2012 Auto Headlight Depleting Battery??

[lionellines]

The only line item I see in the 12 Manual states: Do not leave the lights on with the car off; it will discharge the battery. By that statement, they meant turned on with the car off.(page 109)

The Auto Light feature makes no such statements (page 110):
Attachment 6797

lionellines said that this was over night; which is why I doubt parasitic drain. if the Battery is being depleted over night; you might want to have the Dealer run some tests on your battery. It is possible that one or more of the cells internally are shorted. Beyond a Battery issue; if you have not added anything that would cause this amount of drain, I'm at a loss. Parasitic drain is a very small constant draw of power and is also known as Vampire power draw. Think about indicator lights on power strips.... even with everything turned off; there is still a power draw for the small LED indicator. Vampire power would not drain the Battery overnight. Are you sure it was drained? Did you need to jump the car to start it? How often have people left the ceiling lights on in a car and been fine the next day starting the car!?! and for a brand new car; it's even less of an issue.....

Tuk...good questions. 1). It happened over night. 2). the car would not start and required a jump (AAA). 3). the AAA guy tested the battery & found it at 25% for cranking--not enough to turn the starter. 4). the cells are apparently OK according to his test. 5). I'm going to have the dealer take a look--good idea, BTW... thanks. 6). I've asked my wife to click the key TWICE when she gets out so she hears the horn...the horn won't sound if a door is ajar. 7). I more and more suspect that the reason was the tail-gate left ajar, the light on, and the battery putting out the current over night . 8). Lights are now set to manual--at least for the time being. 9). I better be quiet about #7 before I get myself in trouble.

THANKS, gents! Very helpful!

[fritzbrown1]

Hi, I own a 2012 CR-V and just ran into a dead battery problem. I have had my wonderful CR-V for 3 months. I park in an indoor garage at work and garage the car at home. I use the "Auto" headlight feature. I finally decided to program my cell to the hands free phone link with my CR-V. I put the key in and turned to the on position (red lights on but the engine was not running). In hindsight I should have tried the accessory position instead. I was programming the phone for about 15 minutes when the battery "died". The windows would not roll up and the car would not start. I was in my garage so the headlights were also on. I know, it was a dumb move. I took my battery tender off my motorcycle and charged the CR-V battery all night. All is good now and she starts just fine. Would the drain on the battery for 15-20 minutes kill a new battery? I have since moved the headlights to off position. I never really liked having the lights stay on 60 seconds when the engine was not running anyway. Any thoughts? This also happened to my 2005 Corvette (I left the dome light on all night). After charging the battery, it lasted five years before needing replaced.

[DLH2]

My new 2012 CRV turned over slowly when starting from the day one. Three times in the mornings it would not start and I had to charge the battery a little bit to get it started. Last time I disconnected the battery and charged it all day with my chargers. It never came up to full charge and the green indicator light on the battery never came on signifying a fully charged battery. I checked everything and monitored the battery voltage and concluded it was a defective battery. Took it to the dealer today and, guess what, charging system was fine, but the battery was defective. The service guy told me that's NOT an uncommon problem these days with OEM batteries.

[Jason5000]

Bought our 2012 CRV in April. Just got the recall for the door latches. Before leaving the dealership Thursday for the recall, the battery was dead. They replaced it saying it was a bad cell. Here we are Sunday... and our battery is dead again. No towing, just normal driving (7000 miles, mostly rural/highway) but our auto lights were left on (like we've been doing since April).

I'm about to create a new thread about the latch recall thread causing battery issues.

First time Honda buyer and I'm hoping this gets fixed. Telling me the doors might fly open on the highway (on the phone from the service employee) and then going in (now twice including tomorrow) with battery issues, really pisses me off. I'm 41 and have never had this many issues with a new car. Makes me wish I hadn't paid cash for this bucket of bolts so I could at least quit making payments and have them come take it. I've never attempted a lemon law complaint in Texas, but I'm already feeling "mediation" means it won't be a quick process.

I'll post again in a few weeks the final results. Wish me luck.

[Jason5000]

On our 3rd battery, seems to be working now.

Unfortunately... our back hatch (as of today) won't unlock sometimes. All doors will, but not the back hatch. Noticed another owner having this issue too on another thread.

[russel]

December 23rd, and my 2012 CR-V Won't start. Noticed a few time that it seemed to turn over rather slow suspected that the battery may not last. Well I've read this thread and would just say Honda doesn't make (or use) a very good battery. I have many friends who have had to replace their battery long before it should be necessary to do so.
Called Honda dealer and he said just get it replaced and bring the bill. that's good new as I can get something better than a Honda battery.

[genep]

Sounds like a bad battery.

[Carbuff2]

Sounds like a bad battery.

Remember, at dealerships, cars are often moved around the lot frequently. This strains the battery (engines not running long enough to re-charge) and could contribute to the early battery demise that owners of ALL new cars often experience.

+++++++


Regards "cheapness" of new car batteries: smaller batteries are often fitted to reduce weight (and add to MPG ratings). I was surprised at how much heavier the Group 24 battery fitted to our Acura was, compared to the Group 51R battery fitted into our CR-V. And, the Group 151R fitted to the Fit is smaller yet!

[PointFive]

Honda has a bulletin out about dead batteries caused by the computer. Search this site for "dead battery" and read the bulletin attached to a very helpful reply. It applies to certain VIN numbers of 2012 CRVs and Civics. It may just be a coincidence that the "Auto" feature is being blamed for the dead battery.

[1woodworker]

I just joined this group to ask a question about this topic. Twice in the last six weeks, the battery on my 2012 hasn't had enough power to turn the engine over, once sitting overnight and once after sitting for 4 days. I had to have a jump start both times. I am assuming the battery is bad but I'm an hour from my dealer so haven't contacted them yet. It sounds like I need to have them check the battery! The last five cars I've owned (not Honda's) have all had automatic headlights and I've always left them in the auto position so I'm doing the same with this CR-V. I can't believe this could be causing the problem. Dean