[jevasjunkbox]

Had been trying to figure out why my 2014 vehicle battery kept going dead. I noticed this seemed to occur mostly when the vehicle was parked in the garage at home and never went dead while out and about. I took it to the dealer and they initially diagnosed this as a parasitic draw related to the keyhole...apparently, someone tried to break in to my vehicle at some point, but I never noticed it as I never put the physical key in to unlock it. The dealer did say the draw wasn't that big and was a bit baffled how the battery got so low, I couldn't even jump start it, but that is all they were able to see during their diagnosis. They fixed the problem and the problem went away, sort of...

Within a couple weeks, the same problem was occurring again. Turns out, it was the talkback between the two way remote and the vehicle. The vehicle is equipped with a factory remote engine start. What was happening, the dome lights keep going on and off as the sensor on vehicle is penetrating thru the wall of the garage, into the house detecting movement inside the house. Combine that with the fact that I keep the remote hung by the door to the garage (close proximity to the vehicle), it gives the impression that I am going to my vehicle, even though I'm not, so the dome lights keep going off and on until the battery is drained out. I turned the "talkback loop" setting in the menu off and the vehicle has been starting up just fine for several days. I also turned off the remote start feature, but I might be able to rule that out as I believe that can stay enabled without draining the battery. Pretty sure the talkback loop is the culprit...I also noticed the key fob yellow light continuously blinking while the dome lights were going on and off...this might explain why a new key fob battery went dead after a month.

Side note, the one way I was able to confirm the lights were going off and on, I placed my phone in the vehicle for a half hour and recorded video and sure enough, the lights kept going off and on constantly. Ever since I turned that feature off, it starts right up. Funny thing is that I don't know if this would even show as a parasitic draw or show any fault codes as the vehicle is essentially doing what it was designed to do.

 

[jevasjunkbox]

I accessed the "talkback loop" setting is in the steering wheel settings and not on the touchscreen.

 

[mdxstang]

Good feedback and pointers - thanks for posting.

I have a 2014 without remote start that sits outside in the driveway and I noticed via a security cam of mine that every now and then, maybe once every few weeks, the 'approach lights' (dome, mirror spots) turned on as if I walked up to the vehicle with the FOB. I'm certain it's a case of a random atmospheric condition that detects my FOB that's on a counter inside the house maybe 30 feet or so from the vehicle.

Since it happens so rarely I haven't been concerned about it and haven't had a battery drain issue from it.

An answer to this is to put your FOB in a Faraday box/bag at home so it can't communicate with the vehicle. These are inexpensive - or you could just find any metal box with a lid and use that. It should solve any issues related to this.

 

[jevasjunkbox]

I did some additional experimenting yesterday and was unable to locate a setting to turn the dome lights off...there are 3 options (15 seconds is the least amount of time), but no option to turn it off. That said, even with the talkback/feedback option turned off, I noticed as I got within range (to where the dome light comes on), the LED on the left of the remote (#1 of 3) does one quick orange blink (I had to look at the fob while walking around the house to see how close I can get to the vehicle before the orange light indicates it is in range). I had to relocate my key fob to a different part of the house to avoid the remote/key fob from constantly turning the dome lights on and draining my battery.

 

[Av8rtrav]

This is interesting. My wife and I are only getting about a month of fob battery for our 18 Advance. Keys are kept in a kitchen drawer a good ways from the garage. I am well aware of smart fob communication and not to keep them close to the car. I am fairly certain it is due to the really cheap batteries we got on amzon but now after seeing this thread... I don't recall seeing a TalkBack setting in the vehicle settings. Maybe my kitchen is not far enough to isolate 2 way TalkBack. Or maybe we should get name brand fob batteries.

 

[mdxstang]

My wife and I are only getting about a month of fob battery for our 18 Advance.

The FOB batteries in the FOBs for my 2014 last for years. They have never failed but I replace them every few years or so (unless I forget) pre-emptively. I'd never buy batteries like these CR2032 from Amazon, especially if it's a seller other than Amazon and I wouldn't buy an off brand I'd never heard of (i.e. weird Chinese brand). These are inexpensive batteries that are sold everywhere - Home Depot, the grocery store, pharmacy, etc. and if you have 2 FOBs you only need a 2-pac that should last you for years. I stick with Duracell or Energizer.

A long time ago I designed some circuit boards where I chose the CR2032 to be used for data retention and at the time researched the battery's attributes. They're long lasting, cheap, have a long shelf life, and ubiquitous to find, hence why I selected it as a component to use.

Either you're using really cheap knock-off batteries or your FOB is using too much juice from it which would mean it's being activated too much. Try using a Faraday cage/bag for a while to see if it solves the issue but start with a decent set of fresh batteries - name brand and from a local big box store seller (that does enough volume they don't sit on the shelf for long).

 

[MCRacer]

This is interesting. My wife and I are only getting about a month of fob battery for our 18 Advance. Keys are kept in a kitchen drawer a good ways from the garage. I am well aware of smart fob communication and not to keep them close to the car. I am fairly certain it is due to the really cheap batteries we got on amzon but now after seeing this thread... I don't recall seeing a TalkBack setting in the vehicle settings. Maybe my kitchen is not far enough to isolate 2 way TalkBack. Or maybe we should get name brand fob batteries.

our kitchen is in front of the garage. DW and often have FOB's on the kitchen table or in the living room close by. We get 1+ year out of the FOB batteries. Similar to batteries in our other vehicles.

Since we use so many of the 2032/2035 batteries I buy them in packs of 30 or so (energizer or duracell) from Amazon. So far have been getting the date code showing the are pretty fresh.

 

[Av8rtrav]

I looked in vehicle settings and only found a memory position link. Could this setting reduce fob battery life?

 

[datechboss101]

This is interesting. My wife and I are only getting about a month of fob battery for our 18 Advance. Keys are kept in a kitchen drawer a good ways from the garage. I am well aware of smart fob communication and not to keep them close to the car. I am fairly certain it is due to the really cheap batteries we got on amzon but now after seeing this thread... I don't recall seeing a TalkBack setting in the vehicle settings. Maybe my kitchen is not far enough to isolate 2 way TalkBack. Or maybe we should get name brand fob batteries.

A pack of batts from Energizer isn't expensive. I recently had to change the battery on my Driver 1 fob (batt lasted roughly a year or so). I wouldn't use Amazon for batteries, since you can get name brand batteries over at Wal-Mart and Costco for roughly the same price or cheaper, and same day pick-up.

 

[MCRacer]

Memory link= shorter FOB battery life= no. We've have had that feature enabled since we bought our 2019. Fob battery life > 1 year And what that option does is save in the car ECU settings you select for seat position, steering wheel position, etc, for a given FOB, So when you unlock the car, the ECU says "oh that was FOB X" and I need to move the seat etc.

 

[Av8rtrav]

Memory link= shorter FOB battery life= no. We've have had that feature enabled since we bought our 2019. Fob battery life > 1 year And what that option does is save in the car ECU settings you select for seat position, steering wheel position, etc, for a given FOB, So when you unlock the car, the ECU says "oh that was FOB X" and I need to move the seat etc.

Yeah I didn't really think that would be the cause. And since both our fobs are not kept close to the garage, and they both start dying around a month, most likely culprit is no name batteries off amzon.

 

[MCRacer]

Yeah I didn't really think that would be the cause. And since both our fobs are not kept close to the garage, and they both start dying around a month, most likely culprit is no name batteries off amzon.

There are lots of IMHO poor button cell batteries being sold. The name brand ones in brick and mortar stores are very good but expensive. For probably 15 years I've been getting my button cell batteries from amazon but I always pay careful attention to the packaging and shipping location to try to make sure they ARE name brand batteries that haven't been sitting around for years. And from sellers that seem to have good feedback. I usually stick with Energizer or duracell so far good luck. But there do appear to be fake energizer and duracells being sold. packaging views on the web look suspect.

 

[mdxstang]

The name brand ones in brick and mortar stores are very good but expensive.

It's all relative though - I just checked the price at Home Depot for a 2-pack of 2032 Duracell and it was $5.99, so about $3 per battery, and each battery 'should' last for at least 1-4 years. It gets less expensive in larger packs.

That's not a lot of money spent on batteries for the MDX per year.

Panasonic was closer to $1 each and ACDelco about $0.65 each (ACDelco is a rebrander - they don't make the batteries but they're at least a reputable name).

If someone uses dozens of the 2032 batteries per year then it makes sense to shop around more, including on Amazon with a name brand and Amazon as the seller (could be counterfeits from other sellers on Amazon), but very few people go through lots of 2032 per year since in each application they generally will last for a few years.

 

[MCRacer]

It's all relative though - I just checked the price at Home Depot for a 2-pack of 2032 Duracell and it was $5.99, so about $3 per battery, and each battery 'should' last for at least 1-4 years. It gets less expensive in larger packs.

That's not a lot of money spent on batteries for the MDX per year.

Panasonic was closer to $1 each and ACDelco about $0.65 each (ACDelco is a rebrander - they don't make the batteries but they're at least a reputable name).

If someone uses dozens of the 2032 batteries per year then it makes sense to shop around more, including on Amazon with a name brand and Amazon as the seller (could be counterfeits from other sellers on Amazon), but very few people go through lots of 2032 per year since in each application they generally will last for a few years.

between around 8 key Fobs, a trailer TMS for two trailers (8 wheels, 2 batteries each) and a bunch of other stuff, for me it makes sense get packs from amazon, but, yes, if you only need a few, stop at a local store. I go through about 50/year.

On amazon, known good energizer from amazon or known sellers before christmas were going for about $.75 each, ($15 for 25) now the same source on amazon is $23 for 25, a year ago it was $11 for 30 from the same source on amazon.

 

[mdxstang]

^^ Yeah - you have lots of applications for them and go through a lot. I'd look for a good quantity price if I was in your situation as well.

I don't know what battery the MDX TPMS uses but mine are 9.5 years old now and still working.

 

[MCRacer]

^^ Yeah - you have lots of applications for them and go through a lot. I'd look for a good quantity price if I was in your situation as well.

I don't know what battery the MDX TPMS uses but mine are 9.5 years old now and still working.

TPMS that are "built into" cars have a very long life, 10 years or more. Aftermarket ones for trailers, not so, since they must transmit 50 ft or so, and are not internal to the rim, but mount on metal valve stems, batteries tend to last over a year but not 2 years, so, to avoid having batteries fail on a trip, i just replace them all each year before we start using the trailers. But 2 trailers, 10 tires total, each with 2 batteries, adds up.