[2014Oilburner]

Well My 2014 has had the battery drain dead on me twice now. After the first time it happened the dealer replaced the battery. I drove the car for 4000 miles and everything was fine. I go on vacation and the car sits in my driveway for 8 days and I come home to a dead battery. I took the car to the dealer and they test it and let it sit for 2 1/2 days and tell me the battery drain is normal...Now... I mentioned to the dealer when I took the car in that I have noticed that the lights on the bottom of the On Star mirror have been lit up a few different times while the car was parked in my driveway..most of the time the lights are off while the car is parked. So..I got to thinking and I parked my car in the driveway so I could look outside and see the mirror of the car at night. Well last night the lights on the On Star mirror were lit up after I parked my car and they stayed on all night long. The lights on that mirror only shut off when I started the car in the morning. I shut the car off and then the light on the mirror were off like they are supposed to be while the car is shut down.

I don't think it's unreasonable to think that if the mirror lights stay on and don't go off.... and who knows if the On Star is transmitting a signal or not.....not sure how that On Star works...that this just might be the reason the battery is being drained dead if the car is parked for a week or so if the On Star mirror is still lit up.

I went back to my dealer and told them what I've found and they said they would call the techs at GM to see if they can find anything out. Hopefully GM will have answer for this issue.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Do you have an OnStar subscription or use the app at all?

 

[2014Oilburner]

I don't have a ON Star subscription...but I do have the app on my phone but really don't use it.

 

[Tomko]

I do vaguely remeber a TSB regarding OnStar causing battery drain. But it wasn't for Cruze.

 

[oilburner]

my car sits all winter an starts up every spring without battery disconnect. has no onstar.
zero drain. one of the first CTDs built.

 

[2014Oilburner]

Update...the dealer never called me today like he said he would about the OnStar mirror staying lit up after the car is parked...last night the mirror shut off....tonight, the mirror was on again when I checked 4 hours after the car was parked for the night. I went out to the car and started it up and then shut it off and the OnStar mirror was still lit up. I started the car again and this time I pushed one of the buttons on the mirror to call OnStar and then canceled....shut the car off and the mirror was off...something is going on with this OnStar mirror that's for sure....just putting this out there for the others on this forum that have reported the battery drain issue....not sure it's the real problem but the mirror being on while the car is parked is no doubt putting a drain on the battery especially if the car is parked for a week or so while the mirror is on...stopping by my dealer tomorrow yet again about this issue.

 

[diesel]

Update...the dealer never called me today like he said he would about the OnStar mirror staying lit up after the car is parked...last night the mirror shut off....tonight, the mirror was on again when I checked 4 hours after the car was parked for the night. I went out to the car and started it up and then shut it off and the OnStar mirror was still lit up. I started the car again and this time I pushed one of the buttons on the mirror to call OnStar and then canceled....shut the car off and the mirror was off...something is going on with this OnStar mirror that's for sure....just putting this out there for the others on this forum that have reported the battery drain issue....not sure it's the real problem but the mirror being on while the car is parked is no doubt putting a drain on the battery especially if the car is parked for a week or so while the mirror is on...stopping by my dealer tomorrow yet again about this issue.

Definitely sounds like you might be onto something there.

 

[Tomko]

Definitely sounds like you might be onto something there.

I concur.

 

[2014Oilburner]

OK guys this is what I found out...but first I was wrong about the dealer not getting back to me like they said they would....they did call yesterday and I missed the call and didn't see it on my phone til today...anyways.... the dealer told me that there is a TSB on the Bluetooth with the Cruze....it turns out that if you do not end your phone call or switch the call from the Bluetooth back to the phone before you turn off the car, then OnStar mirror will not turn off...told me that the OnStar will draw 240 MA I think he said...don't know much about that stuff, but the TSB said that it will drain the battery dead in 3 days or so if that OnStar mirror is left on. Dealer told me there is no fix and you have to follow the procedure if you use the Bluetooth with your phone or the OnStar will not turn off after the car is parked.....told me you can't disconnect the OnStar without losing the Bluetooth as it's all connected.

Well at least I know what was draining my battery and I can prevent it from happening again ..but I'm not very happy that GM hasn't fixed this major flaw in it's system...and GM didn't even bother to tell it's customer about this issue so the customer could at least take steps to keep the battery from draining dead like it has with me twice now.

 

[ChevyGuy]

told me that the OnStar will draw 240 MA

In round numbers, that's about a quarter amp-hour per hour. So overnight (16 hours) is about 4 amp-hours. A battery that's not on it's last legs should be able to handle that. Now, park it for a week, (24 x 7) 168 hours, that's 42 amp-hours. That could leave you needing a jump.

it turns out that if you do not end your phone call or switch the call from the Bluetooth back to the phone before you turn off the car, then OnStar mirror will not turn off.

That's consistent with your experience on what it took to get the mirror to go off (doing another call - restarting the car didn't do it.)

 

[Tomko]

OK guys this is what I found out...but first I was wrong about the dealer not getting back to me like they said they would....they did call yesterday and I missed the call and didn't see it on my phone til today...anyways.... the dealer told me that there is a TSB on the Bluetooth with the Cruze....it turns out that if you do not end your phone call or switch the call from the Bluetooth back to the phone before you turn off the car, then OnStar mirror will not turn off...told me that the OnStar will draw 240 MA I think he said...don't know much about that stuff, but the TSB said that it will drain the battery dead in 3 days or so if that OnStar mirror is left on. Dealer told me there is no fix and you have to follow the procedure if you use the Bluetooth with your phone or the OnStar will not turn off after the car is parked.....told me you can't disconnect the OnStar without losing the Bluetooth as it's all connected.

Well at least I know what was draining my battery and I can prevent it from happening again ..but I'm not very happy that GM hasn't fixed this major flaw in it's system...and GM didn't even bother to tell it's customer about this issue so the customer could at least take steps to keep the battery from draining dead like it has with me twice now.

What does the owners manual say?

 

[Chris Tobin]

What does the owners manual say?

It probably says to end your call or switch off bluetooth before shutting off the car and exiting the vehicle...

EDIT: I scanned through the bluetooth section and it is not mentioned to end call first or anything like that. So they probably did not anticipate this would be an issue... It may be in there somewhere else...

 

[2014Oilburner]

In round numbers, that's about a quarter amp-hour per hour. So overnight (16 hours) is about 4 amp-hours. A battery that's not on it's last legs should be able to handle that. Now, park it for a week, (24 x 7) 168 hours, that's 42 amp-hours. That could leave you needing a jump.



That's consistent with your experience on what it took to get the mirror to go off (doing another call - restarting the car didn't do it.)

Yea it all makes sense...I usually take on my phone while driving home and get to my driveway and shut off the car while I'm still talking...so the OnStar wouldn't shut off and I leave for 8 days then the battery was dead...when I took the car to the dealer to have them check out the issue, I never used the phone before I dropped it off and the OnStar shut off with the car and that's why they said the battery draw was normal....it's just so hard to believe the GM wouldn't have a fix for something like this...I don't know why GM even has that OnStar....sure some would like it but I bet most don't..yea it's sorta of neat at first and I did like the navigation part of OnStar..but the service is just too much money for what you get if you ask me...and now the OnStar hardware is a proven problem for the car and GM doesn't even have a fix...wish I didn't have OnStar in my car.

 

[2014Oilburner]

It probably says to end your call or switch off bluetooth before shutting off the car and exiting the vehicle...

I don't know what it says.....do you....what are you trying to say I'm stupid...it's pretty clear that a Bluetooth system shouldn't behave like this system does....my last cars Bluetooth system wouldn't drain the battery if you didn't follow a procedure and I bet no other car does either...it's a flaw in the system...why does the car shut off all the electric after 10 minutes after after you turn the key off if you don't open a door...but yet I'm to expect that the Bluetooth system stays on and will drain the battery dead....why is there a TSB on the Bluetooth if the owners manual tells you to end the call before you shut off the car

 

[mkohan]

Is this just for the cruze diesel or all on star vehicles?

 

[jblackburn]

Hmm... this must only be applicable to the MyLink vehicles. I've switched from bluetooth back to my phone (after the ignition is off) on calls many times and then left my car for a week or more (1980's green looking radio) and never had an issue with battery drain. 2012 LT.

Sounds like it would just be a software fix.

 

[obermd]

OK guys this is what I found out...but first I was wrong about the dealer not getting back to me like they said they would....they did call yesterday and I missed the call and didn't see it on my phone til today...anyways.... the dealer told me that there is a TSB on the Bluetooth with the Cruze....it turns out that if you do not end your phone call or switch the call from the Bluetooth back to the phone before you turn off the car, then OnStar mirror will not turn off...told me that the OnStar will draw 240 MA I think he said...don't know much about that stuff, but the TSB said that it will drain the battery dead in 3 days or so if that OnStar mirror is left on. Dealer told me there is no fix and you have to follow the procedure if you use the Bluetooth with your phone or the OnStar will not turn off after the car is parked.....told me you can't disconnect the OnStar without losing the Bluetooth as it's all connected.

Well at least I know what was draining my battery and I can prevent it from happening again ..but I'm not very happy that GM hasn't fixed this major flaw in it's system...and GM didn't even bother to tell it's customer about this issue so the customer could at least take steps to keep the battery from draining dead like it has with me twice now.

Wow - this is a major flaw induced in a system that worked fine in earlier model years. I would report this to the NHTSA so they can put some pressure on GM to fix their software. This is nothing more than a software bug.

 

[obermd]

GM TSB #08-08-46-008B for 09' models w/Bluetooth & OnStar - Chevy Trailblazer SS Forum

This is for the MyLink system in certain 2009 model years. If this is what your dealership is referencing they're way out of date unless GM hasn't fixed this problem in the intervening 5 years, or worse yet, fixed in 2010 and then reintroduced this bug in 2014.

 

[ChevyGuy]

why does the car shut off all the electric after 10 minutes after after you turn the key off if you don't open a door...but yet I'm to expect that the Bluetooth system stays on and will drain the battery dead.

Which raises a question - why doesn't the battery saver kick in and prevent the battery from draining all the way? I'll have to check and see if OnStar is exempt from the battery saver.

Sounds like it would just be a software fix.

Agreed.

Wow - this is a major flaw induced in a system that worked fine in earlier model years. I would report this to the NHTSA so they can put some pressure on GM to fix their software. This is nothing more than a software bug.

Is NHTSA going to care? I think their only concern is safety. As annoying as it is, I don't think it rises to the level of a safety problem.

GM TSB #08-08-46-008B for 09' models w/Bluetooth & OnStar - Chevy Trailblazer SS Forum

This is for the MyLink system in certain 2009 model years. If this is what your dealership is referencing they're way out of date unless GM hasn't fixed this problem in the intervening 5 years, or worse yet, fixed in 2010 and then reintroduced this bug in 2014.

While similar, I think it's different enough that it's not the same bug. Perhaps the larger issues is the test case of continuing a call after shutting off the car was never included in their software testing.

 

[obermd]

While the NHTSA won't force a recall for this issue they do push car manufacturers to fix other, non-safety issues.