Comfy

I just tried starting my car and it won't. It recognizes the key and all other dash lights appear as normal. But upon pressing the start button nothing happens. There are no error messages on the dash.
I would expect some sort of message if the battery is dead , am I right?
Damn... it would have been so much useful if had happened last week when I had to visit my dealer for a set of new tires. Just wondering what my options are since Acura is closed today and tomorrow I have to be at work.....!

Comfy

I guess I was getting too "comfy" since last week. . Now my stress level is back up again.

thoiboi

Costco, Sears, and other stores have batteries too

Brown13

You would think that You should hear a click or clicking if battery dead and start button pushed.Is vehicle in park?Brake switch?Do You have a voltmeter to check battery voltage?

RDX-Rick

My first thought would be a dead battery from leaving the lights on, or not closing the door tightly. However accidents like that can no longer cause problems on the RDX because of the built in power protection circuitry that will automatically shut off the headlights and dome lights after a period of time.

On the other hand, the RDX has many more computers and processors running in the background than your grandfathers Buick ever did. The result of this continuous current drain, is that the battery will not remain charged for weeks or even months like in the old days. If your RDX sat for more than than a week without being started I would still consider a week battery as the cause of your problem.

If you press the start button without your foot on the brake, your dashboard and accessories will spring to life (in accessory mode) without starting the engine. If it looks like you are in accessory mode, check that your brake lights come on when you step on the pedal. You may have a defective brake pedal switch and your RDX does not realize you are stepping on the pedal.

The RDX also has to be in PARK in order for the engine to crank over. Try to move the shifter around and retry starting the engine. I can't recall if a message is displayed to move the shifter to PARK when you attempt to start the engine, but it's worth a try.

Comfy

I tried it cranking it after a few hours and the battery powered engine revved a few times and died second attempt did not last half the duration of first one and then nothing. Only the accessory mode without any other message. The only regular message "step on brake and push button" which comes normally during start up. One thing I noticed was different though. The brake pedal felt unusually stiff like its locked very hard.
I called my neighbor for help and he connected the jumper cable and the car started fine immediately. The brake pedal felt normal this time. I drove around for some time and left it off. Now I tried to start another time and it started fine without any issues. Not sure what's going on.
All of our driver seat memories seem to be erased.

Comfy

You are right, but I'm wondering that since the car is still under warranty, Acura may decide to cover the bill.
That has been my prior experience with Honda at least. Two and a half years is a little too early for a battery to fail in my opinion.

thoiboi

Ahh.. see if you had that in your OP, I would have suggested wait for the dealer as well It's a 3 year replacement or 100-month pro-rated. You're well within 3 years. It may just be low on charge. Got a trickle charger by chance?

Comfy

No,I don't have a trickle charger. But this car hasn't been sitting undisturbed for any length of time. It's driven daily, even the day before this happened. My worry is that it may give up at an inopportune moment unlike this weekend while at home.

One more question.I usually keep the headlights at auto setting which turns on and off while starting and shutting down. Will that cause that much of a power loss? I'm keeping it off for now anyways.

RDX-Rick

The only time I see that message is when my foot IS NOT already on the brake. For example when I want to turn on the accessories only. That makes me suspect the switch on the brake pedal as being a possible cause.

On any car with power brakes, pushing the brake pedal up and down a few times with the engine not running will deplete the vacuum in the brake booster. Without the assistance of the power booster, you no longer have power brakes and it takes a lot more foot pressure to push the pedal down. You can duplicate that situation at any time to prove it is normal and nothing you should be worried about.

The problem may have been as simple as a loose cable connection on the battery. When you received the boost, the connector was disturbed which remedied the situation. Check those connectors for tightness. On modern cars, with hotter engine compartments, and the constant draw of current even when turned off ( from the computers), three years is getting to be the new normal for battery life expediencies. You battery may have an impending battery problem. Starting the engine a short time after the battery was charged does not prove your battery is good. A defective battery will drain it's charge through internal leakage which may take several hours to occur. With regards to the seat memories being erased, that will happen to many devices when the voltage gets too low, including your radio memories. Those are both examples of the things that are putting a continuous load on the battery even when your RDX is turned off.

If it happens again after being parked 12 hours or more, and you eliminated the possibility of loose cables I suspect your battery is toast

Doobiewah

I've never seen any vehicle of mine, with auto headlights, cause any kind of significant battery drain...they always auto shut off and are designed not to drain the battery of any real amount of charge.

thoiboi

Auto headlights pose more damage to the ballast and bulb than the battery itself. The constant on and off action diminishes the overall life of the ballast/bulb. I never use Auto with HID.

Joe Las Vegas

https://m.pepboys.com/product/detail...03.5L%2520SOHC

This will be my next battery, 4 year free replacement warranty.

Comfy

Okay guys. I visited my dealer yesterday. They checked the battery and decided that it was not holding charge. They replaced it under warranty . They showed me some graph which showed the battery hovering around 30% mark whereas the cut off was marked around 40%.
Well done Acura. I think my car is winter ready now. .

chickdr

Batteries don't last like they used to with all the electronics these days.

SiliconFox

This is true especially in Acura's case. Mine died at 28000kms with no warning in the dead of winter.

CanTex

Wasn't there discussion elsewhere about Honda/Acura batteries not being up to snuff? Cheaply made? (Memories of the early-'00s V6 Hondas and Acuras with the cheap platic part in the transmissions causing thousands of failure, mine included, three times.) I'd definitely take the warranty battery but the next time I'm sure you'll be looking elsewhere.

When we came home from three months away, my TLX wouldn't start. AAA had me running in 30 minutes and left a graph of the battery starting to degrade after three years. (Not my problem, the lease ended shortly thereafter.) In Texas, batteries fail prematurely, usually in winter, because of the summer heat and high A/C usage.

hovbuild

2014 with 21000 on it and all stated here happened yesterday. I did notice a week ago that she was cranking slow but would start very quickly. Yesterday brake was very stiff before pushing start button and would not turn it over. Put a new interstate in and it is just fine.

Comfy

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I know this quip was made a year ago, but made me laugh this morning. lol