HomeLink - sometimes it doesn't work?
 

Hi, I'm experiencing a problem with my homelink garage door opener that I'm wondering about. Basically the problem is that sometimes when I press and hold the button it simply doesn't work. I haven't been able to determine what causes this but it's basically press the button, nothing. Press again, nothing... and keep pressing and eventually it will work.

Does anybody else have this problem?

I have noticed that the homelink system in the RDX seems to have more limited range than other cars I own/have owned. My other cars could open the door from 60 feet or more while the RDX seems more like 20 feet. Are you roughly the same distance from the door when you experience the problem or are you getting closer as you push the button? Could be as simple as that.

On occasion, I'll press("mash" as we said in the South) the button and nothing happens; but I'll re-push quickly and the door opens. This happens when I'm just outside the garage door or perhaps 50 feet away at the entry to the driveway. It has happened so rarely that I haven't given it much thought. What's really odd(to me) is the difference between the placement of the buttons...the Volvo HomeLink is placed on the visor while we know the RDX is more to the center upper console. After 7 Volvos, it really feels strange to go 'hunting' for the HomeLink button in the RDX:annoyed:

I too have noticed that I sometimes have to push it a couple of times before it works. Actually happens quite a bit. Also, my past vehicle with Homelink would open the door(first time, every time I might add) from the end of the driveway which is about 70 ft. The RDX homelink doesn't work until I am about 10, maybe 15 ft from the door both coming and going. Not a major discomfort but it was nice to hit it at the mailbox when I got the mail and zip right into the garage. Now, I get the mail and have to wait at the garage door for it to go up. Can't understand why they would work so differently. My other two vehicles which use the old 25 year old transmitters still work from the street. Seems we're going backwards here.

I have programmed all three buttons with from the same original remote and they all work from different distances, with the first button working from the shortest distance. Perhaps the quality / strength of the source signal during learning has something to do with it.

I am glad to see that I am not the only one having this situation. It is not a problem per se but something I'd like to know the "why". I always back into the garage and leaving the garage, I never have a problem with the homelink button - opening or closing the door.

The problem seems to be when I am backing into the driveway and trying to open the garage door. It will require a few attempts. The irony is that if I am driving down the street and press the button as I am "approaching" the driveway, it will work fine. I am not sure that it is a "range" problem as much as a directional thing. It's as if the signal if very focused and directional dependent...almost like a remote control that needs to be pointed in a very specific location for it to work.

Needless to say, my TL does not have this problem....

same here, i have never had a car with a shorter range than the rdx. sometimes i have to literally be 10 ft in front of the door to open it. annoying.

Thanks for all the replies. Good to know I'm not the only one, too.

In regards to the distance, yes I agree the range is much shorter than previous cars I've owned. It's not the distance for me, as I'm sitting in the exact same spot when it does/doesn't work.

So far as I can tell, it's completely random, too. I've also programmed all buttons to open the door and when one doesn't work, they all don't work. Eventually it does, but why.. I've no idea. The red light comes on each and every time I press the button, just the garage door doesn't respond.

I've also had the door respond strangely - starts to open then shuts again quickly, almost like I've pressed the button twice (I'm holding the button down).

I'll ask my dealer when I get him to check on a whirring noise I'm hearing.

Edit - PS yes, I find the placement very awkward as well

No problems here. I can be down the block and perpendicular to the garage, and open it.

Mine works fine, but definitely shorter range than the actual remote. Overall, no complaints.

Same here!
My previous car was an '03 Accord with homelink and it worked around 60-70ft away.
It seems for the RDX the car has to be pointing towards the garage.

Also, I can't seem to program all 3 buttons to the same garage opener. I programmed button #2 and proceeded with #1. Once button #1 was working button #2 stopped working !?

The homelink on the RDX is definitely a bit flaky. I'll try to reprogram the buttons again to get all 3 programmed. This allows me to open the garage without even looking up at which button my finger is on.

Sorry for reviving this thread but I am having the same issue as well... It is very finicky, at best... It works just fine coming down the roadway, but when leaving the garage, I can get it work maybe 2/10 times...

Don't feel bad about adding to a thread. If enough people read this thread and complain maybe something will get done about. At first it was just a minor irratation but I can literally sit 3-4 ft outside my garage door and push the correct button 5-6 times before it works. My other Homelink works from the end of the driveway(70ft) both coming and going. My old remote will work from the street both ways. The RDX makes me drive all the way up to the garage door and press the button several times and then wait for it open to drive in. Same when I leave. I have to back out of the garage and stop a few feet from the door and press the Homelink button several times. It's not only a time waster it's embarrassing sitting there pressing the button. Acura needs to figure out why this range is so poor. Homelink is supposed to be a convenience, not a pain in the ass.

My RDX is my second car with Homelink. They both have operated the same (perfectly) once I learned that a quick push of the button will not work. Try push and hold until the door starts to open. The hold is just a couple of seconds for me.

I always press and hold the button... What is weird is that when I cleared the programming and re-programmed it, it worked fine the first couple of times and then started acting finicky...

I'll try holding it but I've had Homelink for 10 years in other vehicles and never had to hold it for this same garage door opener. Maybe the RDX is just finicky and I'll try holding it but I think in my frustration I've held the button in for a couple of seconds on occassion already and it doesn't work any better. I'll hold it for 3-5 seconds and see if that does any good. Maybe I'll try reprogramming it as well.

Same problem, but only started in the last two weeks, worked fine for the first month....

Same issue with my TL. Its annoying i'll press and hold the button sometimes it work most of the time it doesn't. I have a lexus and never have issue with the garage door opener just my TL. Acura should come up with the solution about this issue.

Hmmm....typically, I've gotta be within 20-30 feet of the door for Homelink to work. Sounds like a trend.

Hi all, please call Homelink at 800-355-3515 from outside your garage and follow the recorded steps to re-program and see if it helps.

^^^ Did you notice an improvement by doing so? And do you speak to someone or an automated system? I never do well at these automated self help system...I am a people person :)

It was a recorded message that waits for you to complete each step. You can choose to talk to a person at the end of it if needed... I haven't tried the steps yet as my car is in the shop (https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...1) but will try it out this week... The steps were definitely more detailed than the manual...

My problem is a bit different and started on day 1 when I got a used 2010 RL. I was unable to program the Homelink even after following instructions from the dealer and the web. On one occasion,while the car was inside the garage I was able to get the door to go down, once. But it would not raise and it wouldn't go down again. Will be seeing the dealer.

I think I'll try calling the 800 number and programming my #2 button using their directions. Then I'll compare working distances between button #1 and button #2.

My range is awful. The only time it would work consistently if I am parked inside my garage. Outside the garage 2 feet from the garage door and it rarely works. And then today it worked from 10ft away but only ONCE. I replaced the garage remote battery and although I get much better range with the garage remote, lately it has act up. I'm thinking I might need to clear the code completely on my craftsman and start over by reprogramming the remote and then the homelink.

Just adding to the list. Mine started out working from clear out in the street. Over the last few months the range has decreased drasticly to ocasionaly working and now the red lite doesn't even come on and it does not work at all on any of the buttons. I checked all the fuses on the passenger side and they are all good.

Is there a circuit board or something that can be replaced?

Mine would close the door but wouldn't open it. Tried all the programming directions from HomeLink ( by the way when you e-mail them for help, their one day turnaround is a 96 hour day, then they are not a lot of help until you get angry).
Took it in and had them replace it, and it works Ok now. Still it seems to have a shorter range then our Old Lexus had.

I searched on here to see about the same issue, sorry to dig up an old thread but I wanted to post what helped me. I just purchased an RDX and was quite annoyed that when backing up to the garage door I literally had to have the bumper 6 inches from the door for it to work and going forward it barely opened at the end of my ~35' driveway. My TSX works fine.

I messed with the antenna on the garage door. I move it away from the 120 VAC power for the garage door and all the other sensor wires. I looped it through the metal support for the door on the side of the opener. I was hoping it would help knock out any possible interference.

I was quite surprised when I tried it. I was able to get the door to shut when I was about 150'+ away with the rear of the car facing the house. I am not sure if the signal is not quite strong enough and I was able to help the pickup on the garage door, or if it was a fluke.

Figured I would at least share.

I just had 2 new garage door openers installed, using Homelink one opens from a far greater distance than the other. Go figure?

I'll also chime in and say that I've had issues with homelink on the RDX.
We have an odyssey and a
07 TSX prior to the RDX. The homelink in those vehicles are located in the same place as the RDX. The odyssey and the TSX both worked flawlessly and from a great distance - well over a hundred feet. The RDX works usually at about 30ft. However, other times it doesn't work at all. I thought it might be an issue with our garage remote (batteries are fresh) because often it has hard time connecting at the same time as the homelink failure.

Did you know that LED lights can interfere with garage door opener frequency? How LED Lights Can Cause Problems With Your Garage Door Opener

Same issue for me....2015 RDX w Tech Package.

Wife has an 08 TSX and never had this issue. My older truck never saw this issue either. Sometimes the garage door opens, sometimes it does not (usually when coming home, never when leaving the house).

I have resorted to keeping my garage door opener in the car now :(

We have a 2013 RDX and a 2014 TL, presumably with similar electronics. The homelink on the TL works much better than the RDX. The TL works from about halfway down the driveway, but the RDX often does not work even inches from the garage door.

Gregg

Homelink doesn't recognize any codes
 

I have a 2004 TL. About a month ago I had a new garage opener installed, Chamberlain PD220 and my home link was wrking jst fine. I also had my homelink programmed to the doors of two other friends' garage doors. After new install, I cleared all codes and tried reprogramming my opener as well as my friends' garage doors and now it won't recognize any of them. My friends haven't replaced their door openers. What cld be the issue here ? Help. Yes, I have tried all suggestions on this forum but to no avail.

Did you press the sync button on the garage door opener unit then press the programmed button repeatedly until the door operates?

I've had similar, variable results when using Homelink on my RDX. Had the same issues with my Ridgeline, which I owned for ten years.

The Homelink would sometimes work great and, at other times barely work at all.

I've concluded it is the result of having an aluminum garage door. I think the door sometimes blocks the signal and, at other times amplifies the signal coming from the car. It seems to run in spurts -- it will work great for a few weeks, then work poorly for weeks at a time. I guess the door builds a static charge in some weather conditions and that interferes with the signal. If you think about it, there aren't many "antennas" as big as a garage door!!!

If I operate the Homelink button when I'm coming up, along side my garage, it works every time. In that situation, it doesn't have to "penetrate" the aluminum door to get to the receiver.

I've often wondered what affect connecting the antenna of the opener to the aluminum garage door might have on performance. I've also wondered if grounding the garage door might make a difference. Never tried either.

I have lengthened the antenna of the receiver and that seems to have a positive affect sometimes.

Honda has issued a TSB for the Homelink electronics in the car. If you read it, you won't be impressed with their "solution."

Here is one possible solution. I say possible, because I am not sure if this is what helped in my case.

I have a camera in our garage. Originally, this camera connected to our router via WiFi, but recently I hardwired it with an ethernet cable. I believe that was about the same time the Homelink in our 2013 RDX started working much better. It's not great, but it's much better than it was before. I don't know if this is a big coincidence, and the improvement is due to something else, or if the WiFi camera somehow interfered with the Homelink/garage door wireless.

So, if you have some other WiFi signal nearby, perhaps that is the cause of the problem.

Gregg

One of the biggest issues with GDOs including HomeLink is the use of LED bulbs between the vehicle and the GDO. The emit RFI on the same frequency as the opener IF THE BULBS ARE ON.


Took me a long time, but discussing with Phillips (mfg of LED) they admitted that there are "very very few" LED bulbs that work without causing interference.


My first clue was the HomeLink (and factory GDO remotes) worked 100% when no LED lights were on in or before the garage door. A long trial & error period followed and pulling the LEDs and putting CFLs or incandescents in resulted in zero remote issues ever. Putting the LEDs back in the pot/can lights on the eaves and turning the LEDs on and the range dropped to bumper against the garage door to "maybe" open the door.


YMMV

There is a TSB issued by Acura regarding the weak homelink transmitter (TSB 15-023). It covers several recent Acura models including 2013-2016 RDX. I believe a link to it is available in a sticky for TSB's at the top of the RDX general forum.

Homelink doesn't work on 2013 Acura RDX
 

I recently purchased a 2013 Acura RDX. Fortunately it is under warranty. i could not get the homelink to work unless my car was sitting in the garage. i took it to the dealer and they fixed it. It seems there is not a recall, but there have been several incidences such as this, so they have issued a link or notification which the dealer found and it offered a quick fix. Now the door opens and closes with the homelink even when I'm in the driveway.