[Tamara]

It could be that the battery is low because of lack of use. All modern cars use a small battery current even when locked and parked to power the various control units on the vehicle, even though most are in a low power mode when parked. It might also be that the battery is old and could do with replacement, on a 2014 car. 6 to 8 years is about average for the life of a battery, although they can last a few years longer.

But the car has a smart alternator which charges more in certain driving conditions and less in others. Because of that, the battery is kept in a less than fully charged state to allow headroom to accept the charge from the alternator, and not waste it. But that does mean there is less room for the battery to lose charge and the low battery warning can be common, even with a very good battery, if for instance you are using the sounds system whilst parked with the engine not running.

Running the engine periodically for 15 minutes is one of the worse things you can do for the health of the engine. It will cause excessive wear over time. You would be much better off using a "smart" microprocessor controlled battery charger such as the Ctek devices, that can be left on for long periods of time with no risk of damaging the battery. Alternatively, the car would need a drive of around 30 miles or more to properly warm up the engine and burn off contaminants suspended in the oil. Running the engine for 15 minutes is also unlikely to put any appreciable charge into the battery, because you are probably using as much energy starting the car.

Thank you so much, I felt relieved when I read this. I’ll wait until I start driving the car regularly and check if it happens then as well. I hope it won’t.
Thanks also for the explanation about the engine’s operation I had no idea it could use so much electricity, but now that I think about it, the entire infotainment system and dashboard have complex animations even when the car is turned off. In any case, I’ll try to find a charger to prevent the battery from getting too damaged before I start driving it daily.

 

[Tamara]

Hi Tamara, I have a V40 CC from 2013 and I bought it 6m ago and it's also displaying the same message. The battery is not old and was tested by a garage who told me the battery was fine. I recently took it to a Volvo dealer and they checked it and told me that the issue is the battery is not a Volvo one so it could be that the issue is definitely the battery. They charged it for a few hours and I got the car back without issues or messages. So it runs fine and some features like the start/stop at traffic lights were working....but after a few days this feature stopped working too. I will wait until the service day + MOT and ask them to replace the battery. Hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for your commment. In the meantime, I started driving the car, and the error hasn’t reappeared. Srevice tested the main battery, and they confirmed that it’s in good condition. However, the start-stop system still isn’t working. It’s possible that if you have second battery the issue is with the second battery, which I haven’t tested because accessing it requires removing the bumper and the wheel arch liner on the driver’s side.

 

[Tamara]

2014 model also due for a cam belt, was this done before you purchased?
Will need to change the battery as well it will be into the end of the car's second battery

The service book says that the belt was changed about 10,000 kilometers ago. Right now, the car doesn't show any errors since I started driving regularly, but the start-stop system is not working. The only thing left is to check the second battery, so I'll have to take the car to be tested, including that second battery, although it's difficult to access it.

 

[Tamara]

Don't worry about the secondary battery unless you really really want stop/start. I have the system programmed out so it never works. But there are probably 30 or so reasons in the car handbook why stop/start won't always work. The secondary battery is only used to offload running consumers from the main battery for a matter of milliseconds when starting from a stop start event. It is recharged by the CEM (ECU) whilst driving, which normally takes a matter of seconds. At all other times, it is completely disconnected from the car's electrical system by a relay, also controlled by the CEM.

If you've been recharging the main battery, the BMS calculation of state of charge and the actual battery state of charge can get out of sync, and it needs time to recover. Normally 6-8 hours of leaving the car parked and all doors locked will sort that out, but there can be a lot of other reasons. As I say, mine's programmed so it doesn't work at all. My wife has just got a new car, not a Volvo, and there's no way to program it out apart from pressing the button every time you get in it, so it now has a small piuece of cable tie pushed down ther side of the start/stop button to keep it permanently off

Thank you, I was hoping that I could somehow turn off the start/stop because I find it very annoying and I definitely don’t need it while driving. By the way, the idea for the other car is a good one!