Battery Load Management

The vehicle has Electric Power Management (EPM) that estimates the battery's temperature and state of charge. It then adjusts the voltage for best performance and extended life of the battery.

When the battery's state of charge is low, the voltage is raised slightly to quickly bring the charge back up.

When the state of charge is high, the voltage is lowered slightly to prevent overcharging. If the vehicle has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage display on the Driver Information Center (DIC), you may see the voltage move up or down. This is normal. If there is a problem, an alert will be displayed.

The battery can be discharged at idle if the electrical loads are very high. This is true for all vehicles.

This is because the generator (alternator) may not be spinning fast enough at idle to produce all the power that is needed for very high electrical loads.

A high electrical load occurs when several of the following are on, such as: headlamps, high beams, fog lamps, rear window defogger, climate control fan at high speed, heated seats, engine cooling fans, trailer loads, and loads plugged into accessory power outlets.

EPM works to prevent excessive discharge of the battery. It does this by balancing the generator's output and the vehicle's electrical needs.

It can increase engine idle speed to generate more power, whenever needed. It can temporarily reduce the power demands of some accessories.

Normally, these actions occur in steps or levels, without being noticeable. In rare cases at the highest levels of corrective action, this action may be noticeable to the driver. If so, a Driver Information Center (DIC) message might be displayed, such as BATTERY SAVER ACTIVE or BATTERY VOLTS LOW. If this message is displayed, it is recommended that the driver reduce the electrical loads as much as possible. See Driver Information Center (DIC).

    See also:

    Flash-to-Pass
    This feature allows the high-beam headlamps to be used to signal the driver in front of you that you want to pass. Pull and hold the turn signal/lane change lever toward you to use this fea ...

    Information Displays
    Driver Information Center (DIC) The DIC displays information about the vehicle. It also displays warning messages if a system problem is detected. See Vehicle Messages for more information. All m ...

    Treadwear
    The treadwear grade is a comparative rating based on the wear rate of the tire when tested under controlled conditions on a specified government test course. For example, a tire graded 150 ...