Start Engine Battery Management

[Xproplayer]

I've been doing a lot of short drives and some driveway moves lately, and I noticed I got a Yellow / Orange Wrench with the message "Start Engine Battery Management" when getting into the car but not starting it. I thought it was a low charge battery but the last drive I took with the car was 30 mins driving one way, parked for a couple hours, 30 mins driving back Monday night. Does the car want to be on a tender or something when it's unused for more than a few days (Borrowing some other cars right now so it might not be driven for a week or two) Battery Failure? BMW forums report this message but no real tangible information, and seems to be a first time it's been mentioned on the Supra forums.

I've got a dashcam hardwired w/ parking mode for 12h, but I've had that for a while.

Sponsored

 

[J29DB03]

I’ve heard these cars needing a tender when not used for a few weeks. But a few days? Hmm… Ironically, I typically hook mine up if I’m not expecting to drive it for 3+ days, but it’s never complained if I hadn’t. Might want to have that looked into or at the very least see what, if any, it says in the manual. I’d say good practice would be to make putting it on a tender a habit if it’s not daily driven if you can. With all the electronics better safe than screwed.

 

[consultadrone]

I used to get this on my car all the time. Even took it to the dealer to have them troubleshoot. Was totally benign. I always use a charger/maintainer, etc. I haven't seen it in a long long while since I got my code updated. Pretty sure the brake recall code level took care of it (that and the OG wiper twitch issue). I have subsequently updated my code well beyond the recall minimum iLevel to deal with the throttle hesitation issue.

I did post about it here on the Forum some years ago, but this is the first time I've seen anyone else report it.

 

[XtremeMaC]

I've seen it complain about not being properly shutdown. Did you have anything hooked up on OBD2 port or any external cameras etc that may be causing draining?
Regardless, the AGM batteries seem to be finicky and do benefit from tender is what I keep reading. I surely have it on. I don't know how much these batteries are affected by cold temps...

 

[Xproplayer]

I've got a dashcam hardwired w/ parking mode for 12h, but I've had that for a while.

I used to get this on my car all the time. I have subsequently updated my code well beyond the recall minimum iLevel to deal with the throttle hesitation issue.

My car just came back from the dealer recently, but they didn't need to do any coding to my knowledge. I have gotten the throttle hesitation issue once or twice before, should I take it to them and ask for the latest programming?

 

[consultadrone]

I've got a dashcam hardwired w/ parking mode for 12h, but I've had that for a while.

Hardwiring things that draw directly off the battery with the car off tends to have unpredictable results for these cars. I use a battery pack for my dash cam

My car just came back from the dealer recently, but they didn't need to do any coding to my knowledge. I have gotten the throttle hesitation issue once or twice before, should I take it to them and ask for the latest programming?

There's nothing documented with Toyota regarding the throttle hesitation issue so getting them to do anything about it can be challenging depending on the dealership. There's a rather large thread on here about it and folks have been documenting code levels that seem to fix the issue. I have a great relationship with my dealership and they were fine with putting the latest code on my car. Others have had success in claiming that CarPlay disconnects (which it did quite a lot prior to update). Others have been just flatly turned down by their service departments. But I have not seen the throttle hesitation issue since getting my code updated to S18T-22-07-530

 

[XtremeMaC]

My car just came back from the dealer recently

Well that's the culprit. They must have hooked it up to the computer but didn't put on tender...

 

[Xproplayer]

Well that's the culprit. They must have hooked it up to the computer but didn't put on tender...

So my battery is just low? It doesn't show up every time I get into the car (I think), and I've done two ~30 minute drives since.

 

[consultadrone]

So my battery is just low? It doesn't show up every time I get into the car (I think), and I've done two ~30 minute drives since.

When mine was throwing that error, it happened once while I was at the track. I had been driving all morning and just hopped in for my next session and there it was. What prompted me to bring it to the dealer was concern that the charging system was not working properly. My battery was new (had been replaced by the dealer when I picked up the car due to "replace battery" issue), and I had been using a tender since day 1, etc. Like OP, it was a seemingly random thing that happened at random intervals.

Do you know what code level you are on?

 

[Xproplayer]

When mine was throwing that error, it happened once while I was at the track. I had been driving all morning and just hopped in for my next session and there it was. What prompted me to bring it to the dealer was concern that the charging system was not working properly. My battery was new (had been replaced by the dealer when I picked up the car due to "replace battery" issue), and I had been using a tender since day 1, etc. Like OP, it was a seemingly random thing that happened at random intervals.

Do you know what code level you are on?

Never heard of coding until today, I know the car doesn't have the brake recall, locked ecu, and I have gotten throttle hesitation.

 

[XtremeMaC]

Just to be safe, I'd put it on high amp charger and let it run thru it's cycle. Chances are your issue will go away..

 

[Xproplayer]

Just to be safe, I'd put it on high amp charger and let it run thru it's cycle. Chances are your issue will go away..

Easier said than done. I don't have a charger or maintainer, and I'm not going to buy one for a car under warranty that hasn't been driven in a couple days. I'll take it out for a spin soon anyways, worst case I jump the car.

 

[consultadrone]

Never heard of coding until today, I know the car doesn't have the brake recall, locked ecu, and I have gotten throttle hesitation.

So you haven't had the brake recall done yet? Or it doesn't require it? That process would load the latest code if it does need it.

In the end, it's a benign error. I had my dealership check everything and I stopped paying attention to it. So, you could really do nothing and likely be fine

 

[Xproplayer]

So you haven't had the brake recall done yet? That process would load the latest code

I mean the car isn't in scope for the brake recall.

I imagine even if it was in scope, toyota would have done it when I was there the last 3 times.


Is all this just pointing at my battery being low, and I should drive even longer than 30 mins or get one of the basic trickle maintainers from a friend and let it fully charge? Can I check battery voltage with obd2 torque pro?

 

[consultadrone]

I mean the car isn't in scope for the brake recall.

I imagine even if it was in scope, toyota would have done it when I was there the last 3 times.


Is all this just pointing at my battery being low, and I should drive even longer than 30 mins or get one of the basic trickle maintainers from a friend and let it fully charge? Can I check battery voltage with obd2 torque pro?

Well, that means that your current code is later than the recall level.

Honestly, when I had the issue, there was absolutely nothing wrong that the dealer or I could find. Battery, charging system, voltage...all fine. I just ignored it and when I got updated, it went away.

Sponsored