Does anyone know if the 2006 models also have the annoying warning chime when you open the door and the lights are left on auto at night?

Anyone know if Acura is trying to figure out a way to fix this. I was wondering if the trigger for the chime is a relay or hardwired type switch or if a programmable control module of some sort triggers the warning chime. the later should be an easy fix for them (unless they are not even trying!).

Kris

 

If the 05' has it then the 06' has it also without a doubt. I have never noticed this - although it could just be that I have ignored it.

 

I don't like the chime. It is stupid to have and I am clueless about why Acura put it in there. However, it isn't a big deal to me in the sense that I don't yell and scream....I merely find it silly.

It would be nice to have a way to disable it though.

 

Does the RL do the same thing the TL and TSX do when you lock it with a remote at night when you've left the HIDs on? If it flashes them, you should probably consider turning them off. Flashing them is bad for the bulbs.

 

I don't really know why people don't like the door chime.

Somewhere in my manual, there is an admonition not to leave the lights in auto mode for an extended period of time. If I was using the auto feature, when I get out of the car with a load of other stuff on my mind, I'd appreciate being noticed that the darn thing is in auto mode.

It's pretty well intuitive to me that something is going to chime if the lights are not completely off.

Maybe Acura should make the chime feature an option for the auto mode.

Fred

 

The chime in auto-mode is absolutely not right. A warning chime is there for you to take action. With no action necessary, you learn to ignore. If you change your lights from auto-mode to on mode sometime, leave the car, ignore the warning as usual then you come back to a dead battery. What other car in the world has this warning in auto mode?

 

Well, I know it is stupid, but don't the lights turn off even if the car is left in the on mode anyways? I am pretty sure it does.

 

IIf you are replying to my post - I meant change light setting from auto to the regular on position. I was on a road where they posted signs for having your lights on during the day, so I changed it from "auto" to "full" on. I know the RL has the DRL, but was not sure that would comply. Anyway, got to destination and ignored chimes as usual, but lights were not in auto mode to go off. Luckily, I was not there that long and battery was OK.

I think someone else posted that there dealer changed the light switch from auto to on without them noticing and had similar issue.

I just cannot think of a reason that the chime should be there in auto mode., but there are godd reasons that it should not.

Does any other acura work this way?

 

None of the other acura's have full auto on/off. They TSX and TL have auto off but not auto on (not sure about the mdx or rsx)

 

Perhaps the battery is drained in auto mode because auto mode forces a sensor to be activated to measure the light. Although this may only deplete the battery over a 48 hour period, it would kill the battery if left in long-term parking at the airport.

That would be a valid reason for the chime.

Please note that this is my best guess, not an official answer.

If you have the lights turned on full and shut off the car, you get a warning for the same reason. In this case, the lights would drain the battery at a faster rate.

 

I doubt the sensor can drain your battery in such a short time. Of course, I am no expert. I would think other things, such as the keyless entry (it is always trying to communicate with the remote) would drain the battery faster. Or how about onstar - it is running for 24 hours after you shut off your car in the event it is stolen, lost or you lock yourself out of it.

 

Yes - Agree. there is a ton of stuff with a trickle drain on the battery - the light sensor is the least of the worries - in fact there's no reason it should be on after the timeout anyway. Even the stereo system has some pull from the battery when the car is off.
It's just annoying and I must say, it does not keep me from enjoying the car. It's just strange that with all the new technology, something that has been on cars a long time does not work right. I have a similar peeve with the gas gauge range. Mine says 15 miles left when the low fuel warning light comes on. I know I have a bit more that 3 gallons left when the warning comes on because I have filled up then. So when the range goes to zero, I have over 2 gallons left. Just when you want to know how far you can really go, it provides no information. Old technology that does not work right.
Oh well - I still like the car!

 

I hate the chime too, but I like to come up with at least one excuse for it. It reminds me to close the driver's side door ASAP to shut the chime. I see it as a safty feature in case the door is opened into the traffic.

 

I have commented on this chimes stupidity on a previous thread but it is now valid again because it would be an improvement if the 06 has fixed it.
BTW if you turn your headlights on and leave the car, they do go out after the time-out.
It is absolutely insulting to think that Acura assumes that the average American driver needs a chime but I'm not sure if Acura assumes that we are too stupid to notice that HID's are on at night or that the door is open!
Another tip: When the chime is chiming just start the car, then you can close the door and get confortable.

 

Bingo. When I was in high school, my father had a 1984 Buick Park Avenue that had automatic headlights. It would "bong bong" if the key were left in with the door open. It would "bong bong" if the headlights were left in the "On" position. But when the headlights were in "Auto", they'd just shut off 30 seconds after you closed the driver's door.


I remember vividly how it was a big deal back then -- people would be YELLING at us as we'd walk across parking lots: "HEY, YOU LEFT YOUR LIGHTS ON!" and we'd tell them "They go off by themselves."

And people would stop and look... sure enough, they'd go off by themselves!

That was 22 years ago. If mid-80s GM could get that right, surely 2005 Japanese engineers can make that work.

 

Perhaps mine is the only one (though I doubt it), but if I leave the healights in my RL in the "ON" mode and shut off the car, lock it and leave, the lights always shut off automatically. (Of course the chime sounds, regardless, as I exit.)

 

Are you saying that they go off automatically even when you have the light switch in the "on" position rather than "auto"? I did not realize that. If that is the case, why do we need a chime at all?

 

Yes

 

With most newer cars if you leave the lights on when you turn the car off they go out themselves but if you have the car off and then turn the lights on for some reason then they will stay on until you turn them off or the battery dies so the chime still needs to be there I guess for that reason. Auto mode turns the lights off and on by itself so I agree that it shouldn't chime like crazy when it's controlling the lights but outside of auto it's still good to have I guess. Who knows.

 

I have had a 2006 RL for several days now. There is no chime when the car is turned off and the lights are left in 'auto' mode.

 

On mine, you only get the warning chime if it's dark outside. So during the daylight hours or parking in a lighted area you won't hear the chime. Would be nice if they fixed it for '06.

A totally idiotic way to design this feature. I turn the lights off when I leave the car so I don't have to hear the chime. Effectively makes the auto headlights a useless feature for me.

 

It only chimes when the lights are on, regardless of the mode you're in. I'm sure the 06 still does this.

 

I checked my 06 again last night. I parked where it was dark, left the lights in auto mode, turned the car off, opened the door (no chime), and then closed the door and walked away. The lights stayed on for about 5 seconds and then shut off. Hopefully this means that Honda fixed the problem, because I agree it would annoy me to no end.

 

That is impressive if they did fix something so small. Good deal.

 

Anyone know the part number of whatever part we would need to fix the 05' so it won't chime?

 

Lets not have high hopes on this problem being fixable on 05, because it appears 05 Rls are left the way they are without any plans for updating the annoying buugs in them or upgraded 06 accessories

 

Well somehow they fixed it on the 2006. I was wondering in my original post whether the trigger for the chime was a relay or built into the software somehow. It seems that either could be updated. The relay would be an easy DIY, the software should be able to be updated by the factory. Anyone asked any of the service people about this?

 

I asked my dealer about it and he got back to me after a couple of days stating that the dealers are not allowed to modify the vehicles. Translation: the dealer has no clue as to how it works.