01rxwhite

I have an 01 RX with 247k miles, with original engine, etc.. About a week ago the l LED screen was blank and I had no climate controls, radio controls, clock, and info. It also lost window controls and door locks. The same thing happened about a year ago and I disconnected the battery to reset the CPU and everything was fine until this week. I have reset the CPU this time which worked for about a week. Then it happened again, so I went through the same procedure. Each time I reset, I get mixed results I'll describe below. Some variation of items will work or not work. Each time is different. At this time, the LED screen is showing all normal displays, but none of the climate controls work. No fan, defrost, heat, ac, etc. The radio plays and sometimes the preset buttons work. The clock works and the temp is showing. The only thing working on the info part is the elapsed time. No MPG. On the instrument cluster, the engine temp gauge doesn't work, but everything else does. Fuel gauge, tach, speed. The seat belt warning blinks even though I am buckled. Sometimes the daytime running lights work. Sometimes the door locks work or don't work. One morning after rebooting the temp gauge worked for a few minutes, then quit. The engine runs fine. I'm suspecting some sort of moisture issue with the weather that could be causing electrical issues. I'm wondering if these type issues are indicative of a CPU or alternator problem. Has anyone else experienced such failures with the interior controls?

01rxwhite

I got in my RX this morning and everything is working again. I had noticed on Tuesday morning there was a lot of moisture on the inside of the driver's side window. Without a defroster, I had to get a towel and wipe it off. I further checked and found the carpet was damp. We had about 5 inches of heavy rain Monday night. I'm beginning to think this is a seasonal thing with the cold nights and warm days in Alabama this time of year. Obviously I have some sort of leak on the driver's side. My guess is that the moisture has dried up and the controls are working again.
New question: Has anyone else experienced cabin leaks like this before? Where is the leak and is there a fix?

thomas1

You need to look at your sunroof drain hoses carefully there are 4 maybe one is broken over by the drivers area. It goes down the window pillar and behind the left kick panel.

thaeleelyr

I had a similar problem during heavy rain. I checked the drain hoses - all was fine,but I still had some kind of link and it was definitely not coming from the sunroof or any of the drains. I finally found it when we were having thaw/freeze cycles. The water was freezing in such a way that I could finally track it back. Turned out it was coming from one of the bolts/screws that hold the luggage rack on the roof, running down behind the panels and into the spare tire well. If you have one of those, check the screws.

01rxwhite

Thanks for the information. It seems to leak around the driver's side left kick panel and foot rest. Leaks are so hard to find sometimes. I'll try looking into both of these locations and report back. I had no idea the sun roof had drain hoses. I was thinking it was leaking around the panel between the window and windshield wipers somewhere. It only seems to be a problem when we have one of those frog chokers.

Briand_OH

My $0.02:

On other cars, a local auto glass place would diagnose and seal leaks for moderate price. Many cars OEM adhesive/sealant goes away with time/exposure IME.

minor29

did you find a resolution to your problem's? I am having the same issues. I just replaced the alternator in mine.
I never have reset the cpu on it...

01rxwhite

If you put in an alternator, then you likely disconnected the battery. I addressed the water/moisture issue by doing three things and have had an issue since. First, I put a drinking straw into the sunroof holes and blew real hard. I covered the fuse panel under the left driver side, near the emergency brake with a piece of aluminum foil to keep any dripping from getting the fuse panel wet. Then, I took another piece of aluminum foil and formed a blockage or barrier under the hood up in the driver side corner above the firewall to keep any water from draining back into the door or dash panel area. So far we've had a few big rainstorms, and I haven't had any more leaks or issues with the LED functions. I think water had dripped onto the fuse panel and cause the problems, because after a few days when they dried out, the functions came back. Hope this helps.

01rxwhite

Sorry, I meant to say, I had NOT had a problem since doing these three things.