I know that it has been discussed before and the general consensus was that the chime for the door being open and the auto lights on is an anoyance. I was told by Acura customer service that they will have no part in assisting with the modification to a vehicle. It was suggested that a forum such as this may have the answer to my question of how do you access the PCB that has the chime mounted on it so that it can be removed. I suspect that it is behind the speedometer and may be accessed by careful removal of some of the dash components. Has anyone had this area apart and do you have a quick procedure for modification?

 

I remember the older cars you could find the chime fairly easy and just unplug it. The newer cars are much more complicated. I looked all over for the chime on my 04 Trailblazer and finally figured out that the chime sound was coming through the radio speakers. I guess the chime is built in the radio. RL might be the same way.

 

Yes, the chime that basically tells you your parking brake is engaged is annoying but would you really want the chime totally disabled? There are other items that will trigger this that aren't exactly annoyances, from basic stuff like low fuel to really important stuff like brake system or transmission malfunctions. IMO disabling the chime would be an overly drastic reaction to a minor annoyance.

 

I do not have a chime on my parking brake but I do on the seatbelts but that is a different chime. When you are low on gas it is fairly obvious by all of the displays that alert you.
The on board alerts as to operating status are comprehensive, the chimes are an unnecessary intrusion and an insult to the drivers ability. If the RL had no other alerts then the chime may be justified but then again the Ford Pinto only had a buzzer!
Another thread on this forum disclosed the Toyota approach: If the lights are on Auto then the car is in control and alerting the driver that the lights are on is superfluous.
Unless, of course, the alert on the RL is to inform you that the door is open, in which case people who are unaware of themselves opening the door should not be driving at all.

 

Well thanks for focusing on only the most minor features that I did, in fact, agree with are superfluous annoyances. As I said, IMO (but obviously not yours, and that's fine), I DO want to know that a message has just popped up on the MID that (for example) my SH-AWD system has just malfunctioned and a chime alerting me to the MID msg's arrival is welcome - because sometimes I look through the windshield at the road ahead rather than constant vigilance of the MID. I am aware that I'm in the minority here as casual observance of my fellow drivers shows that most of them are less interested in the road ahead and more interested in their cellphone displays, newspapers, makeup, etc.