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The drive mode unavailable error with the day to night screen switching started for me after the latest update along with the random car play disconnects. Talked with my dealer and there’s nothing they can do to fix it. Opened a case with Acura and it’s just the same old excuses of send us your mileage, address, and any service reports from the dealer concerning the issue. Now they want the name of the dealer. Now it’s time to wait for the next software update. Oh well.
I have had multiple problems with my 2019 RDX. I got it in June 2018.
Today I got the following messages on my infotainment system. It was working fine when I parked and went inside a store for about an hour. When I came out and started the car the whole thing went crazy. The messages on the screen wererive change mode not available
Touchpad not available
Acura launcher isn’t responding
The navigation system would not work, the screen flashed multiple times then went black, the touchpad would do nothing. Music on the radio would get louder and quieter on its own.
I have bad drive change made unavailable happen in the past, I have had radio not available happen in the past. Today was the worst ever. The latest update that added the android app has made everything worse. I have an iPhone but it was not connected when all this happened. I didn’t call the Acura service department because when I got home I turned it off and waited an hour and it was working ok....until the next time it decides to go crazy.
Acura customer relations is useless. I’ve dealt with them on other issues with this car (the entire moon roof would rattle and shake as if the entire car was going to come apart). They usually never follow through with their promises. Thinking about getting rid of the car. I paid too much to have a car with this many problems.
With the three-finger reset menu, there is option for self diag. If there is a dealer nearby, talk to them and see what they suggest to do a self-daig when the issue happens and take pictures of any error on the screen.
I’ve had the car since June 2018. I was one of the first people to buy one. This has been an ongoing problem and getting worse. None of the updates have fixed any of the problems I have had with the infotainment system.
When was my car was in the service department for a month for other issues they didn’t even try to do anything with the infotainment system because they were clueless. Same with the moaning sound in the tailgate door, which many people have. Acura has not been able to fix that either. You basically just have to live with these issues which is unacceptable for a new car.
I’ve had the car since June 2018. I was one of the first people to buy one. This has been an ongoing problem and getting worse. None of the updates have fixed any of the problems I have had with the infotainment system.
When was my car was in the service department for a month for other issues they didn’t even try to do anything with the infotainment system because they were clueless. Same with the moaning sound in the tailgate door, which many people have. Acura has not been able to fix that either. You basically just have to live with these issues which is unacceptable for a new car.
Not sure if Acura/dealership has done so, but I feel at the very least they could offer to replace infotainment components if no one has a clue.... but of course that is after factory reset and battery pull still don't help.
I’ve watched the forum for about 3/4 months. I was nervous when we bought our 2019 Base SHAWD RDX in August. It was/is a CPO and had only 1800 miles.
Since August it’s been my wife’s daily driver and my weekend car. It’s been great. Love driving it. I thought all the bug issues and complaints were kind of over done per se. it had been flawless for us (or my wife didn’t notice).
We took it for a spin today and I got this error. “Driving Mode Not Available” and the screen flickered.
We drove fine for 15 minutes. Shipped for an hour or two and got back in. No issues on way home.
I wanted to see if others are still having this problem. I’m running the latest software (D.1.2.1) which seemed to have reduced the new post on other problems.
as my first post didn’t want to create a new thread. I was hoping for this, since it’s my first nice vehicle and Honda/Acura, had a historical reliability following I would be safe.
I’m lucky I bought a week after the new CPO warranty. So a long time left on it. It was built in April 2019 and originally sold in May or June.
I figured if I at least document something Acura may read and will work/continue to work on the fix.
it’s been solid until this. I hope that’s it for a long, long time.
I can only say that in 15 months I have had this happen once, and it has been probably 12 months or so since it happened. To be fair though, we only have 3300 miles on the car so it has not been driven a whole lot. Also, this issue does show up at times on this blog, but it seems very rare so it's hard to say what the cause is or what the fix is, if there is one. I don't recall that when it happened to me that anything really 'went wrong' as the car seemed to work just fine and then it went away maybe after the next restart of the engine.
I can only say that in 15 months I have had this happen once, and it has been probably 12 months or so since it happened. To be fair though, we only have 3300 miles on the car so it has not been driven a whole lot. Also, this issue does show up at times on this blog, but it seems very rare so it's hard to say what the cause is or what the fix is, if there is one. I don't recall that when it happened to me that anything really 'went wrong' as the car seemed to work just fine and then it went away maybe after the next restart of the engine.
Thanks! Yeah, we don’t drive a ton too and was bummed we had it. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.
I agree I don’t know what caused. I think the car started and the radio was on? That should cause it though.
Hopefully there is an update to fix this too. The car drove fine, but the flashing screen scared me. It was more like it got bright then dim.
I worry that with the electronic transmission and everything else if the infotainment is still bad what about the more important stuff. Maybe I’m just overly concerned! Just was hoping the bugs were gone.
To be fair my corolla’s infotainment system has rebooted mid drive before and has only happened 2-3 times in 7 years.
CREPPIN...I think you jinxed me. Today is the first time I have driven the car since updating the Nav a few days ago and went out to eat...about a 10 mile drive. I could not count the number of times the 'drive mode change unavailable' popped up on the bottom of the infotainment screen. I turned the 'dynamic' knob a few times and it was changing OK, and unlike about a year ago, the screen was not alternating between brighter and dimmer. Did this somehow have something to do with the Nav update---I can't imagine how, but what do I know.
I, too, had gone since updating to D.1.2.1 OTA on 11/04 to suffer the “Drive mode unavailable...” problem, but it hit me over the weekend... and now we see it raise its head for all of us nearly simultaneously? Seems a bit too coincidental...?
sigh.
CarPlay has been somewhat less problematic since the update, but still it’s far from reliable.
sigh..
I’ve since seen three new problems:
1) The radio went really wonky (extremely strange, cryptic message on the screen and would not function) until I restarted the car.
2) The HUD (Heads Up Display) stopped working and returned to normal the next time I started the car.
3) My AT&T hotspot has become spotty and unreliable (even when my AT&T phone has great signal), and the hotspot screen now constantly tells me I need an AT&T subscription, even though AT&T confirms I have a current subscription and it is usually working (yes: even when/as the infotainment screen complains that I need a subscription!)
The dealer did a full factory reset in a (vain) attempt to improve things, and all it seemed to do is cause me to lose all my presets — nothing has improved as a result.
sigh...
It seems the electronics in the car are as flaky as the mechanicals are otherwise excellent — and sadly it contributes to a very frustrating experience.
(and me having to apologize to my daughter-as-passenger why ‘her’ music keeps stopping...)
CREPPIN...I think you jinxed me. Today is the first time I have driven the car since updating the Nav a few days ago and went out to eat...about a 10 mile drive. I could not count the number of times the 'drive mode change unavailable' popped up on the bottom of the infotainment screen. I turned the 'dynamic' knob a few times and it was changing OK, and unlike about a year ago, the screen was not alternating between brighter and dimmer. Did this somehow have something to do with the Nav update---I can't imagine how, but what do I know.
Sorry! I didn’t mean to!
It is weird or coincidental I suppose we all noticed it now. I used to think a lot of complaints I kept reading on the forum seemed worse then they are/were, but this is way to pervasive.
It’s sad. Hopefully the can get it fixed. If not, this will be my first and last Acura/Honda.
What makes it to me a little more sad is we have the base model. No fancy navigation, HUD etc. If the system can’t start with XM on in 2019 I think it’s behind in the times.
Everything else is nice about the car (space, driving etc.) just I don’t want to see a light/dark screen and this little bar popping up for the entirety of a commute.
I have never connected my iPhone to the USB port in my 2019 RDX Tech, and this happened to me on time, around December 1st. Corrected it self when I started the car 5 hours later. So it is NOT related to Apple Car play usage. I must be that only person that does not like ACP. It is especially non intuitive in the RDX, because APC uses relative positioning on the touch pad, unlike the native absolute positioning used by the RDX system. Apple car play is still distracting in my opinion, and I do use it in my Grand Cherokee. But that’s a story for another day.
We are all waiting for a software update...
Or, you can join the class action lawsuit.
problem still persists as of 1/20/20. Had to leave car off for 5 hours and the system reset. I have a feeling that the problem occurs when I don't wait for the system to completely boot and the screen comes to rest before I engage drive or reverse gear. any comments?
I have never used apple car play or the new android play app and have the problem, even with the latest update. Acura, get your act together and fix this problem. It it happens while I am travelling, I must switch to my cell phone and use Waze on the phone. Problem still persists as of 1/20/20. Had to leave car off for 5 hours and the system reset. Not very handy when making a quick rest stop. I have a feeling that the problem occurs when I don't wait for the system to completely boot and the screen comes to rest, before I engage drive or reverse gear. any comments?
problem still persists as of 1/20/20. Had to leave car off for 5 hours and the system reset. I have a feeling that the problem occurs when I don't wait for the system to completely boot and the screen comes to rest before I engage drive or reverse gear. any comments?
I am at software 1.2.1 now and since the update in Nov 2019, I only saw the "drive mode not available..." twice, I think. Another issue is not able to switch FM station using the left thumb wheel, also happened about three times.
Also, I don't wait for the system to fully boot up before I put in gear.
Acura should be ashamed. They sell a luxury car with these types of defects still occurring after such a long time after release. and so so many complaints. VERY FRUSTRATING.
It’s back again. Last time this happened was in Nov 2019. Same as usual. Drive Mode Change Unavailable and the screen going from day to night constantly. The only difference I have noticed is when the vehicle is in the shade the screen does not change from day to night. Had to endure this error for 45 minutes while running some errands. Just went down to the garage and it’s been about an hour since getting home. I started the car and BAM no error at all! I have noticed in the Hard Error Log that this cars system produces a lot of errors constantly! Pages and pages of the same errors in the same sub systems. As soon as you clear the log it starts producing errors immediately. Acura’s software dept is garbage and so is their customer service.
It’s kinda odd that I sent Acura three videos today of my system throwing a hissy fit for 45 min and this TSB drops the same day?????? Could it be that simple???? One can only hope. Yea I tried uploading the videos from my iPhone but no luck.
this happens to me from time to time. My car is set up to get updates from my home WiFi so it has plenty of opportunity to get the updates.
I still get this issue as of this morning 2/24/2020 but I am confident it will clear itself up as it has in the past.
Originally Posted by Smilin_Jim
I just wanted to pass thi s along in case you see this so you know that you probably are not about to get stranded.
Yesterday when I started off to work, the infotainment display started going Bright/Dim/Bright/Dim like it was flipping between day and night mode. The display behind the steering wheel stayed in day mode and the headlights seemed to be staying on. A message then started popping up on the infotainment display that read "Drive Mode Change Unavailable" or something to that affect. It kept doing this during the 20 minute drive to work and again on my way to the shop. I went into the diagnostic screens and found one with a block diagram of the systems. There was one on the right that was labelled gateway and it was changing from green to red and back again about once every five seconds. In addition, two of the subsystems connected to the gateway, chassis and HVAC, were doing the same. I took it to the shop since I couldn't tell if it was an intermittent failure that could go hard at any moment or just a glitch.
The service rep called over the service supervisor, they looked at it and then he looked at me and said "well, that's a first."
Got the car back at the end of the day, they said it was just a software issue that would be fixed next pushed out update and that they had made "some adjustments to the settings" to fix it for now.
Of course the service ticket reads like it was only me saying there was a problem that they couldn't reproduce... I so love my dealership repair department. not
Dropped my car off today to have the TSB for the Drive Mode Change Unavailable and Day/Night Screen switching applied. Hopefully the new Center Gauge Cluster/Meter will have the new and updated/repaired software. I’ll post an update when I get my car back. Fingers crossed......., At a minimum I get a brand new Center Gauge!!!
Dropped my car off today to have the TSB for the Drive Mode Change Unavailable and Day/Night Screen switching applied. Hopefully the new Center Gauge Cluster/Meter will have the new and updated/repaired software. I’ll post an update when I get my car back. Fingers crossed......., At a minimum I get a brand new Center Gauge!!!
If you can, please post the part number of the new meter. I am curious if the new one is the same as MY2020, 78100-TJB-Ax1 (x != 1/2/3/4).
If you can, please post the part number of the new meter. I am curious if the new one is the same as MY2020, 78100-TJB-Ax1 (x != 1/2/3/4).
Got my car back today with the new Meter Assembly installed. Dealer did a great job replacing it, you can’t even tell they did any work. No squeaks or rattles to complain about. Everything works as expected. Now we wait to see if this solved the Drive Mode Change Unavailable error. Here is a copy of the service order for the interested.
My dealer ordered the parts last week, I will report back when I have the work done. I had the error message (drive mode unavailable) and flickering day / night issue one time. Now have 16,700 SMILING miles. Had the 2nd oil change done last week also, the MM said 10% B1, so I gave in and had it done.
Got my car back today with the new Meter Assembly installed. Dealer did a great job replacing it, you can’t even tell they did any work. No squeaks or rattles to complain about. Everything works as expected. Now we wait to see if this solved the Drive Mode Change Unavailable error. Here is a copy of the service order for the interested.
Kboo has this symptom come back since this replacement? I had this flickering/drive mode unavailable happening today.
I haven’t seen the error since my cluster was replaced. So far so good. Also no squeaks, rattles, or complaints since the work was done. I’m happy. Now I still get the Loss of Network Comms blue screen error. That’s a separate problem from this one.
It’s back again. Last time this happened was in Nov 2019. Same as usual. Drive Mode Change Unavailable and the screen going from day to night constantly. The only difference I have noticed is when the vehicle is in the shade the screen does not change from day to night. Had to endure this error for 45 minutes while running some errands. Just went down to the garage and it’s been about an hour since getting home. I started the car and BAM no error at all! I have noticed in the Hard Error Log that this cars system produces a lot of errors constantly! Pages and pages of the same errors in the same sub systems. As soon as you clear the log it starts producing errors immediately. Acura’s software dept is garbage and so is their customer service.
Agreed! Acura should be ashamed of themselves for their software deployment and I don’t care if it’s some third party writing the code, it’s still Acura’s image that is being put to shame.
I haven’t seen the error since my cluster was replaced. So far so good. Also no squeaks, rattles, or complaints since the work was done. I’m happy. Now I still get the Loss of Network Comms blue screen error. That’s a separate problem from this one.
My bet is this is a software issue (not a hardware issue) thus at some point you’ll likely see this again. When hardware is the issue the symptom is much more consistent. Since all of the reports are it’s rather intermittent when it happens that heavily points to software.
My bet is this is a software issue (not a hardware issue) thus at some point you’ll likely see this again. When hardware is the issue the symptom is much more consistent. Since all of the reports are it’s rather intermittent when it happens that heavily points to software.
No doubt it’s a software issue just like the drive mode error. They need to get knee deep in the software and issue a fix via an OTA update.
My bet is this is a software issue (not a hardware issue) thus at some point you’ll likely see this again. When hardware is the issue the symptom is much more consistent. Since all of the reports are it’s rather intermittent when it happens that heavily points to software.
First, a question: Is "firmware" considered "software"?
If so, then MAYBE it's the firmware that is the issue, and to update the firmware the hardware needs to be replaced in this application. ????
First, a question: Is "firmware" considered "software"?
If so, then MAYBE it's the firmware that is the issue, and to update the firmware the hardware needs to be replaced in this application. ????
I think firmware is software. It seems that this “error log state” can be created by doing something in our car before the system fully boots up. Like putting the car in reverse, which triggers the backup camera to turn on, might cause the boot up sequence to crap out. I’d bet if we didn’t shift into reverse until the cars infotainment fully booted up this issue wouldn’t happen (just an educated guess on my part).
I think firmware is software. It seems that this “error log state” can be created by doing something in our car before the system fully boots up. Like putting the car in reverse, which triggers the backup camera to turn on, might cause the boot up sequence to crap out. I’d bet if we didn’t shift into reverse until the cars infotainment fully booted up this issue wouldn’t happen (just an educated guess on my part).
It depends on the design of the chip, firmware could be programmable, in which case new image can be uploaded, or it could be hard wired, in which case it requires physical replacement of some component.
Well FALSE ALARM! Today when I started the car the Drive Mode Error is back! Took it to the dealer to get it documented on paper. The service manager was just as puzzled as I was when he sat in the drivers seat with the car running and error showing off.. He indicated they might fly someone out to poke around in my car but it’s not confirmed yet. Waiting on that call to come if I does. I spent 5 hours running errands and the error lasted the entire time even through 5 stops and restarts of the car each one with a total shut down of the infotainment system.
Well FALSE ALARM! Today when I started the car the Drive Mode Error is back! Took it to the dealer to get it documented on paper. The service manager was just as puzzled as I was when he sat in the drivers seat with the car running and error showing off.. He indicated they might fly someone out to poke around in my car but it’s not confirmed yet. Waiting on that call to come if I does. I spent 5 hours running errands and the error lasted the entire time even through 5 stops and restarts of the car each one with a total shut down of the infotainment system.
11-25-2019, 06:51 PM
rive change mode not available
