Kickbucket1

I am scratching my head about a current problem with my drivers door lock and would like to know if anyone has suggestions at how to handle it.

The dimple sensor on the drivers door handle to keylessly lock it seems to be dead. I can lock the car by touching the front passengers door handle dimple. I can open the doors by grasping the front handles on both sides of the car. The remote works in locking and unlocking and all of its functions, so the battery is OK. I have poured through the manual and have done its suggestions. All doors shut tight, ignition switch turned all the way to Lock, kept the remote not too close to the car, ect. The service advisor says that they haven't heard of that problem yet and will have to run a diagnostic test. I have checked the fuses and all are OK.

All functions on the car are working so it is not a problem that requires immediate attention. I just have to use the remote to lock the car, no different than what I am used to doing. It's just a minor annoyance. I have an appointment set up and another appointment set up 3 days later just in case if they have to order a part in.

Let me know what you think? Thanks

legendguy

Kickbucket1

Sounds like you have done everything right to diagnose the problem and actually gone beyond the call of duty. I think you are doing the right thing to bring the car in to look at. It may just be a faulty door handle. Lots of technology in this car.

I have had the RL for two months now and am very happy with it. I do have a minor problem with some rattles in the left dash or A-pillar that I will bring in at service time or maybe before. Also, I have had some problems from time to time with the MID recognizing me as Driver 2 even though my fob says Driver 1?? That might be a little tricky to solve so I am going to make note of any corresponding conditions that surround these incidents.

I think the RL is worth working through a couple minor problems and you seem to say the same. Good luck with the door handle issue.

8-)

Your second sentence, second paragraph, do you mean "I can NOT lock" via dimple? Assuming that's what you meant, try this. I'm guessing that you are wrapping your hand around the handle and pushing the dimple with your thumb. Instead, just try pushing the dimple with your finger, keeping your hand away from the inside of the handle. It worked for me.

Gitch

I don't even worry about hitting the dimple. I just tap the handle and it locks/unlocks. As long as you're in the general vicinity it seems to work.

2veloce

Yes it does. Thanks for the tip.

Kickbucket1

No I did not wrap my hand around the handle when trying to touch the dimple. Just touched it with my index finger and the door does not lock.

Update: The problem had been ongoing for about a week. Yesterday morning when leaving the car, I touched the dimple and it worked. I had done nothing differently in my procedure of leaving and locking the car. It seems like the car self corrected itself. I have done the locking and unlocking cycle over and over, even at different times of the day and the problem has disappeared. If the car has self diagnostics, it must have corrected itself because the original problem was consistantly reproduceable. Thanks to everyone for their input.

monwe

Spoke to Acura CS yesterday. The doorlock/dimple situation is a known intermittent service issue which will be addressed in a bulletin to the dealers in January.

mungoac

I had exactly the same problem you did. Visited the dealer. Service advisor and shop foreman both checked it by unlocking and locking the driver's side door 8-10 times. Decided they had to replace the unit -- which is on back order with estimated one week or less delivery. Drove the car home. Two days later, because of my unshakeable faith in Murphy's Law (the name of my boat is Murfy. it should have been Murphy, but something went wrong), I tried the dimple on the driver's side again. Now it worked! My wife says this pisses her off more than if it had simply stayed bust. She feels we'll be making regular trips to the dealership, who will respond with the infamous "couldn't duplicate the problem, sir." Also lost all traffic information, and the dealer says the only fix is to reset the Nav system. I don't believe him. Also lost the ability to use the POI entries in the Nav system to dial via my V710 Bluetooth phone. Dealer says that may come back with the Nav system reset. I have my doubts. But the SH-AWD sems to work supeerbly. Between Montral and Quebec City last week I was passing a long line of trucks in a snow storm, when I encountered heavier snow in the left lane. The result was that both left wheels encountered much more resistance and much lass traction that the right wheels. The car began to fishtail for just a fraction of a second, then steered me safely back to safety and sanity. Laudabilis precaeteris to the SH-AWD. If it holds up. And if somebody knows why an electronic circuit stops working and then starts working again, please write!

AcuraRLBlue

I also have the handle problem. The worst thing is that the light in the handle stays on for over a day now, and the dealer could not get me in for anther 10 days. The service advisor has no idea about the door handle issue. I am sure when I finally get the car to the dealer, I would be told that I have to wait for the part to come in.

photonbeam7

Mine just started today. I must use the key fob to lock, not unlock the door. Minor
but I'm still smarting from the high cost of the car. I know, nobody forced me to buy it, I'm just saying....

ccheung

First of all, there is a 2 sec delay with the dimple on driver door handle. Don't do it consecutively too many times! It will over heat the circuit. There is a bulletin from Acura for that particular problem.

After locking and unlocking the doors, make sure you wait for 2 seconds before the door lock sensor agains. These sensors won't accept a new command unless you wait.

If problem still exists, the circuit may have overheated. Let it cool off for an hour before you use it again.

AcuraRLBlue

The dealer's general manager used a 3 sec rule. The fact is, some of the issues out there have nothing to do with waiting.

ccheung

I wish I can post the bulletin up for everyone. I can not cut and paste from PDF format. There are a few important things on it. It is awesome!

AcuraRLBlue

Where did you find this TSB? Could you provide a link? Thanks

ccheung

It was on Acura Interactive network. Only Dealer and factory rep can have access to.

AcuraRLBlue

But you can copy from PDF. Just click on the "T" first, highlight the text to copy, and right click to copy.

cM3go

the car I test drove had this problem. The saleman tried and tried to lock it, wouldn't work, he ended up doing it from the passenger's side. We thought nothing of it because it was rainy out, but now it makes sense.

AcuraRLBlue

My problem occurred when the car was wet, so it might be a sort of a short circuit.

Kickbucket1

I have been thinking the same thing for a while now. The problem first occured after I took it to a car wash. Did not correlate it at that time. The problem resolved itself with a little time (maybe time for it to dry out). When I sent it through the car wash again, the door lock problem reoccured. I started thinking that there might be a magnetic field problem when the car passed through the car wash that messed up the door lock. Well the problem rose again when it rained hard so it has to be a water leak somewhere that short circuits the lock system and is restricted to the drivers door handle only. Passenger touch lock feature works all the time. Unfortunately this inconvienence has raised its ugly head again.

vsokolov

?

vsokolov

?

raybice

I have the same problem and it did seem to start after the first rain. However; my car has now been at the dealer for 4 days to get the door handle replaced. The first one they ordered came in with the wrong color. My service rep has been nice however not having my car for 4 days really is starting to boil the blood. One of the primary reasons I went with Acura was that I have always had great Honda products. I guess first release is rearing it's ugly head.

AcuraRLBlue

I question Acura and Honda's approach to business. This looks like is a common problem, and why Acura didn't find it out in its product testing is is beyound me. This and other issues with the new RL is somewhat disappointing.

DCRL

Look, I am the first one to sympathize with anyone having door lock problems. especially on a new $50,000 car. But I also want to say that there are those of us with no such problems at all. Perhaps there were a batch of back handles that got put on some RLs.

But mine, and at least one other I know, have been perfect from day one.

Hopefully, Acura can get a handle on the problem soon. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

AcuraRLBlue

DCRL:

It is great that you have not have any problem with your RL and you shared this in the forum. It is also important that those of us who have issues share them so that we could benefit from the the others' experience/opinions/solutions.

I love this one.

monwe

Noticed the same thing .... carwash, dimple does not work on the driver's door. So this is what I did .... take the remote & hold it close to the door handle and touch the dimple at the same time. Reopen door using the handle. Repeat the process, hold the remote close to the handle & touching the dimple; the doors will lock. Do it a couple of times. This seems to reset the system. At least it did for me.

monwe

Just talked to Acura CS - they claim that they're aware of the problem & that you should contact the dealer for a new door handle.

Kickbucket1

Monwe: Thanks for the tip on resetting the door handle. I will try it the next time I wash my car. My question is do you touch the dimple with the remote while pressing the lock button on the remote? Or do you hold the remote close to the handle while pressing the lock button and touch the dimple with the other hand? Thanks

Wow, my original post made it to two pages. I thought my problem was an isolated incident. Hope Acura fixes the problem and not just gives a new door handle that is prone to repeat the same problem.

monwe

Just hold the remote close to the door handle (within an inch maybe). Then touch the dimple without touching any of the buttons on the remote. Open the door as you normally would by just putting your hand on the door handle. Repeat this a couple of times. Hope it works. BTW, I spoke to Acura CS & they claim that if you're having door handle problems you should go to the dealer and let them check it out. This seems to be a common issue with early cars.

AcuraRLBlue

My passenger side handle's locking dimple is not working. My car is has not received the recall notice for issues including that of the door handle.

dseag2

I don't think it has anything to do with the car being wet because I hand-wash my RL and if I make the mistake of putting the fob in my pocket the door continually locks/unlocks when I touch it.

Kickbucket1

I have hand washed my car only once when I did the pre-Zaino Dawn treatment. It also worked fine like you stated. The other times the car was washed it was at the local carwash that uses attendants to soap down the car, but uses power nozzle sprayers and dryers in the automated line. After every wash at the carwash, the drivers door failed to lock. I think the forced water may have something to do with shorting something out until it eventually drys out a few days later. It has been raining a lot here in California and although the door handle gets wet, it still works. I think since water isn't forced at the handle in this instance (like at the car wash), it doesn't short out the dimple. It's just a guess.

petemc

Has anyone considered that it may be caused by a static electricity build up while the car goes through the dryers?

I have now seen many posts from people who wash their own car, probably using lots of water (like I do), and so I suspect that water causing the problem sounds just too simple. Since these are (probably) capacitive switches, it is possible the static electricity is a cause.

...and before anyone asks, I don't plan on rubbing a balloon and doing a test, my dimples operate fine right now

Pete

jmonroy1973

I don't think it's static electricity. There is a correlation due to high pressured water or heavy rain affecting the door lock capability using the nipple. Sounds like Acura should do some investigation on a potential recall due to a short caused by leaky seals on the handle. It is unfortunate that such a respectable car company has to do these things, but that's what will keep its namesake. For all you 2nd gen RL owners experiencing this problem, I suggest you register, post a response, print the forum and take it to Acura. I love Acura and I am confident they will remedy this problem. Aside from this lock problem...this car is fantastic.

shepsan

I do not know If it is a problem or an idiosyncrasy with the RL but I have uncounted the same situation with the driver’s side door handle and dimple.

When I hold the handle and press the dimple at the same time, the door does not unlock. However, when I place my index finger barely touching the underside of the dimple without pressing it, three seconds later a beep sounds and the door unlocks with a click and thump.

Whether it is a problem, an idiosyncrasy or the proper way to unlock the door is unimportant to me. What is important to me is that the door unlocks this way each and every time. Thus, I will simply unlock it this way.

AcuraRLBlue

According to the lady who showed me how to use the car at the dealership, you are not supposed to touch the inside of the handle and the dimple at the same time. This sends two contradicting signals to the motor to unlock and lock at the same time.

Precision Crafted

You and she are correct. When taking my TL in for service I played around with an RL on the showroom floor. When locking the car I only touched the dimple. When unlocking I grabbed the the door handle, being careful not to touch the dimple, the car beeped twice at me, and when I started to pull the handle the car unlocked.

I repeated the same proceedure on the passenger side and it worked. Touching the sensors on the back and the dimple on the front does indeed confuse the computer as I also experienced just to see what ohters were talking about.

Kickbucket1

I finally got tired of the problem resurfacing again after a heavy rain. Took it to the dealer for diagnosis and recommendation. They then said it was fixed after correcting some error codes. Then came the dealers complimentary wash/wax/vacume done every time you bring it in. After the wash the dimple didn't work on the drivers side and worked on the passengers side just like I complained. Service advisor ordered a new handle and a week later it was fixed just like new. Other than that, love the car.

johnfmadden

Just bought an 06 RL and the driver door handle dimple would not lock the door just after I brought the car home. Took it back to the dealer who stated " he knew of no problems with door handle dimples not locking doors" Of course it worked fine at the dealers. I showed him printouts of all the threads on the internet with many having the same problems, and they decided to replace door handle, but still did not admit to knowing about a problem. Now that I think of it, when the salesman was showing me the car, he had difficulty in getting the door to lock.
Here is a case of these forums helping a car owner out! Still cant see why the dealers won't admit to knowing there is a problem. I guess if they admit it, Honda has to have a recall and it'll cost too much to replace every Acura RL door handle.
It's all about the money!

Otherwise....I like the car...my wife loves the car.

Precision Crafted

This is why I am having some second thoughts about getting a fourth Acura. I'd love to have and want the keyless access type of system, but taking a car back to the dealership over and over is annoying.