So my battery is dead as a doornail, can only open the door with the physical key and, 10 years into ownership, it's only now dawned on me that the trunk doesn't appear to have any method to open other than electronic (unless there's a key-lock squirreled away back there I couldn't find). I have jumper cables AND a portable battery in my trunk - but I can't get at them. Is it possible to access the trunk through the rear seat somehow and engage an emergency release? If so any pointers? TIA.

 

Open trunk access in rear seat, use something to grab and pull emergency trunk release attached to latch.

 

How does one open the trunk access in the rear seat? Where would this be located? And thanks for the help, much appreciated!

 

In the middle of the back seat is an arm rest that folds down (also includes a cup holder ). Behind this is a flap that will come down to allow trunk access from the back seat.

 

Like oo7spy said. There is a pass through behind the rear seat center armrest.

 

The emergency trunk release is on the passenger side, near the tail light.

I had to use a flash light and the thinnest broom handle I could find. Luckily I had one with a small plastic loop on the end that would fit inside the latch to shove over. It's fairly effortless once you get in there.

 

Thanks everyone, that's tremendously helpful! Not too long ago I'd just have a friend bring over his own jumpers and start me but now I'm in a high-rise and my parking spot is right at the top of an up-ramp so if the parking spaces next to me are occupied (usually are) there's not a good way to have the "donor" car park. BTW - not a fan of the battery design with that fuse box on it - very difficult to get access to the positive terminal with anything other than half-height needlenose type jumper clamps. Tomorrow I'll follow your advice and liberate my trunk.

 

I am nearly positive the release is on the driver's side. The only reason I don't say that with certainty is because I don't have an RL in the garage to go confirm.

 

Put the +ve on the nut under the rubber insulating cover on the back of the alternator?

-ve to the car frame.

You're supposed to connect away from the battery, because of the risk of a spark/hydrogen explosion. It rarely happens, but it's nasty when it does.

 

Soooo... Are you suggesting to not to connect to the battery at all??

 

I've never heard anyone advise not connecting to the positive terminal. Classic instructions I'm used to were to connect to the positive and then connect the negative to a ground NOT on the battery - back in the day this would have been pretty much any part of the engine block that was clampable. Sequence is also important in avoiding sparks - connect positive first, then ground. Disconnect ground first, then positive. Should a spark be issued it would be done at the ground contact point - away from the battery and any vented gas. These days with aluminum and alloys being much more common than FE it's a lot harder to find a good ground - so most will use the battery posts.

To resolve the issue I actually mentioned with regard to the cramped access to the positive terminal I daisy chained my portable battery's chunky (and steel?) positive clamp via my jumper cables which have half-height needlenose copper jaws. For simpler access in the future I'm going to seek out a simple needlenose style standalone clamp to place on the + post.

 

^^^^^ Agreed

And does this mean you were able to successfully get into your trunk??

 

Badly worded - I was referring to the -ve.

But no reason not to connect the +ve somewhere more convenient too!

 

Yes, mission accomplished! In addition to the emergency truck release mentioned earlier there is another release that's easier to access from the passthru. Found this in the *owner's manual* of all places. It's documented on page 117. From the driver's side of the back seat reach your arm up and feel along the top and you'll find a thin wire-like "thingie" that you can pull and it will release the trunk. Have an appointment with my dealer to get a new battery tomorrow. Guess that's my Christmas present, LOL. Thanks to everyone for your help, really hit the spot!
Owner's Manual link
http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/p...u/JA0505OM.pdf

 

I personally have done very well with OEM Honda/Acura batteries but if you are going to the dealer tomorrow to have another OEM battery installed, you will find plenty of dissention in the ranks from other AZ members. They will tell you to go Optima, Costco, Walmart, etc...and how bad OEM batteries are.
If not OEM replacement under warranty, I would go to your local Sears and get a DieHard. Whenever I have had to replace a battery and pay for it out of my own pocket, a DieHard is purchased.
Plus as you say, it's a Christmas present, so why not splurge on yourself

 

My preference would be an Optima - my concern is the tight space. On the Corvette I do a lot of my own work but since it's not a winter driver it's easier to do that up at the house in the driveway on a nice warm day. This car's my winter car and grocery getter and the weather sucks here now - and I don't have anywhere to do the work if I wanted to (downtown highrise). So I know I'll pay more and get less but it's just easier for me to have it done by the dealer and have the peace of mind; I actually like my dealer, too - McGrath Acura of Westmont - they've taken good care of me and even worked with me on meeting halfway on out of warranty stuff.
Your advice is spot on, though, and if I lived in a warmer climate or had access to a good work area I'd pick up an Optima Red Top ($140 shipped on Amazon) and drop it in myself. 1.5 days away from Christmas I'm going to toss the dealer the keys, have an espresso or two and kick the tires of the RLX.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

The RLX just scored lowest in class among Consumer Reports survey respondents in the "would I buy one again? category, and not by a small margin.

If I were you, I'd toss the dealer the keys, take your espresso across the street and kick the tires of the new AWD Genesis.

 

The RLX is suffering from the same first MY design issues the 2005 RL suffered from. Would you toss the dealer your RL keys now? Just sayin'.

OP, Optima Red Tops are not the same as they used to be. "Made in Mexico" is the common complaint around here. I don't have personal experience with them, but plenty of other members around here do. Just something to keep in mind.

 

I'm not buying anything - with only 67K miles on my '05 RL it's still rolling quite well. Just something to do while the service dept does it's thing. I'm still quite intrigued by the hybrid RLX, though, and will continue to follow it. What Consumer Reports thinks has never meant crap to me TBH.

 

FWIW, the consumer report in question was for the PAW-S RLX owners only. The study was done before the hybrid was available.

 

Agree, 007. But the FWD is the volume model, and it's the one that's priced roughly where the 2005 RL was. For that money, you lose the wood, the leather and the SH-AWD, but you gain a bunch of rear legroom and a snaggle tooth. What's not to like?

 

I am not here to defend Acura or the PAW-S RLX. I'm just trying to clarify for those who may not be as up to speed.

 

Nothing personal, 007.

 

I know. I used to be a defender.

 

Follow up: turns out the battery was still under warranty and just needed charging as my new life in Chicago's Loop has me driving very little - and I didn't drive that much before as next month will be 10 years of ownership and only 67K miles. Anyhoo dealer didn't charge me a dime but charged up the battery and checked for any possible shorts/draws, topped up the fluids, aired the tires, washed it, etc, and served up espresso's and cappuccino's. Also checked out the RLX - very nice interior, extremely comfortable seats. Will definitely be on the list to consider when it's time to replace the RL.

 

What's better than that? Merry Christmas to you!! You might want to consider a trickle charger (if that is a viable option) to keep you battery up to snuff with your lack of driving. Also keep in mind automotive batteries do not like to be deep cycled like marine batteries do. So keep an eye on yours as it may not be as healthy as it seems to be or your dealer led you to believe.

 

I keep a battery tender on the Corvette and the Harley in the garage up at the house. Here in the high rise there's no outlet near my assigned spot for the Acura. BTW running Optima Red Top, TOP POST, in the 'vette. Known problem with the original SIDE POST AC Delco batteries in the C5 'vette was that they would leak at the posts and, in a brilliant design move, drip down and destroy the ECM that was mounted directly under the battery tray. I got lucky and headed it off before that but it destroyed the ground cable - a rather long and expensive cable to replace (not to mention unwieldy). I track that car and subject it - and the battery - to a fair amount of stress and vibration and it's always done well by me. I will nose around for more recent reports about Optima and others, though.

I just need to start scheduling a weekly or bi-weekly "drive in the country" to get a good run on the RL to keep the battery properly charged. Probably coordinate that with a gas fill-up once I escape the taxman's clutches here in C(r)ook County.