Yellow Car on lift warning

I noticed something odd when I walked up to my car the other day. My halo lights always come on when I unlock my car. This time they didn't. That was the first sign that something was wrong. When I went to start up my car it started up perfectly fine but I got the yellow car on lift symbol. All my service is up to date and closest service item I have coming up is an oil change but that is not for another 6k miles. I checked my headlights and rear lights while the car was on and everything was working properly. My thought is that it may be the battery? My car is a 2011 with 72k miles and the battery has never been replaced.

Anyone else have experience with this or think it may be something other than the battery?

I believe that’s telling you your state inspection is due soon

Na, that's increased battery discharge. Youll get it when your battery is low. Causes could be your battery is going bad or potentially your alternator isn't functioning properly to charge your battery.

Start with the manual. Its a service warning. You should be able to look through the check control to see what it wants. If nothing shows up, replace the battery. You should replace the battery anyway, its hella old and all kinds of gremlins occur when not in tip top shape.

Thanks guys. I toggled through the menu and no service items are due at this time. I will start with replacing the battery and go from there.

serg87 wrote

Thanks guys. I toggled through the menu and no service items are due at this time. I will start with replacing the battery and go from there.

I did the same when I had this issue, turned out that the alternator was working intermittently. You can check your alternator output via Carly if you want to be sure before you replace something you don't have to.

If you don't have Carly you can monitor your battery voltage via the cabin while driving. If you see that your battery voltage is beginning to decrease as you drive it could point to your alternator.

You can peep my thread here: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1458453

But note that I was having a few other issues at the same time as the alternator issues (Throttle actuators).

I just got the same thing this morning lol. Luckily, I was on the way to drop off the car at my local indy for rod bearings and, yes BOOF-M3 and
derbo, suspension too. Looks like this is going to be an expensive trip if it's the alternator!

94jedi wrote

I just got the same thing this morning lol. Luckily, I was on the way to drop off the car at my local indy for rod bearings and, yes BOOF-M3 and
derbo, suspension too. Looks like this is going to be an expensive trip if it's the alternator!

Only spent $265 on the alternator, so not terrible although I did do the labor myself. Hopefully they dont quote you something outragoues for a job that took less than an hour. Good luck!

JP10 wrote

I did the same when I had this issue, turned out that the alternator was working intermittently. You can check your alternator output via Carly if you want to be sure before you replace something you don't have to.

If you don't have Carly you can monitor your battery voltage via the cabin while driving. If you see that your battery voltage is beginning to decrease as you drive it could point to your alternator.

You can peep my thread here: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1458453

But note that I was having a few other issues at the same time as the alternator issues (Throttle actuators).

Thank you. This is helpful. I don't have iCarly so I will use the video you sent to check voltage in cabin.

JP10 wrote

Only spent $265 on the alternator, so not terrible although I did do the labor myself. Hopefully they dont quote you something outragoues for a job that took less than an hour. Good luck!

Is there a decent DIY out there? What exactly is involved? Is it done from the top or the bottom?

94jedi wrote

Is there a decent DIY out there? What exactly is involved? Is it done from the top or the bottom?

Top, pretty sure I used this DIY: https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1180343

It fairly simple although I saw many people run into issues when it comes to actually removing the alternator. Takes a little bit of force, maybe more then I felt comfortable applying, but you got to do what you got to do. Had to use a prybar.

Having an extra set of hands is helpful when pulling the radiator fan out.

my '11 started giving me this same symbol a few months ago, battery died shortly afterwards (it was the original also). Replaced that and was good to go

JP10 wrote

Na, that's increased battery discharge. Youll get it when your battery is low. Causes could be your battery is going bad or potentially your alternator isn't functioning properly to charge your battery.

What if it's the red on the lift? That indicates?

zipper228 wrote

my '11 started giving me this same symbol a few months ago, battery died shortly afterwards (it was the original also). Replaced that and was good to go

Okay, cool. Gives me some hope that its just the battery. Thanks for sharing.

Route 16 wrote

What if it's the red on the lift? That indicates?

Don't quote me on this, but I think its worn brake pads. Feel free to google to double check!

JP10 wrote

Don't quote me on this, but I think its worn brake pads. Feel free to google to double check!

That would show up in the control messages. OP said no control message.

Mvy wrote

That would show up in the control messages. OP said no control message.

Understood, I was talking to Route 16 who did not specify whether he checked controls. Also was a shot in the dark(google).

It's a service notification. Could be for bulb control failure, inspection interval exceeded, fuel supply malfunction, etc, etc. It doesn't indicate anything in particular, a number of faults can bring it up. Battery...Brakes..are all guesses. Usually there is a message in the check control. If you can't find it then have it properly checked to determine what it needs. Otherwise you're throwing parts at it and wasting money.

JP10 wrote

Na, that's increased battery discharge. Youll get it when your battery is low. Causes could be your battery is going bad or potentially your alternator isn't functioning properly to charge your battery.

I store my car in the winter and I'm not able to put it on a batter tender.
I've had the warning about increased battery discharge before. It clearly states an issue with the battery.
It's not the Car on the Lift warning...

serg87 wrote

I noticed something odd when I walked up to my car the other day. My halo lights always come on when I unlock my car. This time they didn't. That was the first sign that something was wrong. When I went to start up my car it started up perfectly fine but I got the yellow car on lift symbol. All my service is up to date and closest service item I have coming up is an oil change but that is not for another 6k miles. I checked my headlights and rear lights while the car was on and everything was working properly. My thought is that it may be the battery? My car is a 2011 with 72k miles and the battery has never been replaced.

Anyone else have experience with this or think it may be something other than the battery?

What deansbimmer said . When this happened in my car - first was for increased battery discharge, the other time was for state inspection overdue. Would not be a bad idea to see what codes can u pull from a regular OBD scanner OR the Carly app. Gives you at least an initial idea where to start.

Also, if your car runs and drives fine for let's say more than 30 mins to an hour, unlikely it's the alternator. Once running, all electrics are powered by the alternator and if the alternator is completely kaput, unlikely that the battery will be able to support all the electrics in this car for that long when running. Just my 2 cents but I am by no means a car expert OR a mechanic

K-M3 wrote

What deansbimmer said . When this happened in my car - first was for increased battery discharge, the other time was for state inspection overdue. Would not be a bad idea to see what codes can u pull from a regular OBD scanner OR the Carly app. Gives you at least an initial idea where to start.

Also, if your car runs and drives fine for let's say more than 30 mins to an hour, unlikely it's the alternator. Once running, all electrics are powered by the alternator and if the alternator is completely kaput, unlikely that the battery will be able to support all the electrics in this car for that long when running. Just my 2 cents but I am by no means a car expert OR a mechanic

My fault, seems I provided some poor info! I was just going off my personal experience dealing with similar symptoms.

The alternator could function fine one day, and not the next due to a faulty voltage regulator. Some days all would be good, other days I'd have to restart the car numerous times to get the alternator kicking.

JP10 wrote

My fault, seems I provided some poor info! I was just going off my personal experience dealing with similar symptoms.

The alternator could function fine one day, and not the next due to a faulty voltage regulator. Some days all would be good, other days I'd have to restart the car numerous times to get the alternator kicking.

I don't think you gave bad info. The battery needed to be replaced regardless. It was the original battery from 2011. I replaced it yesterday with a Duralast H8-AGM from Autozone and I plan on getting it coded and registered today. I'll have the shop see if any other codes come up. The warning light was gone after I installed the new battery last night. Hopefully that solved it.