Been a minute since I posted anything. On my third Acura, 2004 TL (still on the road over 350k miles), 2019 TLX A-Spec, and now this:

I have a 2022 TLX Advance. THREE times now after hard rains, I have experienced weird electrical issues. First time my front parking sensors went out. Trip to dealer revealed "rodent damage", resulting in a new wiring harness and a piece that protects intercooler under the front bumper (don't quote me on that). January 1st, 2023, again after a hard rain, my car stays outside...while driving, the horn begins to blow and will not shut off. Pull plug under hood and THAT horn stops, but other horn (who knew?) continues to blow. Recycle turning car on and off for about ten repititions and it finally shuts off. Drive five miles home and car is in "limp home" mode. Won't go over 32 mph, keeps downshifting from third to first gear ON IT's OWN, will not allow me to do anything transmission related. No paddle shifter input, no drive mode input, nothing. Get it home, let is sit for about 30 minutes and start it up. Drives like nothing happened. Horn once reconnected works fine, for about 24 hours, then it will not work at all. Check fuse, it is blown and I replace it with spare under the hood.

Back to the dealer once the Holiday is over. They tell me "it threw a code" but they reset it. They replace my horn fuse.

Then this past Saturday, the car (again after hard rains) would not go out of "accessory mode" when you turned it off, meaning it would not power down electronically. I have a video of that as well. I drive it around town for about 10 miles, getting food in preparation of disconnecting battery overnight. Get home, it shuts down just fine. Horn not working at all again...

BACK to the dealer Monday morning. They give me a loaner within about 30 minutes, telling me they need the car for "a couple of days". Get a brand new TLX Base model...not even 20 miles on it. I miss all the technology on my Advanced model almost IMMEDIATELY. As I am leaving another TLX A-Spec comes in and I ear hustle and hear this car is suffering from same electrical issue. Car shut down on dude's wife with kids in the car in the heavy rain. Dasboard lit up and "limp home" mode activated. I tell the service rep I suspect water is getting into the fuse box (which I suggested the FIRST time)...I also gave him an article about a car reviewer whose long term tester had similar issues that took MONTHS to diagnose and fix.

Dealer calls today and says they found a water leak (down the A pillar) that had impacted the fuse box (under the driver side dash) and MCU?? Gonna send car to BODY SHOP for repair and ordering all new parts that had been exposed to water.

Very curious as to how this is not a manufacturing issue if it has to go to a body shop to be repaired...not a missing or loose grommet or worn seal or stripping. Thoughts?

And if someone can help me load video from my phone?

 

water down the A pillar onto the MICU would have been the root cause IMO for all those issues before clicking on your post. Good thing it's still under warranty.

 

You would be correct I believe. What is the solution that requires the car go to a body shop?

 

hard to say.. could be the frame warped and water is coming through the windshield , issue with some seams where the roof meets the a pillar.. Could be the sunroof drain.. The fact that it is going to a body shop is a bit worrisome though, maybe water caused some parts to rust so they have to cut out and replace parts of the frame


^all purely speculation.

 

If there is a crack in a seam that needs to be welded, the dealership may not have someone qualified to do the work. As well, it may require the removal of the windshield, fender and door to make the repair to the A-Pillar.

 

The service rep has been a little vague each time I have asked him what is going on at the body shop. Believe me when I find out, I will tell the forum. I know they have ordered a new fuse box and MICU(?) that will be replaced when it gets back to the dealer. It's a lease, so it is in their best interest to get it fixed properly. They are telling me it will be ready by this weekend...they have had it a week already.

I am driving this loaner car and I absolutely miss the technology of the Advance Model...ALL OF IT. (Plus the SH-AWD)

 

Autoblog had a similar issue with their long term 21 ASpec:

https://www.autoblog.com/2022/05/24/...-term-wrap-up/

 

Okay then. 19 days in the shop and finally my baby has been returned. Apparently when it came back from the body shop, the issue was not fixed so...back to the body shop, then back to the dealer for new electronics and fuse box. Picked the car up and the service rep FINALLY showed me where the issue was, there was a leak where the A frame meets the chassis under the hood (driver side). He showed me where they sealed the openings and said it SHOULD fix the problem. He wanted to make sure before they replace all those expensive electronic components. There was another TLX (A-Spec) with the exact same issue that came in the same day as mine...unknown if it has been repaired and returned.

Overall, I am not happy it took this long to diagnose and repair. I was happy with the service representatives efforts to communicate (without detail) and his estimated time frames. What started out as a "few days" was closer to three weeks, but I wanted it done right, not quick. Since this was the third time the car was there for similar electrical issues, I was disappointed it finally got correctly diagnosed, ESPECIALLY since the last time, I told them I suspected a water leak. They merely cleared the "codes", reset the car, and gave it back to me. The FIRST time I paid over $600 to hae a wiring harness and a part of the intercooler cover replaced due to "rodent damage". I was skeptical then, I am more skeptical now.

I am waiting for the survey so I can express my skepticism further. I will post photos if anyone cares to see what the repair looks like.

 

So...my saga continues with this TLX. Only after a rain, (I live in sunny SoCal, where is never rains!) the car experiences electrical issues that begin with...the horn goes off on its own and will NOT be shut off. Short of pulling over, and removing the connections to the horn(s). Then once I restart the car, I get various warning messages on the dash. This last time it was the SRS (see the dealer) warning.

Car has been to the dealer at least five times now for this over the course of one year. They have replaced the horns, wiring harness, fuse box (inside the car), MCU, wiring harness, various sensors and modules. Normally the car is running when the horn sounds.

This past incident, the car was parked in my garage, locked and secured for about five minutes, when I hear the horn. Nothing short of disconnecting it would make it stop. BACK to the dealer, another loaner for three weeks and now it is "fixed" during another weeklong rainstorm.

I am exploring legal options (all I can say) and the dealer is almost as frustrated as I am. Still no one can tell me WHY this is happening. The Acura engineers now THINK that moisture got into a module during it's trip(s) to the body shop and they installed a faulty replacement module. They THINK.

I politely told them I do not want the car back until it is fixed, which means someone can say with certainty what the problem is, and why replacing parts they have already replaced is going to fix it this time.

Love the car, love the features and HATE that I am going to have to move on.

 

Bro you have a lemon, ask them to buy that shit back from you lol

 

Sounds like a MICU issue and not sure if they ever fixed the root cause (e.g. the leak) if they just keep replacing stuff but not fixing the leak, anytime it rains here, it will cause a problem for you. ANy time over 3 times I would have invoked lemon law. Look into exploring that option for sure.

 

I hope Acura treats you well on this, as they should. Your story exactly parallels the Autoblog experience with their A Spec tester, so there's obviously some sort of defect, not common evidently, but serious when it happens.

Since it's a lease, it should be easier to work something out with them where you are made whole. The car obviously has to go.

We've owned Acuras and Hondas since 1990, and the very few times we've had any sort of issue (nothing approaching yours) the company and our dealer have always been responsive, stood behind their product and satisfied us. I hope you have the same experience.