Probably nothing...but, asking for help

So, I have a 2016 TRD OR AT (push to start) with 20K miles on it. I havn't had any major issues with the truck other the transmission being sub par when I was out in Summit County, CO last month. Anyway, Here's what happened this morning:

It was about 15 degrees F this morning, it was probably around 5 degrees last night. I went out to my truck, opened the door started the truck and then got out to take my ski boots from the bed and put them in the cab to warm up.

I got back in the drivers seat after a minute or less after starting it. And due to my involuntary reflex of sitting and then hitting the button; I hit the start button again even though it was already on. So after mistakenly turning it off, i went to turn it back on, and it wouldn't start. It sounded like i had a dead battery so I pressed the 'push to start' again to turn it off. I waited a second to try again, same thing happened. So i let it sit for a little longer, as I was very confused, and then tried again, this time it got over the hump of just sounding like a dead battery and actually started- but then within second shut itself down. I waited about a minute and tried again, and it started, sounded a little off (could have been my imagination) so I let it idle for a couple mins and then pulled out of my drive way and all was normal. Hasn't happened again.

So what I'm wondering from you knowledgable people on here is- should I be worried? I just had a service app. about 400miles ago and they checked the battery, all was fine. Is there a chance that this is a sign of a larger issue? Most likely I'm thinking because it was pretty cold and running and then I turned it off on mistake and immediately tried to start again, something under the hood was a little upset with me and then got confused. Anyone had this happen to them or know why it did this/should I be worried?

 

Don't be worried

Enjoy your truck

If it happens again, dealer visit

 

"after a minute or less after starting it"

A battery at 5º is marginal at best as I'm sure you well know. Did you perchance have your lights on during the attempted restart? I know I keep mine on auto and I should make sure they are in the off position when starting on extra cold mornings.

You probably sucked enough juice off the surface of the battery with the first start and it had to sit for a minute to get back to its +12 volts.

My truck came with a block heater. You might consider one. They're cheap but not something I would want to install outside while laying in the snow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifj5YcSpeKc

SB

 

Might be a dumb question; was the brake pedal applied when you attempted to restart?

 

ya and it was like trying to start and sounding like a vehicle does when the battery is dead, then half started after a few tires but turned itself off and then started and all was normal it was real weird.

 

but obviously the battery wasn't dead cause when i first started it there was no problem

 

Right... but it may have only had enough juice on its surface for one start. Lead-acid batteries a funny thing with the voltage.

 

great thank you for this, and yes my DRL lights were on. 'You probably sucked enough juice off the surface of the battery with the first start and it had to sit for a minute to get back to its +12 volts.' THIS sounds like what happened, I'm not very mechanical so I didn't know the specifics of what could have actually happened, thank you.

 

If you have a battery charger, you should top your battery off or float charge it, especially in sub freezing weather where the battery's performance (CCA) and capacity (RC) is significantly reduced. I use fused quick disconnects and smart temperature compensated battery chargers on all our vehicles. Keeping my batteries fully charged and good preventive maintenance significantly reduces the risk of battery freezing and increases the service life, particularly if we make a lot of short trips (< 5 miles).

Battery surface charges will give you a higher voltage reading to lead you to the believing the the battery has a greater State-of-Charge than it really has.

 

Yeah, sounds like the battery was a tad low.... I'd clean the posts and the clamps and then charge her up good.... Cleaning the posts can make a real difference on how it takes the charge from the alternator....5 deg F should not be a big deal, unless you got the crappiest battery on the market.

EDIT.. Hey OP, if you gotta get another battery sometime, pay attention to the CCA Cold Cranking Amps.... You should have around 800 A or more in colder climates...

 

I have never had a problem with a battery in sub zero weather... I have lived in Canada my entire life and never heard of such a thing. And btw 5 degrees is spring like weather

I am guessing it was simply a cpu thing from you starting /restarting etc

 

Loose , or bad connection or bad cell in battery . Have a load test done . I have seen cells on the verge , one check they are good , then another check bad. I would not trust it myself . Too cold to be stranded .