My car has a no crank, no start problem
John Paul, AAA Northeast's Car Doctor, answers a from a reader who can't determine the cause of his CR-V's occasional starting issues.
Q. My wife has a 2014 Honda CR-V, which she bought new. The vehicle has recently developed an occasional no crank, no start problem. Being a five-year-old car, I suspected that the battery needed to be changed, but the battery checked out fine, as did the starter and alternator. This happened once, three months ago, and again, three weeks ago. It has started flawlessly since then, even in very cold weather. A quick internet search revealed that this is not an uncommon problem with these vehicles, but there does not seem to be a consensus as to the cause. I’m interested in your thoughts.A. We have seen many cases where the battery in this model has failed, and as you pointed out, the battery is five years old, which is about how long batteries tend to last on average. Honda also updated the battery management software on some vehicles to prevent a no-start condition. In earlier models, the starter motor failed prematurely. At this point, time may be the best diagnostic tool, and waiting for the problem to be more consistent may be the only answer. If this were my vehicle and I planned to keep it, I would replace the battery.
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 question to [email protected].
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