KYRltr-RLspdFrk

Greetings all!

Totally new here..... totally new to ACURA!

I've always been a Honda Driver.... up until about a month ago

'95 - '98 drove a 4 cylinder '88 Accord LX

'98 - '08 drove a 6 cyl Accord EX..... which I loved,

But NOTHING I've ever DRIVEN, let alone anything I've ever owned, compares to the:

- 2005 Acura RL
- Black ext /black interior
- 32K miles @ acquisition
.... that I started driving on 4/8!!!

I've always appreciated style/speed/sportiness over "stodgy-ness", if you follow me.... I like my vehicles "low to the ground", but not so low I bottom out, DESPISE SUVs & Trucks, like good pick-up & good handling, etc.

....And I ran a music distribution for many years, so I have over 1500 CDs & DO like an assortment of musical genres @ ear-challenging volumes.... So, stereo quality is important too.

But, I've been a Realtor for the last 11 years, so I need something presentable, professional-looking & that can haul a few people around. Plus I've got a little 4 year old girl that I need to haul around and keep safe.

And this vehicle has suited everything I need PERFECTLY... this is not only the slickest LOOKING car I've ever driven, but is just SMOOTH beyond belief. 80-90 is smoother than 60-65 was in my 95 Accord EX.

The 10-speaker BOSE stereo system RULES and certainly pumps out the volume when necessary while retaining refinement & subtlety in sounds @ low volumes too....


Everything ABOUT the 2005 RL I've found rules.

Still, it DOES have it's quirks..... AND I feel I'm still "learning the car".

Which is why I'm here...

1 problem I'm experiencing now:

- back window on drivers side won't go down

Also (not that it's mega-important) but I can't get all the windows to open when holding down Unlock for a 2nd Time on the key-fob.

I've got 2 of these weird little black Teardrop thing that say "low battery" & have a red LCD on them that came w/ each of the 2 keyfobs. CarMax (place I got the RL) didn't know what they were. Acura didn't know what they were other than to say "They weren't made by Acura." AutoZone store didn't know what they were..... DO ANY OF YOU GUYS KNOW what they might be?

ALSO, the "Real Time Traffic" is totally FOREIGN to me. Lines don't appear next to lines on the Map to indicate traffic flow the way they're supposed to.... and I haven't been informed of an accident or traffic jam ahead ONCE. To take advantage of this feature do I have to pay a subscription fee? How much / to whom?

Ditto for XM Radio.... I get XM Radio 1 & XM Radio 2 (and both have nothing on I'm interested in hearing). I thought there was some sort of free trial due the new car owner for a period? Was that only valid from the date the car was initially sold in '05?

Finally, voice recognition is a CHALLENGE. I try to speak "accent free" & clearly, yet street name recognition is often hilariously confused by the Nav, as can different commands ("AC OFF", get interpreted as "AC ON", "FM 91.9", misinterpreted as "XM Radio 1", etc.) Any tips on voice recognition enhancement?

Glad to be here. Thanks in advance for the help!!!

neuronbob

First, welcome to AZ! This is a fabulous, underrated, handsome-looking car that many of us here love. It takes a little while to get to know this car because of all the features.

So on to your issues....

The rear window not going down is most likely a computer issue. This happened to me last year and was fixed in five minutes by going to the dealer and having the car "rebooted". The tech hooks up a computer to the car and "reboots" the car's computers. Problem solved! It's always possible that the window motor is broken, but that is less likely. Dealer time on this one.

The next two regarding key fob are related. It seems you do not have the original Acura keyfobs. The Acura keyfob has nothing to indicate "low battery" except a red LED on the fob itself; inside the car the mulit-info display on the dash will tell you "low battery". The previous owner could have installed an aftermarket alarm system on the car. It's infuriating when people mod their cars like that, then sell them without the instructions! Now you have to guess which aftermarket system you have.

The real time traffic is via XM and yes, there is a subscription fee. Ditto with XM. The free trial was ONLY for the original owner driving the car from the dealer for the first time. To get a good price on XM and XM Traffic, CLICK HERE. Even after you have XM Traffic, if you don't live in an area with road sensors, you won't get the lines on the map (traffic flow). I live in Cleveland, where I get traffic reports, but not traffic flow information.

Last, as for the voice recognition, mine works well 90% of the time. However, you really have to know the commands. That problem will be partially solved with reading the navi manual.

HTH! ....and others will chime in soon.

Welcome to the secret brotherhood of RL ownership!

Roy Cya

Ditto on what Bob said.

Voice recongnition has always been a challenge to me as well. The key is to learn the commands 100% otherwise the 'puter is going to interpret things wrong and give you country music when you really want 80s rock...

Anyway, make sure you go through the manual (I know it goes against our nature!!) but it does help!

The FOB thing pisses me off too. Why would someone go and alter something that works extremely well and fully with the car?? Oh well!!

Good luck, and enjoy!!

Later,

kirbyflorida

Welcome to the best kept secret in the auto industry, Acura RL, no going back from this amazing car.
Enjoy.

drolds72

I had the same issue with both controlling windows from the master driver's switch, and opening all with the keyfob. I think I either read here or in the manual, that you need to reset the windows by going to each window, press the down button and hold it for 3 addl seconds, then go up and hold it for 3 seconds.

After I did this, master switch worked and my 2nd unlock on the keyfob opened everything.

4bearhug

I had the same issue with my RL. Your car probably sat on the dealers lot for a couple of weeks. The battery probably got run down and they had to jump it. Any time the battery dies on the RL, you need to reprogram the rear windows to run off of the drivers control. It's just like the instructions you received here. You have to go to each window controller and lower the window all the way down and hold for 3 seconds. Then you raise the window and hold for 3 seconds. Your master controller should work after that.

neuronbob

Thanks, I forgot about that. It was in a fairly recent thread.