Hello,
I apologize for the length of this but I really need HELP!
I bought my HRV in March 2020, it has the push start ignition. Being laid off since Dec 2019, we decided to go down to one vehicle with little money coming into the house. As you can all relate we drive very little now, only go out once a month for groceries.
The battery died on me 3 months after I bought it. Im thinking I had left a light on in the car? Next: I hadn’t driven the HRV for 2 months, when I got in it to go to the store it took it a bit to start up but it started. Then 3 weeks later I get into the car and the battery is totally dead. I had to call a tow truck, the guy couldn’t even get the car into neutral because the battery was dead and the gear shifter wouldn’t move. He was able to use his battery jumper plus my Noco jumper to get it started. He said with these push button start cars there is so much software and computer signals going on you need to drive them around for a while to keep them charged. Just driving to the grocery store won’t help to keep them charged. If I had known that when I was looking, I would have never bought the HRV push start, I would have gotten something with a key ignition, so at least I could put the car in neutral gear for towing.
I drove to my dealership where my sales guy said “I knew you wouldn’t be driving it a lot, and yeah you do have to drive them around a while”. Honestly, I think people need to be aware of that detail especially if your an older person such as myself who isn’t going to go out a lot, and when I do its locally.
So I asked my sales guy can I downgrade to a lessor model and not have to pay a lot of money to get something that doesn’t suck up energy while it sits and uses the key ignition? He is trying to find some solution for me. In the mean time since my car is under warranty they put in a new “Interstate” battery and have ordered me a new starter. The mechanic thought the starter might be bad as well.
Both the tow truck guy and the mechanic at the dealership said I should get a battery tender. They both educated me on what the battery tender does, but why do I have to worry about another item just to own a car and to keep it going.
So if Im stuck with this car and need to get a battery tender, what do I buy. I was looking at the “Battery Tender Plus”, would that be a good reliable thing for the HRV? How long can this vehicle sit before you need to use a battery tender? I only go to the grocery store now, I just won’t be driving this car much.
What model of HRV doesn’t SUCK up a lot of energy. I should have kept my Subaru Cross Trek, it had a key and I felt more in control! I hate that key fob!
Yes Im female and Im freaking out! This is a big investment for me, especially in the current times we are living. Is there anything else I can shut off on the car that won’t suck up energy. The mechanic said to lock my doors while its in the garage, this kind of puts the computer into a sleep mode.
Please I need some help and advice before I lose my mind on how much I spent on this vehicle and I may be stuck with it.
Thank you all very much from the bottom of my heart for any tid bit of information you can give me. Please keep in mind I know nothing about cars.
Mare