Town Car :: Batteries Die If Car Sits For Extended Periods?
Aug 31, 2010
Is it common for the batteries to die if the car sits for extended periods? I just got this car and was told they disconnected the radio to keep from killing the battery. This car belonged to a school that drove it maybe once a month. I put a new battery in 2 months ago but just replaced the fuel pump yesterday and drove it home. However the battery had died sitting for the last 2 months and needed to be charged. I want to re-connect the radio. I took this car on a trade for some work I did and plan to re-sell it.
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I have a 1995 Lexus ES300 with 130,000 miles. This car is basically a rebadged Camry of the same vintage. Occasionally, when the car sits for extended periods (overnight or while I'm at work) and I try to start it, I get nothing. Not a click--nothing. This will never happen if I pop into a grocery store or other errands that are an hour or less.I've tried jiggling the floor shifter to see if it was the neutral safety switch and no luck. I've also tried putting the car in neutral with no results. I can also move the steering wheel rapidly left-right and push hard down onto the brake pedal with no obvious results. Eventually after 10 tries or so the starter motor will engage and it just starts. Could it be the ignition (where I put the key in)?
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I've read other posts where owners report using previous gen for camping trips and leave the car on all night for AC/Heat. I have a similar but much shorter timed use case. When my wife is in shopping, I use my car as an office with laptop and phone going, and usually just bear the very hot days while parked for an hour, sometimes two. Would the 2016 Prius provide the opportunity to keep the car on in this way, and is there any detriment to its motors or electronics when keeping it on like this for extended periods of time.
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I have noticed that my car makes a hot rubber smell when under periods of extended boost. I live in CO and there are sections of road where, just to maintain highway speeds, my car will hit and hold 5psi as I motor up a mtn pass or very long/big hill...that could be a few miles with periods where it might just drop to 0 for a minute or two depending on traffic or a spot where things level out for a sec. (Downshifting doesn't really change this, only the rpm range...the hill/load stays constant)
Anyways, I don't notice this any other time. No visible oil leaks. The catch can is emptied. No smoke from engine or tailpipe. So I am fairly certain this is rubber I am smelling.
I am wondering if perhaps it's just the turbo getting hot enough to make the stock boost hose smell? It seems obvious to me that it is directly related to turbo heat. All searches I have done lead me to crayon smells or burnt oil...this is neither. Car runs fantastic otherwise, but this smell just sucks.
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I have a friend with a 2012 F250. The truck has 100K miles and it does idle for extended periods. The other day his check engine light comes on so he took it the shop. They had not told him anything yet, but they did tell him that he had about a gallon to much oil. They said it was fuel.
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My 1997 Town Car has had the sound from the dash related to the blend door actuator in other posts. Noise would last for 5 - 10 minutes and go away. Today I noticed when driving I was getting a wild fluctuation in heat when set to automatic on the climate control so I decided to run the diagnostic to verify the blend door problem. I got code 024 so I know it is the actuator. My problem since I ran the diagnostic(exited by pushing defrost) the actuator noise is now constant and I have no heat, only cool air is blowing. Is there a reset I can do for the actuator? It's as if it is stuck in test mode.
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Bulbs, wiring and fuses are fine. Backup lights sometimes work for short periods of time if you jiggle the socket on top of the PNP switch. Tried spraying the sockets with wd 40 but did not work. know if cleaning the PNP will resolve this?
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I'm trying to think of what gets affected on a vehicle which is driven about 20 to 25k miles a year. I'm looking to purchase one with the following description.
2006, 4.7L V8 is bulletproof, but with 165k miles already, what should I look for when inspecting the vehicle?
It's been dealer serviced. Is there anything other than normal wear and tear items that might be negatively impacted by doing so many road trips (lets say 300 miles at a time) That would be around 550 trips of 300 miles in 6 years.
The reason I ask this rather than just looking at the truck is because I'm in Dallas and the truck is at a Houston dealer... So before I drive out there, I wanted to "assume" what affect this kind of usage would do to an engine.
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If I leave my 2013 RX parked for longer periods (5-14 days) w/o starting it does not want to recognize my key for starting oftentimes. I end up having to remove from my pocket and hold it up to the ignition button so it recognizes and then it will start.
I have had the battery checked in the remote and it is fine. The dealer tells me this can happen as the vehicle battery can run down in that amount of time since there are electronics within the vehicle still functioning that will draw from the battery.
I have no problem if I drive the vehicle every day or even every 2-3 days. Vehicle only has about 6,000 miles on it.
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I have a 2007 Santa Fe Limited and recently the main AC blower has been cutting on and off for long periods of time. The rear blower has not had any issues and has always worked. The main blower cuts off randomly and stays off until I tap under the glove box and then it normally kicks back on. Recently that has stopped working and I need to figure out what the problem is. Having the AC on or off does not effect this issue.
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I have a 2001 Ford Escape XLT V6 4X4. About 3 months ago I started to experience rough idle in the morning. It went a away for a month or so, but it is back now. I noticed that it occurs primarily after the vehicle has sat for long periods of time. More than 10 hours, give or take, and it happens, less than 10 and it generally doesn't. When the issue does occur it sometimes almost stalls. I can tell the computer attempts to make up for it usually. The check engine light came on originally but hasn't since, a mechanic could not pull any code and could not reproduce. The issue disappears within 3 to 5 minutes usually after everything seems to warm up. I'm had regular maintenance and I am an 75k. I've even tried using gas additives and tried a high grade of gasoline to no avail.
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My Toyota Corolla, 2006 keeps dying after long periods of sitting. Coincidentally (?) the issue has only occurred on weekends, after my 8-hour afternoon work shift. The first 2 occasions it made a quick clicking sound when I tried to start it (6 and 5 weeks ago, respectively). I replaced the battery; it was old. Then, the same issue happened two weeks ago. I had the battery checked at the site of purchase, where they also checked the alternator. Both reps advised me the parts showed up good on their meters. It died again the next day. So, I had a mechanic check every fuse and relay in the car to look for a draw on the battery using an amp meter. Readings indicated no significant drop in current draining from the battery while any were unplugged. . . I don't use a remote control unlock button (one professional seemed to think this might be relevant), and I have checked to make sure no lights were left on, even in the trunk. (Also note - I have seen no drop in performance when driving vehicle, nor any change in air conditioning or light brightness). I'm lost where to take it from here.
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I own a Trailblazer 02' LS and its at 152,000 miles at this point. I am currently debating on whether its a better strategy to fix this current issue (explained further below) or start saving for another vehicle.
The problem I am having is the truck will sound extremely rough at random periods when im off the gas pedal. Sometimes it will try and shut off but comes back to me when jam on the gas pedal. Also sometimes during all of this, The oil pressure gauge will drop to 0 and go back up once I hit the gas pedal.
Random things: AC buttons 1-4 don't work but 5 does sometimes. It also Idles at 500 RPM's instead of 1000 like I've seen on other newer cars.
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My 2003 f150 v6 occassionally leaks a little inside when running the AC for long periods of time. Its only a little bit, and Ive noticed it after several road trips with the AC on the whole time. I am aware of a service bulletin fix on this. Essentially the problem is the two drain holes are horizontal through the firewall so air blows water back in, and the fix is to fit two L shaped hoses to block the wind and allow the water to drain downward in the engine compartment. I have done this months ago and it has largely solved the problem, when the water was more of an issue. My question is, is some condensation to be expected or is something clogged up? From time to time the heater core area makes a faint rhythmic rattling that goes away eventually.
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I am having issues with my air conditioning on the 05 prius. For some reason when I leave to go somewhere its fine, but if I stop for long periods of the time the a/c stops cooling, the fan is still blowing. Once i take off it cools somewhat better but still not cold as it should be.
I have already had the car checked for DTCs and there are none, plus I had the a/c vacuumed down and recharged to factory specs, it still has the same problem.
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I have an automatic '95 Toyota Corolla wagon that over the past year has had intermittent problems dying after turning on the ignition. It happens mostly when starting for the first time in the morning in our carport (which is generally flat) [are there enough red herrings yet?]. However, we can go for weeks without problems. Our battery is relatively new (1yr) and the car starts-- however, sometimes the car dies unless the gas pedal is depressed for long periods of time in neutral or park. If I can pull out of the carport without having the car die, we've never had any problems on the road.
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starting problem entirely solved by only replacing new fuel filter. i pulled out the filter assembly, checked fuel pump strainer good, regulator oring good but found the filter internal paper was black! changed a new one and the problem never recurred.
-2004 camry 2AZ-FE. 115,000 km (71,000mi).
been searching everywhere for same issue on Gen5 camry but couldnt find any exact fix.
-cold start in the morning (or whenever engine had cool down to ambient temp) engine fires in one kick. max 2 second crank only.
-when engine is warm at operating temperature, and is shut off, i crank it for 4-5 seconds or even longer but engine doesnt fire. 2nd attempt to crank, after the first long crank, it fires in 1 second crank time. this is consistent every single time.
-after engine fires, it idles normal. no sputter or any other abnormality. never had MIL on.
-engine drives normally on all type of load, uphill, highway cruising, city driving etc. so i believe no issues with spark plug.
-cleaned MAF, cleaned camshaft position sensor. measured camshaft position sensor, crankshaft position sensor, coolant temperature sensor all within specification. measured my battery at 12.33v. manual specifies 12.5-12.9V but dont think 0.2v would cause this problem?
-swapped open circuit relay with EFI relay with no effect.
-general check on vacuum hoses, no breakage.
-cleaned PCV valve
-check my exhaust - its very clean, no carbon built up and even has water moisture. pointing to good combustion. so i believe injectors are fine.
-next possibility is either fuel pressure regulator and its oring, fuel pump, and the in-tank filter. i am wondering if i should replace all these....
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ACURA 2000 TL. When I start the car recently, it cranks 10 or 15 times and then starts. When I leave the key in the ignition ON position for a few seconds it starts right away. When I shut off and try to start right away it takes time to start. What is the problem ! Someone told me fuel pump/main relay need to be changed. I did and the problem remains the same. Another one told me weak battery and I changed battery the problem remains the same. After reading some blogs, I tend to believe it could be something to do with retaining fuel pressure. How do I diagnose whether it is the fuel pressure regulator or the fuel return valve or fuel pump? If it is the fuel return valve where is it located?
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I have a 2010 Prius that I've owned for a little over 2 years. I know basically nothing about auto mechanics. When i purchased the Prius, I was told by the salesperson to use engine braking "B" as often as possible to extend the life of my brakes.
Although I don't live in a mountaineous region, I have found engine braking to be useful in the snow, in the occassional steep hill i come across, and also in my daily commute where travel is at 55 MPH with a stop light every half mile or so.
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Recently my 2003 Camry LE is blowing out a big puff of bluish/white smoke in the mornings when I first start the car or after extended periods of non-use. But I am not getting any smoke any other time that I can detect. The temperature here doesn't drop much below 70 degrees if it does. What could this be and how can I remedy it?
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I purchased my 2012 SE in October, and since that time, I've noticed that after it has sat for a few hours between starts (first thing in the morning, leaving work, etc.) it takes longer than other times for it to crank-over and start. At other times, it starts right away. I know that the fuel pump kicks in when you open the door initially, and perhaps I am trying to start it too soon. This is my first VW, so, before I worry that something needs to be checked out (due for the "courtesy check" anyway) I wanted to make sure this was not a common thing, or something I am doing wrong (didn't think I could mess up starting the thing...)
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