Sudden battery death?

[Captainjerky]

Hey all,
We have a 2018 Limited on the original battery. Last time I had service done the place told me the battery was low and replace it before it got really cold. Makes sense. I bought a new one but had it in the garage for the weekend since I didn’t have a chance to change it.
Yesterday, it started fine for my wife and she drove it to work. Sat 8 hours in 20 degree weather. When she tried to start it, it cranked for 2 seconds or so and then the starter cut out. Tried again, same thing. She FaceTimed me while she did it. A coworker tried to jump start it but they said the battery didn’t take any charge after 20 minutes.
Ran the new battery out, swapped it, and everything is fine.
Every car I’ve ever owned shows a dying battery by progressively slower and harder starts, usually over the course of days or weeks. You know it’s coming. This car just said “no” and cut out the starter.
Is this some sort of feature? Too many gadgets so there’s a voltage cutout and it just denies the attempt? Why not alert the driver somehow? Even my motorcycle gives me a low battery alert on the display if it’s been sitting too long. I drive her car at times too and there was no traditional indication of a dying battery.
Anyone else have a similar story? This car has been sort of a pain in the ass as of late and I won’t be sad to see it go. Frozen door handles, power running boards with a mind of their own, startup lifter rattle, and the hits keep coming.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

[Rob6805]

You are lucky the original battery lasted that long. Make sure you reset the BMS now thst you've installed a new one.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Hey all,
We have a 2018 Limited on the original battery. Last time I had service done the place told me the battery was low and replace it before it got really cold. Makes sense. I bought a new one but had it in the garage for the weekend since I didn’t have a chance to change it.
Yesterday, it started fine for my wife and she drove it to work. Sat 8 hours in 20 degree weather. When she tried to start it, it cranked for 2 seconds or so and then the starter cut out. Tried again, same thing. She FaceTimed me while she did it. A coworker tried to jump start it but they said the battery didn’t take any charge after 20 minutes.
Ran the new battery out, swapped it, and everything is fine.
Every car I’ve ever owned shows a dying battery by progressively slower and harder starts, usually over the course of days or weeks. You know it’s coming. This car just said “no” and cut out the starter.
Is this some sort of feature? Too many gadgets so there’s a voltage cutout and it just denies the attempt? Why not alert the driver somehow? Even my motorcycle gives me a low battery alert on the display if it’s been sitting too long. I drive her car at times too and there was no traditional indication of a dying battery.
Anyone else have a similar story? This car has been sort of a pain in the ass as of late and I won’t be sad to see it go. Frozen door handles, power running boards with a mind of their own, startup lifter rattle, and the hits keep coming.

Thanks,
Ryan

Modern vehicle batteries die quickly, often without warning.

You were warned by the service facility the battery was in need of replacement.

I proactively replace my car batteries when they reach 3-4 years of age, depending on the upcoming weather (I live in the Midwest with cold winters). I don’t like being stranded, or having my wife stranded, in a dark parking lot somewhere.

Next time, replace the battery when testing indicates it is wearing out.

 

[Captainjerky]

Modern vehicle batteries die quickly, often without warning.

You were warned by the service facility the battery was in need of replacement.

I proactively replace my car batteries when they reach 3-4 years of age, depending on the upcoming weather (I live in the Midwest with cold winters). I don’t like being stranded, or having my wife stranded, in a dark parking lot somewhere.

Next time, replace the battery when testing indicates it is wearing out.

Wow, thanks for the patronizing reply with zero helpful content. You must be fun at parties.

 

[SyndicateZ]

I wouldnt mind my wife being stranded in a dark parking lot miles away. More me time and a quiet house.

 

[99WhiteC5Coupe]

Wow, thanks for the patronizing reply with zero helpful content. You must be fun at parties.

You had a six-year old vehicle battery and were told that it was time to replace it.

It failed and left your wife stranded.

I’d be embarrassed to tell others that I knew the battery needed replacing, but lt my wife drive the vehicle anyway -which resulted in her being stranded.

Good luck on your search for information on why a six-year old vehicle battery died, especially after testing showed it was marginal.

 

[Captainjerky]

Like I said, you provided zero helpful information, you self important, condescending dick. I already admitted my mistake and was asking this community of enthusiasts about the technical details of why this vehicle was behaving this way in an attempt to learn more about my car.
Internet tough guy strikes again. I am so humbled by your awesomeness. You must be the smartest and most amazing person you know.

 

[whtbronco]

Actually 99WhiteC5Coupe is pretty darn well informed and frequently offers good advice. He's not being rude or condescending.

Your experience is very common on vehicles in the last 20yrs or so. Such has been my experience at least. They just provide very little warning before the battery can no longer provide enough power to start. Most people notice nothing until it won't start, where as 30yrs ago you knew for a week it was slower to turn over. The older engines also did not start as easily or as fast as modern engines do.

Now days a failing battery in my opinion is an urgent matter or stop driving the vehicle until it's replaced. As you noted there is far too much electronic crap on these vehicles.

 

[LegalBrief]

Boys boys be kind…

New battery needs to be paired to vehicle (BMS). To extend battery life turn off approach lighting, power steps, proximity detection in cold weather

 

[sjwhiteley]

Boys boys be kind…

New battery needs to be paired to vehicle (BMS). To extend battery life turn off approach lighting, power steps, proximity detection in cold weather

I have a 2019, and while the battery seems fine (had zero issues) as noted by the OP, it simply ‘stopped working’. So how is a battery pairing performed?

 

[2018ExpyPlatinum]

@Captainjerky ....no need to call people out. @99WhiteC5Coupe has good advise most of the time, is very helpful.

As far as batteries, as others have said, these new cars suck batteries fast, plus batteries don't last as long as they used to. Being in Wis, you have even bigger issues with the winter. Mine is the original battery too. No issues with starting, but mine is in a climate controlled garage. My wife is on her third battery (2015), but hers goes to work, sits out in the heat, so her batteries go faster. We only noticed about 3 days earlier it was a bit harder to start. She went and got a new one on the way to work. I will say, it seems odd to get NO notice, but there's a lot of consumers sucking down that power at start up.

 

[Yupster Dog]

Like I said, you provided zero helpful information, you self important, condescending dick. I already admitted my mistake and was asking this community of enthusiasts about the technical details of why this vehicle was behaving this way in an attempt to learn more about my car.
Internet tough guy strikes again. I am so humbled by your awesomeness. You must be the smartest and most amazing person you know.

There are many threads on battery management on this forum.

Since you don't post well with others, maybe you should just do the work yourself and do a search. You will be able to find all the info you are looking for.

For all future posts please refrain from being the condescending dick that you like to call others.

 

[VCFP153]

Like I said, you provided zero helpful information, you self important, condescending dick. I already admitted my mistake and was asking this community of enthusiasts about the technical details of why this vehicle was behaving this way in an attempt to learn more about my car.
Internet tough guy strikes again. I am so humbled by your awesomeness. You must be the smartest and most amazing person you know.

Actually, the only one here who's truly awesome is yours truly but I digress...

Keep in mind that it was only your car that's a 2018, the battery itself may have been a 2017 or even a 2016. Who is to say how long that battery sat on the shelf before it was put into a vehicle in the first place? And then who is to say how many times some genius at the dealership left something on and they had to jump it just get it to start? It is not impossible, therefore, that the battery already had some scars even when it was "brand new".

And yes, they can fail pretty much in one shot. Once a cell goes bad, the rest of them are useless, too. That's why it was not taking a charge. I would say 5 years is a good rule of thumb as far as replacement goes. Anything beyond that, you're on borrowed time.

I trust you remain humbled.

 

[SyndicateZ]

I replaced the original battery of my 2019 back in February 2024. The moment my door handle sensors (touch to unlock) stopped working I knew it was time to change the battery.

Battery was swapped out and BMS reset and the door sensors magically worked again

 

[Fastcar]

Like I said, you provided zero helpful information, you self important, condescending dick. I already admitted my mistake and was asking this community of enthusiasts about the technical details of why this vehicle was behaving this way in an attempt to learn more about my car.
Internet tough guy strikes again. I am so humbled by your awesomeness. You must be the smartest and most amazing person you know.

I'm feeling like a proctologist reading this bs.

 

[lobsenza]

I put each of my car batteries on a trickle charger overnight about once per month. Greatly extends battery life. One way to tell the condition of the battery is whether the auto stop start works. If it never works, it could be an indication of a weaker battery.

 

[kep5niner]

LT Jerky,

Lighten up Francis. It seems the error of your ways have been clearly identified. And the solutions have been articulated as well. Re-cage your presence here in the community.

COL K

 

[GlennSullivan]

Wow, thanks for the patronizing reply with zero helpful content. You must be fun at parties.

I don't see where C5WhiteCoupe was patronizing. If you read his post, he is just matter of factly providing good information regarding newer batteries, which differ from ones manufactured even in the recent past. I, myself have experienced 3 battery failures on my 2 expeditions in recent years - 2 of which with little or no warning, and the 3rd less than 2 years old.

If you search batteries on here you will see there are a few threads discussing batteries in new vehicles not lasting nearly as long.

 

[JKBarnett]

It is awesome if a battery in a newer vehicle lasts more than 3 years. Modern cars have computer chips and monitoring devices and sensors and the electronic start/stops all over them and they draw a lot of combined power. I have had several batteries completely die between two cranks. I would say anytime you have some electrical glitch immediately get the battery tested.

 

[VBreithaupt]

I have had similar experience with battery dying with little warning. Seems to happen more in cold seasons. Some times these EXPY will let you know by little features not working ( system shuts them down) such as door touch locks and other things. With how much these trucks rely on the battery, a switch at 4-5 years regardless of status should be done. We celebrate that we got more for our money when the battery is able to reach 5-6 years but there is to much that can go hay wire or start to malfunction that it just creates more work trying to diagnosis a problem. Costco has good price on interstate batteries. If you purchase with Costco CC they give you better warranty. Any other recommendations for batteries????