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Wife & I not amused with our 6 week old RTL-E's "electric light show"

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#1 ·
Dean Honda,
My wife & I were not amused with our 6 week old RTL-E putting on a 90 plus minute electric light show after we tried to go home after a concert this past Monday night at 9:30 PM in the heart of downtown Amarillo. Long story short you need to improve your roadside assistance service, and also have telephone tech support when your vehicles start going crazy when the battery runs down, plus make the vehicle smart enough to not run down the battery when it is unoccupied for 3 hours.

We had a 1 hour drive back home after our concert was over at 9:30, but to our horror, stepping on the brake and pushing the start button did nothing but display something about "ACC mode" on the dash.

I admit I had tried to find out how to run the radio while the ignition was off right before the concert, and I know I pressed the start button before we left the vehicle to turn ACC mode off. Also my wife said she accidentally left the vanity mirror light on.

So it still puzzles me that even if ACC mode was still on while we were at the concert, how can the radio with volume set too low to hear plus a vanity mirror light, run a new battery down enough to prevent the engine from turning over at all.

However what really added insult to injury is when I called Honda Roadside Assistance and the gal said she couldn't hear me even though I have a nearly new phone. I had to call back on my wife's phone. She asked me for the VIN # and I had to exit the truck to read the paperwork under the lights at the front of the Amarillo Civic Center. Apparently I misread it and had to exit the vehicle again to read it again - AND THAT'S WHEN THE "FUN" STARTED. The horn started honking very loudly and the headlights started flashing very brightly. So I assumed the alarm system went off even though the vehicle was unlocked. AND WHY WOULD THE ALARM GO OFF WHEN BOTH KEYLESS ENTRY FOBS WERE INSIDE THE VEHICLE???????

I desperately looked through the owner's manual and found absolutely no mention of an alarm system or security system. Also the gal at Honda RA said she wasn't authorized to tell me how to turn off the alarm.

To make matters worse she told us it would take up to 90 minutes for help to arrive. NOT ACCEPTABLE as we were in the middle of a city of 200,000 with more than 20 towing companies, with perfect weather BTW.

Thankfully after about 10 minutes the horn stopped, but the really annoyed part was for at least 90 more minutes my wife and I helplessly sat in the vehicle watching the headlights flash and me watching various patterns of dash indicator lights flash - sometimes all of them would flash and then maybe half would flash and then only 2 would flash - but all the while the headlights kept flashing.

So all I could do is sit there and fume about the vehicle has enough power to honk the horn for 10 minutes and flash the headlights - but would never even try to turn the engine over at all, as I would try the start button every 20 - 30 minutes. Strangely enough no one stopped to investigate - not even an Amarillo police car that my wife saw drive by after about an hour.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE. The wrecker that Honda RA sent was diverted around an hour after it was called to handle a fender bender on Amarillo Blvd, and said it would be another 30 minutes. Finally about 45 minutes later he showed up - and had trouble connecting the jumpstarter to the battery because it was mostly covered up by the air induction system. He finally grounded it under the hood with a shower of sparks. Then the horn started blowing and the lights began flashing faster and I got back in the vehicle and it started - so FINALLY end of light show.

So my wife & I got home around 1:00 AM with a sensation that maybe we can't trust this new vehicle because of how crazy it acted with a weak battery - which may or may not have gotten run down due to driver error. At this point I suggest Honda dealers include a free jumpstarter with every new Honda sold.

I will carry a jumpstarter from now on, but I would like to know why our vehicle, instead of diverting all remaining battery power to the starter,simply wasted it for 90 plus minutes putting on a "GD light show"???????
 
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#2 ·
Re: Wife & I not amused with our 6 week old RTL-E's "electric light show"

Sorry this happened, but this exact scenario could have easily happened in any other newer vehicle. Leaving the vehicle in accessory mode uses a lot more power than you may realize. Modern cars don't like not having full power to accessory systems. Since you didn't mention it, I'll ask: Did you even try to press the starter button with your foot off the brake during the flashing lights event? In a low voltage scenario, depressing the brake pedal while pressing the starter button will cause what you described. Unusual that it continued without your interaction, though. Maybe some vehicles have a built-in timeout for accessory mode if enabled for a set about of time, but I'm not aware of any. Accessory mode being engaged assumes the driver is still within or near the vehicle. It's probably not meant to be smart enough to shut itself off to conserve battery. ALSO, if the roadside assistance guy is causing a shower of sparks, then maybe he needs to go back to jump starting class. I can't think of a reason that would happen unless he's just being completely careless. Not good on the electronics!
 
#3 ·
Re: Wife & I not amused with our 6 week old RTL-E's "electric light show"

Hopefully, this was a one-time occurrence and I'll bet you won't leave it in ACC mode again! I would carry a small jump pack with you and chalk it up as a night of bad luck. Honda's are reliable vehicles and I wouldn't let that deter me from trusting it.

Good luck man!
 
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#5 · (Edited)
I am curious how the horn started honking very loudly and the headlights started flashing very brightly when the battery was dead?
My thoughts exactly? And how long did this go on, nearly two hours? Do you have any law enforcement? Some where in that time frame I certainly would have figured a way to disconnect the "dead" battery!

Bill
 
#7 ·
I just read this and a similar situation happen on my CR-v. I hadn't driven the car in a day so I was surprised when I went out and found a dead battery. My jump pack was dead so I couldn't use it. I did jump it using my Ridgeline. Like you, I had to remove the plastic cover to find the ground. (stupid place to put it) So I got it started, thought I would charge it up. No, it was dead again. The next morning, I got it started brought it in and was told I had a bad cell in the battery. I was surprised because, in all the Honda products I have, this never happened before. I learned the dealer replace 2-3 batteries a week now. So much for quality.
 
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