rgorsk

Brought the new car home on Tuesday and on Sunday morning it was dead. Roadside couldn't jump start it (two different guys came and tried) and then the dealer sent a tech with a battery to the house, got it started and took my car back to the dealer. Two days later I got it back and was told it was just a bad battery. Of course the next time that I went to drive it last night on NYE it was dead again (a day and a half later). I had quadruple checked that everything was turned off the last time that I drove it. Anyone else have a similar experience? Of course the dealer is closed today, but I left a message saying that I want to swap this car for a new one.

csmeance

did you lock the car before going inside? If you don't lock it, the car will continue to draw on the battery.

The dealer will do a simple battery draw test. They lock the car with a meter hooked up to see how much current the car is consuming. It should be under 40mA with the car locked after 10 mins.

If it's above 40mA, they unplug electrical systems via the fuse one at a time until they find the magic one. Give acura a chance to rectify the issue. I'd also suggest reading up on lemon law.

rgorsk

The car was locked both times when I left it. I could see the blinking red light from my kitchen table. There is definitely something drawing in the system when it is in the off mode. At first there was enough power to turn on the radio/air/etc. but then a few hours later it was totally dead (doors wouldn't even open). Salesman and SA came yesterday to drop a loaner off and tried to jump and noticed a noise in the dash as soon as they hooked the booster up and said that it sounds like it is drawing something in the dash when it is turned off. They couldn't start it with a booster. I told them that if it isn't an obvious easy fix then I don't want this car anymore and want a replacement. They told me not to worry that they are sure that "they" will do the right thing, but not sure what that means.

They also complained about how ridiculous the positioning of the battery is and the lack of space to try to jump it.

I will read the NY lemon law. Thanks

Bluepill

Some owners on another forum have noted that if the key fob is stored too close to the vehicle (probably inside a home garage) that the lights keep triggering and can kill the battery.

rgorsk

I saw the post on the other forum also. I would've seen the lights flashing on and off since I can see the car from a bay window in my kitchen.

I really think that it is something not shutting off when the car is shut off and is is draining the battery. Dealer came with yet another battery today and took the car to their shop to figure this out. If it isn't something obvious and easy to fix then I will ask them to get me another car (we've only driven it about 30 miles total).

jzhu625

iTrader: (2)

my 2014 MDX advance dealer just replaced the battery, car was in for services and pulled all type of codes, at last once they replaced the battery all issues fixed.

RDX10

This was a common issue on a non-related vehicle. The 2004-2010 VW Touareg. Basically the canbus system for the keyless entry would keep on trying to find the key fob and therefore drain the battery till it died.

You don't have to have the key nearby either for that to occur. I recommend you read up well on lemon laws, this stuff may require a torn apart dash, new door handles, wiring..etc. It gets messy fast.

Reinnie

Sorry to hear you're having issues with your MDX. I've never locked my car when it's in the garage and no issues with a dead car. I also have left my key fob in the car a few times in the garage with no issues either.

I did have similar problem with my previous Volvo XC90. In the end it was the alternator. It was over charging the battery and ended up frying the battery. The dealer replaced with a new battery three times and each time similar issue like yours. All three batteries took less than a week before each one is completely dead. Yes, took them three tries before they check the alternator!

A brand new battery after dying from ghost draw should still be able to jump start, therefore I believe it's not a ghost draw but something destroying a brand new battery.

rgorsk

2+ days now and the dealer has still not found the issue.

I read the NY lemon law and it says that the dealer has 4 tries to fix the car before it can be considered a lemon (or 30 days out of service).

thoiboi

damn OP, it's heartwrenching to see your new car being sick like that. I have a feeling the dealer will do good by you and hopefully fix it. keep us posted!

rgorsk

So the car has been in the dealer's shop all week and somehow they know that there is a draw in an accessory, but they haven't found which one yet. I was told this afternoon that now they are working with Honda directly to try to figure this out. I told them that I want a new car because I've only had the car for like driveable 5 days since delivery (~30 miles) and that I won't be able to trust this one.

kareshi

Did you tell them it may be the alternator?

rgorsk

Yes, I asked about the alternator. The dealer said that they found the draw to be coming from the passenger side door lock switch. They disconnected it for 2 plus days and let the car sit and the battery stayed fully charged. Then they replaced the switch and let it sit for another day and it was still fine. I picked it up yesterday and it was okay today. Crossing my fingers, but still don't understand why if it was just a ghost draw that it would prevent the car from being jumped with a new battery (two new batteries actually)

beach109

I've seen this twice in 2 years.

Once was a fresh factory delivered 2015 MDX Advance, that was fine at delivery, but then would keep going dead for the new owner and they couldn't initially find out why. Traced it back to an abnormal power draw in the one front door, and once that piece was replaced, no more issue.

Another was on a different 2015 MDX later in the year. Not sure which piece it was, but we had another one with the same kind of fluke that would keep draining the battery. It needed a more extensive electrical system diagnosis to figure out where the drain was happening.

Tends to be one defective part. Some older models I've seen the HandsFreeLink bluetooth module, in 2004+ cars when it first came out, that would fail and keep "working" trying to search and connect even with the car power off, killing the battery when parked.

The Dark Knight

iTrader: (1)

What dealership did you purchase your car from?

tman

Looks like the issue is resolved. You should be able to have some confidence that it will be reliable. Ghost current draw is not easy to find, but they found it. There have been other MDXs with similar issue. I know I read one where the one of the mirrors was constantly drawing current when it shouldn't. Good ole lemon laws can be on your side if you have to bring it back so many times based on your State law. Im sure other manufacturers have all the same issues as Acura does.

rgorsk

An update, several weeks later and the car has been fine. So it was the passenger front door lock that was creating the ghost draw.

tman

Someone else had a continuous draw on the passenger side mirror. There is no set pattern.

DRB1

Here's the trick to jumping the 2016 MDX. You lift the engine cover and there's a metal hook on the left. That's where the Negative cable gets hooked to. The Positive connection is on the battery with the plastic cover. Trying to get access to the negative terminal on the battery, you have to pull the front plastic cover and then pull the air intake scoop out. I know it's a pain, and those battery booster boxes don't have long enough cables. :-(

I had my brand new AGM battery die on me yesterday and my battery booster didn't even work, so I have to find someone to jump it with regular jumper cables. I took the battery to have it checked, they said It was fine since it's a brand new battery and a high end Duracell. I then took my car to the dealer and they checked the alternator and it's fine. So they are stumped. I left the car overnight to see if they can find the source of battery drain.

I didn't know about having the car locked and it draining the battery down to less than 5%.

I hope there's a logical answer somewhere in the near future.

DaveYVR

Regarding those battery charger cable lengths, you can usually just pull the cables carefully apart where they are joined to be able to spread the + and - clips further apart from each other. I was able to split mine, with still some joining to spare, wide enough to reach the mentioned hook on the engine block (under the cover on the left hand side of the engine block).

01CLTypeSinNH

I just went through troubleshooting a parasitic power draw that was killing the battery when the 2013 MDX sat overnight. The problem ended up being the motorized tailgate close button (Part number: 35800-SED-003) located on the underside of the tailgate. $20 part
FYI regarding troubleshooting. First, I tried unplugging the Bluetooth handsfree module, battery still went dead overnight. Second, I replaced the AC clutch relay, battery still went dead overnight. Thirdly, I started unplugging fuses overnight and checking to see if the vehicle started in the morning. I found that when I unplugged the interior lights fuse the battery did not go dead overnight. I then noticed that the tailgate close button remained illuminated for what seemed to be too long. I unplugged the switch and left all the fuses plugged in and the battery did not go dead YAY!!!! New switch arrived yesterday, installed it and everything is functioning properly.