Hi Scotty,
I have a newer 2020 Honda CR-V. I wish I knew you before buying the vehicle, but here I am. The "Idle Stop" does not function. (Feature that shuts off the engine at a stop to save gas and starts up when I press the accelerator) I've had it into the dealer and they have changed the battery on the first trip and it worked again for about two weeks. Second trip they did a fault reset on the electrical system and it never worked. It is in the shop a 3rd time and they are in connect with a engineering team with Honda America. Their fix this time is that I don't drive the vehicle enough as to fully charge the vehicle. I've put 1,800miles since October 2020...not a lot, but I do take it on travels of 36miles once a week highway speeds. They are buying me a Battery Tender, so it can charge fully while it sits. I will say with COVID I do not drive as much as I used to...but this seems like a Alternator problem and not a battery not being charged causing the "Idle Stop" to not engage problem. I appreciate your advice on things I can do to help prove/disprove their diagnoses. I am assuming the battery charger is just cheaper than paying for a new alternator that may be functioning but not at capacity? Too be fair, I plan on not using this feature and shutting it off every time I get in the vehicle. However, I do want it functioning as it was included in the price as a feature. I feel if Honda sells this it should be backed. My dealer is doing their due diligence with their master mechanic, in online region forums, and in contact with Honda America. I also, am in contact with Honda America and they seem to be escalating to their engineering teams. I figure I can't be the only one with this issue or they wouldn't have a whole engineering team trying to disprove fixes and blame my driving habits. What do you think? {black}:idontknow:
You can have your alternator tested for free at any auto parts store or do it yourself with a voltmeter.
If your battery is giving out 14 - 14.5 Volts with the engine running, your alternator is working.
36 miles/week really is nothing and sitting is the worst thing for a vehicle. I would check the alternator but in all likelihood it really is you are not driving it enough. You need to make sure it gets up to temp to burn off any condensation in the engine and exhaust as well.
Thanks for the reply and advice! Any idea how long I need to drive the vehicle to charge the battery? I only average 72miles/wk. (That is low...whoops).
I'll take it own down to AutoZone later today to have them run a alternator check, to verify.
In talking with Honda America earlier today they were aware of a catalytic converter O2 sensor causing a drain on the battery when the car is off. The dealer is going to replace this sensor as well prior to giving the vehicle back. They also mentioned a problem that when the system detects a fault and its in the code to not use Idle Stop, there currently is no way to remove that except for a Electrical Battery Reset. Seems like poor engineering as it it ever fails for any reason and trips that error code it wont ever clear out and the idle stop will still be disabled.
I would say 200 miles or more a week would be ok.
As strange as it may sound, with many modern cars, if you don't drive them enough, the battery won't have a chance to charge.
I had a co-worker who had a similar issue with a BMW. Not necessarily the start stop issue. But rather that the battery kept discharging. She only drove it about 1 mile to work, and 1 mile back home, 5 days a week. That's like 10 miles per week. Maybe a little more on a good week.
The car didn't have enough time to charge the battery.
And that it is similar with both high electronic modern cars and even regular cars. They need to be both driven so the battery will charge (or the start/stop system can charge). The only difference is that high electronic modern cars need to be drive more than your average car.
With that said, should Honda, BMW, and others have engineered their modern cars differently to avoid this problem. Ideally, yes.
Thanks for the reply and advice! Any idea how long I need to drive the vehicle to charge the battery? I ran the math and I am only averaging 72mi/wk at the moment. I figure maybe it's a good excuse to cruise around for awhile more than my 3mi to 10mi runs I'm doing now.
I don't know of there is any set number. During lockdown, I try to take my cars out at least 20-30 minutes straight, every few days, even though they I don't need to go anywhere. (I try to make sure I have somewhere to go, as to not just waste gas, hahaha.).