The sensation is similar to a muscle car with an aftermarket shift kit. But its never consistent so I never thought much of it, this particular thing has been happening for a while. But maybe it actually is the sign of an issue.

Has anybody else had this happen to their RL? Any input? The car currently has 90xxx miles on it, I had the trans fluid drained and filled at Acura at about 87k miles if that helps. I plan to take the car to the dealer to have them check it out, but I just want to be prepared.

Thanks for any help guys

A few months ago I had my car stall due to the battery which I replaced. However, at the same time, there was SH-AWD, VSC and ABS lights that were displaying as well as blinking "D" - car drove just fine... while all other lights were the culprit of bad battery in my case, "D" blinking was related to P code (0461 or something similar like that I dunno now..." ... I replaced the relay 2nd or 3rd gear switch of some sort and this went away... now, every now and then I notice "D" blinks only once and then it's all good for next few weeks, then again ... it only happens between 2nd and 3rd hear... still, car drives just fine... Since I have 177k at this time, I am not wasting time to pursue this as I think it is no issue and I am waiting until it fails fails - then we'll see what is the best to do...

Do you have any P codes? If you are not seeing any, check diagnostic whether there are any stored there... If there is no code you have, it may be heads up - failing 3rd gear switch (or 2nd who knows) :)

Hope that helps!

Very helpful, I appreciate this! I was reading some similar information about the TL's that a lot of times it could be one of the pressure switches that causes this issue, so I guess its the same deal for these cars. I haven't been able to scan the car yet but I will try to tomorrow after work and I'll update if anything comes up. Thanks again for the input

Are these "switches" inside the transmission or somewhere accessible without removing the drivetrain?

Look at the part #11 in the image... this is just an example where the 3rd gear switch is located...
They did not charge me too much to have it replaced: Dealer I think with the part charged me around $150-160 - not sure exactly what was the price now.

https://www.acurapartsdiscount.com/oem-parts/acura-sensor-assembly-position-28900ryf023?origin=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuMCm9KuQ3 gIVgkwNCh1JJwl9EAQYAiABEgJbdfD_BwE

Looks like an easy repair. 👍🏻

You guys wouldn't believe this but the car just needed a battery lol

Awesome :) ... that's great news... blinking "D" is something to keep an eye on as there may be a failing gear switch where it perhaps has shortening wire or something... now that battery is brand new, it has enough to draw.
But glad you did not have super high expense to fix it :)

Not surprised lol. This car eats batteries like it's nothing.