Discovering a drained battery in your vehicle can be an exasperating event. Usually, this occurs due to an electrical issue or inadvertently leaving your lights on. However, it seems that Chevrolet has potentially introduced a new method of depleting your battery, courtesy of a software update glitch.
As detailed by
GM Authority, an erroneous software update for the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models could be triggering issues for owners. Users have been voicing complaints on social platforms about their pickups encountering battery drainage, with a multitude of reports emerging on social media over the recent days. Notably, both trucks come equipped with the ability to receive updates over the air.
A potential explanation for this problem has been circulating within various GM forums. A user, who claims to be a GM technician, has indicated that the issue is linked to the entertainment system. Allegedly, a recent software update is causing the system to become stuck in recovery mode, leading to continuous battery drainage even when the vehicle is turned off.
The user suggested that disabling the “background update downloads” and “Wi-Fi update downloads when available” settings in the truck’s entertainment system could prevent the update, thereby averting the battery drainage issue.
Posts on Reddit shed additional light on the matter. One user recounted a dead battery incident, with the issue persisting even after replacing the battery. Disabling the radio’s update settings, however, resolved the issue.
This implies that the problem does not stem from a faulty update that has been successfully installed. Instead, it seems that something is causing the truck to remain engaged in update downloads or searches even when powered off, leading to detrimental effects on the truck’s battery. Additional posts support this hypothesis.
If you’ve been driving your new Colorado or Canyon lately, it might be prudent to adjust a few settings to avoid getting stranded this week. The Drive has reached out to GM for comments and will update this article accordingly.
Have a lead? Inform the writer at: lewin@thedrive.com
