My MDX doesn't start :(

[Leorooster]

Hi all,

I just came back from my two-week oversea trip. Unfortunately my 11' MDX does not start. I suspect that it's the battery which sounds dead to me. I could have tried jump-starting it, but my car is in the garage facing in, so there is no way I can jump start it unless I put it in neutral and push it out of the garage (but I am by myself ). What is my best option now? I probably will call the dealer tomorrow, but before I do that, I would like to know if any one has any suggestions.

Thanks for your help.

[tolson37]

Buy a trickle charger if you can go to the auto store and try charging it. Try it after 4 hours of charging. You'll have the charger for future use too.


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[Ackie]

As mentioned, buy a charger that has a boost plus trickle charge on it. Its happened to me a couple time on long extended trips and that is all i did to recharge it. i think it was mentioned that there are so many electronics in it that it just drains the battery. No need to push the veh out!

[G. COLTON]

call the auto club, ask a neighbor to borrow a charger, buy a new battery. Do something. Borrow a jump start battery.

Why call the dealer?


g

[boston]

Apart from not knowing what sound a dead battery makes you have cables pull the battery out of another car and use that to get it started.
It's not rocket science!


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[Leorooster]

Thanks for all the advices. I think I did not make my point clear. The battery is only 1.5 year old and should not be dead in 2 weeks without starting. I want to see what the dealer would do in this situation; especially the winter is on its way. Thanks.

[Bill_de]

Acura tested the battery on my '11 when I was in for an oil change. They said it didn't pass the test and replaced it. It had never given me any trouble, so I guess I was lucky.

[skinny2]

Do you leave your headlights in "auto" mode. This can drain your battery. Manual even states to turn the lights "off" if leaving the vehicle for more than a week. Now...I don't think it really SHOULD drain a good battery that quick...but lets be honest...manufacturers are using cheaper and cheaper batteries from OEM. 2-3 years is a long time for an OEM battery these days it seems.

[nsxtasy]

Originally Posted by skinny2

Do you leave your headlights in "auto" mode. This can drain your battery. Manual even states to turn the lights "off" if leaving the vehicle for more than a week.

True. Here's the wording in the owner's manual for my 2004:

"Do not leave the light switch in
AUTO if you will not be driving the
vehicle for an extended period (a
week or more). You should also turn
off the lights if you plan to leave the
engine idling or the engine off for a
long time."

Originally Posted by skinny2

manufacturers are using cheaper and cheaper batteries from OEM.

Not true. However, cars are being built with more and more electronics on them, electronics which can drain a battery if the car isn't driven regularly.

[MDXpression]

You could also pull the battery out and have auto zone charge it for free and you can drop it back in. Take it to dealer from there if you are under warranty. All listed options are good.

[skinny2]

Originally Posted by nsxtasy

Not true. However, cars are being built with more and more electronics on them, electronics which can drain a battery if the car isn't driven regularly.

Are you an authority on batteries and have some proof to dispute my position? I agree vehicles have more electronics which will tax the batteries, but good aftermarkets appear to last far longer than OEM's. There's clearly a huge difference in battery quality based on most product testing I've seen. What incentive would a manufacturer have to install a 30-60 month battery on a car with a 12 month warranty? I haven't had an OEM batter last more than about two years in a long time. And those are on my daily-driver cars which rarely sit.

[Warzau]

You know guys stop flaming each other, it's really getting old.

[skinny2]

I've yet to see flaming. Just someone that apparently is never right in life and has to run behind folks attempting to correct them. I've moved him to my ignore list so I guess I don't care what he says.

[Dominik-X]

This happened to me last year. I came back from a two weeks vacation and the X would not start. Jump-started it and it was fine until the next time I did not drive it for two days. Dealer replaced the battery, but it happened again. Then they found the HFL unit was not turning off and was draining the battery. They replaced the HFL along with another battery and no problem since.

The HFL issue seems to be common on this car.

[nsxtasy]

Originally Posted by Dominik-X

This happened to me last year. I came back from a two weeks vacation and the X would not start. Jump-started it and it was fine until the next time I did not drive it for two days.

Do you mean the next time you did not drive it for two WEEKS, or for two DAYS?