My 2012 TL-Tech, though now 16 mos. old (got it in March of '11) still has ultra-low miles on it (5800 miles). 2 months ago a message popped up indicating a low battery problem & recommended dealer service. I took it in but everything checked out OK. They also did a load test and found nothing wrong, but in the process lost all of our radio, XM and seat presets (grrr...)

Now 3 months later it has popped up the exact same warning, tho it did so immediately following a 350-mile road trip and you'd have thought this would have had the battery very well charged. In fact I did check the battery voltage myself with a good (Fluke 87) digital volt meter & it checks OK (12.79v after sitting in the garage overnight and 14.15v with the engine running at idle speed, lights & A/C on)

What's going on?

Obviously I need to get it back in to the dealership, but I was very upset about losing all our presets the last time. I know there's a way for them to 'hold' those settings and at the type of "Gucci Dealership" they put on airs to be, you'd have thought that holding a customer's presets would have been de rigueur.

Any idea why I keep getting this warning message?

Thanks in advance..

 

This falls under the category of obvious, but are the battery connections tight with no signs of corrosion? I wouldn't expect either to be an issue with such a new vehicle, but stranger things have happened.

I don't know the circuitry on the 12 TL, but on the 3rd generation TL (04-08), the battery indicator is tied into the charging system, so it could be something in that circuit (voltage regulator, ignition switch, relay, fuse, alternator, etc)

Just a couple of thoughts.

 

Mine does that if I don't drive it for a few days. I don't lose my radio presets & whatnot but I get the warning message. I had the dealer check it out and everything checks out, it appears that the computer is just overly sensitive. If not for the fact that not driving for 3-4 days almost never happens I'd press the issue but I really only see it once a month or less.

 

I have had this issue several times, generally when I have been away for a few days and the car has not been driven. The dealer indicates that there is an issue with the computer/sensor being too sensitive. Apparently this was also an issue on the ZDX and there was an update for it; none yet on the TL. The car always starts right up normally so I don't think it is an actual issue, more of a glitch, and I presume they will eventually have a fix for it.

 

Thanks Mike.

For clarity to others following this thread, I only lost my presets when the dealer had the car and did the load test. The problem with the message pop-up didn't really worry me the first time it happened, as we were in town and the dealership was only a few miles away. It pi**ed me off losing my presets, as we had a lot of them for both me and my wife. The dealer offered to reprogram them for us, but by then I had spent about 45 minutes going through them all myself (with both key fobs).

We had also had prior battery problems with our '08 TL, again an extraordinarily low-miler, which I and the dealer both attributed to battery failure caused by insufficient driving but frequent starts and short-short trips (a mile or two back & forth to the grocery store). We're both in our mid-60s and don't run all over creation in our vehicles like younger folks do with families, etc. so our usage pattern is admittedly hard on batteries.

This most recent time actually surprised me as we had just driven 350 miles down to McAllen, TX and if anything you'd have thought we'd have gotten a really good charge on the battery. - - perhaps noteworthy however, the next morning we went over to some friend's home and I had to leave the ignition 'on' (engine off) in order to charge my cell phone because (stupid Acura) puts both 12v accessory sockets on the ign. switch...... I mean, how f***ing stupid is that? What a poor design. Anyway, it was later that day (immediately after recharging my cell phone via the aforementioned method) that the warning message popped up on the screen. (immediately after starting the car).

However, the car started easily and the instrument panel and headlights were bright, etc., so even though 350 miles from home I didn't worry so much about it.

Back home (another 350-mile trip) I let the car sit overnight in the garage then checked the battery voltage the next morning and was satisfied all was well. The car started right up and again another voltage check with the engine running indicated the charging system was OK as well. Later that morning I pulled off the covers to get down to the battery and opened the so-called "sealed" covers and found the electrolyte level was fine on all cells, so as you say, this is likely nothing to worry about.

 

By the way, as an off-topic aside, our new Escort 9500-ix radar detector (recommended by a friend) proved itself to be an exceptionally stellar performer for the entire trip. S. Texas highways (I-37, US-77, US-83, US-59) were heavily patrolled by TX DOT (state cops) (running the latest low-power Stalker-II multi-target moving radar). We ran typically 10~15 mph over on the entire trip and were always "warned" far in advance (often 2+ miles in advance). I've had RD's in cars before but this thing kicks butt!

 

TSB 12-013, published April 14, 2012, details this problem you're experiencing and there's a software update that supposedly fixes it. I'd visit the dealer to see if it applies to your car.

 

Yeah, I remember seeing around here that Acura had released a service bulletin for this issue with 2012 models... Ask the dealer to see if there are any service bulletins related to this issue....

 

I"ve attached the TSB for your review and/or be armed when you visit the dealer. The VIN rages are listed at the top of the bulletin.

 

I had the "Tighten Gas Cap" warning message last week. Had not been in the tank in over a week. Loosened and re-tightened the cap and two days later the message went away. I had read on the forum about chronic problems with "Tighten Gas Cap" and "Replace Battery" messages. I took the car in for service yesterday for the gas cap message. They tested and replaced the battery (only 7 months old), updated the software and sent me on my way. We'll see if that takes care of the problem. The funny part was we asked the service writer if the replacement battery was any better than the OEM. Answer: "Probably not". Oh well.

 

My dealer told me it was due to leaving the headlights in the auto position. Now I turn auto off and have since just left the full light system on all the time. It shuts off automatically when you take the key out and lock it after a few seconds anyway. No more issue. And hids are on all the time which I like better anyway. Cool feature of doing this is at night when u are walking to the car and unlock it the projectors come on. Looks neat as u approach. No issues with doing t this way per dealer.