DoctorTuna

Wanted to see how bad others experience has been with the keyless access door handles. I had one replaced for the THIRD time a couple of weeks ago and I'll be damned if it stopped working again this week!!! Not to mention that I now have the phantom door locks (new actuautor required, I'm told) and my memory presets are only working 50% of the time over the last 3 weeks. Yikes! I had posted previously that I was considering buying this car out of lease, won't because residual is too high, but if I was there is no way I would go without extended warranty. Is there any difference with the 06-08 versions?? I love the car ultimately, but considering the plethora of TSB and non-scheduled maintenance calls, coupled with the recent electronic malfunctioning, I'm getting a little irritated!!

robarsan

This is a common problem. I had my driver door handle replaced last year, and it has worked fine since.
OTOH, one poster said he had replaced his driver's side handle 6 times and the pasenger side once.
Sounds like a crap shoot whether the replacement handle works or not.

dwest1023

My door handle has been replaced once and acts up from time to time, when it gets wet. Since I am going to another brand when the lease is up, I will let it be someone else problem.

SpicyMikey

Never a problem with my 07. I've had it over a year

Mokos23

maybe just an isolated incident?

TampaRLX-SH

Mine only faltered once, after a No Touch High Pressure Car Wash, but as soon as it dried, it was fine.

No problem since, either on rainy days or even when washing the car by hand.

However, my car is garaged at work and home, rarely out in the rain for any length of time, nor exposed to snow / ice.

I wonder if more frequent exposure to moisture and freezing temps cause more failures?

But by the nature of the touch sensor, I would expect occaisional fickleness. Repetitive failures, however must have a common cause.

kirbyflorida

They do not like water when you are close with the fob in your pocket.
Could this be a common problem with the water and the fob close to a door?

TampaRLX-SH

Good point, kirby. Once when washing the car with the fob nearby, the locks were cycling on and off. Perhaps this can cause a short in the sensor electronics? I keep the fob out of range while washing the car now.

neuronbob

My driver's side door handle stopped working in December during a cold snap, and worked intermittently after the cold snap. It was replaced under warranty and has worked since. The dealer tried to tell me that this was a common problem with RLs during cold weather, but I'd gone through the previous winter with no difficulty, so I felt that was BS.

lumpulus

Had the driver's handle replaced under warranty over a year ago, and other than the IDIOT service department not installing it correctly and trying to give it back to me with the door handle sticking out about a 1/2 an inch. I've had no problems since.

GoHawks

Passenger door handle replaced over a year ago. Driver's door handlereplaced twice. THe last time, not only wouldn't the door lock by touching the dimple, it would "magically" unlock as soon as you approached the door without laying a hand anywhere near the car, much less the door handle.

The service manager and everyone at the dealer got a huge kick out of that one.

It's been over two months and so far so good.

johnhayd

06 rl w/cmbs/pax in sf bay area. no problems w/ door handles.

DoctorTuna

I guess I might just be having bad luck with the door handles then. Looks like most have only had to replace once, if that. It is such a great option, when it works!! I wonder if somehow Microsoft has something to do with them, as I am also on my 4th Xbox 360!! Gotta love warranties. Thanks for the replies.

TampaRLX-SH

Technology is very fickle, very fast changing and short lived. In six months, the latest, greatest is obsolete.

It concerns me that car mannufacturers and in particular, Acura are putting technology gizmos above solid engineering of a vehicle. The 'quality' reputation is likely to take a big hit based on consumers frustrated with the very gadgets that won them over to the car. Acura has shifted from 'Precision Craftsmanship' to 'Advance'.

Don't get me wrong....I love the gadgets as well. But if the vehicle itself is not sound, enduring and efficient, I can satisfy my gizmo fix at Best Buy. I bought my RL because it was Honda engineered FIRST, and then was wowed with the technology, second. I realize I am not Joe Average Consumer.

I think Acura, while 'Advance' - ing, should NOT loose its roots in 'Precison Craftsmanship' Those calipers of the Acura 'A', are there for a reason.

Roy Cya

Very well said Tampa!!

That being said, I have had the passenger door handle replaced 3 times and the drivers twice. I understand how finnickey (sp?) technology can be (I'm a Computer Engineer!), but also understand there is a GREAT need for research, testing/development and quality control before even "piloting" or alpha/beta testing - whatever they want to call it. This is all supposed to happen before putting the product out to production. I the case of the door handles, it seems that they did not complete or skipped one of the phases for weather...

Just my two cents....

Chas2

Same experience with that kind of car wash. Occasional exposure to snow, including one time the car was coated with ice. No issues.

When I hand wash, I have to be sure to not carry the fob with me because the stream of water from the hose will trigger the handle to at least lock, not sure about unlock, since the stream is always hitting the outside of the handle first.

TampaRLX-SH

Indeed. At least the touch sensors are a relatively new technology and somewhat unproven in the mass market. I still appreciate the keyless touch sensors..especially when I groan touching the handle of another car and wrenching my arm off yanking on a locked door!

I am less forgiving of the whole NAVI DVD charade. It simply was not regression tested to older NAVI versions and was not backwards compatible. This is simply a matter of rush to market untested and product scope deficiencies.

But then again. How many people here feel like a MicroSoft Beta Tester? Raise your hands. And to think we PAY THEM to test their products!

robarsan

I still haven't figured out why moisture affects the operation of the handle. Most people probably could care less what the cause is, but I like to figure stuff like this out.

There is no exposed circuitry, the switch/sensor is sealed inside the handle. The only thing that makes sense to me it that the circuit consists of a proximity sensor that is triggered when you touch the bump. If you in turn have the fob, that completes the logic sequence and locks the door.

Does the water or moisture on the door handle have the same affect as someone touching it to lock, and also trigger the unlock sensor and therefore creates a stalemate that leaves the door in limbo? Or...

maybe they just bought some cheap sensors that only work on occasion.

lland

My driver side door handle acted up a couple of times (usually when wet). I mentioned it to my dealer when I dropped it off for an oil change. When I returned, they had changed the handle (saying they've had a few with problems). No issues since.

LL

jftjr

Never had a problem with them, either on my '05 or '06. *shrug*. My '05 had just about every OTHER problem, but it didn't have that one.

db22

My 05 has never had a problem except when washing the car.
These sensors could be capacitive coupled to you touching them which would demand that the electrical characteristics of the door handle must match the electronics that they are associated with. This would explain multiple failures on some cars and none on others. Another method of sensing is that the car assumes you to be an antenna and the Rx gain is changed when wet because the hose and or water is then also the antenna. Such circumstances should both be adjustable in the circuitry or, if designed correctly, be built within the tolerances of correct operation. Does the shop manual exp[lain the operation or disclose the circuitry associated with it?

TampaRLX-SH

Those touch pads are sensing your presence electronically, not mechanically. More specifically, electric charge on the pad pushes or pulls on electric charge on your finger and the pad’s electronics can tell that you are there by how charge on the pad reacts to charge on your finger.

Because your finger and your body conduct electricity, the pad’s electric charge is actually interacting with the electric charge on your entire body.

This works only when it also senses the FOB in range. In case of the water, the water stream serves as a conduit for the small electrical charge to trigger the actuator.

My suspicion is that when moisture is trapped or built up that the sensor cannot simply trigger on or off, it just shuts down completely. The moisture likely 'fuses' the sensor into a continuous on or off state. And since an unlocked would be a risk for theft, it may be programmed to stop working should this state occur with the car locked and handle sensor null.

Where I think it is kinda freaky is with Hawks situation where the car sensed his fob in range and unlocked before he touched the handle or was even a few feet away! His biometric charge must arch great distances. If anyone has seen Hawks at night, please observe if lightning bolts fly from his fingertips!

Admit it Hawks, you are one of the Fantastic 4!???

NJ06RL

Changed the passenger side twice and the driver's side once. Failure occurred after car washes or when very cold. Been OK so far but I'm not hopeful seeing how everyone else has issues. Won't replace it after the warranty runs out.

Chas2

Interestingly, in the winter, I have had no trouble wearing lined leather gloves in both opening and closing the door. Except for that one laser car wash incident, the handles work as advertised.

I love this car.

TampaRLX-SH

Ditto!

Perhaps the lining and leather allow enough current to pass into the sensor?

I have been able to lock my door by glidng my hand over the dimple without acutually touching it. We must have healthy aura's.

Maybe we need a rubber gloves / insulator test!???

*PAGING NEURONBOB.....STAT!*

Chas2

Yea, I was just thinking about a rubber glove test!

robarsan

After doing a little net surfing, it looks like these are capacitance type sensors.

Each paragraph is from a separate article: (NOTE THE BOLD TYPE IN SECOND PARAGRAPH)

Cap sense switches are not limited to the car interior. An ideal example is a door handle sensor. For this application, the metal handle is used as the sensor. This sensor is made extremely sensitive to serve as a proximity detector. As the presence of a hand approaching the door is detected, power can be applied to security hardware requiring much higher power.

Switches for door handles for Keyless Operating Systems are the capacitance type at present. The dielectric constant when the handle is touched with a gloved hand is lower than that when it is touched with a bare hand, and the charge does not change sufficiently in some cases, which makes detection of the initial operation difficult. Water drops may also cause a change in charge, making this sensor vulnerable to disturbance by rain or a car wash. Furthermore, the handle body must be made thicker to accommodate the sensor electrode in the handle lever.

Chas2

Excellent explanation. Just glad mine works most of the time! I love the system, even though it makes me look like a real idiot when trying to open our other car's doors!

neuronbob

Excellent find.

Love this place.

GoHawks

It was trippy. Actually kinda cool if it weren't actually malfunctioning.

TampaRLX-SH

LOL. You could have made a dramatic gesture with your hand as if your where actually controlling the door locks and exclaimed.... "It's MAGIC!"

Or the old standby <insert dramatic tone> "OPEN SAYS ME!"

Got your shiny gold turban and genie pants around somewhere, Hawks???