# Car battery dying while parked awaiting UberaEats pickup



## Stray cat (May 28, 2016)

Last year, I bought a 2015 Honda Civic from the dealership. Car only had 29,000 miles. I think previous owner returned it at end of lease. 

Car now has 71,000 miles on it. I had no electrical issues with it until yesterday. Yesterday, I drove UberEats for 3 or 4 hours in the morning. After lunch, I drove another 3 hours UberEats.

Around 3:45 pm, I accepted a ping for a pickup. Restaurant sent automated text to wait in car pending follow up text to pick up food. I pulled up and parked outside restaurant but no follow up text yet.

I turned off car engine. However, I turned key to “accessory” position to keep up iPhone 8 battery charge plugged into lighter. I also listened to finish of NFL game on car radio. Temperature outside was about 60 F.

After maybe 10-15 minutes wait, car computer system begins flashing me warnings. One warning was regarding tire pressure control system. I got out and checked my tires and they appeared to be fine.

Then, the computer flashed a warning regarding the airbags. However, nothing seemed amiss about the airbags. I think a few other dashboard warning lights began to illuminate.

At some point, I tried to lower the electronic windows but they only went down an inch. I tried to start the car and it wouldn’t turn over.

Last month, one of my jumper cable clips had broken off. I forgot to buy a replacement set. I ended up canceling the pickup and calling a friend to jump start my car.

This morning, car started okay. I took it to AutoZone for free battery test. First guy told me his computer showed my battery was dead but he’s not sure if he tested it correctly. Obviously, it wasn’t dead completely since car still was operational.

I drove to neighboring suburb AutoZone for a second opinion. Guy tested both my car battery and alternator and told me his computer showed they both were good.

I decided to return home rather than drive Uber to give myself and my car a break. I googled my issue but didn’t find much so far.

Can the UberApp and/ car radio on “accessory” mode wear down a car battery to such a low level of not starting after 15-20 minutes?

Would it be preferable to leave car engine running rather than off in accessory mode? I think I read something today that the alternator can bear the electricity burden rather than the car battery when the engine is running.

Thanks for reading.


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## TomTheAnt (Jan 1, 2019)

In a lot of newer vehicles when the battery starts to die, they will exhibit all kinds of weird electrical issues, so could very well be your issue.

Does it have original battery in it? If so, you might as well invest the 100 bucks in a new battery with warranty. Life cycle of an automotive battery is about 4 years anyway. In harsher climates (cold/hot) less. Yes, some will get on here saying they're still driving on a 10 year old battery and what ever, so there are exceptions. Not necessarily a good idea to do so if you're depending on your vehicle for your income, but that's a whole 'nother issue.


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## Stevie The magic Unicorn (Apr 3, 2018)

I'd check the date on the battery, probobly needs to be replaced.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Stray cat said:


> Last year, I bought a 2015 Honda Civic from the dealership. Car only had 29,000 miles. I think previous owner returned it at end of lease.
> 
> Car now has 71,000 miles on it. I had no electrical issues with it until yesterday. Yesterday, I drove UberEats for 3 or 4 hours in the morning. After lunch, I drove another 3 hours UberEats.
> 
> ...


A couple points:

Glad you were listening to the Eagles getting beat by the Giants! :thumbup:
Check your terminal connections on your battery. Do you have a lot of green powder where your positive lead connects to the terminal? Could be a loose connection which will give an intermittent problem. If so clean it off with a wire brush and tighten the connection. If the battery is now testing good that could be the issue.
Doing food delivery can be rough on a car battery with all the shutting off and turning on your engine. A lot of demand is put on your battery cranking amps which will expose a bad cell.
Based on how you described the problem and the fact it now tests good I would bet on a loose connection. Wiggle it and see if it moves. If you can turn it that's no good and needs to be tightened.


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## KevinJohnson (Mar 23, 2020)

Agree with Tom. Get a new battery, yours is likely 5 years old. 

The mileage on the car is not relevant. Batteries wear with time. Temperature extremes cause them to wear out.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

TomTheAnt said:


> they will exhibit all kinds of weird electrical issues,


got that right. My Acura 2016 battery died (early). Every single LED light lit up like xmas (no clicking). **** the computer bit the dust. Nope, just battery died way too early. :frown:


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

My guess - extra curricular fancy glitzy non important stuff draining your battery when it is sleeping &#128521;



SHalester said:


> got that right. My Acura 2016 battery died (early). Every single LED light lit up like xmas (no clicking). thought the computer bit the dust. Nope, just battery died way too early. :frown:


Older MDX's have a Bluetooth battery drainage issue &#128539;


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## NicFit (Jan 18, 2020)

Time and mileage will wear a battery, had to replace mine in a 2018 at ~54k miles. If you are having issues with accessory mode only after 15 minutes then your battery is going. It’ll work sometimes, need a jump sometimes. Like other have said double check that nothing came loose and if everything is tight buy a new battery. You’ll end up with less headache and since you depend on this car to make money you don’t need it flaking on you for a simple fix


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## Stray cat (May 28, 2016)

Stray cat said:


> My guess - extra curricular fancy glitzy non important stuff draining your battery when it is sleeping &#128521;





mbd said:


> Older MDX's have a Bluetooth battery drainage issue &#128539;


I'm old school. I don't use Bluetooth or "fancy/ glitzy non-important stuff" in the car.


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## Immoralized (Nov 7, 2017)

Stray cat said:


> Last year, I bought a 2015 Honda Civic from the dealership. Car only had 29,000 miles. I think previous owner returned it at end of lease.
> 
> Car now has 71,000 miles on it. I had no electrical issues with it until yesterday. Yesterday, I drove UberEats for 3 or 4 hours in the morning. After lunch, I drove another 3 hours UberEats.
> 
> ...


You most likely got the original battery that came with the car so it might start the car but it has degraded over the years and miles to a point where it charge holding capacity is reaching it end of life. Like everyone else have said. It puts a lot more stress on your alternator as well and if that dies then you can expect to pay a lot more then a battery replacement with the parts and labor.

Typically a battery will pretty much drain to a point where it won't be able to start a car in 30-60 minutes. Idling for a period will not charge the battery as the rpm is too low but it'll slow down the draw and the battery only really charges when the car is in motion with higher rpm.

Battery buying tip. Get the highest CCA capacity you can for the car and if you can get something that says high performance or 4x4 rated with the latter been more heavy duty. You probably won't need to change that for a very long time.


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## Monkeyman4394 (Jun 27, 2020)

Had you jumped it at any time prior to this? I accidentally left my keys in my bike for an hour. Battery died. I put it on the tender and put it back in my bike the next morning. This is arguably the most advanced bike on the planet, and I’m not sure whether that had anything to do with this, as the demands on the battery are pretty intense. I run to the store and I see my fuel gauge drop to empty. It immediately comes back up to 3/4 and drops back to empty. Idle slows to nearly stalled and comes back up to normal. Starts throwing weird errors at me. I run inside the store, come back out, and it won’t start. Battery is toast.


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## mbd (Aug 27, 2018)

Stray cat said:


> I'm old school. I don't use Bluetooth or "fancy/ glitzy non-important stuff" in the car.


I had a part MDX on Turo and it was draining the battery &#128539; Took two battery swaps to figure it out . Sold the MDX for a loss &#128539; 50% was mine.


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## Stray cat (May 28, 2016)

Monkeyman4394 said:


> Had you jumped it at any time prior to this? I accidentally left my keys in my bike for an hour. Battery died. I put it on the tender and put it back in my bike the next morning. This is arguably the most advanced bike on the planet, and I'm not sure whether that had anything to do with this, as the demands on the battery are pretty intense. I run to the store and I see my fuel gauge drop to empty. It immediately comes back up to 3/4 and drops back to empty. Idle slows to nearly stalled and comes back up to normal. Starts throwing weird errors at me. I run inside the store, come back out, and it won't start. Battery is toast.


That sucks. No, I never needed a jump in this car until this happened. 
Thanks for all your suggestions. I did not notice any green powder residue this morning near the positive battery mount.

The consensus seemed to be toward purchase of a new battery since my car is five years old, including 18 months of delivery driving since my purchase of the car last year. I bought a new car battery this morning. I'm moving this weekend about ten minutes away and didn't want to worry about a recurrence of this issue.


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## _Tron_ (Feb 9, 2020)

Stray cat said:


> Last month, one of my jumper cable clips had broken off. I forgot to buy a replacement set. I ended up canceling the pickup and calling a friend to jump start my car.





Seamus said:


> A couple points:
> 
> Check your terminal connections on your battery. Do you have a lot of green powder where your positive lead connects to the terminal? Could be a loose connection which will give an intermittent problem. If so clean it off with a wire brush and tighten the connection. If the battery is now testing good that could be the issue.
> Doing food delivery can be rough on a car battery with all the shutting off and turning on your engine. A lot of demand is put on your battery cranking amps which will expose a bad cell.
> Based on how you described the problem and the fact it now tests good I would bet on a loose connection. Wiggle it and see if it moves. If you can turn it that's no good and needs to be tightened.


Seamus probably nailed your issue. What about your jumper cables breaking? Had you been jumping your own car?

In any case, all the symptoms you noted can be explained by loose battery connectors. And a new battery, while always a good idea, may or may not fix _that_ kind of problem. Powder build up or no, remove both positive and negative terminals, clean the inside of the terminals as well as the battery posts (there is a cheap tool from the auto parts store to do this, or use a small file to get down to metal) then reattach terminals and tighten as tight as you can. When you're done wiggle the terminals on the post. They should NOT move at all. Now the battery can both receive a charge and discharge properly.


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## SHalester (Aug 25, 2019)

mbd said:


> Older MDX's have a Bluetooth battery drainage issue


mine is a RDX; coudn't justify the extra $$ for an MDX and I didn't need or want a 3rd row. Mine, RDX battery died a year or so before I would have expected it. No drain. From 3/18 to June something didn't even start it; was fine. This was a battery going to heaven.


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## Stray cat (May 28, 2016)

_Tron_ said:


> What about your jumper cables breaking? Had you been jumping your own car?


Never needed to jump start the car until this incident. I discovered the broken jumper cable clip in my trunk last month when another UberEats driver ironically had asked me to help jump start his car. I had those cables for many years and many previous cars. The clip may have become tangled and pulled off among miscellaneous junk I had them near in my trunk.


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## Seamus (Jun 21, 2018)

Stray cat said:


> Never needed to jump start the car until this incident. I discovered the broken jumper cable clip in my trunk last month when another UberEats driver ironically had asked me to help jump start his car. I had those cables for many years and many previous cars. The clip may have become tangled and pulled off among miscellaneous junk I had them near in my trunk.


Do yourself a favor, don't carry jumper cables carry a booster.


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## DudeUbering (Sep 21, 2017)

Change the battery... get rid of the jumper cables, it is not 1982 anymore, get a booster pack...


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## sumidaj (Nov 2, 2020)

change your battery and have the charging system checked. its probably just the battery though. 

-26 year DIY mechanic who is cheap but wants stuff done right-


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## ANT 7 (Oct 14, 2018)

Many batteries don't last 5 years. 1 bad cell will kill you easily. If it gets cold (32 F or lower) you're done. 

20+ years as a car dealer taught me this. I must have replaced 100 batteries a year on new and used cars we took into our inventory.


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