2014 Acura RDX Modulator replacement at 73K?
#1
2014 Acura RDX Modulator replacement at 73K?
I have a 2014 RDX at 73K. Of course it's out of warranty. Drive it every day 20-60plus miles and it rarely sits idle for more than 24 hours. Dealer is telling me I need the modulator replaced at $1900!?! Here's what happened.
Sunday morning: Started car up and before I could put it in reverse, it died. Dashboard lit up with several warning signals. Horn, radio, windows, lights all worked. Jump started the battery...nothing. Called a neighborhood mechanic over and he charged the battery. It started up fine. Turned it off and dead again. Mechanic put a new battery in. Started up fine, took it for a test drive..all is good. Turned off the car and started it up two times. Third time went completely dead again. Mechanic did diagnostics and saw the following messages:
"86-12 F-CAN Communication With PCM(Engine) Malfunction"
and "86-13 F-CAN Communication With PCM(A/T) Malfunction". Mechanic did a master reset. Removed all warnings but still no start. He was able to jump it and we drove it to the dealership.
Monday: Dealership spend 2 hours on it. Tells me we must have jump started it incorrectly.What??! Still no resolution. Spends another hour on it and tells me it needs a master reset. (I already told him everything the other mechanic did). Calls me back and says Reset done and it's running great! I asked if he tried to restart it again a few times and he said he didn't have to...took it for a drive, turned it off and it started right up again. I told him we had the same exact thing happen but it didn't start for us. I didn't press him to try again in an hour (my mistake). In $200 for mechanic and $350 for dealership. Went to pick it up four hours later and quess what...same exact thing all over again. Today they tell me it needs a new Modulator. Is this a known issue with 2014 RDX? I honestly feel like they are guessing. I don't have the tech package and nothing aftermarket on the car. I drive to and from client homes every day all day. Can not afford to have an unreliable car...especially after paying a premium for an Acura!
Sunday morning: Started car up and before I could put it in reverse, it died. Dashboard lit up with several warning signals. Horn, radio, windows, lights all worked. Jump started the battery...nothing. Called a neighborhood mechanic over and he charged the battery. It started up fine. Turned it off and dead again. Mechanic put a new battery in. Started up fine, took it for a test drive..all is good. Turned off the car and started it up two times. Third time went completely dead again. Mechanic did diagnostics and saw the following messages:
"86-12 F-CAN Communication With PCM(Engine) Malfunction"
and "86-13 F-CAN Communication With PCM(A/T) Malfunction". Mechanic did a master reset. Removed all warnings but still no start. He was able to jump it and we drove it to the dealership.
Monday: Dealership spend 2 hours on it. Tells me we must have jump started it incorrectly.What??! Still no resolution. Spends another hour on it and tells me it needs a master reset. (I already told him everything the other mechanic did). Calls me back and says Reset done and it's running great! I asked if he tried to restart it again a few times and he said he didn't have to...took it for a drive, turned it off and it started right up again. I told him we had the same exact thing happen but it didn't start for us. I didn't press him to try again in an hour (my mistake). In $200 for mechanic and $350 for dealership. Went to pick it up four hours later and quess what...same exact thing all over again. Today they tell me it needs a new Modulator. Is this a known issue with 2014 RDX? I honestly feel like they are guessing. I don't have the tech package and nothing aftermarket on the car. I drive to and from client homes every day all day. Can not afford to have an unreliable car...especially after paying a premium for an Acura!
#2
sucks. im a big believer in extended warranties. most people say don't buy them and advise to put the money in a savings account. if you see the electronics in a 2017 civic ex, its crazy. I have the base AWD rdx, and the tranny/transfer/differntial/torque scares me on these rdx's.
I borrowed a reset tool from a friends shop and reset a vsa light on my tsx that popped up after taking negative cable off. most seach articles said dealer visit 1-2 hours time.
maybe change your key batteries ? leave negative cable for 30 mins to reset ?
I borrowed a reset tool from a friends shop and reset a vsa light on my tsx that popped up after taking negative cable off. most seach articles said dealer visit 1-2 hours time.
maybe change your key batteries ? leave negative cable for 30 mins to reset ?
#3
Modulator replacement didn't fix it
Tuesday: Dealer says the part came in, replaced the old modulator but problem still exists. Good news is that I may not have to pay the $1900 for the modulator. Bad news is they have no idea how to fix my car. Acura involved now and sending test parts (PCM). At least they gave me a sweet loaner.
Can my computer be shot with only 73k miles on it?!? Why didn't I have any warning signs before this?
Can my computer be shot with only 73k miles on it?!? Why didn't I have any warning signs before this?
#5
Re:Spark Plugs and Key Batteries
(Response to two replies)
The car battery keeps draining. When it's jumped, it starts right up. Spark plugs and key fobs doing their job when the battery has juice. It will start a couple of times after a jump (brand new battery) but starting takes so much juice that doing so and sitting for a couple of hours drains it to the point it can't start again. Something is draining the battery fairly quickly.
The car battery keeps draining. When it's jumped, it starts right up. Spark plugs and key fobs doing their job when the battery has juice. It will start a couple of times after a jump (brand new battery) but starting takes so much juice that doing so and sitting for a couple of hours drains it to the point it can't start again. Something is draining the battery fairly quickly.
#6
That's weird. You'd think that something draining the battery that fast would be easy to find...just look for the smoke.
Keep us posted on the outcome.
Keep us posted on the outcome.
#7
Diagnosis - Multiple Fuses Swapped. ??????
After a reset on the VSA module didn't work, dealership ordered a new module but problems persisted. Two days later said they tried a new PCM tester and it wasn't the computer. Today they say it WAS the VSA module but they discovered that the root cause was "multiple fuses were swapped". First, no one on my end has swapped any fuses. Second, does that even make any sense? The problems happened on a Saturday after a week of driving normally during the work week which included highway and city miles and multiple starts a day. Wouldn't there have been issues during the week if fuses had been swapped? Even if someone had broken into my car and swapped my fuses :0 wouldn't they have blown before they caused a major module to fail? No Fuses were blown when we brought it in to the dealership. They required me to pay almost $1800 in full to release my vehicle to me.
Trending Topics
#8
After a reset on the VSA module didn't work, dealership ordered a new module but problems persisted. Two days later said they tried a new PCM tester and it wasn't the computer. Today they say it WAS the VSA module but they discovered that the root cause was "multiple fuses were swapped". First, no one on my end has swapped any fuses. Second, does that even make any sense? The problems happened on a Saturday after a week of driving normally during the work week which included highway and city miles and multiple starts a day. Wouldn't there have been issues during the week if fuses had been swapped? Even if someone had broken into my car and swapped my fuses :0 wouldn't they have blown before they caused a major module to fail? No Fuses were blown when we brought it in to the dealership. They required me to pay almost $1800 in full to release my vehicle to me.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
TLunatic
3G TL Problems & Fixes
15
12-18-2017 06:59 PM
vtloki
3G MDX (2014-2020)
8
01-08-2016 11:29 PM
JRA2000TL
Member Cars for Sale
2
03-18-2010 04:27 PM