So here’s the situation: I bought a 2022 Limited Explorer two months ago. About two weeks ago, I was driving to work on the freeway (not in 4-wheel drive), and suddenly I get a notification saying “4-wheel drive fault, service.” Then, random alerts started popping up, but I couldn’t remember them all. It kept beeping and flashing, and then the touchscreen just went off. After a moment, the screen restarted, the check engine light went off, and everything seemed to drive fine (there was no change in how it drove). I couldn’t pull over at that time, so I called the dealership. They told me to bring it in for diagnostics. They ran the tests, checked the battery, and couldn’t find anything wrong, except for some codes that had been showing up since I drove it off the lot. Most of the codes were about battery voltage issues. They reset the codes and told me to keep driving it, bringing it back if it happened again. It drove fine the next day with no warnings, but the day after that, I went to start the car, and it wouldn’t start. I jumpstarted it, and it ran fine, but I had to jumpstart it every time I turned it off. The dealer recommended replacing the battery. So, I took it in, and they changed the battery. Since then, it’s been driving perfectly fine. I’m just wondering… has anyone else had this happen? Could it really just be the battery, and changing it solved the problem? I’m still a little nervous every time I get in the car, thinking something else might go wrong.
Yeah, that’s actually pretty common. Your car’s computer forgot the battery’s status because the battery was going bad. Cars nowadays have computerized battery management systems to make sure the electrical use is optimized. If the battery starts to fail, weird things like error messages and electrical issues can happen. For example, the car might disable things like the radio or interior lights to save power. They replaced the battery, and that told the car that it has a new one. That’s probably all it was. I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s just the way modern cars are. The batteries they use today don’t last as long as older ones.
@Glenn
Thank you! The dealership had told me that the battery tested fine when I first took it in a couple of days before… but when my car wouldn’t start that morning, I called them, and they said the battery was at 68%. I stopped by AutoZone to get it checked, and the guy tested the battery before I even started my car. He said it showed 100%, but once I started the car, it immediately showed ‘replace battery’ on their reader. I guess I just needed some peace of mind that the battery really was causing all those warnings and alerts. The battery was 2 years old but had 67,000 miles on it.
My 2013 XLT Explorer does the same thing when the battery starts going bad. The AWD system shuts off, and the infotainment system goes into power saver mode. I’ve gone through this three times since I got it. Honestly, now I’m just used to it after the second time!
@Storm
That makes me feel a little better… I probably won’t feel fully at ease until I get the guts to call the dealership and see if my car has been throwing codes again. They showed me the codes it had been throwing, and they were happening almost every day for a month and a half after I bought the car. Most of them had to do with voltage problems. I’m a little scared to call and find out if it’s still throwing codes because if it is, then the problem might not just be the battery, and there could be something else going on.
I kind of wish the battery would’ve lasted another year, but hey, I’m glad your car’s working now!
Glenn said:
I kind of wish the battery would’ve lasted another year, but hey, I’m glad your car’s working now!
Believe me, I really wish it would’ve lasted longer than a month and a half before it freaked me out, making me think I was going to have to spend a lot of money fixing some electrical issue or something. I’m just really hoping it was only the battery causing all those issues. Your comment made me feel better, knowing that it’s very possible it was just the battery.
With modern cars, especially the last decade or so, when the battery starts failing, it causes all sorts of weird electronic problems. You get phantom errors, and the dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree. Also, if you get a check engine light with a code, sometimes it’s not even what the code says. It could be something else that triggered the code. It’s not always as simple as reading the code, fixing that, and moving on. Just keep that in mind for the future. But enjoy your ride!
@Glenn
Thanks for that reassurance… I really appreciate it! My husband drives long-haul and is only home maybe one week every two months. So, we bought this car to have something reliable, since I’m always driving—whether it’s to work, to the kids’ schools, or other functions, like church or Bible study. Everything is about a 40-minute drive, so we practically live in my car. Now, I feel like I can actually enjoy it again, knowing it was just the battery. Thanks again!