Brand new, no start, no electrical
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I'm not familiar with your model year, but I don't think that leaving the FOB in the truck overnight would drain the battery.
West 1
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Leaving the Fob in the car on the new cars does drain the battery. The car knows the FOB is there and is sitting waiting to be started with computers activated.
I would have thought it would be good for a couple days but it certainly does drain the battery as the car never goes to sleep.
Charge the battery with a battery charger, don’t jump start it.
My buddy has the new Corvette Z06. He put it in a shop to have a coating put over the paint on the front. They had the hood open and the key fob in the car for a few hours. Job done, the car had a dead battery. This car only had 1200 miles on it total since purchase.
The shop jumped the battery and started the car but the computer held the car in LIMP mode and when I checked codes for him it had 45 low voltage codes that had to be cleared before the car would run normally again.
BTW: We ran his car on a Dyno just to see what kind of power it makes. The Z06 is naturally aspirated. Factory rated at 670 HP.
It made just over 700 HP at 8200 RPM factory stock! Amazing technology.
BTW: To clear codes in these newer GM cars you have to put the car into SERVICE Mode first, then it will allow you to clear codes. You can’t just plug in and delete like you could in older cars.
I would have thought it would be good for a couple days but it certainly does drain the battery as the car never goes to sleep.
Charge the battery with a battery charger, don’t jump start it.
My buddy has the new Corvette Z06. He put it in a shop to have a coating put over the paint on the front. They had the hood open and the key fob in the car for a few hours. Job done, the car had a dead battery. This car only had 1200 miles on it total since purchase.
The shop jumped the battery and started the car but the computer held the car in LIMP mode and when I checked codes for him it had 45 low voltage codes that had to be cleared before the car would run normally again.
BTW: We ran his car on a Dyno just to see what kind of power it makes. The Z06 is naturally aspirated. Factory rated at 670 HP.
It made just over 700 HP at 8200 RPM factory stock! Amazing technology.
BTW: To clear codes in these newer GM cars you have to put the car into SERVICE Mode first, then it will allow you to clear codes. You can’t just plug in and delete like you could in older cars.
by battery was completely dead. i had it on a trickle charger and still real low. I jumped it off my wrangler and it seems fine now. but that is some trash engineering. Same disappointment as the guy who was in charge of the buttons and screens. pure nonsense
Your trickle charger is going to take eons (read: days) to charge up the battery, as you found out. Most are less than 2AH chargers, and many are less than 1AH. @West 1 recommended a battery charger, not a trickle charger, and that was good advice. Sometimes the electronics don't like a jump start, and the codes can get in the way of it running correctly afterward; you were fortunate (and lucky) that didn't happen.
West 1
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Leaving the Fob in the car is similar to turning an old key set up to the Run position without starting. I own 2 cars now with similar FOBS and I don't like them. If you have to carry the thing around why not use it to start the car rather than have it in your pocket.
My Porsche has a FOB you need to carry and separately it has a Key that you turn to start the engine. The Key stays in the car but is removable??? Who thought that program up? You get used to it but it never make sense to me.
Glad you got it running and everything works again. The Corvette mentioned would drive after the jump but RPM was limited and it ran and shifted strange until fixed while showing many warnings on the dash.
My Porsche has a FOB you need to carry and separately it has a Key that you turn to start the engine. The Key stays in the car but is removable??? Who thought that program up? You get used to it but it never make sense to me.
Glad you got it running and everything works again. The Corvette mentioned would drive after the jump but RPM was limited and it ran and shifted strange until fixed while showing many warnings on the dash.
seems kinda strange, it should at best time out rap (10 minutes) and go to sleep mode if no pedals or buttons are touched.
god forbid you wanted it to stay on otherwise and it damm sure wouldn't unless you did some scratch your head and rub your belly trick
god forbid you wanted it to stay on otherwise and it damm sure wouldn't unless you did some scratch your head and rub your belly trick
West 1
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A trickle charger even with a 2 amp charge rate is zero holp to a system that will draw 20-40 amps if you leave the FOB in the car. Simple math tells you that.
tom3
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Makes me glad I have to use a key and when I turn it off, it's off. I'd probably leave that fob on the console once a week.
strutaeng
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If you had another vehicle you can take your drained battery to the local auto parts store and they will charge it for free, just go pick it up after like 6-8 hours. Kinda inconvenient, of course, but that's another option...
KMeloney
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You can set the truck to chirp at you when you exit the truck and leave the keys in it. HUGE help for me.
tooleyondeck
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I wonder how rental companies get around that issue? Just about every car I've rented for travel had the key inside it.
2024 White Tahoe
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If there's anything positive to be gleaned here, great to here your 2026 isn't dead for no reason. I would not have thought a fob left in the vehicle would cause it to be dead. Ours does beep at us when it's left. And agreed with the tenders or trickle chargers, my largest is 5A, that's not going to be able to bring something back from dead very quickly. For that, I'd use a 55A RV power supply (also a charger). It is regulated (has to be or RV appliances would be damaged). I've taken measurements at at 23A it was 13.2 volts as designed
Too_L8T
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I’d rather risk a dead battery than having the doors lock with my keys in it
to each their own i guess
to each their own i guess
Browner
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Similar concern, happened 4 times always in a heated garage with fob left in vehicle, on 3rd warrantied battery dealership telling me not to leave fob in vehicle. It literally killed the battery to where charging it wasn't enough. GM Bulletin 24-NA-039 was utilized. By the way this started happening 2.5 years into ownership and I always left the fob in the vehicle. It's been about 3 weeks since last in so we'll see.
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