[DaveLZ]

My 2019 CR-V battery died at the airport after sitting there for 4 days. It was Chicago in winter but the temps weren't too dramatic. The CR-V had less than 1000 miles on it. Got a jump and drove 40 minutes to drop it off at the dealer for analysis. Couldn't find anything. Provided me with two graphs. one was 40% charge of battery upon arrival and the other showed 100% after fully charging the battery. They told me they checked the alternator and it was ok. So battery ok and alternator ok. So everything pointed to operator error. Although there's a first time for everything, I don't believe I left anything on when I exited the car. Like making sure you shut the oven or the iron off when you leave the house for a long trip.....you are extra cautious and make sure everything is off.

The dealer had no explanation other than to say the new vehicles have a lot of electronics on them...and left me with basically..."if it happens again, let us know."

I see that others had similar issues and another forum member also mentioned a software fix.

Looking for opinions on the following:

1) has anyone received confirmation that Honda has recognized this as a problem?

2) I read not to use the ECON button as the battery doesn't charge all that well when used in cold weather.

3) To prevent from getting stuck again I would like to buy a portable battery car jumper. Does anyone know which is a good one to buy for this car or will any of them work?

4) The battery looks tiny to me, doesn't quite fill the holder and is 410 CCA which seems quite low for Chicago winters. Did Honda put too small a battery in this car?

5) After a 40 minute mostiy highway drive after the jump start, the battery was only 40% charged. Does that sound normal only 40%? Once it was jump started,
pretty much all of the cabin electronics were shut down due to the dead battery so its not like there was much battery draw that I was creating.....

Anyway, if anyone has any wisdom to share...would be much appreciated!

 

[Carbuff2]

Since the purpose of your post was to ask questions, it was moved to the Gen5 area for response.

 

[robbyg]

My 2019 CR-V battery died at the airport after sitting there for 4 days. It was Chicago in winter but the temps weren't too dramatic. The CR-V had less than 1000 miles on it. Got a jump and drove 40 minutes to drop it off at the dealer for analysis. Couldn't find anything. Provided me with two graphs. one was 40% charge of battery upon arrival and the other showed 100% after fully charging the battery. They told me they checked the alternator and it was ok. So battery ok and alternator ok. So everything pointed to operator error. Although there's a first time for everything, I don't believe I left anything on when I exited the car. Like making sure you shut the oven or the iron off when you leave the house for a long trip.....you are extra cautious and make sure everything is off.

The dealer had no explanation other than to say the new vehicles have a lot of electronics on them...and left me with basically..."if it happens again, let us know."

Yeah that's true, one time is not enough to say for certain you have an issue. Batteries do die, maybe a light was left on and you did not realize. The 2019 would already have the patch for the battery drain issue.

I see that others had similar issues and another forum member also mentioned a software fix.

Yes older 2017 models and I think a few of the 2018's.

Looking for opinions on the following:

1) has anyone received confirmation that Honda has recognized this as a problem?

See above remark, I have not seen it listed as a problem with the 2019's. They would already have the patch.

2) I read not to use the ECON button as the battery doesn't charge all that well when used in cold weather.

I know it messes with the AC, I am not sure about the alternator. It does slow down the RPM so yes I guess it would charge a little slower

3) To prevent from getting stuck again I would like to buy a portable battery car jumper. Does anyone know which is a good one to buy for this car or will any of them work?

This is the one I got. Works great and I only need to recharge it about once every 3-4 months.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZ8BUY3/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4) The battery looks tiny to me, doesn't quite fill the holder and is 410 CCA which seems quite low for Chicago winters. Did Honda put too small a battery in this car?

You never get a really good battery in a vehicle in this price range, same with the tires.
Yes it could use a bigger battery, I will replace mine with a larger one when it finally dies.

5) After a 40 minute mostly highway drive after the jump start, the battery was only 40% charged. Does that sound normal only 40%? Once it was jump started,
pretty much all of the cabin electronics were shut down due to the dead battery so its not like there was much battery draw that I was creating.....

Sounds possible to me.


Rob

 

[DaveLZ]

Rob,
Thanks for your response!
Dave LZ

 

[robbyg]

No problem Dave. I hope everything stays good.

Rob

 

[fishycomics]

Yes we leave the house but yet to pull the television out... that said Did you set the E-brake?

 

[Net1]

Bob, how many times your battery went down, if I may ask?
Thx

 

[DaveLZ]

just the one time. Just curious why do you ask how many?

 

[DaveLZ]

sorry, you were asking Bob/Rob I believe

 

[Brian1970]

When my 2017's battery died after two days, my Honda service guy told me he did a software update for a parasitic battery drain. The battery goes from 13v to 11.5v in less than two days. Even after the "fix". The person I talked to at American Honda was not aware of a software update for this particular problem. Turns out the tailgate didn't close all the way because of the accident the car was in before I bought it. Did I mention that this was a certified pre owned car that they swore was never in an accident. My advice to you would be to have a reputable third party mechanic look at it.

 

[JB in AZ]

When my 2017's battery died after two days, my Honda service guy told me he did a software update for a parasitic battery drain. The battery goes from 13v to 11.5v in less than two days. Even after the "fix". The person I talked to at American Honda was not aware of a software update for this particular problem. Turns out the tailgate didn't close all the way because of the accident the car was in before I bought it. Did I mention that this was a certified pre owned car that they swore was never in an accident. My advice to you would be to have a reputable third party mechanic look at it.

WOW! I hope you are getting some money back from the dealer you bought it from for the upcharge they apply for the CPO status, as well as diminished value because of the prior accident..

 

[scargoz]

Similar ... 25 months old 2019 EX-L.
Showing 7v.
We have been using it a lot less last two months.
Would not start, clicks, flashes of various lights on dash.
Could not release brake - so could not push it out of garage to jump.
Wah.
Interstate 51R from the local Costco ... $75.

So -- two years!!??

Our 2014 Pilot has failed to start at battery life (Honda, or replacement)
of 3 years, we drive that every day. Will just add it to the calendar ...

Just mentioning to commiserate.

 

[lmaxim]

under warranty - take it to the dealer.
mine was replaced 1 month less than 3 yrs of usage.

 

[BBLee]

replaced mine just after 3 years.... then after a few months I started getting a low battery alert. I have a dash cam hard wired. So I told my wife what about just turning off the headlights when parked, don't use the auto setting, after she started doing that, no more low battery alert. No big deal for us. We are used to manually turning on/off the headlights anyways.... and if we forget, the daylight driving lights is on all the time when driving, just keep in mind that the instrument cluster will be dark if you forget to turn it on... that's your que that you forgot.

 

[scargoz]

under warranty - take it to the dealer.
mine was replaced 1 month less than 3 yrs of usage.

The options were ...
Jump - cables won't reach, can't release brake.
Find neighbor w/portable device - found charger, after 20 min would not start/release brake.
Find neighbor and we can daisy chain cables! Next time ... just thought of that.
AAA+ - wait unknown time for ...? Jump, and buy one of their batteries.
Guessing jump might have worked, even though charger did not.
Once started need a new battery anyway.
To dealer without appointment, 18 min each way - but, Sunday.
Costco - one mile, and they had in stock, took other car to go get.

Actually priced more ... $76.99 plus tax just under $82, and one hour.

Will make dealer appointment for a look over .... better read up on
the warranty...

 

[tomsch63]

My battery on my 2017 lasted for exactly three years and then completely died. I do have a charger but I opted to just go to the Honda dealer in my wife's SUV and pick up a new one. The parts manager did say that the Honda replacement battery was far better to the original. Not sure if that's just marketing BS or not but I'll see. I'm 1-2years away from selling the CRV and going back to a truck again.

 

[Carbuff2]

The parts manager did say that the Honda replacement battery was far better to the original.

Don't know about 'far better', but the replacement dealer batteries DO have a higher CCA than original equipment.

 

[lmaxim]

The options were ...
Jump - cables won't reach, can't release brake.
Find neighbor w/portable device - found charger, after 20 min would not start/release brake.
Find neighbor and we can daisy chain cables! Next time ... just thought of that.
AAA+ - wait unknown time for ...? Jump, and buy one of their batteries.
Guessing jump might have worked, even though charger did not.
Once started need a new battery anyway.
To dealer without appointment, 18 min each way - but, Sunday.
Costco - one mile, and they had in stock, took other car to go get.

Actually priced more ... $76.99 plus tax just under $82, and one hour.

Will make dealer appointment for a look over .... better read up on
the warranty...

I had bought a battery and was on my way home after Costco jumpstarted the CRV. on the way home i called the dealer/serv dept to ask what is the estimate of battery life. he looked up my records and said to bring it right in and they will cover it. after servicing, returned battery to Costco.