Acura RL Maintenance and Repair

tayl0rd

To keep the regular RL discussion a little less cluttered, and to keep better track of them, please post your RL problems/solutions here.

jmatthe

Overall the car has been great for the first 3000 miles. One minor issue: the clock, which changes times at whim. Any others know the solution to this one?

kacurat

I am trying to figure out the traffic colors on my 2005 RL navigation system. I know red is for heavy traffic, yellow for light traffic and blue for no traffic, but what does pink stand for? And also, why would one road have both red, blue and pink? How would one determine which one is correct? I am very confused and my dealer is learning it as well so he is not great help and the dvd didn't help much as well.

 

Any advice??

ewitham

I have had the RL for about 3 months now and I have two questions.

 

First, has anybody figured out how to get the external temperature. This seems very basic, especially for northern climes.....but I can't figure it out.

 

Second, I am really disappointed in the performance of the windshield wipers. They constantly leave a large area in the middle of the windshield dirty if used at highway speeds. Anyone else having this problem? Any suggestions?

 

Thanks.

steven9179

re the external temperature, it's the middle button of the MID group that will (when pushed enough times) display the outside temp.

 

re the wipers, sorry I can't help you on this one. In fact I am amazed at the excellent performance of the wipers on my RL---they clean the entire windshield well. Suggest the dealer replace the wipers if this hasn't been done already.

 

Steve

bob k.

To see the external temp., all you have to do is press the select key between the two up and down arrow keys on the right side of the steering wheel. In regard to the dirt left in the middle of the windshield by the wipers, I have not had that problem. The right wiper comes way over the middle and the left wiper over laps that area on its pass. I do wish the left wiper cleared more area to the far left.

                       Bob K.

kacurat

Yes, I too am having the same windshield wiper issue. During snow and rain, they always leave a large dirty spot in the drivers side portion of the window. Very annoying, not sure why it happens, but I too noticed that problem.

kacurat

Does anyone know how to turn on the air, without having to turn on the A/C first then turn it off? The only way to turn it on as far as I know is by clicking auto (which turns the A/C automatically on) and by clicking the A/C button which turns it on also.

 

It just seems wierd to have to turn the A/C on first even if it is like 2 degrees outside, then manually shut if off. I am confused and the dealer doesn't have a clue either...

tide069

You did not mention the outside air temperature. Try heating the windshield with defrost and a/c on and that will in turn warm up the wiper blades. Warming the blades up will make them conform to windshield ever so slightly. This technique has always worked for both my summer blades and winter blades on all of my cars: caddy, gmc sub, accord, civic, maxima.

jmatthe

My guess is even if the light says the A/C is on, the compressor is not engaged below 50 degrees or so anyway. It is annoying, but moot. above 50, you have a valid point though. And you cannot toggle between manual settings and automatic settings without w/o going into the menus.. at least I don't know how to.

gnarly

I've had a similar wiper problem on an older RL right after the dealer installed new blades - a missed spot in the wiping arc. I thought the blades might be defective and was going to return to the dealer; but before going to that trouble, I decided to experiment a bit first.

 

While the motor was on and the wipers were wiping, I cut off the engine at the point where the wipers were at the top of their cycle. Then, I grasped the ends of the wiper holder and very gently bent them outward, thus slightly flattening out the arc of the blade. Problem solved! Don't overdo it and cause the blade ends not to make contact with the glass, though.

 

Not an elegant, high-tech solution, I know - just some basic trigonometry - remember than sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent stuff?

aok

I have a problem that occurs about every 10days in which the steering wheel pulls away and I cannot turn the ignition switch to start the car. I have to get out of the car and lock it and try again. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 tries to get it to start. The dealership and Acura has no idea what the problem is since it occurs so infrequently. Has anyone experience the same problem?

jmatthe

I did experience it twice, but found that if I turned the steering wheel slightly away from the lock and/or held the column switch in for a few seconds, it worked fine. I will be looking for it again however.

fredphipsi

Is anyone having trouble with the RL breaks squealing loudly when you first start out and the break pads are either wet and or cold? Dealer said that the TL had this problem and they came out with new pads. They said that no such solution has been offered for the new RL. Am I the only one having this problem? PS...I LOVE the car. This is the only problem I am having.

josheel

I've been dealing with several minor problems with my car. First I had to have the dash replaced because of a hole under the covering that appeared. Then I had several issues with computer messages that had to be reprogramed.Then there's been the recall items {which we all face}. My point being I've spent alot of time at the dealers and now when I asked them for some kind of compensation (a steering wheel)to be exacted they look at me like I'm crazy. felt I deserve something cool for my patience,all ready had ex tented warranty they hinted about giving me and they did give me a wood knob but do I seem selfish for wanting this wheel???
p.s I was there again yesterday for an front light warning and after a day and a half they gave up and reset my system because they couldn't find the right answer for the code coming up.

Thank for you advice in advance

kacurat

I bought my RL one month ago and have not received any information about recalls. What do I need to have done, and if I call the service department will they know what needs to be done? Has anyone experienced the speakers vibrating when the volume is around 20 or so? It sounds like a cheap bass system.

I do LOVE The car though...

steven9179

I experienced the noisy brakes ONLY when they were wet and ONLY for the first 2-3 brake applications; this occurred during the first 2 months of driving, nothing since then. If my RL is "normal", this will pass. I also love my car. Good luck with yours--ENJOY

Steve

josheel

Your service department will know.It's for the front door speakers aand some computer updates.They'll check your vin number to see if you need service.I bought my car in october so I'll probably see alot of this as they improve everything.

workermom

My CD player will not display any info (ie album name, track names) from the CD's and DVD-a's that I have put in. Is anyone else having this problem? The manual shows that the nav system should display the info but all I have are blanks where that info should be showing up.

rl05pearl

I too had this problem initially in the first month; but, it's gone away. I had the car for over 3 months.

pearl

Question for the board: what sorts of gas mileage are you getting with your RLs? I saw someone post on another board that he/she was getting about 16.5, and another person mentioned 18. That sounds like the bottom end of the EPA range, and of course gas mileage will vary based up driver habits, etc, but wanted to get some numbers here. Thanks.

fredphipsi

Pearl:

You may have seen my reply for gas milage on the other board. Just is case it was not mine, I am getting 16.4 city. I have 1200 miles on the odometer. I'm hoping it improves. Most indicate that it does. I have not done a long hi-way trip so I cannot give you highway data. Fred

rlowner

I should preface this note by saying, i still love the RL and understand the issue of growing pains (3 recalls so far: XM NavTraffic box replaced, front speaker gaskets installed to eliminate water leak damage, Engine control program upgraded). The dealer has been great too, so i can't complain too much.

So far I've had the XM NavTraffic stops functioning problem, the door locks stop working problem, and the SH-AWD/VSA disabled lights coming on during warm weather. The first two problems have been addressed by recalls. The last one however, has not been solved yet, due to its intermittency. If anyone else has had this problem and has identified a solution, i'd be interested in hearing it (and so would my dealer)...

jrozes

It seems to only list the info for discs that have CD-Text data. Most of my store-bought CDs don't have it while the ones I've burned myself do. The exception to this seems to be DVD-As and DTS 5.1 audio CDs, which never seem to have any info displayed for them at all. MP3 discs just have filenames displayed - tags are ignored. I suppose we should just be happy that all these formats are playable, but Acura could certainly do better with the info display part.

dennis721

Acura can't do anything about displaying song titles if they are not on the disc. I have hundreds of store bought CD's and even my computer won't display titles if they are not encoded on the disc. You could always recopy your store bought CD's and add the titles yourself, then your Acura would display the title.
Its not your Acura's fault if the data isn't there!!!

steve95008

I'm averaging about 18.5 with about a 50-50 split between highway and city driving.

steve95008

You are not the one with squealing brakes. Mine do that too, particularly when wet or cold. I also notice some squeal when creeping slowly in traffic even when the brakes are warm. I haven't confronted my dealer yet, but it's on my list of things to mention when I bring it in for its first service.

cove148

This car scares me after following all the problems since it was introduced. Was number one on my wish list. I shutter to think of the problems one will encounter at the 40K miles plus range. Think the new AWD system and the local dealers lack of experience and equipment to maintain is more than I wanted to deal with.
Bought a 2005 LS430 W/O nav. certainly not as sporty, but proven reliability was there and only for a few thousand more.

steve95008

When I have the headlight switch in the AUTO position and the lights are on due to low ambient light, I get an audible alarm when I shut off the engine and exit the car. Just SHUT-UP and turn off the lights after the appropriate time interval. So far Acura has acknowleged the problem, and say they will fix it in newer models, but aren't promising me a fix. If this bothers you too, please complain loudly to Acura Client Services.

workermom

Does anyone else have a problem with the CD player not recognizing WMA files? I burned a disc with MP3's and WMA's and it would only read the mp3's. The manual says it will play both.

santi1

I just bought an 02 w/ 29k I noticed in my first week that there seemed to be a open sun roof at high speed type of sound, when driving over 25mph. I took it to my dealer, they said that all is Ok w/ the car. Im having a hard time believing that a car like this should be so noisy! Im the second owner, and the car has never been hit. Any thoughts?
Thanks!

bobb1

Hello All:
HAd my RL since late November and have had ZERO problems, yes zero - I do have the brake squeek but it goes away quickly and is a trait of the style and manufacture of brakes. Regarding gas mileage, I get around 16 to 18 in the city as I spend a lot of time idleing but on a recent trip, about 3200 miles I got a low of 24 and a high of 27 with an average speed of 72 miles per hour. This trip included the flatlands of the mid-west and the mountains of the east. A real all around drive. I just have nothing but praise so far. I am down to 20% oil life with 6500 miles on. I think if you do a lot of highway travel you should get about 10K between changes. I had a drop of 10% on my 3500 mile trip.
My question is: has anyone figured out how to call a destination that your are navigating to using hands free???? Good Luck all, my dealer here in Chicago (western suburbs) has been great....

fredphipsi

I only play WMA format in my 2005 RL. Try burning your WMA CD's at a slower setting. This should work. Good luck, Fred

llwyse

Last Saturday (at 2500 miles), all XM pre-sets disappeared and everything was on XM Preview. I turned off the ignition hoping to "re-boot." No luck. Started re-setting all my pre-sets. About 30 minutes later (after another stop), my original pre-sets were all back again. Weird.

At the same time, I couldn't put the passenger window down from the driver's side and the driver's window auto-down and up feature doesn't work. Those problems still exist. The back windows work properly. Even more weird. Any ideas?

vartany

I have not been able to connect to Acuralink with my '05 RL. My Handsfree phone (Motorola V551 with Cingular) and live traffic work fine, but when I try to connect to Acuralink it says "cannot connect." I have been to dealership 3 times with this problem and they don't have a clue. Has anybody else had this problem?

jdh

I also have the Motorola V551 with cingular and have been able to link it yo my '05 RL. Also have not been able to connect to acuralink and get the same message as you. My car is scheduled to go in 3/10/05 to see about this problem. Do you get battery strength indicated on the car dash or just the signal strength. I only get the signal strength.
Jack

steveinindy

I just bought my RL, only 850 miles and the door locks stopped working with the door handle touch feature. If there has been a recall, my dealer has not told me about it. I'm not aware of the other recalls you mention either. Can you direct me to any place where these recalls are published? I'd like to show my dealer, who is currently telling me the car is so new that they don't yet know what to do or how to fix it.

vartany

No the battery strength does not come on my dash either, but I thought that this is due to the phone. I hope you have better luck with the dealer, because my dealer knew less about this than I. I am currently trying to resolve this problem with the Acura Handsfreelink help line which is (888) 528-7876. If you figure it out let me know.
Armen

jpass1

I have had my RL since Nov. and love it overall but have had numerous issues. The dealer is great but I expected less problems from an almost 50K Acura.
New transmission (better mileage after changed, door locks do not work from the exterior, rattles in the dash, side mirrors going up and down on their own and now a letter stating that 4 items have been identified as potential problems that need fixed. The dealer is over 50 miles away. I guess I just expected better.

jdh

Armen:
I already spoke to acura handsfreelink help line and all they could tell me was the phone had to be data capable. The people at Cingular said the phone is data capable and it should be capable of connecting with acura. The only question I have not been able to resolve so far is do we need a special data package from cingular.

Jack

jayskis

I've got a 2000 RL with 56k miles on it that has developed a constant clicking sound when the accelerator pedal is depressed. Acura said to change the belts which was done, but it didn't stop the noise. If I take my foot off the gas it stops. Anyone else have any ideas? I was thinking a heat shield might be rubbing against the accelerator belt.

vartany

Jack:
I have talked to Cingular and they told me that I didn't have the capability to use the phone as a modum with the standard service, so I added the data service for $25 per month, but I still cannot connect. So that is not the problem. The Handsfreelink person told me that she is referring the problem to an Acura "engineer" and I am waiting for a call back from them.

vartany

If anyone has been able to connect to Acuralink on the '05 RL please let me know what phone and what plan you have, because I cannot get it to work.

Armen

maennes

I had a similar thing happen, and found out that the keyless entry system had identified me wrongly as driver #2. To remedy this problem, I just had to lock/unlock the door with my key.

maennes

Some useful info is available from http://bluetoothcar.typepad.com/main/2005/01/handsfreelink_c.html

adam_kelley

I use a Blackberry 7100t from T-Mobile and have no problem. All information is passed from the phone to the MID (battery, signal strength, incoming phone number).

arejay

I've had my new Acura RL since the first of December. About the beginning of February, I started noticing a relatively high pitched whining noise when driving at about 40 mph. I've since had 2 major repairs: replace frt transfer case and drive shaft assembly. The noise is still there. Has anyone else had this problem? You must have the windows up and radio off and listen carefully to hear the difference at that speed. I'd just like to know if I'm the only one with the problem; maybe some haven't noticed.

jmatthe

I initailly had problems connecting (Sony T637). Called Att/Cingular and they pushed me up to a tech who had me change a setting on the phone. Works fine, except now I get those not so valuable tips on how to use the car, all of which I know alrerady!

maennes

My wife has the habit of placing her (heavy!) handbag on the passenger seat. This triggers a message about the airbag being turned off. This warning is OK to get once or twice, but everytime? When she recently handed me back my car after a week's driving, I had to painfully delete some 20 such messages.

Similarly, I tend to keep my keyset in my pocket. When I drop of the kids at school, I get out to open the child-locked doors from the outside. Of course, I keep the car running and close the driver door during this exercise. In consequence, the car beeps (that's OK!) to warn me about no key being inside the car. However, I also get messages on the navigation system, which I cannot even delete!

Anybody know how to turn off this nuisance?

ssscol

I too use a T-Mobile Blackberry 7100 and connect without issue.

ssscol

I have a 2005 RL with 4000 miles. At any speed over 10 miles an hour, my windshield washer barely works. The dealer has adjusted the nozzles without success. If stopped, the washer works better but not great. Does anyone else have this problem?