OK maybe not a purely TL-related issue, so I'll probably get moved or otherwise flamed on. But here goes anyway.

Picked up new 04 TL last week and programmed Homelink. No problem and it works like a champ. Went to get in the 99 Accord, and Homelink in that car no longer works. In fact, in the Accord the Homelink light doesn't come on no matter what I do (push any button, tried resetting the Homelink, etc.) The Accord was working fine earlier that same day, but as soon as I programmed the TL the Accord Homelink seems to have completely died and/or fried.

Honda svc manager says the Homelink unit in the Accord needs to be replaced (like $500 ), but this was over the phone sight unseen. Called Homelink and no surprise they blame the car (one guy blamed the Accord, the other guy blamed the TL). Garage door opener is rolling-code, and I reset the training unit at least a half dozen times to clear the memory, reprogramming everything at each step. I didn't think this should cause a problem but I wanted to try everything. I can't believe just programming the TL would screw up the Accord, but is that possible? It would be an incredible coincidence that my Accord Homelink died on the same day I programmed the TL.

In the Accord manual, it doesn't look like there is a separate fuse for the Homelink, but it sure behaves like a fuse is blown. Everything else in the car seems fine. Next step is to pull all fuses manually and see if any are blown.

Longshot, but has anybody had similar bugs when programming their Homelink in the TL?

 

I would get a multitester and see if the homelink unit is getting power. No telling where it is fused, might as well check it at the source. I suspect the TL was just a coincidence. Let us know what the result is for future reference.

 

I'd vote for an unlucky coincidence, too. I programmed my wife's Passat and my TL side by side one day with no problems on either car.

Hopefully, it's just a fuse.

 

$500 for the Homelink????? What a ripoff!! You can buy a new complete garage door opener system for less than that. Look inside, there is a circuit board that probably costs $5.00 to build, put in some profit and shipping, and the whole thing should cost less than $100.00. Acura/Honda should be ashamed to charge prices like this for someting so obviously cheap.

 

Besides using homelink as a garage door opener, does anyone use the homelink for turning on the house lights? I also heard that you can turn off the home alarm system with the homelink.

Can you tell me how to do these other tasks with the other two homelink buttons?

 

Homelink works just fine with both my 04 TL and my wife's 01 T&C. Have you tried clearing the TL program and reprogramming the Accord's to see if it would work again?

 

I have the TL, a Jeep GC with Homelink and two garage doors, both rolling code openers. I have both vehicles cross programmed to open either door and all works fine for me.

However, when I brought the TL home I did reprogram both vehicles and openers not just the TL alone.

You don't mention whether you have a rolling code opener or not. Just a thought, but perhaps there's a quirk with Homelink that requires reprogramming both vehicles when a new one is added?

 

My Solara was less than twenty feet from my TL when I programmed the TL's HomeLink for my garage door opener. No problems with either car.

Your situation sounds like an odd coincidence.

Regards,

 

The GDO can only accept 6 (I think) codes and will drop the first after the limit is exceeded. I had this happen in a previous car. If the Honda was the first programmed I would have thought that would explain it after the TL was programmed. However, if you are not getting any lights in the Honda, that is probably where the problem is.

 

Thanks for all the responses. The garage door is a rolling code unit, and it is true that when you program one opener (whether in a car, or the hand-helds) you have to program all of them. Also tried resetting the unit itself (press and hold training button for about 20 seconds) as it might only be able to store 4-6 different transmitters (the most recent one programmed is apparently the first one to get kicked-out if more than 4-6 are being programmed).

I had the Accord in for regular service last Friday, and got the svc manager to look at it. He came to the same conclusion, that the Accord unit is dead. Parts are $230, plus probably another $70 labor. Even the parts guy said "whoa, $230 just for a [expletive deleted] opener? What a [expletive deleted] ripoff."

So not $500, but still $300 makes me want to . I think I'm going to stick with the tacky black strap-ons that came with the opener. Hey, it's a 5-year old car. It looks like this is the "unlucky coincidence" that I feared. Somebody suggested I take a multi-tester to it, and I probably will do that when I get some free time (currently that looks like around Xmas time).

By the way, 5 years old and the first problem I've had with the car. Thanks Honda!