'16 Pilot, Battery Failure? Long post

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 21, 2017
Messages
1,916
Location
TX
So, here's the story. Myself, wife and kids were overseas for almost a month and car ('16 Honda Pilot, 33K on the clock) sat in the garage. A friend of mine had the car collected and picked us up at the airport so I'm not exactly sure how it started after sitting for a month (I'll have to ask him). Two days after, my wife was driving the car and hit a tow hitch of the parked truck with the right side of the Pilot's bumper (scratch on the bumper, some damage to the lower skirt and plastic cover came loose). No lights came on, no issues with the fog lights or any of the that. Cosmetic damage (so it seems). Car ran just fine. Four days later (which was yesterday), I was starting the car and it took a second more to start then it would normally take. It had me alert for a second but then later in the day it started just fine. This morning before leaving to work I've decided to start it up just to make sure it won't leave my wife with two kiddos stranded and sure enough - it barely started. Took a 2-3 second of starter winding and gauge cluster flickering and then fired up. Killed, started again - did the same. Drove to AAP and had a battery tester hooked up with engine off - 12.3V - Charge the battery. AAP guy said the battery seems fine, just needs to be driven around. Ok. Car is still under warranty so took it to Honda. Drove for almost 30 min and upon arrival to dealership stopped the engine and tried to start it up again - same thing, took several seconds to fire it up. They tested the battery and told me that it is bad - 245 CCA with the battery rated at 600 and recommended replacement. They also told me that starter and alternator tested ok, no blown fuses either. I agreed and replacement battery works fine, starts right up as it used to. Note, this is a first time in my 16yrs of driving i had a battery die on me.

So, here are my questions:

1. Are sudden battery failures common?
2. What could be the root/cause of this battery failure?
3. Can the accident my wife got into have anything to do with the battery issue?
4. Would low CCA that was revealed on the test warrant the battery replacement in your opinion?

Appreciate the suggestions
 
It is a 3-4 year old battery on a vehicle in a hot climate. Failure is normal and should not be unexpected, I see this regularly.
 
Battery's in my 2007 MDX overload with electronics die every 2-3 years and suddenly. Modern vehicles draw much larger loads compared to past simple ones.

This is normal.
 
It's funny how people can't believe that their car can have a part fail on them. Really, the battery was probably made and put in service in 2015. And after 33k miles it's done alot of starts, and been drained down form regular usage. I know some people believe car mfgrs use the best of the best parts on their car, but reality is they buy in bulk, and want the cheapest ones that will last just until the warranty runs out. That goes for tire's ,brake pads, wiper blades, starters and alternators, and struts and shocks. Common wear items that won't last the life of the vehicle. Buy new parts when you need them and don't worry that there's something majorly wrong with your car, it's just normal wear and tear.,,
 
I'm not a "honda engineers know the best" kind of guys. And i know the battery fail. I'm just surprised how instant the failure was as it never happened to me in this manner before (not in the warm climate at least - i came back to a cat that sat at -30 for a month and found the battery to be dead)
 
Last edited:
And Honda is notorious for using small junk batteries, mothers CRV went through more than a few, and especially if you kill them once or twice....they are never the same.
 
Next time get yourself a new battery with a 5-year warranty if you are concerned about battery dies on you and your family.
 
Well, i have a nee battery with 8yr warranty now at a ridiculous dealership cost
 
I don't think it's so much that modern cars pull heavier loads - they indeed do, but those loads are overall covered by the alternator once the vehicle is running. What's playing a greater role is the "intelligence" used in charge strategy to save a few mpg. They charge a higher voltage during deceleration, reduce charge during cruise, and otherwise finagle the alt voltage based on where you are in the drive cycle. Overall, this means the battery isn't kept as fully charged, and it has more micro dis/charge cycles with stop/start and EPS. I don't know how much it will help, but I try to slap a maintenance charge on ours every few weeks when I'm fiddling around in the garage - Our CRV tends to accept about 5,000mah (accumulated) between the 12.5V or so and 15v where the unit shuts off with a tapered current routine. Assuming the battery isn't perfectly efficient, let's say that's really 2.5AH of capacity topped off, or probably 5-7% of battery capacity left unfilled by the vehicle.
 
I don't think it's just that modern cars pull heavier loads - they indeed do, but those loads are overall covered by the alternator once the vehicle is running. I think what's playing a greater role is the "intelligence" used in charge strategy to save a few mpg. They charge a higher voltage during deceleration, reduce charge during cruise, and otherwise finagle the alt voltage based on where you are in the drive cycle. Overall, this means the battery isn't kept as fully charged, and it has more micro dis/charge cycles with stop/start and EPS. I don't know how much it will help, but I try to slap a maintenance charge on ours every few weeks when I'm fiddling around in the garage - Our CRV tends to accept about 5,000mah (accumulated) between the 12.5V or so and 15v where the unit shuts off with a tapered current routine. Assuming the battery isn't perfectly efficient, let's say that's really 2.5AH of capacity topped off, or probably 5-7% of battery capacity left unfilled by the vehicle.
 
A friend has a 2015 Civic and it can't sit for more than 4 days or else the battery dies. The dealer "fix" was to buy an Optima battery, which didn't help at all.

My 2015 Ford Focus has sat 12 days and started right up. Ironic how my "unreliable" Focus is past 80,000 miles and has been mechanically flawless. The Civic has had tons of issues.
 
Originally Posted by E365
A friend has a 2015 Civic and it can't sit for more than 4 days or else the battery dies. The dealer "fix" was to buy an Optima battery, which didn't help at all.

My 2015 Ford Focus has sat 12 days and started right up. Ironic how my "unreliable" Focus is past 80,000 miles and has been mechanically flawless. The Civic has had tons of issues.



Honda cars "golden years" are far behind them, the best years ended around the early 2000s or late 90s.

Lets not forget the Power Sh@t transmission that never worked right from the get go and had been a disaster for Ford.
 
Originally Posted by parshisa
1. Are sudden battery failures common?

Yes. Especially in hot climates. Every battery I have had fail, failed suddenly. I had one in my truck that started in the garage, (starter spun it over like a top). I then drove 2 miles to the store and shut it off. When I came out 5 minutes later there was nothing. As if someone cut the cable. The dome light wouldn't even go on.

With all the others I was fortunate enough to have them die in the garage. But they also were sudden and complete failures. Out here 2 Summers out of a battery is normal. If you manage to get 3, count your blessings.

The only exception has been my Jeep. It's a 2015, and is still on the same battery. But it's a AGM battery, and it's located under the passenger seat, not cooking under the hood. I now also have a cooled garage, and I'm retired and don't drive as much. So perhaps that will allow me to get an extra Summer out of them..... Or so I hope.
 
3 years in Texas isn't bad at all for battery life

Up north, you'd get 5 years
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Battery's in my 2007 MDX overload with electronics die every 2-3 years and suddenly. Modern vehicles draw much larger loads compared to past simple ones.

This is normal.



This ^^^^^^^^

Plus what The Critic said was really good too..
 
I don't understand how your battery dies so fast. All the cars i owned the factory battery last 8+ years then i purchase replacement at Walmart. My 2006 (was purchase 2005) Honda Ridgeline with 175K is only on it's second battery and it was replaced Sept 2014 from Walmart. It still fine.
 
Batteries can have one of the metal parts inside crack. That will suddenly render the battery much weaker or completely dead.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top