Truck Maintenance

[ua_guy]

Transportation Freedom Act, a legislative push aimed at strengthening American auto manufacturing, reducing vehicle costs, and rolling back emissions regulations. It calls for repealing the EPA's tailpipe rule, which mandates that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032. The legislation aims to end California's ability to set its own emissions standards, instead creating a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy. Furthermore, it would revoke California's zero-emission vehicle mandate. Good news. Take my previous 2018 Dodge where if I lived in Arizona I could have paid $150 for an after market catalytic converter. But because California requires OEM or an approved catalytic converter I had to pay $1000 for an approved catalytic converter in addition to the $350 for labor to install it.

Yup, false. Just another dog-whistle.

Just think, you wouldn't have had to buy a catalytic converter nor would you be paying california gas prices if you had just purchased an EV!

[disneysteve]

repealing the EPA's tailpipe rule, which mandates that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032.

This is FALSE. The rule did not mandate EVs.

The rule set an average emissions standard. Manufacturers could meet that standard any way they'd like.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Transportation Freedom Act, a legislative push aimed at strengthening American auto manufacturing, reducing vehicle costs, and rolling back emissions regulations. It calls for repealing the EPA's tailpipe rule, which mandates that 67% of all new cars be electric by 2032. The legislation aims to end California's ability to set its own emissions standards, instead creating a single national standard for emissions and fuel economy. Furthermore, it would revoke California's zero-emission vehicle mandate. Good news. Take my previous 2018 Dodge where if I lived in Arizona I could have paid $150 for an after market catalytic converter. But because California requires OEM or an approved catalytic converter I had to pay $1000 for an approved catalytic converter in addition to the $350 for labor to install it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The verdict: a loose negative battery cable. During the black out last week when it happened I had checked the positive battery connection which was tight but the negative cable is concealed so I couldn't check it. At any rate I'm happy the dealer found the culprit. It had happened another time while driving on the freeway going about 80 and for a split second the entire electric system went dark but immediately came back on which was very concerning. The dealer found a DTC code of PO562 which is a low voltage code. There was no charge since it is still under warranty.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Monday at the dealership I have a 9 am appointment but all the problems are gone so I expect them to tell that nothing is wrong and return the car to me. I just want to create a paper trail should I have to contact lemon law attorney. The night all the power went out I was sitting in my car with the dome light on doing work on my laptop not plugged in to anything. This was in between home visits for work. I closed my laptop, turned off the dome light. Then I stepped on my brake to start the car in order to go to my next visit and when I pushed the button to start the car everything went dark. At 10:30 pm I called AAA thinking I would have to tow the car to the dealer. At 12:30 am AAA arrived. The guy asks for my key fob and removes the manual key, inserts it into my driver's side door and turns the key and all the lights come back on. He must have known. Another guy may have just towed the car. I was lucky to get that guy.

[ua_guy]

I can tell you from experience that this is not true in the 2019 Subarus. We had this problem a couple of months ago. Battery died. We got it jumped and took it over to get a new battery. Next day that one was dead. Took it back and had them replace it. Next day that one was dead. Finally went to the shop and they checked it out and discovered that the light at the back inside the hatch had been left on and that's what was draining the battery. It's not that bright of a light and we just hadn't noticed when driving it during the day. We must have accidentally hit the switch when loading some boxes into the back.

Ah, well, GM and Chrysler cars have had this feature for decades

[disneysteve]

If you leave a dome light on, door open, or a 12v accessory plugged in for too long, the car's battery management system will typically shut things off after 20 minutes or so.

I can tell you from experience that this is not true in the 2019 Subarus. We had this problem a couple of months ago. Battery died. We got it jumped and took it over to get a new battery. Next day that one was dead. Took it back and had them replace it. Next day that one was dead. Finally went to the shop and they checked it out and discovered that the light at the back inside the hatch had been left on and that's what was draining the battery. It's not that bright of a light and we just hadn't noticed when driving it during the day. We must have accidentally hit the switch when loading some boxes into the back.

[ua_guy]

Seems like all these modern electronic capabilities of our automobiles are sure causing a lot of problems for the little bit of luxury they add.

I've not tested this theory yet, but I suspect if you left your modern vehicle somewhere such as a remote trailhead for an extended period such as a long backpacking trip there is a strong possibility you could come back to a dead vehicle that won't start?
Does anyone have any insight on this?

In general, a modern vehicle will start right up after being left for up to a couple months.

They have battery protection systems that put electronics to sleep to prolong battery life--things like telematics and other draws. You can't stop a lead acid battery from naturally losing charge over time, however. Nor can the vehicle stop a battery from failing. Modern cars for the last ~35 years all pretty much have basic battery protection systems. If you leave a dome light on, door open, or a 12v accessory plugged in for too long, the car's battery management system will typically shut things off after 20 minutes or so. Newer cars will actually monitor the voltage, so if you're blasting the stereo without a charging source, they will shut down infotainment and other systems and provide a warning message, i.e. battery saver activated.

EV's are a little different. We left ours parked for 2 months and 1 week while we were traveling this winter and it only lost 3% of its charge. It was communicating status via app the whole time, though, and we logged in a couple times to activate the camera system so we could see the inside of the garage (mostly checking on our water system). Other EV's lose a little more or less, but I believe they have extended parking modes that also shut down the electronics.

QMM has described how he leaves one of his proximity fobs zip-tied to the underside of his car. Wouldn't be surprised if this was keeping systems active and energized and prematurely draining the battery. Proximity systems are not designed for this kind of use, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the root cause of the recent troubles.

[disneysteve]

Seems like all these modern electronic capabilities of our automobiles are sure causing a lot of problems for the little bit of luxury they add.

I've not tested this theory yet, but I suspect if you left your modern vehicle somewhere such as a remote trailhead for an extended period such as a long backpacking trip there is a strong possibility you could come back to a dead vehicle that won't start?
Does anyone have any insight on this?

I’d say the big problem here is he bought a Chevy.

[Fishindude77]

Seems like all these modern electronic capabilities of our automobiles are sure causing a lot of problems for the little bit of luxury they add.

I've not tested this theory yet, but I suspect if you left your modern vehicle somewhere such as a remote trailhead for an extended period such as a long backpacking trip there is a strong possibility you could come back to a dead vehicle that won't start?
Does anyone have any insight on this?

[QuarterMillionMan]

A new problem happened. Electrical system completely dark w/no lights on dashboard, no radio, engine did not start. Called AAA for tow. Guy comes uses my manual key inserted in my driver's side door and turns it. Immediately all dashboard lights come on and engine starts, weird. Scheduled an appointment w/dealer for Monday to see what is happening.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The free trial was great. I will have to look into the subscription, thanks for reminding me about that. It could be worth the headache in the future.

[ua_guy]

The day will come when you are out and about and guess what, you cannot find your key FOB. What good is your key FOB at home? Yes, your significant other can deliver your key FOB to you but I hope you're not 150 miles away. Being a single guy, I don't have that option.

If it truly is a proximity key, it could be screwing with the system having it hidden under the car. A Fob is actually a thing, not an acronym. No need to capitalize it

I've actually never lost a set of keys. Locked them in the car once, way before proximity key systems and phone apps. Speaking of which, you said you own a Chevrolet. You probably have access to the MyChevrolet app and connected services (usually comes with a free trial) which allows you to lock/unlock and perform remote functions and monitor location of your car.

[QuarterMillionMan]

The day will come when you are out and about and guess what, you cannot find your key FOB. What good is your key FOB at home? Yes, your significant other can deliver your key FOB to you but I hope you're not 150 miles away. Being a single guy, I don't have that option.

[ua_guy]

If it has to be within a couple feet of the dash / center console I should imagine where he has it hid is sufficiently far away.

That said I am not a fan of this method. Magnets / duct tape / and all the rest, when the day comes you need the spare and find out it is not where you left it because you hit a bump or slammed a door.

Proximity keys are just that. They enable door unlock and other functions within a radius of the vehicle, usually up to about 3' away.