My TL seems to think that the back passenger side door is open when it's not.
The door open indicator stays on and the interior lights stay on. Here's where it gets really weird. When I buckle the driver's seat belt, the indicator goes out and the interior lights fade out. Even when I turn the car off, when I take the seat belt off, it thinks the door is open and keeps the interior lights on forever.

Anybody else see this bizarre behavior? It all started when a couple of days ago the back window opened by itself. My car seems haunted.

 

What are the ectoplasmic readings in your area ? TLs are known to have vulnerability to high levels. Manifestations can be mild, as in your case of a back seat driver, or more severe and cause notchy 3rd gears in the 6MT and "gost shifting" in the AT. Better call Dr. Peter Venkman.



Sorry, In a goofy mood today. If the window hadn't opened by itself I would have just figured it was the pin switch that detects the rear door is open. But since the window went down by its self I'm thinking something more like water (did you have any big storms/floods) or there is a short somewhere in the wiring. Did the harness between the door and the car (covered by a rubber boot) get crunched or kinked ? Also, I'm guessing there is some kind of override that kicks in when you buckle your drivers belt so that other warnings/info can appear. Perhaps the designers thought "Hey, nobody is actually gonna drive with the rear door open so we better get back to showing other data when they buckle up"

Are you still in warranty ? If so let the dealer wring it out.

 

Latest sympton...

Last night the "back seat open" indicator issue went away but the car alarm went off. When I ran out of the house to take care of that the "back seat open" issue was back. This morning "back seat open" issue is gone.

I'm waiting for the Staypuff Marshmallow Man to walk down the street. It is on warranty but wondering if I should take it to the Acura dealership or the local Catholic priest for an exorcism!

 

Here he comes --->


Did you get it wet or feed it after midnight ? Could be Gremlins

Take video of it doing it if you can and bring it to the dealer. The video is so the dealer will acknowledge it is doing it rather than just say "customer claims" it is doing it. This way even if they can't reproduce it you might be able to at least have it well documented while under warranty. That way if it finally becomes a hard failure later, after warranty expires, you stand better for warranty consideration. Bring you priest with you for support. Better yet, if it is gremlins, bring Phoebe Cates with you....

 

THAT is a GREAT idea!!

I would make an appointment, get a loaner, and plan on driving it for quite a while. Problems like this can take forever to find and fix. The poor tech that gets this will probably loose his shirt too.

 

Imagine my surprise to find a post about a TL that is haunted by exactly the same ghost as my 06 TL. I have about 1200 miles on mine. My problem started with the alarm going off for no reason, then progressed through the exact same problems you described. The car has been with the dealer since Tuesday, and I am in a loaner. I will let you know what I hear.

 

Picked-up my TL last night. I forgot to mention that my turn signals also stopped working (lights worked--just didn't blink when stalk was pushed). Here is the service write-up:

Tech found water was leaking into the fuse box. Tech sealed water leaks and replaced the flasher unit.

Tech tested R/R door lock actuator and found it was faulty due to water leak. Tech replaced the actuator and tested.

Everything is working fine right now.

Hope this helps.

 

My fix was similar to your except they didn't mention a leak into the fuse box. They had to replace an actuator and a part associated with the car alarm. I just bought this car used so I'm sure the care that was taken by the previous owner.

If any of you are in Northern Virginia, you should take your car to Pohanka Acura. These people were unbelievably accomodating, respectful and responsive. I've had a lot of bad experiences with auto repair shops so maybe my expectations were low but these guys were great.

 

Thanks for the update. Unfortunately, it rained this weekend in Maryland, and my ghost returned. Similar symptoms to last time: R/R door open signal until seatbelt buckled, alarm sounding, etc. This time, my turn signals still worked, but I lost the ability to lock the car with the remote or using the door switch. Finally, the interior lights would only turn-off manually and I received a TPMS System Error.

Back in to Acura this morning. None of the problems were presenting themselves this morning.

 

I still like to think your cars were haunted.

 

My ghost has returned. Now I am just down to the alarm going off for no reason. Seems to always follow rain, so I am guessing that it is a short of some kind. I love my car, and I look forward to being able to drive it more often. It has been out of commission for 10 days of the first two months I have owned it. Here's hoping that my ghost decides to move-on. There is a nice 1975 Ford pick-up down the street that never gets driven. Looks like a perfect place for a ghost to make a home.

 

This happened to my car before. Open the problem door and press down on the door sensor that detects if the door is open or closed. If the car thinks the door is closed when you press on the sensor then you might have to adjust your striker to push the door inward so that it pushes the sensor farther or you can replace the sensor.

 

Today I found out that on my 06 TL the passenger seat belt reminder does not work. I just hope this is not one of these electrical gremlins.

 

I see that you received some responses about this issue--and I hope that they help you. I wouldn't wish my gremlins on anyone. I've had my car for two months now, and I have been unable to drive it for 21 days due to various electrical problems. My car is at the dealership now, and I was told that the technician had much of the front end and the dashboard off the car, trying to trace the problem. The dealer believes that a portion of the gasket at the bottom of the windshiled "didn't look right." The windshield is being replaced. I am supposed to get my car back today.