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Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Why Is My Electric Vehicle (EV) Showing a Warning Light?

Errors can sometimes occur in your electric vehicle’s electrical systems. If that happens, you might see a red warning light in your cluster display. Here’s what to do when you see that warning light.

Symptoms/Troubleshooting Steps

I see a red light in my electric vehicle’s cluster. What should I do?

I see a red light in my electric vehicle’s cluster and my heat/air conditioning turned off or isn’t working right. What should I do?

I see a red light in my electric vehicle’s cluster. What should I do?

There may be a problem if you see a red icon in your instrument cluster that looks like a vehicle with an exclamation mark on it and/or one of these messages:

 

  1. “Service Battery Fault Vehicle Won’t Restart”
  2. “Reduced Acceleration Drive With Care”
  3. “Charge Vehicle Soon”

 

These messages can mean there is a problem with your battery and that your vehicle needs service. When they’re active, your electric vehicle will reduce its power consumption to protect the battery. You’ll notice it driving much slower, and regenerative braking features like One-Pedal Driving will be disabled.

 

However, these messages can also show up when your vehicle’s battery systems have errors communicating with each other. These errors can be fixed by resetting your vehicle.

 

IMPORTANT: Before trying to reset your vehicle, make sure your vehicle is parked in a safe location. Depending on the error, you may not be able to restart your vehicle after turning it off.

 

Here’s how to check if the red light means there’s a problem with the battery or just an error that you can fix:

 

  1. If you were charging your vehicle, unplug it from the charging station.
  2. Keep the car in PARK and turn it on.
    a. If your vehicle does not have an On/Off button, see below for instructions.
  3. Wait 10 seconds, then turn it off.
  4. Wait another 10 seconds, then turn it back on.
  5. Repeat this process one more time, waiting 10 seconds between turning the vehicle off and then back on again.
  6. If the warning light and messages are still there after you’ve turned the vehicle on and off three times, see “If the warning light didn’t go away” below.
    a. Be sure to try the steps below before calling OnStar®†. If the red warning light is lit, the OnStar system may say your vehicle needs service.

 

If your vehicle doesn’t have an On/Off button:

  1. Keep the vehicle in PARK.
  2. Press the brake pedal once to turn it on.
  3. Wait 10 seconds, then hit the “Vehicle Off” icon on your infotainment system.
  4. Wait 10 more seconds and then press the brake pedal again to turn the vehicle back on.
  5. Repeat this process one more time, waiting 10 seconds between turning the vehicle off and then back on again.
  6. If the warning light and messages are still there after you’ve turned the vehicle on and off three times, see “If the warning light didn’t go away” below.
    a. Be sure to try the steps below before calling OnStar. If the red warning light is lit, the OnStar system may say your vehicle needs service.

 

If the warning light didn’t go away and/or you still can’t charge the vehicle, there is one more reset you can try:*

  1. Turn the vehicle off, exit the vehicle and lock it.
  2. Move away from the vehicle. The key fob needs to be 15 feet away from the vehicle for this to work.
  3. Wait 30 minutes, keeping the fob at least 15 feet from the vehicle the entire time.
  4. After 30 minutes, turn the vehicle back on.
  5. Turn the vehicle off and back on again twice, waiting 10 seconds between turning it off and back on again each time.

 

If these steps do not resolve the issue, your vehicle will need service. If you cannot put your vehicle in DRIVE, you will need to have your vehicle towed to a Dealer.

 

*If you cannot safely move 15 feet away from the vehicle or remain outside it for 30 minutes, you will need to have your vehicle towed to a Dealer for service.

I see a red light in my electric vehicle’s cluster and my heat/air conditioning turned off or isn’t working right. What should I do?

Check if you see a red icon in your instrument cluster that looks like a vehicle with an exclamation mark on it and/or one of these messages:

  1. “Service Vehicle Soon”
  2. ”Unable to Charge”
  3. “Service High Voltage System”

 

These messages can mean there is a problem with your battery cooling system and that your vehicle needs service.

 

However, they can also occur when the battery cooling system encounters an error. If the red light appeared while you were driving, you can troubleshoot it yourself.

 

IMPORTANT: Before trying to troubleshoot, make sure your vehicle is parked in a safe location. Depending on the error, you may not be able to restart your vehicle after turning it off.

 

Here’s how to check if there’s a problem with the system or if it’s an error you can fix:

  1. Turn your vehicle off.
  2. Open and shut the driver door.
  3. Wait 30 seconds. During this 30 seconds, your vehicle’s software will attempt to fix the problem.
  4. After 30 seconds, turn the vehicle back on. You may still see the red warning light in your instrument cluster, but your heat/air conditioning should turn back on and your vehicle should start charging again.
  5. Turn the vehicle off and back on again. The red warning light should disappear. If it does, your vehicle is safe to charge and drive.

You might see the red warning light and your heat/air conditioning might not work after turning your vehicle on after not driving it for a few hours. In that case, try the following steps to determine if there’s an issue:

  1. Turn the vehicle on and off five times, waiting 30 seconds between turning it off and turning it back on again.
  2. After five on/off cycles, the light should go away and your heat/air conditioning should turn back on.
  3. If not, contact your Dealer to schedule service.

 

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To find out if your vehicle has this feature, contact your dealer or refer to your vehicle’s equipment list. Please check your vehicle Owner’s Manual for more information about features.