Acura MDX Navigation, Radio and AC/Heat Fan died on me!

Within the same week, the Navigation System, the Rear AC/Heat Fan and the Radio all died on me?



The radio and navigation seem like they would be part of the same electrical circuit, so that makes sense to me.



But, is the rear Heat/AC fan also connected to the same electrical circuit?

Of course I’m wondering what the possible problems could be so I can narrow down how much the repair bill will probably be.

Thank you! Tiffany

they died at separate times? Define “died.” Is there ANY display on the nav screen? You didn’t really provide enough for us to go on. If it’s a fuse, the repair will be cheap if not free. If the navi computer is dead, it’ll probably be 5 grand unless you remove the computer yourself and send it to the manufacturer (Pioneer, if I recall) for repair.

I recommend you have the charging system checked to make sure it isn’t generating AC voltage spikes and the DC voltage is ok. I assume you have checked the fuses already for any trouble there.

Hi thanks for responding…
I think they died within hours of each other. I seem to recall the radio still going even after the navigation system lost power, but not for long. And I mean they lost power and don’t power up anymore. However, the red security indicator light for the radio is still blinking.

I had an electrician, not mechanic, check the fuse panel on the left bottom of the drivers side near the steering wheel and those were all fine. However, he’s not sure if there is another set of fuses he needs to check. I’m getting ready to look at my owner’s manual now just to be sure.

Thanks for responding…I had an electrician, not mechanic, check the fuse panel on the left bottom of the drivers side near the steering wheel and those were all fine. However, he’s not sure if there is another set of fuses he needs to check. I’m getting ready to look at my owner’s manual now just to be sure.

There’s an under-hood fuse panel as well, but I don’t think a blown fuse would cause what you’ve described unless you have an overvolt condition and one of the fuses blew slower than the other (assuming the nav display and the stereo are on separate circuits). Plus, if your Acura is anything like mine, and most cars for that matter, the interior electronics are fused through the panel that your electrician looked at, not the under-hood one.

I believe on that year of Acura, the navigation system is in a DVD player located in the rear of the car. Find it, and see if the disc spins up when you turn the car to “on.” (you should be able to feel it vibrating a little bit if it does, and if you put your ear to it you should hear a soft whining noise). That’ll help us determine if you’ve actually lost power, or if it’s something in the display.

Acuras have highly integrated radio/nav systems, so it’s unfortunately fairly likely that you’re in for an expensive repair here. . .

The noise is there when I do what you suggested. The DVD Navigation Player/System is under the front seat on the passenger side and I heard it when I the car to “on.” So I guess it’s a matter of needed to replace that or repair that? What kind of price tag am I looking at?

There is usually another power panel under the hood in most cars that has fuses inside it so check that out. As far as checking for proper voltages that can be done at the battery with the engine running. From the sound of it there very well could be a bad fuse somewhere. The tech needs to make sure that nothing is wrong with the charging voltage. Excessive voltage could have caused the fuse(s) to blow out.

If it’s spinning the disc, that might actually be a good thing. It means 1) That unit is getting power and hasn’t been blown out, and 2) because of that, it’s fairly unlikely that the radio/display screen were blown out by bad power. You might just have a loose wiring harness behind the center console. That’d be a cheaper fix than the nav computer itself.

But, be sure what you are hearing is the nav unit spinning the disc, and not the fuel pump cycling.

If you had to replace the nav unit, then if it’s anything like what it would cost in my car to replace it, it’d be right about 5 grand. If you have to replace the radio, your guess is as good as mine, but it won’t be cheap. If you just have to plug something back in, then the cost will depend on how much the mechanic has to take apart to get to the unplugged harness.

OK, thanks for setting me off in the right direction!

Tiffany,
My 02 MDX has the exact same problem! Check your accessory socket fuse, in the passenger side fuse box. Mine was blown, and I was told that this can cause the radio & display panel to go out. However, after replacing it, my radio, rear a/c and display still aren’t working. It’s completely dark so I have to check the other fuses in the a.m. but if you have any info on what the problem was, please let me know!

Thanks!