Hey All,

In my '05 RL, 189k on the clock...Cruising down highway, suddenly the following warnings came on - Check Engine Light / Warning on Display, Check Transmission, Check Emissions, Check AFS. Also the 'D' on transmission indicator on dash blinking green, 'AFS' symbol blinking yellow..... I pulled over, checked fluids, leaks, etc...nothing. Runs well. Got home, disconnected battery, reset computer. Drove for 10 minutes, happened again. SO! WTF.

I mostly do my own work on RL, brakes, fluids, etc....no recent problems. Drilled/slotted rotors (yes, I like the way they look), rear lip, 35% tint, powder coat black wheels....bluetooth mod...Any ideas welcome. Thanks!

 

how old is the battery?
winter (or the cold, I should say) weakens batteries

 

Check battery or battery cables for looseness, corrosion at all the grounds cables, etc.

 

Battery is new, <90 Days. Will check ground....a couple of things with this car - I went through door handle replace dance twice already, passenger side works, I disconnected driver side proximity sensor, it Has been working fine for months. I just washed car a day before this happened, I have a sneaky suspiscioun...... Also, tranny was replaced at 81K, so I am pretty confident it's not a legit trans issue. Fluid is clear, red, perfect. Getting the 40mph drive bearing whine, I am waiting to replace it - have nice oem used driveshaft waiting. Didn't want to remove exhaust system without a lift. Maybe this will give me the chance. Battery check next!

 

Ahh... the door handle issue has popped up multiple times this month already. May want to check that again.

 

True... What is it with all these door handles failing all of a sudden?? Are we hitting the life cycle on the replacements that were installed back in the day or something?

 

Yeah I am considering replacing the disabled handle as a start....I just have been fine for last 3 months or so with it disabled....also did a recent power steering pump and a/c compressor replacement....all has been fine.

 

The RL is really sensitive to weak batteries. Good chance that's your issue.


I gotta ask.. what happened that you had to replace your whole tranny?

 

It's your battery. I literally got the EXACT same thing minus the AFS of course in my 2007 MDX. Scared the hell out of me and almost shit my pants because I know of Honda's great history with transmissions so let's just say my heart fell out of my asshole. But don't worry. It's nothing. The second start all the lights went away except the check engine which took a few on-off cycles so all good.

 

Apologies for the slight thread hijack here, but don't stress out vital areas of your anatomy over the RL's transmission. There were a lot of failures with a more fragile, previous-gen automatic that was in the V6 Accords and TLs of this era, and some older Odysseys had the problem too. But the RL 5-speed is a heavier-duty similar to the one in more recent Odysseys and Pilots, and has proven much less troublesome. While a prudent maintenance schedule of ATF changes is recommended, it's not one of the major problem areas of the car.

 

Replacing transmission pressure switch., and an O2 sensor (rear post cat). This is related to Multiple warning light thread above....2005 RL suddenly throwing a bunch of codes...p0420 and another...the tranny switch. Put car on ramps, just found out Autozone sold me two tranny selenoids instead of correct switch.

 

Just to make this an easier thread to read, I merged both to keep the problem and the solution in one thread.

 

Hahaha "stress out vital areas of your anatomy". Day made. No I agree with you that they are no longer nearly as bad as they were from say 2000-2003-4 ish. Just that when I seen it, it came flooding back to me and I was like that's it. I'm screwed lol. But keeping in mind mine is a 2007 MDX so thankfully a good amount of time between the 2003 issues.

 

This car had the transmission replaced at 81k, or thereabouts. Why I don't know. It was a fleet vehicle with 174k on the odo. Recent repair update - Started with battery, replaced crappy terminal lugs with heavy-duty connectors. Battery checks at around 13v. Did this yesterday afternoon and drove to work this AM, 40 miles. No recurring warning lights. So....battery issue looks promising.

 

Okay, so after replacing terminals to 90 day-old Advance Auto Gold series battery, my issue seems to be resolved - no new warning lights (except low washer fluid, refilled) since replacing terminals. bad connection seemed to be the cause.......thanks for the assist all!

 

a lot of people have issues and they always overlook this simple yet crucial component.

 

I feel like I should almost sticky a "Have a problem? Replace your battery. Looked at your car weird? Replace your battery" thread lol

OP glad you fixed the issue!!

 

Just add it to your signature