2009 outlander cold start issues
 

Hey all...

have a 2009 v6 outlander about 205,000KM on it.

Now that it's winter here it has trouble starting first thing in the morning. IIRC we tested the battery last winter and it seemed ok but I don't ever remember replaceing the battery in the past. So is it time to do so - 9 years? I'm assuming yes?

Any specific type of battery needed? I've never replaced a battery before at all.

Thanks!
Dave

If your battery is original and 9 years old, it's probably ready to give up the ghost. When you describe it as "having trouble starting in the morning," do you mean it cranks slower than usual and doesn't want to turn over, or does it crank fine but just doesn't want to start easily? If it's cranking slow, that's the battery.

You can take it to your shop of choice and they'll recommend the right battery for you. Expect to pay somewhere between $60-$100 US to get one installed.

The cranking doesn't seem too bad. It start seems to just start hard - shaking, growling. We also notice that in the winter if the gas tank is a 1/4 or less it really struggles as well.

No issues ever in the warmer weather regardless of fuel level.

That sounds like something other than a battery problem. Fuel delivery issue? Ignition coils? What's the history of your spark plugs?

So it was the battery. However I'm assuming all memory got wiped as we had to reset the radio presets.
We had it done at the dealer. So what happens with all the ecu updates i had over the years? Are they all gone? Since it was done at the dealer, do they update the ecu or pcm or whatever it is after installing a new battery? We had that battery for 8 years ago that's a lot of learning gone lol

System updates are permanent learning (transmission) are semi permanent and will survive at least 30 minutes with no power, only radio station die rapidly.

I changed my battery after 5 years and only lost the radio.
8 years is stretching on a OEM battery