Dtheod

This is my first post...and I wanted to share an issue that I was having with my RDX. My wipers started acting crazy, the wiper switch was not doing the selected wipe desired. I would select the delay, sometimes it would wipe twice and stop, sometimes it would just keep going as if slow speed was selected. I would turn the wipers off, they would keep going. After a while they would stop, sometimes in the middle of the windshield. Or a few inches higher than normal parking. This fix only applies to the wipers working, not stopping, and not responding to what you select on the switch. If your wipers are totally dead, and not working, it could be a bad motor. Or a relay.

2007 RDX, has the wiper relay integrated into the MICU. The MICU, is the entire fuse box located by the hood latch. This unit rarely goes bad. If your wipers are doing exactly what my car was doing...follow everything I did. I purchased a new wiper switch from a local Acura dealer. For those of you that think you can save some money by going on ebay to look for it...are wasting your time. This part retails for $31-35 brand new from the dealer. On ebay they are selling them used for $ 20-25. Its not worth it... I will tell you why. First off, the switch on these cars are only good on a 2007-2008. If you buy a switch on ebay, they might say” fits 2007-2012. They are right, it does fit. However does not work. As 2009-2012 has a rain sensor for that year. And the switch is programmed for that. It will look identical to the 2007-2008 switch. The functions are different. The funny part is all the switches from 2007-2012 fit exact. Yet do not perform the same. If you have a 2007-2008, make sure you buy the switch from the dealer. If you decide to buy one used from ebay, how do you know it works? Or how long it will last. Trust me, buy one from the dealer.

There are 3 screws under the steering column, that need to be removed. Then turn the car on...and turn the steering wheel to the side, you will see a screw, then turn it the other way and you will see another screw. Then pry up the two sides of plastic covers. That will expose the switch. Remove the plug from the back of the switch, and move the loom of wire out from the hook. There are two small phillips head screws on it, remove them. And use a small flat head screwdriver, and pull it out. Put the new switch in till it clicks. And repeat the steps till its back together.

This is the best tip I can give you...not even the dealer knows this. I don’t know how many times people bring their cars in. And they will tell you, the motor and switch is bad. First off, two things rarely ever go bad at the same time. But they will make it sound good, such as “the switch shorted out and burned the motor” That is a bunch of horse poop. The dealer wants to make money. They are not in the business of replacing a
$ 30 part. And charging you an hour labor. They rather charge you for a switch, motor and 2-3 hours worth of labor. And lets not forget the diagnostic charge. This could be somewhere in the $ 350-450 range. When all you needed was the switch...

I promised you a tip...here it is. Not a single thread online talks about what I’m about to. After this repair...your car will still act exactly the same way it did before you replaced the switch. And you will say “darn, it must not have been the switch” Possibly you giving up and taking the car to the mechanic or dealer. Or buying a motor and replacing it. Thinking it must be the motor. The tip is...disconnect the negative battery terminal for 5 minutes, and remove the 30amp fuse from the MICU which is the fuse box on the left side of the drivers side. You will see this fuse is a big pink-purple fuse. It will be a little hard to pull out. Use a small flat head screwdriver and pry and wiggle till its out. Slow...do not break it. The reason why you should not disconnect the battery prior to the repair is, you need to start the car in order to turn the steering wheel to the left and right, to be able to expose and remove the front screws. If you have the battery disconnected, you would be able to do that. The MICU stores a memory of the crazy actions of the wipers, by disconnecting the battery terminal and removing the fuse, the main CPU resets. After 5 minutes, connect the negative battery terminal and put the fuse back in its place. Then put the key in, turn it to the second mode and try the wipers. They should work 100%. Toggle up every selection on the switch. It should do exactly what you selected. And you just saved $400

I hope everyone enjoys my wiper fix, and remember. Of your wipers are not working at all. Usually it is either power not going to the motor, the motor is burned out the 30 amp wiper fuse is blown out from the MICU. It is not the switch...the switch will only acts crazy as described in this fix. It does not just die completely. As there are 4 selections on the switch. And if one selection stops working. The other 3 will work.

I hope this tip helps many people.

kevin2m4

my wipers are acting funky, ill try this!

deepa1600

I did exactly this and it did not fix my issue. My problem is wipers start as soon as I turn the key, it happens every time.

Dtheod

If you turn the car on, and the wipers start it is usually not the wiper arm control on the steering column that is the issue. Its the motor itself. It is stuck on the on position. You need to replace the motor. However, it does not mean it is not the arm toggle switch on the steering wheel. Since that is a fairly cheap part and they go bad it is worth starting there first. Its a $25 part brand new from Acura. Rather then try to troubleshoot. It will take more time to troubleshoot the issue versus just replacing the arm control. If you change the arm control and the motor, your problem will be fixed. I know this car inside and out. I am the only one that posted an a post on a turbo fix for this car when you get the turbo boost check engine light and shawd light on. Not even the dealer knows how to fix this. They will say teplace the turbo for $7000

deepa1600

Yeah, I followed your advice and replaced the Wiper switch. It was 35 Cad$ here so i started there, but it did not fix the issue. I also have had other symptoms of possessed wipers as you mentioned. Next is the motor itself, would you recommend remanufactured or new? New is about 150 CAD$ at dealer. Take note that when I turn the ignition switch the wipers will sweep 2 or 3 times and then they stop, my guess is water got into the motor as it started happening after it rained. I just bought this car about 2 weeks ago.

Dtheod

Did you buy a new switch from the dealer? And did you disconnect the battery before installing it? If you didnt, did you disconnect it after you installed it? You need to leave both the terminals off for about 10 minutes. Then reconnect the positive first, then negative. Then try the wipers. If that does not work, replace the motor. The wiper motor is something that goes bad once ever 15-20 years. It doesnt really matter whether its new or reman. If new is $150, I would say replace it with a new one. If the reman is $50-60. Then I would go with a reman, and save some money. Again if you are making this repair make sure whenever you are working on anything that has electrical connectors going to the part, always disconnect the battery before starting the job. You'd be surprised how many parts get damaged immediately every so often from people not doing this.

deepa1600

yes i did disconnect it for 10 min and took the fuse out. Maybe tomorrow i will disconnect the battery again and see it that works.

deepa1600

Update: So it turned out to be wiper motor. Bought reman for 61$ Cad from amazon.com. Will see if the problem comes back.

DJMartin

I really appreciated your detailed instructions.
Unfortunately, the wiper switch is unavailable in Canada and the US with no date given for its return to stock.
I had to use a salvage switch instead.
I followed the instructions, including disconnecting the battery and MICU fuse for 30 mins. When I restarted, exactly the same problem. Of course it's possible that BOTH switches are defective but in the event that they are not, what do you suggest that I look at next?
Many thanks for you help.
David Martin