How To

My lack of driving is causing multiple issues with my car

John Paul, AAA Northeast's Car Doctor, answers a question from a reader who is only driving about five miles per week.

The Car Doctor answers a question from a reader who is only driving about five miles per week. Lincoln

May 14, 2024

Q. When I retired in the summer of 2020, I went from driving my 2019 Lincoln MKZ 60 miles a day to just five miles per week. In the fall of 2020 I started getting an error message: “System off to save battery.” This now happens every fall when it starts to get cold. I have brought the car to the dealer five times since, and they replaced the battery three times telling me that I do not drive the car enough. They tell me I need to drive it for at least 20 minutes, once a week because of all the modules in the car. This year, I was charged for the battery (the others were under warranty) and I asked if I could buy a stronger battery. The dealer advised I cannot install a stronger battery because the car may not work properly. I assume they only sell that one type of battery. Should I wait to see if this battery that I purchased lasts through the fall? If not, do you think I can buy another battery with more power?

A. The error message has to do with the vehicle Start/Stop system. When the battery voltage is low, the system shuts down (perfectly normal) to preserve battery life. Getting a battery with a longer reserve and higher cranking capacity will not change much, but would also not cause any issues. The dealer is correct, your car has many computer modules that need a fully charged battery, and driving such short distances will eventually discharge any battery. If this were my car, I would drive it for 30 minutes, once per week to maintain the battery. The other option is a battery maintainer (a type of battery charger) that plugs into 120-volts and connects to the car. You could also try a solar panel battery maintainer if you park outside.

Q. My 2018 Toyota RAV4 was running fine until a warning light came on and a gas smell was then detected. When this happened the gas consumption went way up. The code was an EVAP system – small leak detected. I checked the gas cap, and it would not click, so I replaced it. In the last three weeks the light has gone off then on again a few times. I visually checked all hoses and lines inside the engine compartment, and all seemed okay. I cleaned the gas filler tube with cloth soaked in alcohol until it came out clean, thinking it was a poor seal. The light still comes on, suggestions?

A. I suspect your car has more than one problem. At this point I would want to scan the car’s computer system again and look for additional fault codes. A good technician will not just read the codes, they will also look at live data to further diagnose the problem. The gas smell could be a faulty purge valve, causing the engine to run rich, which could be why you are seeing reduced fuel mileage. This over time could damage the catalytic converter.

Q. I have a 2011 Honda Accord which I purchased new. Recently I had the driver’s side sun visor replaced for the fifth time. Every few years the visor starts to stay in the down position, and I have to literally punch the area where the visor is connected to the roof of the car to get it to stay up. I rarely use the visor because it breaks so often and the cost to repair it. Usually, Honda will not charge me labor since this malfunction happens so often, but they do charge me for the part (recently $160). While I was at Honda Service last week waiting for the repair, I was speaking with another customer, and they told me they have the same issue on a newer Honda vehicle and have replaced their visor a couple of times. Do you have any information on this most annoying problem?

A. This issue just seems to be a poor design that never gets improved by Honda. Some people have added a “post-style” bolt to squish the fabric part of the visor to the metal rod to tighten up the visor. Some other Honda owners have switched to an aftermarket visor made by Dorman. The issue seems to be up to 2017 models. There are no recalls or technical bulletins from Honda about upgrades. At this point all you can do is replace the visor every few years.

Q. I recently saw one of your coworkers on television talking about brighter car headlights and I have to agree. These bright lights just seem too bright. Why did this happen?

A. It is interesting that many of the people who complain about brighter lights are the one who gain the most from them. As an older driver now, I like a brighter light to drive at night (we need three times as much light to see at 60 years of age as we did at 20 years old). Years back, cars had incandescent bulbs and were later replaced by a brighter halogen bulb. When this happened, there were complaints they were too bright. Halogen bulbs are cheap and soon almost all new and old vehicles ended up with them. By nature, we tend to stare at bright lights that look different from the rest. This is part of the problem; we focus on the bright light, and it takes longer to recover from the glare. When you see bright light (high beams, LEDs) divert your eyes partially to the right until the car passes. The good news is that in the past year or so, headlight standards have been changed to allow a light that is used in Europe. These Matrix lights are very bright but dim automatically and produce no blinding light to oncoming drivers.

John Paul is AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. He has over 40 years of experience in the automotive business and is an ASE-certified master technician. E-mail your Car Doctor question to [email protected]. Listen to the Car Doctor podcast at johnfpaul.podbean.com.