How to Jump Start a Acura RL

1. Open the hood and check the battery's condition; if the electrolyte looks slushy or frozen in cold weather, do not jump start until it thaws.
2. Turn off all electrical accessories, put the transmission in Park, and set the parking brake.
3. Remove the battery cover, then remove the secondary under-hood fuse box cover from the positive (+) battery terminal.
4. Connect one jumper cable to the positive (+) terminal on your battery and the other end to the positive (+) terminal on the booster battery.
5. Connect the second cable to the negative (−) terminal on the booster battery and the other end to the engine hanger.
6. If the booster is in another vehicle, have an assistant start it and run it at a fast idle, then start your vehicle.
7. Once running, disconnect the negative cable from your vehicle then the booster, then the positive cable from your vehicle then the booster.
8. Reinstall the secondary under-hood fuse box cover over the positive (+) terminal, then reinstall the battery cover.

• Do not connect the second cable to any engine part other than the engine hanger.
• If the starter still turns slowly, check that the cables make good metal-to-metal contact.
• Keep cable ends away from each other and from metal on the vehicle until all are disconnected, or you may cause a short.

Source: 2012 Acura RL owner's manual, PDF pages 509, 510. Steps are summarized in our own words (AI-assisted, checked against the cited pages 2026-10-18). Other model years can differ; your manual has the final word.