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Needed to jump start three times on 3 rd year anniversary. Dealer replaced battery under warranty. Two years later battery tested bad and dealer wants full price to replace. In 48 years of car ownership, I’m use to 4-5 year battery life, certainly never 2!!! No satisfaction from corporate complaint. IMO, Acura is using low quality Batteries which is unacceptable from a “Premium” brand and their customer service could care less. No wonder their reliability ratings have plummeted. It can’t be considered a “luxury car” if you have to worry if it’s going to start. They’ve lost this long time customer.
My battery died at just past the 3 year point. It was a small (IMO underpowered) battery that probably should never have been put in the RDX. I knew it was under warranty, but didn't want another underpowered battery in it so I went to Walmart and bought one with 775 CCA. I don't remember the CCA of the OEM battery, but think it was 500 something.
Tons and tons of variables regarding battery life. I, personally, have had very good luck. I recently replaced the battery in my 08 TL-S which was previously replaced under warranty at 3 years. I bought the car as a CPO and had owned it a year. Went to the garage and it was completely DEAD - couldn't even unlock the door. No previous signs or warnings. Replaced under warranty and lasted just over 8 years. Just replaced with an Interstate Megatron Plus and like snorf, I went with a bigger badder CCA one. I think the OEM one was 550 and this one, I believe is 700 or 750. We have a 16 RDX Advance and it still has original battery (in service date is 2/15/16). Bought an 04 TL and it still had the original battery when I traded it at just over 6 years.
Many will agree that Honda / Acura are using crappy batteries but I may be the exception. Garage kept and what I would consider intermediate commute distances.
I don't remember the CCA of the battery in my '16 Advance, but IIRC it was 550, but I could be wrong. I do recall thinking that it was about the size of a battery I would expect to see in a subcompact car and not an SUV. Our RDX is garage kept and we've never left the lights on. We don't play the radio when the car isn't running. I'm 61 years old and have been driving since I was 16 and this is only the second car I've owned that I've had to replace the battery. The first was a 2000 accord where the battery lasted about 4 years. We've kept all our cars from 5 to 15 years.
I don't remember the CCA of the battery in my '16 Advance, but IIRC it was 550, but I could be wrong.
It might have been; depends on the market. Where it is colder, they may up the CCA and Ah.
One thing that is missing in many cars is a voltmeter. They are so handy for letting the driver know what is going on charge-wise. I have one on my motorcycle and my car that I made. My other car has one that I can select in the menu.
i’ve owned cars for 47 years and never had a battery die after 2 years (2 new Acura batteries failed over 4 years!). The dealer verified the charging system is fine and I did not leave a light on or abuse the batteries in any way. IMO Acura’s OEM batteries are very low quality and they refuse to admit it and remedy the situation. Surveys prove Acura’s declining quality and battery problems are one of the reasons why.
i’ve owned cars for 47 years and never had a battery die after 2 years (2 new Acura batteries failed over 4 years!). The dealer verified the charging system is fine and I did not leave a light on or abuse the batteries in any way. IMO Acura’s OEM batteries are very low quality and they refuse to admit it and remedy the situation. Surveys prove Acura’s declining quality and battery problems are one of the reasons why.
I have not seen surveys supporting this claim. The Consumer Reports survey is the most comprehensive that I am aware of, and it has the RDX reliability above average for the last few years, with "Electrical System" much better than average. Can you provide a survey that supports declining reliability of the electrical system?
My battery died after 3.5 years. That's a little earlier than I would have expected, but not completely unacceptable. I would be frustrated with a battery that only lasted two years, but I would also expect most batteries to be under a pro-rated warranty for at least that long.
My battery died after 3.5 years. That's a little earlier than I would have expected, but not completely unacceptable.
Well I would find that totally unacceptable. I can't comment on the cars that I have had for a few years (VW bought my VW Diesel back after 4 years) and my RDX is coming up on 2 years, but the last two cars (15 and 16 years) still had the original batteries in them and they would start in the coldest of winters.
Well you cannot fault the battery in that case since you bought the car "used". Who knows how the previous owner maintained it.
I bought a car that was 3 years and 1 month old. It had 101 miles on it and 6.77 hours on the engine. So it sat around a lot and who knows if the previous owner had it on a battery maintainer. So if it fails, I can hardly blame the battery. Batteries last if I look after them.
I just changed out my original battery on my 2015 RDX that was purchased in mid 2014. I noticed that it was cranking a bit slower. I use a Battery Tender to keep it topped off. But within a day, it starts to crank slower then usual. So I got about 4.5 yrs out of this one. I didn't want to wait till it failed. Cranks great now with an Interstate battery for about a month now without the Battery Tender.
The OEM battery in my 2016 died after 40 months of ownership. Since most of this time was in Phoenix I consider this to be very good and above average since anything over about 3 years and you are on borrowed time. Dealer replaced it under warranty at no charge. OEM battery was 610 CCA, replacement is 630 CCA. If this new battery only lasts 2 years I guess I could start bitching and whining or be thankful Acura covers the battery under their bumper-to-bumper warranty and I got over 5 years between the two. Most OEM's don't cover the battery under their warranty from my experience.
I just had mine replaced with an X2Power Premium AGM battery, Group 24F from Batteries+. They replaced it in their parking lot for free which took about 10-15 minutes. I bought and paid for it online so I just drove to the store, they came out and plunked in the new battery, took the old one and I drove off, nice. It's 840 CCA and 76 AH capacity (dual starting/deep cycle) which is a pretty good upgrade over the OEM battery. Plus it's warrantied by Batteries+ for 60 months.
The OEM battery was 3 1/2 years old and hadn't failed yet but wouldn't hold a charge that well so it was degrading. We are retired so the car isn't driven every day and when it is, it is for very short distances that don't get the battery fully charged. The new battery should handle that type of usage better. I have a "smart charger" that plugs into the car at the grill so I'll give it a good charge every couple of weeks or so. The "AGM deep cycle" charger setting is required for this battery.
The picture is rotated 180 degrees so that the label is readable.
I just replaced mine after 4 years and 4 months. Walmart EverStart Maxx #24F 725 CCA. Took 20 minutes right in the store parking lot to do myself. I brought all necessary tools with me. Total cost $99 after core refund. 5 year warranty - 3 full replacement, then prorated after that. Let's see how well this actually holds up.
The "AGM deep cycle" charger setting is required for this battery.
The question is, what does the vehicle charge it at? If the vehicle came with a standard FLA type battery, it might only charge to 14.0V (14.4V at 25C or 77F is the maximum for that type of battery). Yet an AGM would need a higher voltage to fully charge.
My other car came factory fitted with an AGM which I was not aware of initially. When I saw 14.8V on the instrument display on the dash, I was worried that was a bit high for a FLA type battery, till I soon realized it was an AGM. 14.8V is fine for that type of battery. Sometimes it might be at 15.0V when it is colder outside.
Voltage display in a vehicle with an AGM battery...
The question is, what does the vehicle charge it at? If the vehicle came with a standard FLA type battery, it might only charge to 14.0V (14.4V at 25C or 77F is the maximum for that type of battery). Yet an AGM would need a higher voltage to fully charge.
My other car came factory fitted with an AGM which I was not aware of initially. When I saw 14.8V on the instrument display on the dash, I was worried that was a bit high for a FLA type battery, till I soon realized it was an AGM. 14.8V is fine for that type of battery. Sometimes it might be at 15.0V when it is colder outside.
Voltage display in a vehicle with an AGM battery...
That's a good question. The Honda/Acura dual-mode charging system outputs at 14.4V-14.9V on high output mode. The X2Power AGM battery calls for cycle service charging voltage of 14.4V-14.8V max @77F. So, that looks pretty good.
Now if all of the parameters are met for low output mode then the system would charge at 12.4V-12.9V. However, the parameters to kick the charging system into low output mode are pretty specific and probably are not going to be met very often.
Low output mode parameters (all of the following parameters must be met):
-electrical Load below 15 Amps (varies with vehicle),
-vehicle speed between 10-45 mph or at idle while in drive,
-engine speed below 3,000 rpm,
-coolant temperature above 167°F (75°C),
-A/C Switch Off
-intake air temperature above 68°F (20°C).
So to ensure that high output charging mode is being used, all I would have to do is turn on the stereo system and the heated/cooled seats and then the vehicle electrical load would be well above 15 amps! As far as the OEM battery goes, I cannot tell what type it is. There were no designations on the battery and I haven't been able to find the specs online. Maybe someone on here knows that answer.
Note: The info on the Honda (Acura) dual-mode charging system comes from the Department of Automotive Technology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. The presentation paper was posted by one of the members of this board in a different thread: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/auto_pres/10
That's a good question. The Honda/Acura dual-mode charging system outputs at 14.4V-14.9V on high output mode.
But the system would have to know what battery chemistry is installed.
You can't charge a Flooded Lead Acid battery at 14.9V without it gassing and it would do that long before reaching that voltage cut-off.
Some vehicles can have the battery parameters programmed into the ECU such as Ah, type, etc. Does Acura employ this? I should connect my AutoScan II to see what is going on.
Yes, I posted the Dual Mode article many months ago. Little did I know that Honda employed that in the 90s. My previous VW Jetta and Porsche showed some whacky battery voltage numbers which had me thinking what the heck was going on. And that had me think of the Honda Dual-Mode system article I had saved on my PC years ago.
But the system would have to know what battery chemistry is installed.
You can't charge a Flooded Lead Acid battery at 14.9V without it gassing and it would do that long before reaching that voltage cut-off.
Some vehicles can have the battery parameters programmed into the ECU such as Ah, type, etc. Does Acura employ this? I should connect my AutoScan II to see what is going on.
Yes, I posted the Dual Mode article many months ago. Little did I know that Honda employed that in the 90s. My previous VW Jetta and Porsche showed some whacky battery voltage numbers which had me thinking what the heck was going on. And that had me think of the Honda Dual-Mode system article I had saved on my PC years ago.
That was a great Honda Dual-Mode article that you posted and evidently I had run across it and I also saved it to my hard drive-Thanks! (I couldn't remember who posted it)
I agree that the high output voltage mode of 14.4V-14.9V is weird, confusing, etc. if Honda were putting the Flooded Lead Acid battery in their cars. Could their OEM batteries be AGM? I couldn't find any designation as such on the battery. The specs on the battery did list an AH rating which is typically only given on deep-cycle batteries.
I have tried to find out who was making the batteries for Honda as that might give us a clue as to the battery type of construction, but no luck there at all. I suppose I should have kept the old OEM battery and tore it apart to see what it was! Very mysterious.
Your AutoScan II idea could help give some answers to what is going on. I was wondering if the voltage regulator could be "smart" and detect the battery parameters?
I agree that the high output voltage mode of 14.4V-14.9V is weird, confusing, etc. if Honda were putting the Flooded Lead Acid battery in their cars. Could their OEM batteries be AGM?
As for the voltage range, it could be that it is a general range of the output voltage and set by whatever the manufacturer installs in the car (FLA, AGM, etc). It could also be the range for temperature compensation, although the low end is too high.
Here is a chart from the East Penn Technical Manual...
Originally Posted by wsw
I have tried to find out who was making the batteries for Honda as that might give us a clue as to the battery type of construction, but no luck there at all.
I am quite sure AGM technology was not widespread in the 1990s and even in the 2000s. The 1990 Toyota Tercel, 1999 Honda CR-V and 2007 Toyota Yaris all used Flooded Lead Acid batteries as factory fitted. The 1990 and 1999 used Panasonic batteries that were incredible as they lasted over 16 years and 15 years, mind you, with my care of topping up every two years and checking the charging system. The original battery in the 2007 was 10 years old when the car was sold.
Only recently did I find AGM as factory fitted. My 2016 BMW motorcycle and my 2015 Porsche. Personally, I have no used for AGM or GEL batteries (for my use) since they cannot be maintained. VRLA batteries have their advantages and disadvantages. I worked in a battery lab the last 5 years during my time in the government.
Originally Posted by wsw
Your AutoScan II idea could help give some answers to what is going on. I was wondering if the voltage regulator could be "smart" and detect the battery parameters?
The AutoScan II can be used for many parameters, some that are built-in and others that can be programmed-in. The RDX does not have a voltmeter, so that will be one of the displays.
No voltage regulator can determine what the battery parameters are. It only sees voltage. But newer cars can have the Battery Configuration programmed-in. Many of the new scanners have that ability. Mind you, if you are replacing the battery with the same, there is no need to do so, only if you are installing a battery with different Ah, etc. I think this is all in aid of fuel economy.
Sorry, I had the device name wrong, its a ScanGuage II, not an AutoScan II. Its great if you car does not come with a lot of informative gauges (like my VW Jetta TDI that did not have a coolant temperature gauge).
Sorry, I had the device name wrong, its a ScanGuage II, not an AutoScan II.
No problem, I knew what you meant even though I used the same name as you did. Now I need to find my OBD II, did a quick look the other night and couldn't find it.
I am quite sure AGM technology was not widespread in the 1990s and even in the 2000s. The 1990 Toyota Tercel, 1999 Honda CR-V and 2007 Toyota Yaris all used Flooded Lead Acid batteries as factory fitted. The 1990 and 1999 used Panasonic batteries that were incredible as they lasted over 16 years and 15 years, mind you, with my care of topping up every two years and checking the charging system. The original battery in the 2007 was 10 years old when the car was sold.
Only recently did I find AGM as factory fitted. My 2016 BMW motorcycle and my 2015 Porsche. Personally, I have no used for AGM or GEL batteries (for my use) since they cannot be maintained. VRLA batteries have their advantages and disadvantages. I worked in a battery lab the last 5 years during my time in the government.
My 2006 Z4M had an AGM from the factory. I don't drive the car often (20k on the ODO as of today) and the original battery lasted 5yrs. I use a float charger once a month. I went to FLA for the second battery. It also lasted 5yrs. I am sticking with FLA due to the cost savings and no apparent advantage for AGM.
My 2006 Z4M had an AGM from the factory. I don't drive the car often (20k on the ODO as of today) and the original battery lasted 5yrs. I went to FLA for the second battery. It also lasted 5yrs.
Could be the higher temperatures where you live. As a general rule, battery life is cut in half for every 8C rise in temperature over standard. It would be worst in Arizona.
Could be the higher temperatures where you live. As a general rule, battery life is cut in half for every 8C rise in temperature over standard. It would be worst in Arizona.
My car is in an enclosed garage all the time so temp isn't really a factor for me.
My 2013 RDX has a battery from 2012. 550CCA and still measures 475 CCA.I guess I have a good one.I am buying a MDX Advance.It come with an AGM battery.
I have a factory fitted 31500-TK8-A1 in my 2017 RDX. There is no indication as to what type it is unless it is under the hold down strap. The spec states: 610 CCA & 72 Ah @ 20 hour rate.
According to Bernardi Parts, it is listed as a 80D26L-MF (Maintenance Free which does not necessarily mean AGM). Made by East Penn which is a very good battery manufacturer.
I have a factory fitted 31500-TK8-A1 in my 2017 RDX. There is no indication as to what type it is unless it is under the hold down strap. The spec states: 610 CCA & 72 Ah @ 20 hour rate.
According to Bernardi Parts, it is listed as a 80D26L-MF (Maintenance Free which does not necessarily mean AGM). Made by East Penn which is a very good battery manufacturer.
Did you ever figure it out if it's an AGM type or non-AGM battery?
02-22-2019, 09:52 AM
