Truck Maintenance

[Fishindude77]

Seems like all these modern electronic capabilities of our automobiles are sure causing a lot of problems for the little bit of luxury they add.

I've not tested this theory yet, but I suspect if you left your modern vehicle somewhere such as a remote trailhead for an extended period such as a long backpacking trip there is a strong possibility you could come back to a dead vehicle that won't start?
Does anyone have any insight on this?

[disneysteve]

Seems like all these modern electronic capabilities of our automobiles are sure causing a lot of problems for the little bit of luxury they add.

I've not tested this theory yet, but I suspect if you left your modern vehicle somewhere such as a remote trailhead for an extended period such as a long backpacking trip there is a strong possibility you could come back to a dead vehicle that won't start?
Does anyone have any insight on this?

I’d say the big problem here is he bought a Chevy.

[ua_guy]

Seems like all these modern electronic capabilities of our automobiles are sure causing a lot of problems for the little bit of luxury they add.

I've not tested this theory yet, but I suspect if you left your modern vehicle somewhere such as a remote trailhead for an extended period such as a long backpacking trip there is a strong possibility you could come back to a dead vehicle that won't start?
Does anyone have any insight on this?

In general, a modern vehicle will start right up after being left for up to a couple months.

They have battery protection systems that put electronics to sleep to prolong battery life--things like telematics and other draws. You can't stop a lead acid battery from naturally losing charge over time, however. Nor can the vehicle stop a battery from failing. Modern cars for the last ~35 years all pretty much have basic battery protection systems. If you leave a dome light on, door open, or a 12v accessory plugged in for too long, the car's battery management system will typically shut things off after 20 minutes or so. Newer cars will actually monitor the voltage, so if you're blasting the stereo without a charging source, they will shut down infotainment and other systems and provide a warning message, i.e. battery saver activated.

EV's are a little different. We left ours parked for 2 months and 1 week while we were traveling this winter and it only lost 3% of its charge. It was communicating status via app the whole time, though, and we logged in a couple times to activate the camera system so we could see the inside of the garage (mostly checking on our water system). Other EV's lose a little more or less, but I believe they have extended parking modes that also shut down the electronics.

QMM has described how he leaves one of his proximity fobs zip-tied to the underside of his car. Wouldn't be surprised if this was keeping systems active and energized and prematurely draining the battery. Proximity systems are not designed for this kind of use, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the root cause of the recent troubles.

[disneysteve]

If you leave a dome light on, door open, or a 12v accessory plugged in for too long, the car's battery management system will typically shut things off after 20 minutes or so.

I can tell you from experience that this is not true in the 2019 Subarus. We had this problem a couple of months ago. Battery died. We got it jumped and took it over to get a new battery. Next day that one was dead. Took it back and had them replace it. Next day that one was dead. Finally went to the shop and they checked it out and discovered that the light at the back inside the hatch had been left on and that's what was draining the battery. It's not that bright of a light and we just hadn't noticed when driving it during the day. We must have accidentally hit the switch when loading some boxes into the back.

[ua_guy]

I can tell you from experience that this is not true in the 2019 Subarus. We had this problem a couple of months ago. Battery died. We got it jumped and took it over to get a new battery. Next day that one was dead. Took it back and had them replace it. Next day that one was dead. Finally went to the shop and they checked it out and discovered that the light at the back inside the hatch had been left on and that's what was draining the battery. It's not that bright of a light and we just hadn't noticed when driving it during the day. We must have accidentally hit the switch when loading some boxes into the back.

Ah, well, GM and Chrysler cars have had this feature for decades

[QuarterMillionMan]

Monday at the dealership I have a 9 am appointment but all the problems are gone so I expect them to tell that nothing is wrong and return the car to me. I just want to create a paper trail should I have to contact lemon law attorney. The night all the power went out I was sitting in my car with the dome light on doing work on my laptop not plugged in to anything. This was in between home visits for work. I closed my laptop, turned off the dome light. Then I stepped on my brake to start the car in order to go to my next visit and when I pushed the button to start the car everything went dark. At 10:30 pm I called AAA thinking I would have to tow the car to the dealer. At 12:30 am AAA arrived. The guy asks for my key fob and removes the manual key, inserts it into my driver's side door and turns the key and all the lights come back on. He must have known. Another guy may have just towed the car. I was lucky to get that guy.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The verdict: a loose negative battery cable. During the black out last week when it happened I had checked the positive battery connection which was tight but the negative cable is concealed so I couldn't check it. At any rate I'm happy the dealer found the culprit. It had happened another time while driving on the freeway going about 80 and for a split second the entire electric system went dark but immediately came back on which was very concerning. The dealer found a DTC code of PO562 which is a low voltage code. There was no charge since it is still under warranty.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Transportation Freedom Act, a legislative push aimed at strengthening American auto manufacturing, reducing vehicle costs, and rolling back emissions regulations. It calls for repealing the EPA's tailpipe rule, which mandates that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032. The legislation aims to end California's ability to set its own emissions standards, instead creating a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy. Furthermore, it would revoke California's zero-emission vehicle mandate. Good news. Take my previous 2018 Dodge where if I lived in Arizona I could have paid $150 for an after market catalytic converter. But because California requires OEM or an approved catalytic converter I had to pay $1000 for an approved catalytic converter in addition to the $350 for labor to install it.

[disneysteve]

repealing the EPA's tailpipe rule, which mandates that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032.

This is FALSE. The rule did not mandate EVs.

The rule set an average emissions standard. Manufacturers could meet that standard any way they'd like.

[ua_guy]

Transportation Freedom Act, a legislative push aimed at strengthening American auto manufacturing, reducing vehicle costs, and rolling back emissions regulations. It calls for repealing the EPA's tailpipe rule, which mandates that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032. The legislation aims to end California's ability to set its own emissions standards, instead creating a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy. Furthermore, it would revoke California's zero-emission vehicle mandate. Good news. Take my previous 2018 Dodge where if I lived in Arizona I could have paid $150 for an after market catalytic converter. But because California requires OEM or an approved catalytic converter I had to pay $1000 for an approved catalytic converter in addition to the $350 for labor to install it.

Yup, false. Just another dog-whistle.

Just think, you wouldn't have had to buy a catalytic converter nor would you be paying california gas prices if you had just purchased an EV!

[EasyMoney00]

I can tell you from experience that this is not true in the 2019 Subarus. We had this problem a couple of months ago. Battery died. We got it jumped and took it over to get a new battery. Next day that one was dead. Took it back and had them replace it. Next day that one was dead. Finally went to the shop and they checked it out and discovered that the light at the back inside the hatch had been left on and that's what was draining the battery. It's not that bright of a light and we just hadn't noticed when driving it during the day. We must have accidentally hit the switch when loading some boxes into the back.

Why would you get a new battery just because it ran dead? You could have went to any auto parts store, or any walmart that has a tires section and they will test your battery for free. I hope you at least had them stick the original battery back in, or that was a waste of money.

People really need to start helping themselves. Not just with vehicles but everything. We rely on everyone else to fix our problems. People are becoming more helpless. Its not a good trajectory. I cant wait for the day it costs a homeowner $2500 to install a toilet or $1000 to replace an outlet.

[myrdale]

This is FALSE. The rule did not mandate EVs.

https://www.moreno.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TFA-One-Pager-February-24.pdf

disneysteve, according to this link, you're wrong.

[myrdale]

Just think, you wouldn't have had to buy a catalytic converter nor would you be paying california gas prices if you had just purchased an EV!

Or we could get rid of burdensome regulations that require catalytic converters in the first place!

[disneysteve]

Why would you get a new battery just because it ran dead? You could have went to any auto parts store, or any walmart that has a tires section and they will test your battery for free. I hope you at least had them stick the original battery back in, or that was a waste of money.

The original battery was 5 years old so it dying wasn't a surprise. When the brand new one failed in a day, I went back and had them replace it assuming it was faulty. Once we finally took it to the shop and determined the problem, they also said that the battery that had been installed wasn't the recommended type for the vehicle. They put in a new one and I returned the other one. So we weren't out any money other than for replacing the 5-year-old battery.

[disneysteve]

https://www.moreno.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TFA-One-Pager-February-24.pdf

disneysteve, according to this link, you're wrong.

That link goes to the new proposal which is misinformation. Look up the actual law instead.