CAR completely DEAD ?

[mjoshi]

Did this happen to anyone else. Because of all this Covid-19 things I’ve not used my car much in last couple of weeks. It’s been sitting idle most of time. Last week I took it out and it felt like engine was stalling, it felt more like low battery and all sorts of system alerts blinking.
After driving for like 5-10 miles thing seemed to be okay, I put it back in driveway after two days I started car yesterday and it was battery dead, had to jumpstart the car. Took for a drive went around 10 miles and came back and parked car.
Today morning again took car out - it started file but was showing message of Service Transmission when I started the car.
Went and stopped at first set of lights around 2 miles from home, it felt like car literally restarted on its own - it was not ASS but more like someone turned car off by pushing power button and then pushed it again. Even the radio restarted and it showed the entry screen of select user. I drove further down to another mile and to next set of lights. And stopped at RED light. Car literally died within 30 seconds, everything shut-off on its own. No response trying to push the START stop button.
It happens right at the lights, I turned ON blinkers and called OnStar, got Police dispatch as car was on the road and wont move. Waited for toe to come in so I can take it to dealership, called my son to get next set of keys - assuming this one was low on battery and it might have problem turning car back on.
After half hour of waiting for tow truck I tried to PUSH power button and all of sudden CAR restarted. Was able to drive it although it felt bit weird in its overall drive, not as smooth as normal.
Tow truck arrived, I told him that car restarted and hence don’t need his help, drove to dealership and since its Saturday, they said to come back on Monday.
Anyone else had similar issue with their TourX where it literally died and then after half hour restarted ?
Also how long you can keep car sitting in driveway without driving ? Especially if you are living in colder climate.

 

[JoeBlog]

The issue you’re having is due to a battery that got discharged below it’s performance threshold. In the TourX, it seems to like around 13.5 volts at a minimum. If your battery got so low it lost all your settings, there’s a good chance it’s not strong enough to sustain minimum voltage. Driving it really won’t cure the problem; you may need a replacement battery.

 

[MelsRegal]

You need to use a battery tender if you continue to drive it infrequently. Driving 10 miles will not recharge the battery.

 

[Wlepse]

You need to use a battery tender if you continue to drive it infrequently. Driving 10 miles will not recharge the battery.

I call shenanigans on this. Personally I think there are common electrical problems with these cars, there is some sort of parasitic draw that makes it difficult for the charging system to keep up. So far this is the only vehicle I have owned that has been dead several mornings. In contrast, I have an old MDX better that from December to March was only used on weekends to drive 5 miles to the ski area and back. Since closure it hasn't moved until yesterday when I had to get firewood at my sister's. No issues with starting, unlike the Buick which when I was having trouble was being driven an hour each way. Hell, even my nearly 20yo Audi was more reliable at starting than the Buick.

 

[HotZ28]

If a car sits on a dealer parking lot for several month's, the battery will be dead and the life of the battery comprised. Have you had the battery load tested?

 

[Wlepse]

I agree with getting the car tested. But I would push them to do more than load testing. My battery was replaced and problems still persist. At least one person here had a bad harness that was compromised by a screw, it may be that like the AC line issue there are locations where the electrical harness is too close to something causing intermittent problems.

 

[HotZ28]

I hope the dealer can find the problem. Do not allow them to postpone service, or anything but a total solution and explanation of the source of the battery drain! Watch out for the BS service advisor reply's!!

 

[IamNabil]

I call shenanigans on this. Personally I think there are common electrical problems with these cars, there is some sort of parasitic draw that makes it difficult for the charging system to keep up. So far this is the only vehicle I have owned that has been dead several mornings. In contrast, I have an old MDX better that from December to March was only used on weekends to drive 5 miles to the ski area and back. Since closure it hasn't moved until yesterday when I had to get firewood at my sister's. No issues with starting, unlike the Buick which when I was having trouble was being driven an hour each way. Hell, even my nearly 20yo Audi was more reliable at starting than the Buick.

Of course there is parasitic draw. You have a cell phone running in your car all of the time. That is how you can start your car from the mobile app. Your MDX doesn’t have anything like this to draw on the battery.

 

[Wlepse]

Sure but a car that can't last a week is useless. You couldn't safely park these at an airport for vacation and know it will start when you return. Besides... that cell connection is completely useless. Each time my car died it wasn't until after I got it jump started tat OnStar alerted me to the low battery, trans, engine codes etc. So if that thing is on all the time it is a complete waste since the alert you may think you have you don't.

 

[D2R]

Mine has been parked in my garage majority of the time (That is why its odometer has yet to get into 4 digits yet). I drive about 10 miles at most in between and then it is the garage queen for about a month. So far, it has not given me any issues.
If your one dies in a week, there is something wrong with either the battery or the charging system.

 

[garbageguy]

Lots of unknowns in the world, increasing all the time. Maybe it's part of a trade-off for having so many conveniences.
Car electrical systems, in this light, are part of a reason I'm trying leasing.

But to the point here, and my related TourX experience. My TourX has been sitting for about a week at a time lately, only thing I noticed last time was ASS took a while to resume working. Maybe that is an indication of electrical draw and associated complications that vary from TourX to TourX.

.Every time I think about buying out this lease, I hear more of this, and think - nope. Too bad, I really like this car.

 

[PrincipalDan]

This reminds me that I should try to start the school's Jeep Cherokee that has been sitting for about a month. Its used by the parent liaison and for office errand running for the secretaries. After summer break that battery was deader than a door nail.

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

Unfortunately unless more people report it, it's a inconvenience to some owners and enough owners report it then it's a problem. GM had VCIM issues and replacement before as the system didn't go into the "sleep mode" that was only on one vendor supplied unit. The variable on vehicles and environment is also something to note, external RFI and WiFi can also play havoc on electronics so something may occur at one location like home, but no evidence of it at dealer.

 

[mjoshi]

One more thing that I've noticed, the battery info on mine says 14.8 volt, is it same in others too ? It drops from time to time to 14.7 volt.

 

[Wlepse]

I haven't checked in a while since "knock on wood" it has been starting lately, but at times when I was having issues it would be very unstable. Sometimes reading over 15V other times in the 12's. All during the same drive and not always consistent, like more accessories on>lower voltage or higher rpm> higher voltage.

 

[mjoshi]

I haven't checked in a while since "knock on wood" it has been starting lately, but at times when I was having issues it would be very unstable. Sometimes reading over 15V other times in the 12's. All during the same drive and not always consistent, like more accessories on>lower voltage or higher rpm> higher voltage.

Here is what I did, turn OFF radio, Turn OFF climate control, so basically no heat or AC running, Turn OFF headlights. And then just driving around. And still I'm seeing it fluctuations between 14.8 and 14.7

 

[FavaBean]

One more thing that I've noticed, the battery info on mine says 14.8 volt, is it same in others too ? It drops from time to time to 14.7 volt.

You may want to glance through the below thread:

Battery died this morning

I know there have been several threads about the batteries having issues and most, including myself assumed this was due to sitting on the lot so long. The difference is mine was replaced a few months ago and is now dead again. When it got replaced my ASS started working again but only for a...

buickforums.com

 

[MelsRegal]

Your seeing 14.6 to 14.7 because the battery is not fully charged. A maintenance charge on a fully charged battery will be around 13+ volts. I've been using a tender to maintain full charge and the 13+ is what I see when starting and driving the car.

 

[Sunbeam]

Yep, the charging voltage should drop to 13.x V.

If you have continuously 14.5+ V charge, the battery is around 50 % and half dead. In addition, permanent charging above 14.4 V reduces the service life furthermore. I think a new one should fix the issue.

 

[Wlepse]

Mine has been replaced and the problems persist, so I would recommend you ask them to do more than just a battery test.