Last night, I returned to my 2013 ILX and it wouldn't start--all of the various indicator lights were flashing repeatedly. I assumed it needed a jump start so AAA came out and said the battery was completely dead.

I bought a new battery from them, but when the guy put it in, the car was TOTALLY dead. It took three hours to get the car running (he finally figured out that using pliers to bridge two screws on the panel near the battery would allow the car to start).

BUT once the car started, the Power Steering, ABS, etc. all were not functioning. This morning, I used the pliers to start the car to get to the dealer, got all the same messages, and got a message that the "Hill Assist" system wasn't working, either. The car wouldn't go faster than 40 on the freeway, and then, after I exited, finally just died and I was able to coast in neutral to a parking space and it's now in the shop at Acura.

I'm kind of shaken by this experience. What might cause such a catastrophic failure of so many things all at once? The car only has about 25K miles on it and I've been doing all of the recommended service and I'm not a crazy driver by any means. Could the AAA guy have damaged the car somehow by putting in a new battery?

I'm still waiting to hear from the dealer re what is wrong with the car but now I'm going to be afraid of something like this happening again.

 

i believe your original battery was going bad.

the thing i dont understand is, when you bought new battery from them, why did it take 3 hours?

a new battery should start the car right up.
this indicates, that the AAA guy used an older or a bad battery.

Ive never heard of using pliers to touch some screws either.
hopefully, he didnt damage your car.

 

When the screw thing was mentioned it made me think one of the terminals wasnt connected properly. My integra started getting fast build up around the terminals. Id have to clean them off once a week to make sure the car started every morning.

But once it was on there were no issues. Sounds like the ILX put itself into limp mode so that the car wouldnt damage itself.

I assume the car is under warranty still?

 

^ahh, so purchase, delivery and install took 3 hours.
thanks jon!



err, re-reading it...that doesnt sound like the case. or am I confused?

 

One would assume it took three hours to do what OP explained within the parenthesis.

If it only took pliers to start the car then there is a connection not being made that the pliers connected. I assume it took 3 hours to figure out that simple fix as it took me a while to realize I simply had to clean and tighten my terminal connection. Sometimes the smallest fixes are just the hardest to realize.

 

My guess is something was left on, draining the battery, or battery is bad. However, a 2-3 year old battery is not as likely to be bad. Jump attempt blew a fuse, which the wrecker guy bypassed with pliers. This allowed car to run, but not charge, because of blown fuse. Car ran till new battery discharged.

 

What I find amazing is that somebody would risk their life driving a car without the power assists and no power to the dealer when they have roadside assistance. Also, why would anybody think that starting a car using a pair of pliers is safe?

I'd opine that the original battery was fine and the AAA just wanted to sell a battery. If it WAS the battery, then why didn't the car start right away?

Keep the info on your AAA service visit. Methinks they'll be paying for some repairs.