grandicornis

Is it possible to open the rear tailgate if the battery is dead??

I have not crossed this road yet but I'm curious what the options are.

DJA123

As is so often the case, the answer is found in your owner's manual.

grandicornis

Thanks, did a search of the manual but did not see that one.

The scenario I'm thinking of is that your battery dies but you have one of those small booster boxes in the storage area under the rear floor. Looks like no reasonable way to get to it there. I guess it's going to get stored in a cubby somewhere forward in the car.

Waetherman

That happened to me with my old CRV; battery dead & my jumper cables were stored under the floor where the spare tire was. Not surprisingly the CRV has a very similar mechanism to the RDX. It was easy to pop it off and get to the latch release.

Wander

"The manual" supplied in hard copy with the car is the Owner's Guide. The more complete Owner's Manual is available as a download.

A screwdriver or multi-tool is easy to store in a forward compartment, if you are limber enough to climb into the back and pop the release.

DJA123

Good answer. My reply wasn't as comprehensive.

OP, if you do not have the full OM as mentioned above, you really need to get it -- at least in electronic format. This car will stump you if you don't learn it's unique requirements. The full OM, and other goodies, can be found here:
https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...inside-978835/

grandicornis

Thanks, I have both. Searched for "dead battery tailgate" and "Dead battery" and nothing about opening the tailgate came up. I guess the trick is figuring out the correct search term.

Imagine being on vacation and having the cargo area full. You'd have to empty out most of it to get at that panel to move that lever. Even worse if you had to get into the storage area below the floor.

For me, the plan is to store the booster in a more accessible area for the times I don't want to wait for AAA to get a jump.

DJA123

Considering the tome Acura wrote for us, a word search can be problematic. I read it cover to cover to know generally what's inside and then I refer back for specific details as needed.

The booster pack is a common strategy with owners. But access is a consideration when so much is battery dependent.

Wander

Remember when you could unlock all the doors or the hatch with something called a key, and pull a handle to open it? And it wouldn't make any difference if the car had power? Quaint, I know.

Personally, I probably won't start worrying about dead battery in this vehicle for a few more years. The car is pretty smart about turning off stuff for you and/or nagging you about it. A sudden spontaneous battery failure is possible, but unlikely, especially when the battery is relatively new.

As a former Boy Scout, I get teased about my insistence on "being prepared", but it's all about assessing risk, potential outcomes, and the costs and/or inconvenience of reducing the risk exposure. ( For instance, a really sore back ). I still schlep around a lot of crap, but not nearly as much as I used to. I guess I'm just living on the edge.

hans471

I am old and remember so many times when technology changed and people were just dead certain there would be problems. Henry Ford didn't want to change from cable brakes to hydraulic brake because he feared they would leak fluid and otherwise fail and there would be cars crashing all over the place. The list only grew from there and continues to this day .One of the things I recommend people do is read their operators manual when they get a new car. No, you don't have to read every page but at least hit the big areas...like how do I get the good open? How do I put gas in the car if the electrical lock fails and won't let it open. How do I get the rear hatch opened if there is no power?

For the record, there is something called NHTSA. (National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. They cover all aspects of transportation and publish the FMVSS , or Federal Motor vehicle safety standards. They cover every detail of how vehicles will be built from a safety standpoint. Things like door handles that don't protrude and break your arm in a car wreck, or safety glass or padding on the dash, braking and safety systems and so much more.. The list is very long and covers things you might never have given a thought to. Working in the industry we had to deal with these things constantly in all the hundred of details in a car's design. So, this one covers the rear hatch (even if its not exactly the same as a trunk its close enough and the rules cover it:

"Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) No. 401; Internal trunk release, that requires all new passenger cars with trunks be equipped with a release latch inside the trunk compartment beginning September 1, 2001. Instead of a release latch, this document also permits the installation of an alternative system such as a passive trunk release system which would detect the presence of a human in the trunk and would automatically unlatch the trunk lid. During the summer of 1998, eleven children died when they inadvertently trapped themselves in the trunk of a car. This new standard will provide children and others who find themselves trapped inside a passenger car trunk a chance to get out of the trunk alive".

Some cars have a lever you push, some use a remote cable you pull, etc. The law just says you have to have a way to get out (a.k.a. open it from the inside). AND, this system has to work without any electrical power.

BTW: If you ever want to learn more about why cars are made the way they are and why car makers do certain things, just go read up on the FMVSS's and you will see all sorts of interesting stuff that covers every detail of why car makers do some of the stuff they do.

Wander

So a hatch door is the same as a trunk lid? Hmmm. I would hope that an emergency release inside a real trunk wouldn't be obscured behind a plastic trim panel, as has been the case in every hatch door equipped SUV I've owned in the last couple decades. ( And yes, I read the darn manual to figure out where the release is located, and all sorts of other arcane trivia ). I would hate to suggest that cosmetic and stylistic concerns sometimes dominate automotive design.

I was unaware of the risk of skeletal injuries from exterior door release handles. I'll have to research that. The big chrome interior door levers are a bit before my time.

But I get a bit misty eyed about a nice tactile gear lever. Why did that have to go away? To make room for a big chrome knob that doesn't get used? ( But it sure does look pretty ).

I reserve the right to be a retro-grouch when it's warranted.

DJA123

This has been a thing for every generation, in all areas of life. And the younger people who think it's quaint today will lament the loss of tactile push-button shifters when they only have voice commands.

If they're lucky, everyone gets their turn at "retro-grouching".

kev914

Good info. Thank You.