New owners, feature guide.
07-06-2005, 03:38 PM
#1
New owners, feature guide.
I figured I would start this thread. I hope it will be of some use to future and current RL owners. Another member recently asked the question of what to setup in the new RL. This will probably be a question asked several times here because of the numerous innovative electronic features the RL carries inside. This information will help you get started. It should cover the majority of features; however there are still many which are not covered here. Feel free to ask questions and somebody will answer your questions.
First thing, when taking delivery of the vehicle you should do a full inspection of the vehicle. This is a great checklist of things for when you go to take delivery of your vehicle:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...14&postcount=7
Now that you have taken your car home there are numerous features to setup which your salesperson may or may not have gone over with you. The most useful tool that Acura has given you is the “quick start guide” as it carries information on setting up virtually all the features you will use on a daily basis. I recommend reading through this fully as well as the navigation manual. The RL’s navigation system is by far the most advanced one that is built into any vehicle in the US. If you have never had a navigation system, you will probably never get a car without it after owning the RL. You may not see a need for it but surely you will find it useful.
1. Mind the break in period. Acura engineers recommend a 600 mile break in period with no hard acceleration or breaking. Do not travel at a steady constant speed during the first 600 miles (e.g. don’t use the cruise control).
2. Sit in the car, get oriented with all the buttons and where everything is – especially on the steering wheel. You can control virtually all of the vehicles main functions from your steering wheel including the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink (HFL), Voice activation, radio controls, cruise control, and the Multi Function Display (MID).
3. Remember the RL is equipped with auto on-off headlights. Many people prefer not to use this function; however, many also like it. So if you like to never have to worry about your headlights the control is built into the turn signal, simply turn the dial to “auto” and forget about it.
4. Next, get oriented with the windshield wiper knob. (shouldn’t be too hard =) )
5. Make sure you only have ONE remote in the vehicle with you now. Keep the other remote inside your house. Adjust your seat to how you like it. If you need to change it later you can, not a big deal. Also you want to adjust your steering wheel at this point. Find the position which is most comfortable to you.
6. Adjust your side view mirrors at this point. You can push the switch to the L, middle or R. If it is set on L you can adjust the left mirror, same for R for the right mirror. Whichever one you leave the button on – that will be the mirror that will turn downwards when you put the car in reverse.
7. Assuming the car is still on, on the dash where all your controls are, push the button that says, “audio” this will bring up the radio information on the navi screen. You will want to go through and setup all your presets. Click the am/fm button and change the radio station to whichever station you want. Once you do, hold the button “1” down until it is programmed. Continue this will all your am/fm presets that you want. Next be sure you also program your favorite XM stations – push the XM button and then program each preset.
8. Now you will want to link your remotes to the seat and audio settings. Remote #1 (you can tell which remote is which by looking at the back of the remote/key fob) will automatically recall the information stored in drivers position 1, remote 2 will recall the information stored in drivers position 2. With the car on press and release the MEM button. When the car beeps the buttons 1&2 will flash on and off, push the #1 to program the settings for driver 1.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 for driver two (make sure remote 1 is in your house and remote two is in your possession.
10. Above your head you will see a panel of buttons which will control the following items: Onstar, HomeLink, Rear sunshade, rear headrests and the interior dome lights.
11. You can push the rear sunshade button to raise and lower the sunshade. You can push the rear headrest button to lower the headrests only. If you want to raise them, it must be done manually.
12. (this is covered in full detail on page 216 of your owners manual)You want to verify your onstar subscription is active. Your dealer may or may not have activated this for you. Push the blue onstar button and it will connect you to an onstar representative. Simply tell them you would like to verify if the subscription has been activated. The red button is for emergency, if you are in an accident or need any other immediate emergency assistance, push that button and it will connect you to an onstar representative who should be able to assist you. The white button with a phone on it (without the # sign) allows you to use the call answer and call end button. With your vehicle you get 30 minutes worth of free phone usage. You can use these 30 minutes within the first 60 days or you lose them.
a. This button can be used to access “virtual advisor” when you push the button, it will say, “onstar ready” you then simply say “Virtual advisor” You can now access sports scores, weather, traffic, stocks, etc. You can say “what are my options” and it will give you a list of possible choices. Remember, using this uses your personal calling minutes. If you like this feature, you can buy more from onstar for a fixed fee (check onstar.com for pricing)
b. You can also use the same white phone button to call people. You can say “dial” the system will say “Phone number to dial please” you then say the full phone number without pausing. Then follow the instructions. If you make a mistake, simply say “clear”
c. Pushing the white button again will end the session.
d. If you choose to use onstar as your phone provider you can purchase “personal calling minutes” (for a very high price) or you can link your verizon wireless account and have the car share minutes with your regular verizon account (assuming you have verizon)
e. If you choose to use the onstar system for your phone, you can program up to 32 names/numbers into the phone book for onstar. Push the white button and when it says “onstar ready” you say “store” then it will say “phone number to store” then you say the entire number. Then simply follow the prompts.
f. If you ever push the blue onstar button to speak to a representative, you can record upto 5 minutes of the conversation. This is useful for “reviewing the route, hotel or restaurant information” To record a message press and release the onstar button (blue). The system will beep to let you know it is recording. When you are finished push the button again and it will stop recording
g. To review a message press the white phone button and when the system says “onstar read’ say “advisor playback”
h. If you need to have your doors unlocked or a stolen car tracked call 888 – 4 ONSTAR. You will receive a card in the mail from onstar with your account number which I believe is what you need to be able to do this. It will take approximately 6 weeks to receive this information from them
i. If you want to find out the phone number onstar has assigned to your vehicle push the white phone button and when it says “onstar ready” you should respond by saying “my number” – you can give this number to people to be able to call your car. But remember, you must have personal calling minutes available.
j. The onstar system is covered in more detail in the owners manual on page 217.
13. Your XM radio should already be active. If it is not, tune the radio to XM channel 0 and call 800-XMRADIO. The radio ID that shows up on your screen will be needed to activate your system. You should receive a full year of XM for free.
14. The next thing you may want to setup is the handsfreelink (HFL) If you have a Bluetooth enabled phone this will allow you to use the cars audio system for your phone. If you have a Bluetooth phone, you won’t need to use the onstar system for the verizon service. If you do not have a Bluetooth phone and you want one I suggest going to www.handsfreelink.com for a list of compatible phones for your service provider. You can also go to handsfreelink and get specific instructions on how to pair your phone to the system. This way you can use your phone over the Bluetooth system.
a. You can push the handsfreelink buttons on the steering wheel to control the system. You can add up to 50 contacts into the phone book. Keep in mind, you cannot transfer the phonebook automatically from your phone. The acura system does not support this regardless of which phone you have.
b. If you push the top HFL button you can say “Dial” and then say the number or “Dial” and say the name (if you have setup the phonebook in the HFL) ***the phonebook in the onstar system and the handsfreelink are different and you cannot interchange them***
c. To setup the phonebook press the top button (the talk button) and say “phonebook” then push the button again (after the beep) and say “store” then it will ask what name you want to store and you push the button and say the persons name. The system will then ask the number for the person and you push the talk button and say the number.
d. I highly recommend reading the section in the owners manual on the handsfreelink system. It is very thorough and will teach you the workings of the system. It is on page 230 of the owners manual.
e. If you use the HFL system over the onstar system for the phone, you will have more functionality. When you lookup businesses/restaurants/ dealers, etc in the navigation system, you can simply tell the navigation system to dial that number. You can only use this feature if you have a Bluetooth phone paired with the HFL system. You cannot use this with the onstar system.
15. On the overhead console with the onstar buttons, there is the sunroof button. If you pull it towards you (or towards the rear of the car) and let go it will automatically open the sunroof all the way. If you push it towards the windshield it will close the sunroof. If you simply push the button UP towards the roof, it will open the ventilation (only the rear of the sunroof will popup about an inch or so).
16. The center console was designed very intuitively (at least I think so)
a. The top portion is the climate control system, the middle is the radio/audio system and the bottom is the big dial with all the other controls.
b. The climate control system is fairly simply to use, play with it and you will get the hang of it. Push the “a/c” button on the right side of the big knob and the screen will show up with the climate control system.
c. The audio system, push the audio button just to the left of the knob and you can see the audio screen.
d. The info button will take you to a screen with several options including the Messages (From acuralink) For the first month or so a new message will show up daily giving you little tips on how to use the car and its features. There is also a trip computer to give you gas mileage and other such information. There is a calendar and calculator in there as well. The voice command help screen will give you a whole slew of different voice commands you can use with the system. To use the voice control system, there are two little round buttons on the bottom left spoke of the steering wheel. The talk and back buttons. I suggest reading up on this in the navigation manual. In fact – read the entire navigation manual.
e. When you are in the audio screen, if you push the entire big knob/dial downwards you will be taken to a new set of menus, turn the knob until you go to the “sound” and push the knob in (enter). You can go through there and adjust all your sound settings – such as bass, treble, subwoofer. You can even turn on and off the active noise canceling system in there.
17. The seat heater controls are next to the gear shifter.
18. If you push the gear shifter into the manual mode, you can use the shifter itself or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel to upshift and downshift.
19. Just to the right of the gauges there are two buttons ontop of each other. These change the brightness of the blue lights on the gauges.
20. On the drivers side door, there are two buttons. One opens your trunk and one opens the gas lid to fill gas.
21. In the glove box, there is a switch. Flip the switch and it prevents anybody from opening the trunk. So if you valet park your car anywhere, flip the switch, lock the glove box. Give the valet your key fob, and keep the physical key yourself.
22. The MID (multi information display) is controlled by the three buttons on the right side of the steering wheel. I highly recommend reading the quick start guide for this section. All your options are in there for various settings. If you push the up and down buttons you will flip through the various screens on the MID. You can see the SH-AWD system – it shows you where the torque is for all the wheels. You can see the tire pressure, number of miles, on the car, trip a, trip b, gas mileage, etc.
a. If you push the middle button – the sel/reset button, you will change the bottom portion of the MID screen. With this one you can see trip a, trip b, total miles, outside temperature and oil life remaining.
b. With the top arrow button, if you push it and hold it down, you can go into the customization settings. Keep only one key in the car with you at this time; keep the other one in your house so the settings are for your key only.
c. I am not going to explain how to set all the settings, read this in your quick start guide. But these are the things which you can set in this option:
i. Language (English or French), Outside temperature correction. Reset fuel statistics with refuel (automatic or manual), Keyless access setup – you can have it unlock the drivers door or all 4 doors automatically. Keyless access lights, keyless access beep. Lighting setup – interior light dimming time (up to 60 seconds), headlight auto off timer (up to 60 seconds), auto light sensitivity (if you keep your lights set to auto on and off). Door window set up – auto door lock when you are in park, when you accelerate, etc. Same for unlock. Wiper setup – intermittent or with vehicle speed.
d. You can view the tire pressure in this system as well, it will automatically warn you if your tire pressure falls below to a dangerous level.
23. The adaptive front lighting system is automatically on. You can turn it off if you like by pushing the AFS button on the left side of the gauges. Same with the VSA (vehicle stability assist). The AFS system automatically kicks in once you reach a certain speed (I think 12mph)
24. Cruise control is the same as every other car, nothing special. It is not an adaptive cruise control system (in the 05’ RL at least).
25. If you have questions feel free to ask and somebody here will gladly answer your questions.
26. If anybody has anything additional to add to this that they feel is important to first time setup of the vehicle and/or learning features, feel free to post and expand the information.
27. Lastly, for the new owners, I cant stress enough reading through the navigation manual – you will see all the various voice commands in there also. I also highly recommend reading through the handsfreelink section of the owners manual (assuming you plan on using it) the same for onstar if you plan on using it.
One other major concern - apparently many people have had problems with the battery dying in their car. A major cause of this is people not turning off the car completely. Make sure you turn the knob completely off and the car says goodbye to you (in the MID)
This thread has a good list of current problems and or quirks:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346
It will also be available for download in ms word format at http://www.acurakid.com/rlsetup.doc
First thing, when taking delivery of the vehicle you should do a full inspection of the vehicle. This is a great checklist of things for when you go to take delivery of your vehicle:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...14&postcount=7
Now that you have taken your car home there are numerous features to setup which your salesperson may or may not have gone over with you. The most useful tool that Acura has given you is the “quick start guide” as it carries information on setting up virtually all the features you will use on a daily basis. I recommend reading through this fully as well as the navigation manual. The RL’s navigation system is by far the most advanced one that is built into any vehicle in the US. If you have never had a navigation system, you will probably never get a car without it after owning the RL. You may not see a need for it but surely you will find it useful.
1. Mind the break in period. Acura engineers recommend a 600 mile break in period with no hard acceleration or breaking. Do not travel at a steady constant speed during the first 600 miles (e.g. don’t use the cruise control).
2. Sit in the car, get oriented with all the buttons and where everything is – especially on the steering wheel. You can control virtually all of the vehicles main functions from your steering wheel including the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink (HFL), Voice activation, radio controls, cruise control, and the Multi Function Display (MID).
3. Remember the RL is equipped with auto on-off headlights. Many people prefer not to use this function; however, many also like it. So if you like to never have to worry about your headlights the control is built into the turn signal, simply turn the dial to “auto” and forget about it.
4. Next, get oriented with the windshield wiper knob. (shouldn’t be too hard =) )
5. Make sure you only have ONE remote in the vehicle with you now. Keep the other remote inside your house. Adjust your seat to how you like it. If you need to change it later you can, not a big deal. Also you want to adjust your steering wheel at this point. Find the position which is most comfortable to you.
6. Adjust your side view mirrors at this point. You can push the switch to the L, middle or R. If it is set on L you can adjust the left mirror, same for R for the right mirror. Whichever one you leave the button on – that will be the mirror that will turn downwards when you put the car in reverse.
7. Assuming the car is still on, on the dash where all your controls are, push the button that says, “audio” this will bring up the radio information on the navi screen. You will want to go through and setup all your presets. Click the am/fm button and change the radio station to whichever station you want. Once you do, hold the button “1” down until it is programmed. Continue this will all your am/fm presets that you want. Next be sure you also program your favorite XM stations – push the XM button and then program each preset.
8. Now you will want to link your remotes to the seat and audio settings. Remote #1 (you can tell which remote is which by looking at the back of the remote/key fob) will automatically recall the information stored in drivers position 1, remote 2 will recall the information stored in drivers position 2. With the car on press and release the MEM button. When the car beeps the buttons 1&2 will flash on and off, push the #1 to program the settings for driver 1.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 for driver two (make sure remote 1 is in your house and remote two is in your possession.
10. Above your head you will see a panel of buttons which will control the following items: Onstar, HomeLink, Rear sunshade, rear headrests and the interior dome lights.
11. You can push the rear sunshade button to raise and lower the sunshade. You can push the rear headrest button to lower the headrests only. If you want to raise them, it must be done manually.
12. (this is covered in full detail on page 216 of your owners manual)You want to verify your onstar subscription is active. Your dealer may or may not have activated this for you. Push the blue onstar button and it will connect you to an onstar representative. Simply tell them you would like to verify if the subscription has been activated. The red button is for emergency, if you are in an accident or need any other immediate emergency assistance, push that button and it will connect you to an onstar representative who should be able to assist you. The white button with a phone on it (without the # sign) allows you to use the call answer and call end button. With your vehicle you get 30 minutes worth of free phone usage. You can use these 30 minutes within the first 60 days or you lose them.
a. This button can be used to access “virtual advisor” when you push the button, it will say, “onstar ready” you then simply say “Virtual advisor” You can now access sports scores, weather, traffic, stocks, etc. You can say “what are my options” and it will give you a list of possible choices. Remember, using this uses your personal calling minutes. If you like this feature, you can buy more from onstar for a fixed fee (check onstar.com for pricing)
b. You can also use the same white phone button to call people. You can say “dial” the system will say “Phone number to dial please” you then say the full phone number without pausing. Then follow the instructions. If you make a mistake, simply say “clear”
c. Pushing the white button again will end the session.
d. If you choose to use onstar as your phone provider you can purchase “personal calling minutes” (for a very high price) or you can link your verizon wireless account and have the car share minutes with your regular verizon account (assuming you have verizon)
e. If you choose to use the onstar system for your phone, you can program up to 32 names/numbers into the phone book for onstar. Push the white button and when it says “onstar ready” you say “store” then it will say “phone number to store” then you say the entire number. Then simply follow the prompts.
f. If you ever push the blue onstar button to speak to a representative, you can record upto 5 minutes of the conversation. This is useful for “reviewing the route, hotel or restaurant information” To record a message press and release the onstar button (blue). The system will beep to let you know it is recording. When you are finished push the button again and it will stop recording
g. To review a message press the white phone button and when the system says “onstar read’ say “advisor playback”
h. If you need to have your doors unlocked or a stolen car tracked call 888 – 4 ONSTAR. You will receive a card in the mail from onstar with your account number which I believe is what you need to be able to do this. It will take approximately 6 weeks to receive this information from them
i. If you want to find out the phone number onstar has assigned to your vehicle push the white phone button and when it says “onstar ready” you should respond by saying “my number” – you can give this number to people to be able to call your car. But remember, you must have personal calling minutes available.
j. The onstar system is covered in more detail in the owners manual on page 217.
13. Your XM radio should already be active. If it is not, tune the radio to XM channel 0 and call 800-XMRADIO. The radio ID that shows up on your screen will be needed to activate your system. You should receive a full year of XM for free.
14. The next thing you may want to setup is the handsfreelink (HFL) If you have a Bluetooth enabled phone this will allow you to use the cars audio system for your phone. If you have a Bluetooth phone, you won’t need to use the onstar system for the verizon service. If you do not have a Bluetooth phone and you want one I suggest going to www.handsfreelink.com for a list of compatible phones for your service provider. You can also go to handsfreelink and get specific instructions on how to pair your phone to the system. This way you can use your phone over the Bluetooth system.
a. You can push the handsfreelink buttons on the steering wheel to control the system. You can add up to 50 contacts into the phone book. Keep in mind, you cannot transfer the phonebook automatically from your phone. The acura system does not support this regardless of which phone you have.
b. If you push the top HFL button you can say “Dial” and then say the number or “Dial” and say the name (if you have setup the phonebook in the HFL) ***the phonebook in the onstar system and the handsfreelink are different and you cannot interchange them***
c. To setup the phonebook press the top button (the talk button) and say “phonebook” then push the button again (after the beep) and say “store” then it will ask what name you want to store and you push the button and say the persons name. The system will then ask the number for the person and you push the talk button and say the number.
d. I highly recommend reading the section in the owners manual on the handsfreelink system. It is very thorough and will teach you the workings of the system. It is on page 230 of the owners manual.
e. If you use the HFL system over the onstar system for the phone, you will have more functionality. When you lookup businesses/restaurants/ dealers, etc in the navigation system, you can simply tell the navigation system to dial that number. You can only use this feature if you have a Bluetooth phone paired with the HFL system. You cannot use this with the onstar system.
15. On the overhead console with the onstar buttons, there is the sunroof button. If you pull it towards you (or towards the rear of the car) and let go it will automatically open the sunroof all the way. If you push it towards the windshield it will close the sunroof. If you simply push the button UP towards the roof, it will open the ventilation (only the rear of the sunroof will popup about an inch or so).
16. The center console was designed very intuitively (at least I think so)
a. The top portion is the climate control system, the middle is the radio/audio system and the bottom is the big dial with all the other controls.
b. The climate control system is fairly simply to use, play with it and you will get the hang of it. Push the “a/c” button on the right side of the big knob and the screen will show up with the climate control system.
c. The audio system, push the audio button just to the left of the knob and you can see the audio screen.
d. The info button will take you to a screen with several options including the Messages (From acuralink) For the first month or so a new message will show up daily giving you little tips on how to use the car and its features. There is also a trip computer to give you gas mileage and other such information. There is a calendar and calculator in there as well. The voice command help screen will give you a whole slew of different voice commands you can use with the system. To use the voice control system, there are two little round buttons on the bottom left spoke of the steering wheel. The talk and back buttons. I suggest reading up on this in the navigation manual. In fact – read the entire navigation manual.
e. When you are in the audio screen, if you push the entire big knob/dial downwards you will be taken to a new set of menus, turn the knob until you go to the “sound” and push the knob in (enter). You can go through there and adjust all your sound settings – such as bass, treble, subwoofer. You can even turn on and off the active noise canceling system in there.
17. The seat heater controls are next to the gear shifter.
18. If you push the gear shifter into the manual mode, you can use the shifter itself or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel to upshift and downshift.
19. Just to the right of the gauges there are two buttons ontop of each other. These change the brightness of the blue lights on the gauges.
20. On the drivers side door, there are two buttons. One opens your trunk and one opens the gas lid to fill gas.
21. In the glove box, there is a switch. Flip the switch and it prevents anybody from opening the trunk. So if you valet park your car anywhere, flip the switch, lock the glove box. Give the valet your key fob, and keep the physical key yourself.
22. The MID (multi information display) is controlled by the three buttons on the right side of the steering wheel. I highly recommend reading the quick start guide for this section. All your options are in there for various settings. If you push the up and down buttons you will flip through the various screens on the MID. You can see the SH-AWD system – it shows you where the torque is for all the wheels. You can see the tire pressure, number of miles, on the car, trip a, trip b, gas mileage, etc.
a. If you push the middle button – the sel/reset button, you will change the bottom portion of the MID screen. With this one you can see trip a, trip b, total miles, outside temperature and oil life remaining.
b. With the top arrow button, if you push it and hold it down, you can go into the customization settings. Keep only one key in the car with you at this time; keep the other one in your house so the settings are for your key only.
c. I am not going to explain how to set all the settings, read this in your quick start guide. But these are the things which you can set in this option:
i. Language (English or French), Outside temperature correction. Reset fuel statistics with refuel (automatic or manual), Keyless access setup – you can have it unlock the drivers door or all 4 doors automatically. Keyless access lights, keyless access beep. Lighting setup – interior light dimming time (up to 60 seconds), headlight auto off timer (up to 60 seconds), auto light sensitivity (if you keep your lights set to auto on and off). Door window set up – auto door lock when you are in park, when you accelerate, etc. Same for unlock. Wiper setup – intermittent or with vehicle speed.
d. You can view the tire pressure in this system as well, it will automatically warn you if your tire pressure falls below to a dangerous level.
23. The adaptive front lighting system is automatically on. You can turn it off if you like by pushing the AFS button on the left side of the gauges. Same with the VSA (vehicle stability assist). The AFS system automatically kicks in once you reach a certain speed (I think 12mph)
24. Cruise control is the same as every other car, nothing special. It is not an adaptive cruise control system (in the 05’ RL at least).
25. If you have questions feel free to ask and somebody here will gladly answer your questions.
26. If anybody has anything additional to add to this that they feel is important to first time setup of the vehicle and/or learning features, feel free to post and expand the information.
27. Lastly, for the new owners, I cant stress enough reading through the navigation manual – you will see all the various voice commands in there also. I also highly recommend reading through the handsfreelink section of the owners manual (assuming you plan on using it) the same for onstar if you plan on using it.
One other major concern - apparently many people have had problems with the battery dying in their car. A major cause of this is people not turning off the car completely. Make sure you turn the knob completely off and the car says goodbye to you (in the MID)
This thread has a good list of current problems and or quirks:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346
It will also be available for download in ms word format at http://www.acurakid.com/rlsetup.doc
07-07-2005, 03:52 AM
#4
Burning Brakes
Wow, someone spent some serious time in their RL.... better than reading the owners manual (which I have done....twice.....YAWN.....).
Originally Posted by vp911
I figured I would start this thread. I hope it will be of some use to future and current RL owners. Another member recently asked the question of what to setup in the new RL. This will probably be a question asked several times here because of the numerous innovative electronic features the RL carries inside. This information will help you get started. It should cover the majority of features; however there are still many which are not covered here. Feel free to ask questions and somebody will answer your questions.
First thing, when taking delivery of the vehicle you should do a full inspection of the vehicle. This is a great checklist of things for when you go to take delivery of your vehicle:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...14&postcount=7
Now that you have taken your car home there are numerous features to setup which your salesperson may or may not have gone over with you. The most useful tool that Acura has given you is the “quick start guide” as it carries information on setting up virtually all the features you will use on a daily basis. I recommend reading through this fully as well as the navigation manual. The RL’s navigation system is by far the most advanced one that is built into any vehicle in the US. If you have never had a navigation system, you will probably never get a car without it after owning the RL. You may not see a need for it but surely you will find it useful.
1. Mind the break in period. Acura engineers recommend a 600 mile break in period with no hard acceleration or breaking. Do not travel at a steady constant speed during the first 600 miles (e.g. don’t use the cruise control).
2. Sit in the car, get oriented with all the buttons and where everything is – especially on the steering wheel. You can control virtually all of the vehicles main functions from your steering wheel including the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink (HFL), Voice activation, radio controls, cruise control, and the Multi Function Display (MID).
3. Remember the RL is equipped with auto on-off headlights. Many people prefer not to use this function; however, many also like it. So if you like to never have to worry about your headlights the control is built into the turn signal, simply turn the dial to “auto” and forget about it.
4. Next, get oriented with the windshield wiper knob. (shouldn’t be too hard =) )
5. Make sure you only have ONE remote in the vehicle with you now. Keep the other remote inside your house. Adjust your seat to how you like it. If you need to change it later you can, not a big deal. Also you want to adjust your steering wheel at this point. Find the position which is most comfortable to you.
6. Adjust your side view mirrors at this point. You can push the switch to the L, middle or R. If it is set on L you can adjust the left mirror, same for R for the right mirror. Whichever one you leave the button on – that will be the mirror that will turn downwards when you put the car in reverse.
7. Assuming the car is still on, on the dash where all your controls are, push the button that says, “audio” this will bring up the radio information on the navi screen. You will want to go through and setup all your presets. Click the am/fm button and change the radio station to whichever station you want. Once you do, hold the button “1” down until it is programmed. Continue this will all your am/fm presets that you want. Next be sure you also program your favorite XM stations – push the XM button and then program each preset.
8. Now you will want to link your remotes to the seat and audio settings. Remote #1 (you can tell which remote is which by looking at the back of the remote/key fob) will automatically recall the information stored in drivers position 1, remote 2 will recall the information stored in drivers position 2. With the car on press and release the MEM button. When the car beeps the buttons 1&2 will flash on and off, push the #1 to program the settings for driver 1.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 for driver two (make sure remote 1 is in your house and remote two is in your possession.
10. Above your head you will see a panel of buttons which will control the following items: Onstar, HomeLink, Rear sunshade, rear headrests and the interior dome lights.
11. You can push the rear sunshade button to raise and lower the sunshade. You can push the rear headrest button to lower the headrests only. If you want to raise them, it must be done manually.
12. (this is covered in full detail on page 216 of your owners manual)You want to verify your onstar subscription is active. Your dealer may or may not have activated this for you. Push the blue onstar button and it will connect you to an onstar representative. Simply tell them you would like to verify if the subscription has been activated. The red button is for emergency, if you are in an accident or need any other immediate emergency assistance, push that button and it will connect you to an onstar representative who should be able to assist you. The white button with a phone on it (without the # sign) allows you to use the call answer and call end button. With your vehicle you get 30 minutes worth of free phone usage. You can use these 30 minutes within the first 60 days or you lose them.
a. This button can be used to access “virtual advisor” when you push the button, it will say, “onstar ready” you then simply say “Virtual advisor” You can now access sports scores, weather, traffic, stocks, etc. You can say “what are my options” and it will give you a list of possible choices. Remember, using this uses your personal calling minutes. If you like this feature, you can buy more from onstar for a fixed fee (check onstar.com for pricing)
b. You can also use the same white phone button to call people. You can say “dial” the system will say “Phone number to dial please” you then say the full phone number without pausing. Then follow the instructions. If you make a mistake, simply say “clear”
c. Pushing the white button again will end the session.
d. If you choose to use onstar as your phone provider you can purchase “personal calling minutes” (for a very high price) or you can link your verizon wireless account and have the car share minutes with your regular verizon account (assuming you have verizon)
e. If you choose to use the onstar system for your phone, you can program up to 32 names/numbers into the phone book for onstar. Push the white button and when it says “onstar ready” you say “store” then it will say “phone number to store” then you say the entire number. Then simply follow the prompts.
f. If you ever push the blue onstar button to speak to a representative, you can record upto 5 minutes of the conversation. This is useful for “reviewing the route, hotel or restaurant information” To record a message press and release the onstar button (blue). The system will beep to let you know it is recording. When you are finished push the button again and it will stop recording
g. To review a message press the white phone button and when the system says “onstar read’ say “advisor playback”
h. If you need to have your doors unlocked or a stolen car tracked call 888 – 4 ONSTAR. You will receive a card in the mail from onstar with your account number which I believe is what you need to be able to do this. It will take approximately 6 weeks to receive this information from them
i. If you want to find out the phone number onstar has assigned to your vehicle push the white phone button and when it says “onstar ready” you should respond by saying “my number” – you can give this number to people to be able to call your car. But remember, you must have personal calling minutes available.
j. The onstar system is covered in more detail in the owners manual on page 217.
13. Your XM radio should already be active. If it is not, tune the radio to XM channel 0 and call 800-XMRADIO. The radio ID that shows up on your screen will be needed to activate your system. You should receive a full year of XM for free.
14. The next thing you may want to setup is the handsfreelink (HFL) If you have a Bluetooth enabled phone this will allow you to use the cars audio system for your phone. If you have a Bluetooth phone, you won’t need to use the onstar system for the verizon service. If you do not have a Bluetooth phone and you want one I suggest going to www.handsfreelink.com for a list of compatible phones for your service provider. You can also go to handsfreelink and get specific instructions on how to pair your phone to the system. This way you can use your phone over the Bluetooth system.
a. You can push the handsfreelink buttons on the steering wheel to control the system. You can add up to 50 contacts into the phone book. Keep in mind, you cannot transfer the phonebook automatically from your phone. The acura system does not support this regardless of which phone you have.
b. If you push the top HFL button you can say “Dial” and then say the number or “Dial” and say the name (if you have setup the phonebook in the HFL) ***the phonebook in the onstar system and the handsfreelink are different and you cannot interchange them***
c. To setup the phonebook press the top button (the talk button) and say “phonebook” then push the button again (after the beep) and say “store” then it will ask what name you want to store and you push the button and say the persons name. The system will then ask the number for the person and you push the talk button and say the number.
d. I highly recommend reading the section in the owners manual on the handsfreelink system. It is very thorough and will teach you the workings of the system. It is on page 230 of the owners manual.
e. If you use the HFL system over the onstar system for the phone, you will have more functionality. When you lookup businesses/restaurants/ dealers, etc in the navigation system, you can simply tell the navigation system to dial that number. You can only use this feature if you have a Bluetooth phone paired with the HFL system. You cannot use this with the onstar system.
15. On the overhead console with the onstar buttons, there is the sunroof button. If you pull it towards you (or towards the rear of the car) and let go it will automatically open the sunroof all the way. If you push it towards the windshield it will close the sunroof. If you simply push the button UP towards the roof, it will open the ventilation (only the rear of the sunroof will popup about an inch or so).
16. The center console was designed very intuitively (at least I think so)
a. The top portion is the climate control system, the middle is the radio/audio system and the bottom is the big dial with all the other controls.
b. The climate control system is fairly simply to use, play with it and you will get the hang of it. Push the “a/c” button on the right side of the big knob and the screen will show up with the climate control system.
c. The audio system, push the audio button just to the left of the knob and you can see the audio screen.
d. The info button will take you to a screen with several options including the Messages (From acuralink) For the first month or so a new message will show up daily giving you little tips on how to use the car and its features. There is also a trip computer to give you gas mileage and other such information. There is a calendar and calculator in there as well. The voice command help screen will give you a whole slew of different voice commands you can use with the system. To use the voice control system, there are two little round buttons on the bottom left spoke of the steering wheel. The talk and back buttons. I suggest reading up on this in the navigation manual. In fact – read the entire navigation manual.
e. When you are in the audio screen, if you push the entire big knob/dial downwards you will be taken to a new set of menus, turn the knob until you go to the “sound” and push the knob in (enter). You can go through there and adjust all your sound settings – such as bass, treble, subwoofer. You can even turn on and off the active noise canceling system in there.
17. The seat heater controls are next to the gear shifter.
18. If you push the gear shifter into the manual mode, you can use the shifter itself or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel to upshift and downshift.
19. Just to the right of the gauges there are two buttons ontop of each other. These change the brightness of the blue lights on the gauges.
20. On the drivers side door, there are two buttons. One opens your trunk and one opens the gas lid to fill gas.
21. In the glove box, there is a switch. Flip the switch and it prevents anybody from opening the trunk. So if you valet park your car anywhere, flip the switch, lock the glove box. Give the valet your key fob, and keep the physical key yourself.
22. The MID (multi information display) is controlled by the three buttons on the right side of the steering wheel. I highly recommend reading the quick start guide for this section. All your options are in there for various settings. If you push the up and down buttons you will flip through the various screens on the MID. You can see the SH-AWD system – it shows you where the torque is for all the wheels. You can see the tire pressure, number of miles, on the car, trip a, trip b, gas mileage, etc.
a. If you push the middle button – the sel/reset button, you will change the bottom portion of the MID screen. With this one you can see trip a, trip b, total miles, outside temperature and oil life remaining.
b. With the top arrow button, if you push it and hold it down, you can go into the customization settings. Keep only one key in the car with you at this time; keep the other one in your house so the settings are for your key only.
c. I am not going to explain how to set all the settings, read this in your quick start guide. But these are the things which you can set in this option:
i. Language (English or French), Outside temperature correction. Reset fuel statistics with refuel (automatic or manual), Keyless access setup – you can have it unlock the drivers door or all 4 doors automatically. Keyless access lights, keyless access beep. Lighting setup – interior light dimming time (up to 60 seconds), headlight auto off timer (up to 60 seconds), auto light sensitivity (if you keep your lights set to auto on and off). Door window set up – auto door lock when you are in park, when you accelerate, etc. Same for unlock. Wiper setup – intermittent or with vehicle speed.
d. You can view the tire pressure in this system as well, it will automatically warn you if your tire pressure falls below to a dangerous level.
23. The adaptive front lighting system is automatically on. You can turn it off if you like by pushing the AFS button on the left side of the gauges. Same with the VSA (vehicle stability assist). The AFS system automatically kicks in once you reach a certain speed (I think 12mph)
24. Cruise control is the same as every other car, nothing special. It is not an adaptive cruise control system (in the 05’ RL at least).
25. If you have questions feel free to ask and somebody here will gladly answer your questions.
26. If anybody has anything additional to add to this that they feel is important to first time setup of the vehicle and/or learning features, feel free to post and expand the information.
27. Lastly, for the new owners, I cant stress enough reading through the navigation manual – you will see all the various voice commands in there also. I also highly recommend reading through the handsfreelink section of the owners manual (assuming you plan on using it) the same for onstar if you plan on using it.
One other major concern - apparently many people have had problems with the battery dying in their car. A major cause of this is people not turning off the car completely. Make sure you turn the knob completely off and the car says goodbye to you (in the MID)
This thread has a good list of current problems and or quirks:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346
It will also be available for download in ms word format at http://www.acurakid.com/rlsetup.doc
First thing, when taking delivery of the vehicle you should do a full inspection of the vehicle. This is a great checklist of things for when you go to take delivery of your vehicle:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...14&postcount=7
Now that you have taken your car home there are numerous features to setup which your salesperson may or may not have gone over with you. The most useful tool that Acura has given you is the “quick start guide” as it carries information on setting up virtually all the features you will use on a daily basis. I recommend reading through this fully as well as the navigation manual. The RL’s navigation system is by far the most advanced one that is built into any vehicle in the US. If you have never had a navigation system, you will probably never get a car without it after owning the RL. You may not see a need for it but surely you will find it useful.
1. Mind the break in period. Acura engineers recommend a 600 mile break in period with no hard acceleration or breaking. Do not travel at a steady constant speed during the first 600 miles (e.g. don’t use the cruise control).
2. Sit in the car, get oriented with all the buttons and where everything is – especially on the steering wheel. You can control virtually all of the vehicles main functions from your steering wheel including the Bluetooth HandsFreeLink (HFL), Voice activation, radio controls, cruise control, and the Multi Function Display (MID).
3. Remember the RL is equipped with auto on-off headlights. Many people prefer not to use this function; however, many also like it. So if you like to never have to worry about your headlights the control is built into the turn signal, simply turn the dial to “auto” and forget about it.
4. Next, get oriented with the windshield wiper knob. (shouldn’t be too hard =) )
5. Make sure you only have ONE remote in the vehicle with you now. Keep the other remote inside your house. Adjust your seat to how you like it. If you need to change it later you can, not a big deal. Also you want to adjust your steering wheel at this point. Find the position which is most comfortable to you.
6. Adjust your side view mirrors at this point. You can push the switch to the L, middle or R. If it is set on L you can adjust the left mirror, same for R for the right mirror. Whichever one you leave the button on – that will be the mirror that will turn downwards when you put the car in reverse.
7. Assuming the car is still on, on the dash where all your controls are, push the button that says, “audio” this will bring up the radio information on the navi screen. You will want to go through and setup all your presets. Click the am/fm button and change the radio station to whichever station you want. Once you do, hold the button “1” down until it is programmed. Continue this will all your am/fm presets that you want. Next be sure you also program your favorite XM stations – push the XM button and then program each preset.
8. Now you will want to link your remotes to the seat and audio settings. Remote #1 (you can tell which remote is which by looking at the back of the remote/key fob) will automatically recall the information stored in drivers position 1, remote 2 will recall the information stored in drivers position 2. With the car on press and release the MEM button. When the car beeps the buttons 1&2 will flash on and off, push the #1 to program the settings for driver 1.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 for driver two (make sure remote 1 is in your house and remote two is in your possession.
10. Above your head you will see a panel of buttons which will control the following items: Onstar, HomeLink, Rear sunshade, rear headrests and the interior dome lights.
11. You can push the rear sunshade button to raise and lower the sunshade. You can push the rear headrest button to lower the headrests only. If you want to raise them, it must be done manually.
12. (this is covered in full detail on page 216 of your owners manual)You want to verify your onstar subscription is active. Your dealer may or may not have activated this for you. Push the blue onstar button and it will connect you to an onstar representative. Simply tell them you would like to verify if the subscription has been activated. The red button is for emergency, if you are in an accident or need any other immediate emergency assistance, push that button and it will connect you to an onstar representative who should be able to assist you. The white button with a phone on it (without the # sign) allows you to use the call answer and call end button. With your vehicle you get 30 minutes worth of free phone usage. You can use these 30 minutes within the first 60 days or you lose them.
a. This button can be used to access “virtual advisor” when you push the button, it will say, “onstar ready” you then simply say “Virtual advisor” You can now access sports scores, weather, traffic, stocks, etc. You can say “what are my options” and it will give you a list of possible choices. Remember, using this uses your personal calling minutes. If you like this feature, you can buy more from onstar for a fixed fee (check onstar.com for pricing)
b. You can also use the same white phone button to call people. You can say “dial” the system will say “Phone number to dial please” you then say the full phone number without pausing. Then follow the instructions. If you make a mistake, simply say “clear”
c. Pushing the white button again will end the session.
d. If you choose to use onstar as your phone provider you can purchase “personal calling minutes” (for a very high price) or you can link your verizon wireless account and have the car share minutes with your regular verizon account (assuming you have verizon)
e. If you choose to use the onstar system for your phone, you can program up to 32 names/numbers into the phone book for onstar. Push the white button and when it says “onstar ready” you say “store” then it will say “phone number to store” then you say the entire number. Then simply follow the prompts.
f. If you ever push the blue onstar button to speak to a representative, you can record upto 5 minutes of the conversation. This is useful for “reviewing the route, hotel or restaurant information” To record a message press and release the onstar button (blue). The system will beep to let you know it is recording. When you are finished push the button again and it will stop recording
g. To review a message press the white phone button and when the system says “onstar read’ say “advisor playback”
h. If you need to have your doors unlocked or a stolen car tracked call 888 – 4 ONSTAR. You will receive a card in the mail from onstar with your account number which I believe is what you need to be able to do this. It will take approximately 6 weeks to receive this information from them
i. If you want to find out the phone number onstar has assigned to your vehicle push the white phone button and when it says “onstar ready” you should respond by saying “my number” – you can give this number to people to be able to call your car. But remember, you must have personal calling minutes available.
j. The onstar system is covered in more detail in the owners manual on page 217.
13. Your XM radio should already be active. If it is not, tune the radio to XM channel 0 and call 800-XMRADIO. The radio ID that shows up on your screen will be needed to activate your system. You should receive a full year of XM for free.
14. The next thing you may want to setup is the handsfreelink (HFL) If you have a Bluetooth enabled phone this will allow you to use the cars audio system for your phone. If you have a Bluetooth phone, you won’t need to use the onstar system for the verizon service. If you do not have a Bluetooth phone and you want one I suggest going to www.handsfreelink.com for a list of compatible phones for your service provider. You can also go to handsfreelink and get specific instructions on how to pair your phone to the system. This way you can use your phone over the Bluetooth system.
a. You can push the handsfreelink buttons on the steering wheel to control the system. You can add up to 50 contacts into the phone book. Keep in mind, you cannot transfer the phonebook automatically from your phone. The acura system does not support this regardless of which phone you have.
b. If you push the top HFL button you can say “Dial” and then say the number or “Dial” and say the name (if you have setup the phonebook in the HFL) ***the phonebook in the onstar system and the handsfreelink are different and you cannot interchange them***
c. To setup the phonebook press the top button (the talk button) and say “phonebook” then push the button again (after the beep) and say “store” then it will ask what name you want to store and you push the button and say the persons name. The system will then ask the number for the person and you push the talk button and say the number.
d. I highly recommend reading the section in the owners manual on the handsfreelink system. It is very thorough and will teach you the workings of the system. It is on page 230 of the owners manual.
e. If you use the HFL system over the onstar system for the phone, you will have more functionality. When you lookup businesses/restaurants/ dealers, etc in the navigation system, you can simply tell the navigation system to dial that number. You can only use this feature if you have a Bluetooth phone paired with the HFL system. You cannot use this with the onstar system.
15. On the overhead console with the onstar buttons, there is the sunroof button. If you pull it towards you (or towards the rear of the car) and let go it will automatically open the sunroof all the way. If you push it towards the windshield it will close the sunroof. If you simply push the button UP towards the roof, it will open the ventilation (only the rear of the sunroof will popup about an inch or so).
16. The center console was designed very intuitively (at least I think so)
a. The top portion is the climate control system, the middle is the radio/audio system and the bottom is the big dial with all the other controls.
b. The climate control system is fairly simply to use, play with it and you will get the hang of it. Push the “a/c” button on the right side of the big knob and the screen will show up with the climate control system.
c. The audio system, push the audio button just to the left of the knob and you can see the audio screen.
d. The info button will take you to a screen with several options including the Messages (From acuralink) For the first month or so a new message will show up daily giving you little tips on how to use the car and its features. There is also a trip computer to give you gas mileage and other such information. There is a calendar and calculator in there as well. The voice command help screen will give you a whole slew of different voice commands you can use with the system. To use the voice control system, there are two little round buttons on the bottom left spoke of the steering wheel. The talk and back buttons. I suggest reading up on this in the navigation manual. In fact – read the entire navigation manual.
e. When you are in the audio screen, if you push the entire big knob/dial downwards you will be taken to a new set of menus, turn the knob until you go to the “sound” and push the knob in (enter). You can go through there and adjust all your sound settings – such as bass, treble, subwoofer. You can even turn on and off the active noise canceling system in there.
17. The seat heater controls are next to the gear shifter.
18. If you push the gear shifter into the manual mode, you can use the shifter itself or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel to upshift and downshift.
19. Just to the right of the gauges there are two buttons ontop of each other. These change the brightness of the blue lights on the gauges.
20. On the drivers side door, there are two buttons. One opens your trunk and one opens the gas lid to fill gas.
21. In the glove box, there is a switch. Flip the switch and it prevents anybody from opening the trunk. So if you valet park your car anywhere, flip the switch, lock the glove box. Give the valet your key fob, and keep the physical key yourself.
22. The MID (multi information display) is controlled by the three buttons on the right side of the steering wheel. I highly recommend reading the quick start guide for this section. All your options are in there for various settings. If you push the up and down buttons you will flip through the various screens on the MID. You can see the SH-AWD system – it shows you where the torque is for all the wheels. You can see the tire pressure, number of miles, on the car, trip a, trip b, gas mileage, etc.
a. If you push the middle button – the sel/reset button, you will change the bottom portion of the MID screen. With this one you can see trip a, trip b, total miles, outside temperature and oil life remaining.
b. With the top arrow button, if you push it and hold it down, you can go into the customization settings. Keep only one key in the car with you at this time; keep the other one in your house so the settings are for your key only.
c. I am not going to explain how to set all the settings, read this in your quick start guide. But these are the things which you can set in this option:
i. Language (English or French), Outside temperature correction. Reset fuel statistics with refuel (automatic or manual), Keyless access setup – you can have it unlock the drivers door or all 4 doors automatically. Keyless access lights, keyless access beep. Lighting setup – interior light dimming time (up to 60 seconds), headlight auto off timer (up to 60 seconds), auto light sensitivity (if you keep your lights set to auto on and off). Door window set up – auto door lock when you are in park, when you accelerate, etc. Same for unlock. Wiper setup – intermittent or with vehicle speed.
d. You can view the tire pressure in this system as well, it will automatically warn you if your tire pressure falls below to a dangerous level.
23. The adaptive front lighting system is automatically on. You can turn it off if you like by pushing the AFS button on the left side of the gauges. Same with the VSA (vehicle stability assist). The AFS system automatically kicks in once you reach a certain speed (I think 12mph)
24. Cruise control is the same as every other car, nothing special. It is not an adaptive cruise control system (in the 05’ RL at least).
25. If you have questions feel free to ask and somebody here will gladly answer your questions.
26. If anybody has anything additional to add to this that they feel is important to first time setup of the vehicle and/or learning features, feel free to post and expand the information.
27. Lastly, for the new owners, I cant stress enough reading through the navigation manual – you will see all the various voice commands in there also. I also highly recommend reading through the handsfreelink section of the owners manual (assuming you plan on using it) the same for onstar if you plan on using it.
One other major concern - apparently many people have had problems with the battery dying in their car. A major cause of this is people not turning off the car completely. Make sure you turn the knob completely off and the car says goodbye to you (in the MID)
This thread has a good list of current problems and or quirks:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=346
It will also be available for download in ms word format at http://www.acurakid.com/rlsetup.doc
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