2024 Nautilus frequently in battery saver mode

[jeffcarp]

I live in the Midwest so we're cold right now. I'm finding that the car is frequently going into battery saving mode. I can go 2 or 3 days without driving it or driving it for just 10 minutes or so. Yesterday, I drove the car 30 miles and immediately upon arriving at my destination the car went into battery saver mode. It was about 10° at my destination and I stayed there for 1 hour. I then drove home another 30 miles. The car sat overnight in a garage that is about 20° inside. This morning, the car is back in battery saver mode.

I can imagine that if I don't drive the car for 2 or 3 days that the battery is not full and a relatively short drive of 30 mi that is using the battery during the drive probably is not providing it with much of a charge.

Here's what I don't understand. I put a 10 amp Noco Genius on the battery terminals under the hood and it took less than 5 minutes for it to go to fully charged maintenance mode status. So if the battery is back to full charge in such a short time then why is it going into battery saver mode so quickly?

 

[RussW]

You may have a bad battery. Ford/Lincoln had many bad batteries (cells defective inside). I would take it to your dealer and have them do a full load/stress test on the battery. That will tell if it’s bad.
The new Lincoln’s with all those electronics in them are completely reliant on a fully working battery and if it’s bad, then you’ll have problems.
My 2024 Nautilus Black Label went through
three (!) bad batteries before the fourth one was the charm. It’s been working perfectly for 6 months now and counting (knock on wood for luck!). I couldn’t believe that there were that many bad batteries.
So…. Stress/load test it. And while the dealer has it in the shop, have them check for all software/firmware updates. There was a big one a little while back that took care of a parasitic drain on the battery.
Good luck !

 

[angore]

I live in the Midwest so we're cold right now. I'm finding that the car is frequently going into battery saving mode. I can go 2 or 3 days without driving it or driving it for just 10 minutes or so. Yesterday, I drove the car 30 miles and immediately upon arriving at my destination the car went into battery saver mode. It was about 10° at my destination and I stayed there for 1 hour. I then drove home another 30 miles. The car sat overnight in a garage that is about 20° inside. This morning, the car is back in battery saver mode.

I can imagine that if I don't drive the car for 2 or 3 days that the battery is not full and a relatively short drive of 30 mi that is using the battery during the drive probably is not providing it with much of a charge.

Here's what I don't understand. I put a 10 amp Noco Genius on the battery terminals under the hood and it took less than 5 minutes for it to go to fully charged maintenance mode status. So if the battery is back to full charge in such a short time then why is it going into battery saver mode so quickly?

A battery that charges quickly from a low state usually means it is a dead battery. It just cannot hold the charge due to internal fault.

 

[Houtex]

My Nautilus with 11,000 miles went into Battery Saver Mode this morning for the 2nd time. First time was a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday the car was driven twice for short drives.

Other things that happened yesterday. I used the new Android app for the first time. Remote locked the car using the app. Changed the phone Battery access to Unrestricted from Optimized. Don’t know if any of these actions contributed to the message.

I’m kind of in a pickle because next Monday I drive back to Houston from Cape Coral, FL. I would hate to have a dead battery on the trip. I doubt that I can get a new battery at the Ft Myers Lincoln dealer in a week. Aren’t they back ordered? I did not have a good experience with the Ft Myers service manager when I wanted to have the fuel injectors replaced before driving back to Houston last summer and I had to drive back on the original injectors.

Any suggestions on what to do to ensure I will make it to Houston? I will have one overnight stop at a hotel. Buy a battery charger? Tester? Trickle charger? Thanks!

______________________________

 

[CliffDiver]

When mine started going into sleep just before Christmas, I bought a Noco battery jump box to keep in the car. My dealer had the battery in stock and replaced it when I finally got it into the shop in January.

 

[RAB]

Any suggestions on what to do to ensure I will make it to Houston? I will have one overnight stop at a hotel. Buy a battery charger? Tester? Trickle charger? Thanks!

After watching some comparison videos that angore posted last year, I purchased a "GOOLOO Car Jump Starter, 4000A Peak 12V Battery Jumper Pack" for $90 from Walmart.com (same price as Amazon at the time, but Walmart had free next day delivery).

I've started my completely dead Nautilus with it, and it's easy to use, works great, and holds its charge (I check it every 60-90 days). I keep mine behind the driver's seat since you may not be able to open the rear hatch if the battery is completely dead.

My battery problems seem to be resolved for now, but it's small enough that I still keep it in the car for peace of mind.

I've also used Lincoln Road Service via the Lincoln Way app, and they arrived within 45 minutes and jump started my Nautilus with a unit similar to the GOOLOO and NOCO units.

I agree with others that when the need arises it is ideal to use Lincoln Road Service so that the problem is well documented, but for me it is a matter of circumstances. Am I safely parked at home or work, or am I in a less secure location with young children or elderly passengers in the car? Can I remain stranded for at least 45 minutes, or should I use my GOOLOO and be on my way in 10 minutes?

 

[markfm]

Any suggestions on what to do to ensure I will make it to Houston? I will have one overnight stop at a hotel. Buy a battery charger? Tester? Trickle charger? Thanks!

I'd suggest putting the phone app back into the Optimized category, assuming it is similar to the Deep Sleep type setting on my Samsung Android (minimize or fully stop background app activity). Remove one potential source of "wake up" requests to the vehicle (if the app tries to keep checking vehicle status)

Sam Galloway Ford 's sure shows the BAGM-H4 (the hybrid's 12V battery) is available within 1-2 business days on their parts site - enough time to get one if it's truly dead. Unless the Service Manager you dealt with is the same for their Ford group, perhaps ask the Ford SM if they could do a quick battery test to see if it's failed/borderline.

As to handy parts...a quick trip to the Fort Myers Harbor Freight (faster than ordering things off Amazon):

Harbor Freight | Whatever You Do, Do It For Less

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

I've had good luck with the prior version of the Viking 1000 peak amp LiIon Jump Starter/Power Bank, carry it in a little bag, though honestly even the Cen-Tech 750 peak amp pack is probably sufficient for a hybrid. Jumping a hybrid isn't really about pushing huge cranking amps, but rather getting enough voltage/current to the 12V terminals to let the computers run, start the car using the main high voltage battery, let the hybrid battery do its work to top-off the 12V.

Multimeters & Testers - Harbor Freight Tools

These reliable multimeters & testers are designed for troubleshooting electrical systems and testing voltage in outlets, light fixtures, circuit breakers & more.

www.harborfreight.com

The $20 Cen-Tech handheld voltmeter would let you quickly check the battery voltage before trying to jumpstart it. I'd probably use the two jumper posts under the hood, no need to go right to the battery terminals IMO -the wiring from the under-hood jumper points to the actual battery should be low loss, since they are there specifically to do battery charging and jumping.

After the car has been turned off for a while, if the multimeter shows 10-and-change volts (IIRC, 10.8?) you have a true failed cell. while very low and below 12V reading means you may well have sulfation going on.

 

[JLPicard]

So after owning mine 2024 Nautilus R3 for just over 6 months now, battery saver came up once in the app. It was when mine was being repaired and it took two months so I figured it was just sitting there. Didnt think too much of the app at that time. Well I finally got the app update last Friday and I've had battery saver pop up for 2 days in a row now with the app.

______________________________

 

[Reserve25]

So after owning mine 2024 Nautilus R3 for just over 6 months now, battery saver came up once in the app. It was when mine was being repaired and it took two months so I figured it was just sitting there. Didnt think too much of the app at that time. Well I finally got the app update last Friday and I've had battery saver pop up for 2 days in a row now with the app.

I never got the sleep mode message until I updated the app.

 

[markfm]

It's just a random "guess" on my part, but if anything in the Lincoln Way app was sloppily coded (either the app on your phone or the server-side part that the app actually connects to the vehicle through) it could be checking on the vehicle far more often than you really would need/want. Any time the car has a modem connection running there'll be the Telematics Control Unit (TCU) + likely one or more other computers on the car doing something to respond back (e.g., the window modules responding back to the TCU with the window state).

On my RX I would open the Lexus app to check on windows/locks, or to do a remote start, or..., but really didn't want the app constantly running in the background, so would always kill it when done. Deep Sleep on Samsung Android does just that - no computer cycles given to the app unless it's in the foreground (showing on the screen).

 

[Steve_C]

....Here's what I don't understand. I put a 10 amp Noco Genius on the battery terminals under the hood and it took less than 5 minutes for it to go to fully charged maintenance mode status. So if the battery is back to full charge in such a short time then why is it going into battery saver mode so quickly?

Jeff, you ask a good question!
The reason is that a battery can fail in a few ways. One is if it cannot attain full base voltage. A battery may never be able to be brought back to full base voltage if it is too far compromised.
Another way a battery can fail is it cannot meet its Reserve Capacity, (RC) or in the case of an AGM battery application, Amp Hour Capacity, (AH).
A battery may be able to be brought up to full base voltage, but can fail in its rated RC/AH rated capacity. This is why the posters are suggesting a "Load Test" to be performed.
A load test is used only after a battery is brought up to full base voltage. If full base voltage cannot be achieved, it is pointless to load test.
If a battery is at full base voltage, it could still be bad, as it may not be able to meet its posted AH Capacity.
AH= the measurement of how many amps the battery can provide in one hour.
In the case of the specific AH rating of the 2024 Nautilus AGM battery, I believe it is rated at 50 AH. In simple terms, the battery is rated to be able to deliver 50 amps in 1 hour before falling to a threshold voltage.
This means an AGM battery rated at 50 AH can deliver that 50 amps for 60 minutes before reaching the industry accepted threshold voltage of 10.5 Volts...
That same battery rated at 50 AH can supply 25 amps for 120 minutes before reaching 10.5 volts, etc., etc.
Using the above principle, a load test calculates if a battery can meet its AH criteria as noted above. The more amps you draw, the faster you use up your AH capacity.
I have yet to see anyone posting on this site the principal of AH capacity/parasitic draw in relationship to how long their batteries should be able to sit idle (unused, not started), at full base voltage before using up its rated AH Capacity!
The reason may be they do not know the parasitic draw on their vehicles while sitting unused, and the equation used to determine if their battery meets its AH criteria!
Using the industry accepted average of a 50 ma (milliamp) max parasitic amp draw on some modern vehicles, the equation comes out to:
The amount of time a fully charged battery with a 50 AH rating would last with a constant 50ma draw on it before it reaches 10.5 volts is 41.6 days!
In my case, (2023 Nautilus) My wife received "deep sleep mode" notifications 2x during the winter of 2023/24. On both occasions, the vehicle was sitting over 6 weeks unused, but still able to start OK after messages received. On both occasions, the message appeared when temps fell below 32 degrees F.
The "unknown" variable no one has yet posted is the actual ma draw on their battery!
I am going to post a topic on this shortly, showing the actual draw on my 2023 Nautilus & putting it into the AH equation to establish what the ma draw vs voltage looks like.
With this, one can calculate if their battery meets the rated AH capacity.
Stay Tuned... (Too cold to do it now)!

 

[angore]

This means an AGM battery rated at 50 AH can deliver that 50 amps for 60 minutes before reaching the industry accepted threshold voltage of 10.5 Volts...

Where is the official tests documented on how the AH is calculated for car batteries? I know for consumer C/D/AA batteries, the AH rating is based upon a C/10 drain rate so 1 1000 mah battery is drained at 100 ma to calculate the AH. As drain rate increases, the rated AH drops. I just want to see the full specs on temps, etc.

As for the phone app, unless someone has the Bluetooth nearby devices option set, I do not think the phone app affects the battery drain. For example, at the time of this post with it at 16 F outside (likely near freezing in garage), the app reports my tire pressure at 36 (same as it was after last driven) so do not think the phone is "communicating" real time. This cold weather is likely weeding out all the weak batteries since AH is affected by temperature (hence, the spec for cold cranking amps). Unlike the prior app, it does not tell the time of the last update. I could go a week at times where the app did not show an update timestamp.

A jumper like the Gooloo gives a lot more flexibility than a trickle/maintainer charger. The gooloo can be recharged by the vehicle once started via USB.

If you get a maintainer, I recommend 5 amps or more so it can bring a dead battery back quicker than the 1 or 2 amp models.

______________________________

 

[Houtex]

I'd suggest putting the phone app back into the Optimized category, assuming it is similar to the Deep Sleep type setting on my Samsung Android (minimize or fully stop background app activity). Remove one potential source of "wake up" requests to the vehicle (if the app tries to keep checking vehicle status)

Sam Galloway Ford 's sure shows the BAGM-H4 (the hybrid's 12V battery) is available within 1-2 business days on their parts site - enough time to get one if it's truly dead. Unless the Service Manager you dealt with is the same for their Ford group, perhaps ask the Ford SM if they could do a quick battery test to see if it's failed/borderline.

As to handy parts...a quick trip to the Fort Myers Harbor Freight (faster than ordering things off Amazon):

Harbor Freight | Whatever You Do, Do It For Less

Harbor Freight buys their top quality tools from the same factories that supply our competitors. We cut out the middleman and pass the savings to you!

www.harborfreight.com

I've had good luck with the prior version of the Viking 1000 peak amp LiIon Jump Starter/Power Bank, carry it in a little bag, though honestly even the Cen-Tech 750 peak amp pack is probably sufficient for a hybrid. Jumping a hybrid isn't really about pushing huge cranking amps, but rather getting enough voltage/current to the 12V terminals to let the computers run, start the car using the main high voltage battery, let the hybrid battery do its work to top-off the 12V.

Multimeters & Testers - Harbor Freight Tools

These reliable multimeters & testers are designed for troubleshooting electrical systems and testing voltage in outlets, light fixtures, circuit breakers & more.

www.harborfreight.com

The $20 Cen-Tech handheld voltmeter would let you quickly check the battery voltage before trying to jumpstart it. I'd probably use the two jumper posts under the hood, no need to go right to the battery terminals IMO -the wiring from the under-hood jumper points to the actual battery should be low loss, since they are there specifically to do battery charging and jumping.

After the car has been turned off for a while, if the multimeter shows 10-and-change volts (IIRC, 10.8?) you have a true failed cell. while very low and below 12V reading means you may well have sulfation going on.

My S22 has three options for the Lincoln App. Restricted, optimized and unrestricted.
I think I tried the restricted once but if I recall correctly, my phone as key didn’t quite work. The Lincoln app wants you to set it to Unrestricted. I have had it on Optimized and had not issues with phone as key. I have reset it to Optimized.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am about to pull the trigger on some purchases. I doubt I will try to get a new battery while here unless I think I have a bad battery. I have a lot going on right now including getting a new roof.

 

[markfm]

The voltmeter should give you a feel for if it's at/near a hard failure, check it after it's been off for some time, or in the morning.

If the battery is just, at most, getting a bit weak (losing some capacity), the jumper battery should do the trick. No real 12V cranking on the hybrid, you just need enough voltage/current to turn the vehicle on, and the hybrid battery should take over 12V battery charging at that point.

Fortunately the Nautilus hybrid has its recommended ground point near the positive terminal under the hood. On current Lexus RX hybrids the attachment point is on the far side of the engine bay. People (including tow services) who try to use points near the positive pin have fried the vehicle ECU.

(PITA for me - ready to buy a 25 Nautilus, I just checked and my darn company switched to other vehicle makes for employee discounts this year. I hadn't generated an X-Plan Company Partner PIN in '24 - they're good for up to 12 mo. I joined EAA, need to wait 90 days, until 4/20, to sign a deal w/Lincoln.)

 

[CliffDiver]

The voltmeter should give you a feel for if it's at/near a hard failure, check it after it's been off for some time, or in the morning.

If the battery is just, at most, getting a bit weak (losing some capacity), the jumper battery should do the trick. No real 12V cranking on the hybrid, you just need enough voltage/current to turn the vehicle on, and the hybrid battery should take over 12V battery charging at that point.

Fortunately the Nautilus hybrid has its recommended ground point near the positive terminal under the hood. On current Lexus RX hybrids the attachment point is on the far side of the engine bay. People (including tow services) who try to use points near the positive pin have fried the vehicle ECU.

(PITA for me - ready to buy a 25 Nautilus, I just checked and my darn company switched to other vehicle makes for employee discounts this year. I hadn't generated an X-Plan Company Partner PIN in '24 - they're good for up to 12 mo. I joined EAA, need to wait 90 days, until 4/20, to sign a deal w/Lincoln.)

You might tell a dealer about your X-Plan situation. They might be willing to give you that pricing without it to move the car. Especially at the end of a month. When there became an issue how I was going to prove I was a retiree, they told me they were still going to hold to the deal either way. I ended up proving my last pay stub and they processed X-Plan based on that.

 

[swindler]

Where is the official tests documented on how the AH is calculated for car batteries? I know for consumer C/D/AA batteries, the AH rating is based upon a C/10 drain rate so 1 1000 mah battery is drained at 100 ma to calculate the AH. As drain rate increases, the rated AH drops. I just want to see the full specs on temps, etc.

As for the phone app, unless someone has the Bluetooth nearby devices option set, I do not think the phone app affects the battery drain. For example, at the time of this post with it at 16 F outside (likely near freezing in garage), the app reports my tire pressure at 36 (same as it was after last driven) so do not think the phone is "communicating" real time. This cold weather is likely weeding out all the weak batteries since AH is affected by temperature (hence, the spec for cold cranking amps). Unlike the prior app, it does not tell the time of the last update. I could go a week at times where the app did not show an update timestamp.

A jumper like the Gooloo gives a lot more flexibility than a trickle/maintainer charger. The gooloo can be recharged by the vehicle once started via USB.

If you get a maintainer, I recommend 5 amps or more so it can bring a dead battery back quicker than the 1 or 2 amp models.

I was about to jump all over this but I see you already caught the ball.

Lead-acids can be C/10, although we usually saw them spec'd and tested them at C/20. To clarify, this is typically the rate of discharge which provides the greatest yield of Amps × hours. A faster drain, or sometimes even a slower drain, will result in less total Ah. For example, a 50 Ah battery drained at 50 A may only last 0.5 hour. And in the case of many chemistries, the battery may not even be able to keep the voltage at the needed threshold in the high drain scenarios

______________________________

 

[markfm]

You might tell a dealer about your X-Plan situation. They might be willing to give you that pricing without it to move the car. Especially at the end of a month. When there became an issue how I was going to prove I was a retiree, they told me they were still going to hold to the deal either way. I ended up proving my last pay stub and they processed X-Plan based on that.

I may give that a shot. Last year I would have gone Premiere 1, this year it will be a Premiere 2 (I really want the ventilated front seats, hands-free liftgate is okay, Revel upgrade is okay, auto air refresh/digital scent/Pano roof are don't-care). Local dealer has a pair of P2 in transit, both with the mini spare (Lustrous Gray/Black Onyx-Med Lgt Space Gray, Whisper Blue/Smoked Truffle). Reserve is a hard pass (I'd like the roof rails, but do not want 21" wheels).

@Houtex - if your S22 is running Android 14, the control for Deep Sleep is in the main phone Settings app: Settings - Device Care - Battery - Background Usage Limits - Deep sleeping apps. If you add it there, Android will only give it run time when you have it open on screen. When you switch to any other app the Lincoln app will do nothing (until you open it back to the main screen). I put many apps in that category. Do run apps in that area once in a while, so they can check for Play Store updates (they act like they're "Disabled" while in Deep Sleep).

Apologies for going OT

 

[Houtex]

@Houtex - if your S22 is running Android 14, the control for Deep Sleep is in the main phone Settings app: Settings - Device Care - Battery - Background Usage Limits - Deep sleeping apps. If you add it there, Android will only give it run time when you have it open on screen. When you switch to any other app the Lincoln app will do nothing (until you open it back to the main screen). I put many apps in that category. Do run apps in that area once in a while, so they can check for Play Store updates (they act like they're "Disabled" while in Deep Sleep).

Apologies for going OT

I am on android 14. Because of that my phone as key has stopped working.The communication from Lincoln says they are working on a solution and not to delete the existing setup. I remember you recommending the deep sleeping apps thing before when I complained about phone as key using up my phone battery too quickly, but after doing this my phone no longer worked reliably to use as a key.

 

[jeffcarp]

Well, the dealer had the car all day today. On the way to the dealer, while in BlueCruise mode, using the turn signal wouldn't activate a lane change. The dealer said the battery was bad and put in a new battery. They confirmed all software was updated, and ran a diagnostic on the APIM(?) module. The new battery was supposedly fully charged.

I drove home 30 miles. BlueCruise no longer works. All of the settings are set as required and as they were before my service. When I get home the car goes into battery saver mode immediately after turning it off. The door keypad is dark and won't turn on, but still works if I happen to hit the padlock. The two lights in the cargo bay don't come on. Back to the dealer I guess.

 

[swindler]

Many of those features are designed to not work if the vehicle is in battery saver mode. Try resetting the BMS — if you think the dealer might not have. It might address the issues.