GoHawks

Not sure if this has been posted before, but lately I've noticed something kinda wierd happening.

When shutting the car off, on occasion the steering column doesn't retract completely. If I immediately start the car afterwards it doesn't come down to the preset position and the memory button on the door doesn't light. I have to push it for steering column to come back down to the preset position.

Well this morning when I went to start the car (it was in the garage and wasn't locked), the steering column didn't move to the preset position, and the memory button on the door didn't illuminate. Once I pressed the button, the column tilted and telescoped to it's position. Once I got to work, it retracted as normal.

I thought I remembered that there was something with the battery, but the last time I went in for service the dealer performed a battery test (part of their free multi-point inspection) and they said it surpassed specs.

Could it be the battery in the fob?

Anyone else run into this?

The car has 43K miles so I would be surprised if the battery was already bad.

getakey

These symptoms sound like the battery to me - I had exactly the same. My understanding is that the car shuts down other electrical loads during starting if voltage drops. This stops the wheel from telescoping and it does not resume unless you press the mem button.

Mileage has little to do with battery life - what year is your RL. My OEM battery lasted 3 yrs.

Depends on what tests the Dealer ran. My battery passed the "quick" test, but did not pass the extended test. I took the battery to a auto parts store that had the test machine.
They run a 2 part test. Part 2 is only necessary if Part 1 passes. After the first test, the guy said the battery looked good, but second test showed problem under load.

getakey

oops - did not see the 2006RL in your sig
I still suspect it is the battery though

TampaRLX-SH

Hawks, that was exactly what was happening to me a few months ago.

First I replaced the batteries in the Fobs, did not rectify it. And after I posted, getakey mentioned the battery. Next morning the car did not crank.

Good news though, OEM Acura batteries have an unlimited 4 year warranty with no prorating! So I got a new battery and none of my presets were lost (even after a jump start).

The new battery ALSO gets an unlimited 4 year warranty.

Plan is,,,,KILL your battery every 4 years and get a new one.

Since the new battery was installed power telescope and all memory features work fine.

foam4me

I had similar problems with my 06. During the last service the battery failed the load test and was replaced under warranty. After that the steering wheel came to the correct position when starting. I never had the problem of it not retracting properly when turning the car off.
Recently I noticed the problem re-appearing after only a few months so I suspect there is an excessive current draw that happens even with the key off. I think there is a procedure for checking that.

miner

Just had the battery replaced on my '06 when I had the 45XXX mile check up. The battery did not pass the load test.

GoHawks

Thanks everyone. I'll keep tabs on it. Good to know about the battery warranty though.

Less than 3 year battery life (purchased 05/06) seems crazy to me. I just replaced the OEM battery in my wife's 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser (93K miles).

TampaRLX-SH

That's what I thought. Until the next day when it would not crank!

You have had good luck. My battery croaked at 26 months. And that has been a typical trend with every new car I have owned...roughly 2 years from any OEM battery. That is why it was a surprise Acura maintains a 4 year warranty.

I'd expect a Land Cruiser to have a beefier battery. You can't afford to have it quit when on Safari chasing the legendary Urbanicus Squirrelus.

Yes, Hawks...I know....it is to tow the bateaux. *ducking*

GoHawks

Yes it does have a beefier battery, and those squirrels are pretty... um.... er... well... squirrely.

TampaRLX-SH

http://www.h2os.org/wp-content/uploa...e_squirrel.jpg

sotiri

I ran into this a few months ago... was dealing with it for 6 months on 06. took it to the dealer in May, they did a reset of the computer, and it came back 3 days later.... I changed the car battery in oct (for winter preemptive security) and bingo, issue went away and hasnt returned back.

GoHawks

It's happening consistently now, and when I left work yesterday I got a warning to check my gas cap. Needless to say the gas cap is on tight. I even filled up and made sure it was on tight.

I will stop by the dealer on Monday morning.

TampaRLX-SH

Get the jumper cables ready!

UW RL

The same thing happened to me a few months ago. I have less than 15k miles on my 06, and the battery was getting weak. The dealer replaced it during my normal maintenance appt and after that everything went back to normal..

GoHawks

I always carry a spare set in the trunk.

gogogoldrl

I had a posting about this same issue in the known problems and quirks section that has not had any additions to it in quite a while, so im happy to see this topic re appear here.
I have had the same problem with my 2005 rl since I purchased it about 3 years ago. have been to the dealer and mentioned this problem to them quite a few times with no resolution.
On my last service appointment I followed the recomendations of the other members who said to have the battery checked the dealer replaced the battery under warranty, the wheel at first was better but after a few days it was back to not returning to the correct memory position.
so now im back to square one, manually holding the button to get the wheel in the correct position.

foam4me

I've noticed that if one shifts out of Park immediately after starting, the wheel movement stops. Waiting until the wheel has moved into the set position before moving the shift lever solves the problem. However, when the battery is new there is no need to do this. On my 06 it took a lot longer than a few days for the the movement to revert to problem mode.

My real concern is what is draining the battery to make the symptoms reappear

GoHawks

I was at the dealer yesterday for both the gas cap issue and the steering column issue.

For the gas cap, the SM told me, "you can clear that code you know". I told him that I did, but the warning never disappeared from my MID and the message would reappear on the nav screen each time I started the car, along with the voice telling me to to "Check gas cap". They hooked the car up to the diagnostic computer and found no issues with the gas cap or with the pressure. They cleared the code and all seems to be fine..... "for now".

With the steering column, I knew it was going to be a fruitless effort once the steering column started functioning normally late Sunday. It was fine when I started it Monday morning, and of course the dealer found no issues with it along with the battery. It passed both the quick test and the load test. It's been functioning fine since Sunday.

I'm convinced though that they applied some sort of "patch" as the radio was on the XM preview channel when I started it, and the car just "feels" different. I can't put my finger on it, but it just does.

As for shifting out of "Park" too soon, yeah I figured that out a while ago. I always let it go through it's entire movement before shifting.


I'm beginning to wonder if the Acuralink module was either the culprit, or required a reset. If you recall I had an issue with Navtraffic not showing up for a while. Also, a few months back when I had the EGR valve issue that caused the CEL and SH-AWD error codes appear, I couldn't get the codes cleared from the diagnostic menu. Everytime I would try to clear the code, there was a long pause but the codes would remain. A few weeks ago I went into the service menu and tried to delete the codes that way and they still wouldn't go away. I had to select the option that cleared everything. Once I selected that, everything was gone. The fact that I couldn't clear the gas cap warning as well makes me wonder.

So for now, everything seems to be back to normal.

TampaRLX-SH

It sounds like there may be some other power draw / drain going on?

I do not remember the details, but I think there were some updates made to correct parasitic draw from the HFL component or some other power accessory. I think it was targeted to 05 RLs.

Perhaps it is in some 06RLs also, Hawks? Could be they performed updates to your RL but they should be disclosing that to you and your work order.

I would think your battery was charged from your drive to the dealer. They really need to keep it overnight and check the status after it has been sitting abit. You may be on the fence still on the battery's condition. With mine, the telescopus interruptus was about 5-6 weeks in the works before the telltale day when the RL just did not crank. Otherwise, there was no obvious signs the battery was in a decaying state.

My guess is the other warning indicators you have been getting may also be battery / power draw related?

Did you ask them to check the battery or did you tell them it had died? I told them it died and I had to jumpstart...they replaced it, no questions asked and not test was made on the battery.

GoHawks

In the interest of getting me out of there yesterday, he said he would mail be the work order. I'll look at it when I get it, but verbally he didn't indicate that they did anything. He said that they were running through the diagnostics, but that was it.

I normally would buy into the "battery is charged' theory, but Friday night I had hooked up a battery charger to the car. Saturday morning the charger indicated that the battery was fully charged, but the car still experienced telescopus interruptus .

As for asking them to check the battery, they indicated that they did both the quick check and the load test and the battery allegedly passed both.

I'm intrigued by you mentioning that there was a patch for the HFL unit. I was noticing one other wierd thing. When I start my car, the status indicator on my Blackberry begins blinking blue to indicate that it was paired to the HFL, but on occasion when receiving a phone call, the HFL wouldn't indicate that a call was coming in. The phone would ring. When I would press the phone talk button, I wouldn't get any status indicators showing that it was paired to a phone. I would say "next phone" hoping it would find it, but it would come back and say "no phones have been found", even though my Blackberry would indicate that it was paired. Only after I would turn the phone off and on , would it reestablish the link. This too started happening pretty recently.

All seems to be good since yesterday morning.

I purchased my car in early May of '06. I don't recall the production date, but it could be that the '05 issue is a leftover issue that I'm experiencing.

nyjohnchan

I just check my warranty booklet, the battery only cover by a 3 years unlimited warranty, and the remaining 64 months will be prorated. Correct me if I'm wrong.

GoHawks

4 days since the dealer visit and all is well. I am convinced that they uploded something or possibly did some sort of a reboot because aside from the steering column issue and gas cap warning disappearing (for now), the car again "feels" different. Much more responsive.

Maybe they reset the "learned" driving habits as well, because today I accelerated pretty aggressively from a stop and it just seemed to pull stronger.

We'll see.

Ray C.

Regarding automatic extension/movement of steering wheel...

Two years with an '06 RL I've found a few quirks and developed personal "work-arounds". One applies to steering wheel action.

To set my scenario; I have Driver 1 preferences set to position the driver's seat at the most aft position for entry ease. At end of driving I usually move the seat fully aft to ease egress (am 6'1" @69 yrs). Here's were the quirk enters... Having moved the seat aft after parking in my garage, exited and closed door (NOT locking), the next entry sequence influences whether the steering wheel moves, or not!

First, the "all-is-well" sequence;
1) Enter and fasten safety belt.
2) Start engine.
3) Steering wheel moves to Driver 1 setting.
4) Move driver's seat to desired position, using seat controls.

Now, the "quirk" sequence;
1) Enter and faster safety belt.
2) Attempt to move driver's seat (first push on a control is "dead" - second moves seat OK.
3) Start engine.
4) Steering wheel remains fully stowed.

Hello Computer!!!

Who's "driving" our RL's <smile>?? Maybe HAL is in my garage <grin>.

Ray C.

getakey

After stopping, do you move seat fully aft before or after turning engine off? Seems like seat should return to D1 setting automatically if you moved to aft after turning car off.

foam4me

Battery replaced under warrantee about 3 months ago.
Symptoms reappearing.
Any thoughts about current drain?

Ray C.

My sequence; enter my garage, tran/select to Park, ignition to Off, move seat to full aft, open door and "deplane" <smile>. Close door and go in house. Next morning; open door, enter, close door, attach seat/shoulder belt and THEN the aforementioned scenarios come into play.

The seat positioning is correct, per Driver 1 setting. The "head scratcher" is the interplay of steering wheel movement (or, in my case, NON-movement) IF I move the seat forward BEFORE turning the ignition switch.
Ray C.

gogogoldrl

I'm in the same boat as you foam4me
I had my battery replaced as recomended here on the forum was good for a while and now back to not always extending all the way (and yes I do not shift until the wheel stops)
tired of going back to the dealer, so I just hold the button until the wheel is out.
It works but should be automatic not manual.
Gordon

getakey

there does seem to be an interplay between returning to D1 settings and what you do upon entering/exiting car. I know if I adjust anything before steering wheel has finished telescoping, it will stop. Probably assumes you are not the "real" D1 if you start adjusting. Also, if D2 was the last person to drive car and did not lock car upon exit, then D1 settings will only return if you lock/unlock or press D1 button.

CFoote

If you have a 2005 RL there was a service bulletin about a module draining too much voltage. I believe it was tied to using the Trunk Opener button on the door. Unfortunately I don't have much information on it, if someone reading this has more info please post it

Chris

getakey

the trunk release draining battery was a very early TSB. Would be surprised if it had not been applied.
Regarding Ray C - almost anything stops the steering wheel movement in midstream. I turned on the seat heater and it stopped (and turned off D1 light on door)

foam4me

Mine is an 06.
Dealer tells me all TSBs have been done according to the Acura Borg.

getakey

are you sure your FOB is paired, i.e., does it say welcome driver 1 (or2) in the MIDI
otherwise, I think I saw a post about someone having battery drain from a problem with an electrical component in the driver seat

foam4me

It used to so I stopped paying attention. I'll check again.
Does that suggest new batteries needed for the FOB?

Oddly, last week I used my wife's FOB2 and the seat/mirror positions did not change; I was surprised by that but did not investigate.

getakey

no, if battery problem, it will give warning of low battery in MIDI
some people have noted times that FOB becomes unpaired, not sure why

Rob144

I'm starting to have the "intermittent steering wheel movement on startup" in my 2006 RL.

Get in car, turn ignition, steering wheel starts to move and then gives up the ghost as the ignition is turned and the starter fires. I have go to Park, and hit the Memory 1 button (which causes the wheel to move and the memory 1 light then lights up).

Sometimes the wheel makes it and sometimes it doesn't. I'm wondering if its new battery time at my next service visit.

Rob144

GoHawks

I am convinced that this is part of the battery aging.

If you shift out of park too soon, the wheel will also stop moving. A new battery must be able to handle the simultaneous drain of turning over the engine while the steering column is moving. As the battery ages it's becoming evident that it can't handle both primarily as it gets colder when the battery is under more strain. As priority goes to the starter, the voltage gets interrupted to the steering column and it just stops, just like when you shift out of Park too soon.

As we experienced bitter cold here in SE Michigan (single digits and below zero), I was constantly having to press the memory button on the door to get the steering column to go into position. If I then drove a while and stopped for a short while (i.e. going to the gas station or running into the store) all would work fine, but after an extended sitting (sitting out all day after work or overnight) it would happen again. I tested this furher by turning the knob to the ON position (but not start), the steering column would travel to it's preset, and then I'd start the car.

Now that the temps have surged over the past few days upper 30s and 40s (even saw 50 on the temp reading), it's working consistently again.

When I took it to the dealer back in December they said the battery tested fine, and it's obviously within minimum specs as the car still turns over even during bitter cold temps, so unless the battery fails, or doesn't pass the Cold Cranking Test, I would bet you'll be hard pressed to gt the battery replaced under warranty.

It's obviously a design/progrmming issue that Acura needs to refine moving forward. I know that I never have had that issue with our Land Cruiser even as the battery was failing.

The only way to get around it is to get a new battery, but it may be wasteful since it obviously still gets the car started. On my next trip in to the dealer I will express by disappointment to them again that they weren't able to resolve it, but for now I've learned to live with it and as the weather gets warmer it will most likely not be an issue any more.

scottj

I've noticed the same thing on my '05 RL. Typically, on the first start of the day when the temp is 35 F or less and it is dark enough for the lights to come on, the steering wheel won't fully extend. Everything else seems to work and on subsequent starts during the day it works fine, too. I've been assuming this is the last winter for my OEM battery.

jftjr

I've had this problem for a year. It's been unresolved by the dealer, they've got no clue about it and seem convinced (despite me telling and showing them otherwise) that it's completely unique to my car. They have tested the battery twice, and both times they've claimed it's fine.

I have 3 weeks on my lease. I'm not getting another Acura. It's going to be someone else's problem after that.

getakey

I think it is pretty clear that its a waek, but not dead battery. They could just be checking battery voltage without a load and it looks fine. They need to do a load test. Pretty small problem to give up on Acura for.

jftjr

Oh, I'm not giving up on Acura for that, although I've given up on the dealer, for sure. I've told them to do a load test, they just prefer to replace all kinds of dashboard components in a haphazard manner, and then claim they can't duplicate the problem.

The reason I'm giving up on Acura is that they've made their cars so ungodly hideous that they scare small children and curdle milk at 10 paces.

I'm just not going to drive anything that ugly. When they make a car that doesn't look like the bastard love-child of Jimmy Durante and the Tin Woodsman, maybe I'll buy one again.