fongz

It has been very cold here in Toronto lately, it was -2F today, and my car was park outside, when I start it this morning, my VSA and Sh-AWD lights are both on, after I drove it for half an hour, when I restart it, the warning lights went off. I guess it must has something to do with the cold weather, I am just wondering if anyone has the samilar experience.

nore03

Yeah this morning when my girl came in the house from making a run to Mcdonalds she said that 3 lights came on. She said the VSA light came on the tire pressure monitor like came on and the SH thing that is on the back of my car light came on but when i went down stairs to the car the only light that came on was the Tire pressure monitor but that usually happens in the winter.

RL06tech

Its ice interfering with the sensors. Turn the car off, restart and drive it at more than 20mph, everything goes back to normal. This procedure is true for any time you have the VSA and SHAWD lights pop up. If the warnings remain despite one or 2 "resets", take it to a pressure wash and give the brakes a good wash, if that doesn't do the trick, its dealer time.

jfprl

Not as extreme, but it was 31 in Houston the other day and my AFS light went on. At the next light I restarted the car and everything was OK.

vas25tl

Damn cold messing with all the sensors.

Legend93

Had the same problem the other day in Ottawa. VSA and SHAWD lights came on. The car contacted AcuraLink and I got a messgae saying to shut the car off and restart it. I tried it and the lights went off. It's just the extreme cold messing with the sensors.

motegi

No trouble with mine in -10 F last week. Knock on wood!

Blazing GT

my car runs fine.

Llevar

Happened to me a couple of times this winter as well. Also in Toronto. When the car heats up things go back to normal. What's alarming though is that it seems that not only do the sensors not work but the actual features are switched off.

kenny5

Anyone have any problem with the navi display screen when it is really cold?

fongz

The screen takes a while to response to any input, and it's darker while it's cold.

joshsways

Has anyone heard anything new about the warning lights (VSA and SH-AWD) coming on in cold weather? I have an 05 RL and the warning lights come on anytime it hits -15C or so. The problem is that I live in a city that gets a lot of snow and it usually gets cold after a big snowfall. So when these lights appear when you start your car, and you're parked in a snowbank, you can't get out! I have to wait until my car gets really toasty and then restart it to get the functionality of my AWD!

Like Llevar said above, when the warning light is on, your car loses the functionality of the SH-AWD. So when the light is on my car turns into a FWD and the tires just spin and I'm completely stuck. After 10 mins of idling, I can restart the car and if the light doesn't come on, all four wheels kick in and I'm no longer stuck!

There must be some way to fix this! For those of us driving this car in extreme winter climates this is a big problem!

Anyone have any new info?

BluNosr2

Yikes, that is a problem - half the reason I went for an RL is the winter practicality of AWD and rust-free aluminum bits to resist the salt effects.

I didn't realize when the lights come on you lose the associated systems, SH-AWD is a biggie for winter no doubt about it. Keeping fingers crossed that here in NS we normally don't get anything below -15C very often

csmeance

the RL's electronics are very sensitive to voltage drops and spikes just like many other German cars, and in the cold weather batteries probably aren't putting out enough CCA's to get the car and electronics running properly.

The factory Acura Battery isn't the greatest in the world, I suggest you have them checked out and make sure they can deliver the proper power levels to avoid issues.

christopher1

in ct or when i wash my 05 RL i get 2 lights AWD and check emission light. i went to dealer for recall and asked him about it he said RLs have allot senors. i just reset the ecu and delete after i wasj my rl in the cold. still love my RL!!

nsx_2k

csmeance is correct. My car '05 did the same thing after it was once parked outside where the temps dipped to -12 degrees in MN. What I noticed was that during the long crank during the cold, the battery voltage dips just enough to throw off the other electronic modules, hence the error codes that resolve with a restart.

I also agree with csmeance that you should check out your battery to ensure that it is up to snuff to handle the frigid temps.

I believe the errors with SH-AWD, VSA are related to power brown out. The AFS error, though, "may" be due to the stroke sensor mounted on the driver rear shock failing or acting up.

joshsways

This is really helpful! When I think back, the starts have been long and a bit painful (sounding) due to the cold. I usually trickle charge my battery before each cold season, but I haven't done that yet this year. And I think the amount of times I've seen the two errors (VSA and SHAWD), have been much fewer in past years. Looks like I've got my work cut out for me.. I'll charge/replace the battery and post to let you know how it worked.

Thanks!

BluNosr2

It was -10C this morning when I started my 06. Everything seemed fine until about 10 seconds out of my driveway when what I can only describe as a soft "howl" started, kinda like blowing across the top of a bottle LOL...it varied with engine speed and seemed to sound like it was coming from behind the nav screen, went away after about 30 seconds of driving

getakey

that sounds like the "30-35 mph" howl

BluNosr2

This is the only time it's done it though, on what was definitely our coldest morning of the winter so far. It seemed odd to have gone away so quickly, since it took maybe 20 seconds of driving to go silent and during that time I am basically just coasting downhill from my driveway (I live at the top of a long hill) - I applied a tiny bit throttle on and off to see if the noise changed with throttle application and engine speed (which it did). Not even a budge from the coolant gauge or any heat to speak of before the sound just went away.

When I left the office tonight after the car sat for 10hrs in the parking lot it was just as cold, and everything was normal/dead silent.

It is supposed to be even colder tonight and into tomorrow so I'll see what happens on tomorrow's start.

BluNosr2

Also I should add I drove an 05 that had a noticeable propeller shaft "whine" when cold, that didn't go away during the entire 20min test drive in the middle of winter - even the salesman admitted he heard it - and this is definitely a different sound I heard this morning from my 06. The 05 whine almost sounded like an intake whistle or bad alternator/spark interference from the stereo, and you couldn't really locate where it was coming from.

getakey

I have 05 and the noise only occurs in a very narrow range 30 to 32 mph and only for the first 5 to 10 minutes of driving. The noise sounds like it is coming from right behind the Nav screen and sounds almost like a brief radio interference - more of a whir than a whine. It is worse (louder and longer) the colder it gets, but will happen in a temp about 55 or colder. I'm in SF,CA area, so we do nto get your extremes.

nralpmet

Another Toron...Mississauga RLer here. Yes, had the SHAWD and VSA errors on Monday morning. Another common cold weather problem is the TPMS warning.

BluNosr2

OK, I definitely have the 30mph "howl". Did it again this morning, and only at exactly 50km/hr for about the first 30 seconds of driving after sitting outside overnight.

And, I still have until April for warranty on the powertrain based on the car's in-service date (the warranty on the 06's was 5 yrs 100,000kms in Canada, I am at 81xxx kms).

Where can I get a copy of the TSB for this to take to the dealer? Does someone have a copy they can email me or something? The threads I found all link to the now offline TSB website.

getakey

I don't think there is a TSB for the 30 mph howl

Chas2

It is a May 2008 Acura ServiceNews

Whine, Whistle, or Howl
Between 30 and 40 MPH
Currently Applies To: ’05–08 RL

A bad propeller shaft center support bearing can
cause an annoying whine, whistle, or howl if you’re
driving between 30 and 40 mph and the bearing is
cold.

[picture here which I cannot insert with current tools at my disposal]

To check for a bad center support bearing, here’s
what you need to do:
1. Raise the vehicle on a lift, and make sure that it’s
securely supported.
2. Have someone start the engine, shift into Drive,
and slowly accelerate until the speedometer
reads between 30 and 40 mph.
3. While standing under the center support bearing,
use a stethoscope to listen for noise coming from
the bearing.
• If you hear noise coming from the bearing,
replace the propeller shaft. Refer to pages
16-42 thru 16-45 of the ’05–08 RL S/M.
(Online, enter keyword PROPELLER and
select Propeller Shaft Removal and
Propeller Shaft Installation from the list.)
• If the bearing is quiet, continue with normal
troubleshooting.

getakey

I stand corrested.
Chas - have you heard anyone reporting that the bearing failed?
I'm well out of warranty and not anxious to get repaired

Chas2

Actually you are correct. I do not believe there is a TSB.

This was a ServiceNew article. ServiceNews looks to be much more informational in nature, alerting techs of known problems/issues and how to address them. Some articles are purely informational, like why the RDX uses synthetic, different from every other Acura vehicle, or how certain cleaning products can damage finishes and not use them, or how some products can fix common complaints dealers are seeing, etc. TSB's seem to be more serious in nature, and provide specific procedures to address problems not documented elsewhere.

That said, I am not sure what makes an issue worthy of a TSB.

BluNosr2

On the good news front, made a call to my local dealer today describing the issue, my service advisor immediately remembered another RL coming in with the same problem and that there was a "service notice" issued, he found it and is ordering the new shaft and processing me under the powertrain warranty (I still have a few months left on the 5yr/100,000km Canadian powertrain warranty)

037

just wanted to let everyone know that I've had the same xmas tree of lights couple days ago. The temp was in the high teens low 20s. SH-AWD, VSA, Check Emissions.

Haven't taken it to the dealer yet to check out but the message cleared after a short while.

037

just to give everyone an update, I took the car to the dealer and they did catch a code, I don't remember the exact details but they ran a computer update and asked me to keep the car overnight to see if any problems occur.

I will add info here as soon as I get the paper work back.

miner

Knock on plasti-wood.

BluNosr2

Just had the propeller shaft replaced under the standard powertrain warranty (5yrs runs out in April, I have about 50k miles on the odo now), no more cold weather "howl" at 30mph.

And knocking on wood, no warning lights with -17C weather

037

just wanted to add the codes attached to my issue in case this helps anyone else:

Cause: PCM

123505 Diagnostic trouble codes/ programmed fuel injection - retrieve codes with the HDS, read data: 5260, WA 0.60

FC: 03214

no idea what it means but now you have it.

Taylor W

I've been having the same issue with the sh-awd light and vsa light in the cold. I find around -18c or lower the issue occurs and unfortunately thats pretty much every day in the winter here.

I took the car to the dealer and the first time they did the diagnostics they said it was probably just a glitch, but it kept happening every morning. I took it back and upon further diagnostics they said it was the sh-awd control unit or something. Don't remember what it was called but all I know is installed it will cost me about 1,200 dollars.

tofer.tofer

I had this issue in Minneapolis when it was -20F a few weeks back. Once I drove it down the road and restarted it, it went away. This doesn't happen all the time when it's cold. It has been just as cold a few more times and not an issue. This car in general isn't the best cold weather car. My washer pump works great when it's above freezing, but when it gets cold, its a trickle....frustrating

2005 RL Lakeshore Silver

skyrader

The SH VSA light has come on twice for me as well recently in th moring when I get off work. Temps were mid teens. All I do is turn the car off and restart and the SH AWD light goes off and all is well. As for the washer fluid, sounds like what your using isn't for cold weather. Check the temp rating on the brand you are using. I have no problem with the washer fluid even at -15F.

supersonic64126

So I live in south west Florida, and it's June, and it rarely gets below 75°F at night and 90°F during the day this time of year. Yet my SH AWD and VSA lights come on all the time. Any ideas? Also, I get the whine too, but mine happens between 45-55 mph and does not go away when the car heats up. I'm out of warranty. Should I be shopping for a new car?

oo7spy

You should be shopping for a new battery.

supersonic64126

You know I read that too...but didn't even think that could be an issue because my battery is barely a year old. On the other hand...I did start using the Progressive Snapshot Discount telematics device about a month ago and it does drain power when the car is off. Wonder if that could be dipping the voltage just enough to cause this.

Also, I noticed that the SH AWD and VSA warnings only come on when the brake pedal is depressed. Meaning I start the car, no warning lights, go for a drive and stop at a few traffic lights, then when I press the brake down a little harder than normal the messages come on and stay on until I restart the car. Could it have anything to do with the brakes? Both front pads and rotors are very thin and are in need of replacing. I read something about some sensor in the wheel getting snow on it or something. I don't drive in snow, mud, dirt, or sand and the car rarely even gets wet, but if there is such a sensor could worn out brakes be affecting something?