I have an 06 TL w/ AT. I bought it used from an acura dealer with a Valet 562T Auto Starter pre-installed.

The auto starter works fine in warm or mild temps. But when it is very cold out there is a problem. It seems to fail and kill my battery in the process.

Since its very cold out (~20deg F) the car doent want to turn over when the starter tries to start it the 1st time. so then the starter tries again, and again, and again.... Now my battery is completely drained and i need a jump to go anywhere. what good is an auto starter that isnt reliable in the cold? and why would it try over and over again? isnt it obvious this functionality would just kill the battery?

So i have a few questions please.

• does anyone else have this issue? is it a problem with the auto starter or perhaps i just need a new battery?
• is there any way to program this auto starter so it will try to start once, then if it fails it does not keep trying?
• last time it drained the battery so much i couldn't even pop the trunk to get my jumper cables out. is there any mechanical trunk release if this happens again?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

If it doesn't turn over, it probably is a bad battery. Did you check the cable connections at the battery to be sure they are not corroded or loose? That could be the problem as well, although it doesn't sound like it. If you just bought it, I'd take it back to the dealer and complain. They may good will you a new battery.

There is a manual trunk release which can be reached by opening the pass through door between the rear seat backs. Pull down the arm rest, pull down the vinyl cover, and unlock the pass through door.

The Valet models may be able to be programmed to limit restart attempts, but that's not the problem.

 

oh boy, samething just happened to my 07 tl s this morning , and the temp was around 28 f , i tried to jump start it for 10 min, it didn't work, cause i was in a hurry to work , so i took my other car, so here i am looking for some answers toooo. lol

 

btw, if i do need a new battery , what kind should i get folks?

 

There's a pretty good discussion on replacement batteries HERE. It starts off talking about Optima batteries but opens to many more options later in the thread.

I replaced my OEM battery with a Sears Diehard, very happy after 2 years...

 

@nfnsquared

Thanks for the advice. I figured the battery was the issue, but since the car is <5yrs old I was a bit surprised that it would need replacing already. I think i recall it being 'Delphi' branded..

I'll call up the dealer and complain to see if they will replace the battery. Also I believe they installed the Valet system so hopefully they can reprogram it to not keep trying to start over and over.

Thanks for the trunk release info too. All you need to do is open the pass through door and the trunk will pop? or is there a manual switch/lever that you need to activate . I guess I'll just check it out myself after work.

Thanks again.

 

OEM batteries generally have lasted 4 years maximum, quite a few only half that. If that's the original battery, then shame on the dealer for not putting in a new battery before resale. They don't have to do anything, but I'd at least ask.

The trunk cable is withing reach once you open the pass through door. I haven't been back there in a long time, but if I remember correctly it's a white/translucent plastic handle attached to a cable. Just give it a tug and your trunk should open.

 

^^^pg 83 of the owner's manual. Cable handle is at the top once you open the pass through.

 

thx!

 

i thank you toooo