mwm

Well, I've seen a couple of other post here about people experiencing problems with their batteries after leaving the car parked for an extended period. It has happened to me twice in the past two weeks. I parked at Hartsfield - Jackson Airport in Atlanta last week for 5 days. My car battery was not dead, however, when I got in my car to crank it, the car almost turned over one time, and then all -- I mean all -- of the dash lights started flashing. My battery was not dead, but I had to have the car jumped off.

Guess what. It happened again this week after parking at the airport on Monday and returning on Friday. The difference being that this time, the batttery was completely dead. When the service guy put on the jumper cables, my car alarm started going off! Needless to say, I am quite pissed about this. I am heading to the dealer in the morning.

Interested to find out if any others of you have experienced similar problems. BTW, my dealer told me it has happened to at least one other owner after parking at the same airport for a couple of days. They believe all the electronics at the airport are causing some type of conflicts. I had an '04 TL with no problems.

'05 RL with 12,000 miles purchased Dec. '04

Bitium

Read this article it explains how the battery dies.

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journal...s/11596544.htm

It happens to a lot of people, but not many want to admit it, because they feel stupid.

mwm

Give me a break...... I know for a fact that the ingition switch was completely turned off.

UPDATE FROM DEALER VISIT. According to the dealership, there is a known problem with the "awake" sensors if you exit the vehicle, lock the doors and then open the trunk manually (with using remote). They claim Acura has a temporary fix.

Rob L

wow, that sounds like an odd problem. I'd probably be like "wtf!?!" if I was sitting in the car and the dash lights all started flashing. hehe

Bitium

I wasn't specificaly refering to you, but to the people you quote it "post here about people experiencing problems with their batteries after leaving the car parked for an extended period."

Larry6

While we have not experienced the dead battery problem, our dealer alerted us to the following bulletin from Acura. Apparently, there is a problem if the driver turns off the ignition -- and then opens the trunk using the button on the driver's side front door. A fix is supposedly on the way.

Meanwhile, when the ignition is off, opening the trunk using the remote on the FOB or by hand (with the FOB nearby) are two safe ways of opening the trunk without draining the battery. If the ignition is on...then it would also be fine to open the trunk using the button on the driver's side front door (but not when the ignition is off).

2veloce

Had the dead battery issue twice in six months.

First time dealer replaced battery due to dead cell.

Second time, I was questioned as to what "I" was not doing correctly. I know you understand what I am talking about by the responses you received.

Callled Acrua CS and reported my frustrations. They will follow through with more investigation ONLY if it is a continuing problem.

mwm

Got the car back from the dealer. Sure enough, this is a known problem if you open the trunk using the door switch and then lock the car with the remote. The work around is, if you open the trunk, restart the car before locking...... Fix is in the works.

mwm

So this time, when I parked, I opened the trunk and removed luggage before turning off the vehicle. When I got back after 10 days, the car started just fine (although the brakes sweaked terribly). Oh well, I hope they have a software fix soon.....

PRNole47

The problem was finally solved just this past week by Acura engineers. The fix is coming via an Update to be performed at the dealer.

Rob L

Sounds like my parents got to see this issue first hand. They had my car yesterday and went to turn on the car this morning and it wouldnt start. The batt was gone and now all shit is going on...the stereo wants an access code, the nav wants one, the car says there is no oil, etc.

I work for them so they should be here with it in a little bit and I can see wtf is up with this crazy car. Fuck

dtrose

Don't use the trunk release on the Drivers Side Door.

msu79gt82

This "issue" is also being discussed on Edmunds as well. Over there there are sevaral posters who refuse to admit that there is a design flaw and then proceed to ridicule "idiot" drivers for not knowing how to turn their car off. This has olso been hinted at on this site.

I refuse to admit that Acura RL owners are stupid or somehow more technically challenged than other make's owners - hence there is a design FLAW and Acura needs to get it fixed!!!

Rob L

Well I dont think there is a flaw with the ignition switch and people not turning it off (although I am starting to think the start button is the way to go for many since they wouldnt have this issue) but there is a flaw with this crap of opening the trunk a certain way and then locking it a certain way. Come on Acura...get your shit together. Didnt anyway test this fucking car out before it was released? These issues should not be there regardless if it is a first, second, third, 900th year car!

I like the car but damn, the product testing department (if they even have one) at Acura sucks....having been into the Lexus brand for 10 years now I feel you DON'T find this type of crap in lexus cars. We;ve had first year Lexus mdoels and they were FLAWLESS.

I mean shit, my parents accidentally drained my RL battery and now most of the passenger side controls dont seem to work. WTF is that shit.

Yeah, you can say I'm a teense upset at this crap.

dtrose

Welcome to American Honda

Rob L

hehe thanks.

Maybe I should offer them my resume and they can hire me to actually test their cars.

I love all the gadgets on this car (and the car industry as a whole) but damn, part of me misses the good ol days where cars were simple and if having something not work didnt cause the whole car to go funky like it does with the RL.

bajanjack

Is this update available yet?.......(my battery went dead after I was away for 7 days!)

JeffS

I agree with Rob L, they should have just gone with a start/stop button.

Sometimes I think Honda/Acura tries to hard not follow the norm and then ends up makes things more complicated in the process just to be original.

lbfcpa

The famous trunk release button drained my battery this morning. I knew not to hit the release after shutting off the car but was talking to some folks in the driveway and did it without thinking.

Dealer (Montclair Acura) says they know nothing about the problem. Time to get on the phone and talk to the useless CS people in California because like many others, I am pissed over this.

lbfcpa

Battery died again today...this time without me using the trunk release. Car towed back to dealer. I'm not taking it back until they explain the steps they have taken to insure this does not happen again. Until now, I was relatively happy with this car...now I am just plain pissed with the way the ACS people in California jerk you around.

AcuraRLBlue

I always turn off the ignition, hit the trunk opening button on the driver's door, and never have problem with the battery. I do have some other issues with the car. It is just hard to understand why Acura dosen't have a handle on this as the car has been out awhile and this problem was reported also a while ago.

xhowardx

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem. I've had my Rl with 1,500 miles on it and have had the battery replaced after the first week. It's now the second week and the car has been sitting in the garage for five days. I went to start it this morning and guess what? Dead battery. And I know how to turn the car off and not leave it in the "accessory" position. I only wish I could be sure it was something I did with the trunk release. XHowardX

NJRonbo

WoW! Sorry to hear about this.

I am VERY careful to make sure I turn my
ignition switch fully towards me when shutting
off the car.

So let me get this right.....

After turning off the car, you should not unlock
the trunk by grasping its handle?

And if you do, what can you do to make sure
there is no battery drain?

I suppose what I am looking for is simple steps
all of us can observe so we don't kill our battery.

Thanks guys!

xhowardx

Let me say that I've learned more from this web site than any information that I've received from dealership. I've owned a 2005 Acura RL for three weeks. When I went to pick it up, I noticed the satellite radio wasn't working. They shipped over night a replacement xm radio and that problem was fixed. After driving the car for a week and letting it sit in the garage for three days, the battery had died. The battery didn't hold a charge so I brought it back and their diagnosis was a dead cell. I really didn't buy it but what the heck, anything can happen. Well, after a new battery and the car sitting in the garage for five days, another dead battery this morning. I know for a fact the ignition was off ("good-buy" on the dash and the steering wheel moved up and away). So the car is going back for another batteryy (I hope). I can only surmise that it's the software problem with the trunk opening that's been mentioned frequently on this website. There were some other mentions of the fob being left in the car serving to drain the battery but I don't know if that's been substantiated as of yet. The service manager did say that they've received a bulletin regarding the trunk issue but I'll know more on Monday (I hope). Thanks again all you RL owners with your questions and answers. Howard

lbfcpa

According to the service people, the problem in my case was a "HIP control unit" that was malfunctioning and drawing current from the battery once the car was turned off. This makes sense as both times I had a dead battery the car had sat for two days. They've replaced the unit and will let the car sit over the weekend just to make sure.

Both ACS and the service department at my dealership are being very cryptic as to how much they really know about this problem.

ASP

NJRonbo, no.

The button on the driver's side front door is the culprit.

hothonda

IBFCPA.....Let us know how you are doing...what the heck is a "HIP control unit"?

NJRonbo

Okay...what needs to be done after one
presses that button to ensure that it
does not drain the battery?

427

I believe the suggestion was to AVOID using this door button. Instead, use the remote on the fob or just grab the release handle on the trunk itself.

NJRonbo

Gotcha!

That sucks that there's a convenient button next
to the seat that can't be used because of potential
battery drain.

lbfcpa

Left at the dealer over the weekend and it's dead again. Verified with the service rep that it was a "HIP control unit" that was replaced. Unfortunately, this did not fix the problem. So, they are back on the phone with the technical folks from California seeking a solution.

lbfcpa

Two control units later and the car is still going dead after being left to sit for two days. Dealer now looking at the wire harness for a possible short. Total time at the dealership: 14 days

DCRL

Not all RLs have this problem. (Mine doesn't.) So there must be a solution for it. I would certainly demand one if I had this difficulty, no matter how many Acura reps I had to talk to. I am surprised any owner would "live with" this problem.

drhite

I've had several AFS error warnings, and took it to the dealer. They saw 15 different error codes all attributed to low voltage. Then they asked me if I've had dead battery problems... Has anyone else gotten these warnings?

xhowardx

Let me tell you about my experience with my new Acura RL. I've had the dead battery syndrome three times since my purchase in June 05. It always happens when you don't drive the car for a few days. The first time I brought it to the dealer he said it was a dead cell. He replaced the battery. The second time happened a week later and I had to jump the car to get it going. That's when I logged onto this website to see if other RL owners were experiencing the same problems. What a surprise...of course they were. After some research it seems it has to do with a current draw going to the trunk for some nebulous reason. I mentioned it to the dealer and they said they just received a service bulletin addressing this issue. They told me to only open and close the trunk with the motor going until the "fix" comes in. Well, I did that and still had the dead battery syndrome after not driving the car for a few days (leaving it in an airport parking terminal). I had the car fixed yesterday and they said the engineers at Acura have determined it has something to do with the xm radio and the trunk. I don't know the relationship to that. Sounds like a load of bull but I'm testing the car as I write this.As a side note, the receptionist said that there is a procedure you have to follow to open the trunk. I told her that for 49K for a car I'm not following any procedure to open a trunk. They'll fix it or they'll take the car back. Hope this helps.
Let me also mention, when I picked the car up the xm radio wasn't working. So in the span of 3000 miles that car has been back to the dealer four times. I hope this is the last of it. Howard K.

lbfcpa

It is nothing that you should live with. I have been having this problem for the last several weeks now and no one from the dealer or Acura has suggested that I "live" with it or refrain from opening the trunk a certain way. They have not, however, been able to isolate the cause in my car. The so-called "fix" did not work.

DCRL

If this problem has not been fixed by Acura reps before my next service, I am going to ask my dealer to be proactive and look at my RL. Never had this problem with the trunk release, and my car has remained untouched in the lot for a week or more after using the infamous "button". Someone needs to research why my RL (and I assume others) don't have this problem and some definitely do.

hothonda

As I understand this problem (I haven't experienced yet) what happens is the
unlocking of the trunk somehow activates the XM/Acura Link system and it
turns that mode on....unless the car is "reset" by locking and unlocking and re-locking again it just drains the battery.....I'm not sure if I have this 100% correct but
it is tied into the radio somehow. Acura was to have the fix by July but to my
knowledge no dealers have it yet....my dealer didn't as of today 8/25/05. The
sheet I saw that expalined all this came from my dealer's service mgr.

synth19

Had to resurrect this thread since my battery went dead this week. I'm 99% positive that it wasn't user error (leaving light on, accessory mode, etc.). What I did do was to leave the car in my father in law's garage (in Toronto) for about 8 days without starting it. On Sunday my wife went to load the car up and noticed the car wasn't starting. We tried to jump the car and the car couldn't hold the charge. I think the battery went completely dead. We then rushed to Canadian Tire, literally 5 minutes before they closed to pick up a battery. I installed it and didn't have any problems after that. I was pretty lucky to get the battery because everything was closed yesterday and I would have been stuck in Toronto for an extra day. I do remember that when I arrived to Toronto, I popped the trunk using the the button on the side while the car was off.... perhaps this was the reason the battery died. Sux I had to spend $100 on a new battery. Has this issue been solved yet? I'm afraid to leave my battery connected now if I don't drive the car for more then a few days or so....

nyjohnchan

Has this problem been solved yet? It only happens to 05 model? I have an 06, don't know if the problem been fixed. I will try to used the button when the car is off to see what happen.