The Cadillac Lyriq is the luxury marque’s first all-electric vehicle, initially rolling off the line for the 2023 model year. Many Cadillac Lyriq owners have recently complained via social media about an issue that’s draining their vehicle’s 12-volt battery. Now, GM Authority is looking into what’s going on with this new battery-drain issue for the Cadillac Lyriq.
For those readers who may be unaware, several Cadillac Lyriq owners have recently reported that the 12-volt battery in their luxury crossover is turning up completely drained. The issue has cropped up in the past few days, including this past weekend, and is believed to be tied to a failed over-the-air software update that leaves the infotainment system hanging, thus draining the 12-volt battery in the process.
Critically, this issue for the Cadillac Lyriq looks to be similar to an issue reported by 2023 Chevy Colorado and 2023 GMC Canyon owners, as GM Authority covered previously. Just like the Cadillac Lyriq issue, Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon owners report that the battery in their pickup is turning up drained, likely the result of a failed software update.
GM Authority reached out to General Motors for an explanation. In response, a Cadillac spokesperson sent us the following statement:
“Our engineering team is working to learn more about and diagnose the issue to minimize any further potential impact to Lyriq customers. As part of regular vehicle care, Cadillac recommends Lyriq customers keep their vehicles charged to a minimum of 20 percent High Voltage state-of-charge (SOC) and plug their vehicles in to their home charging unit overnight to help maintain 12V battery health.”
At this point, it’s unclear if this battery-drain issue affects all Cadillac Lyriq trim levels. It’s also unclear if the vehicle build date is a factor.
Meanwhile, some Cadillac Lyriq owners are suggesting to that those affected by the issue adjust the vehicle settings so that over-the-air software updates are only performed when the vehicle is plugged in.
One owner reports that his bricked Cadillac Lyriq was revived by disconnecting the 12-volt battery for 10 minutes, then reconnecting it. The battery is located under the hood, hidden underneath the plastic paneling.
Notably, when the 12-volt battery is drained on the Cadillac Lyriq, vehicle owners cannot access the vehicle using the key fob, or even pop the hood. Rather, the vehicle can be accessed manually by using the physical key inside the fob and unlocking the liftgate. To note, the keyhole is located just above the license plate.
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Comments
And Yukon and Tahoe owners with dead batteries and totally bricked vehicles are occurring in huge numbers. They had to drag my 2022 Yukon out of my garage and it was at the dealer for 26 days.
GM needs to have a hard look at who is writing their softwares (google?) and get this fixed. I now have outstanding HVAC software issues after they brought my Yukon back to life with not software and there was been no resolution.
GM software is a disaster.
More than likely, some H1B via holders that GM got cheap are writing the software. No sense paying an experience programmer a proper salary and getting it right when one can get H1Bs by the dozen for chicken feed.
There might be some circuit still active after the Lyriq is shut down. Some power tracing at the battery then at the fuse box will find the culprit. I have done this on many gas powered vehicles, and found that even the electric fuel pump in the gas tank can be running with the switch off.
Article says infotainment system is left hanging, means it is still on. The little 12v battery in my Ford Cmax hybrid is its achilles heel.
Although I am reading that other GM products are experiencing same/similar EV dead batteries, I had to take an extra HB pressure pill reading this! My Dad taught me never by the “first” model year of a new car. I would be losing my s**t if I bought a Lyriq (possibly one of the ugliest Cadillac’s ever to wear the badge) if this “under investigation” problem was in my driveway. Yeah, I’m not that old school, but Cadi keeps dropping the ball, year after year. I’m looking at a Lexus (yes save your typing time, a big TOYOTA YARIS) over another what would have been my 4th new one! C’mon Mary Barra, get out if that suite you work in and figure it the f**k out already!
Lyriq is a very nicely proportioned car. I’m sorry.
Also GMA is speaking nonsense again… it’s not the Infotainment that’s hanging. It’s another module in the vehicle. There is a TSB about it.
Seems almost impossible – but these problems did not exist with cars since FORDs model ‘A’ in 1929…..
I mentioned elsewhere that when I use the 2023 Lyriq’s 12 volt battery system to run an inverter for camping, the vehicle sometimes forgets to turn on the alternator replacement DC to DC converter.
What I have found works is to initially turn on the AC on its max setting, and turn on the rear defogger to make the car realize it has a 12 volt draw. Then the inverter will run normally until I’m through using it.
Sounds like GM needs to fire the teenagers and get a REAL IT team. GM isn’t the only one that needs this…
They keep adding more tech and it’s clearly not tested. Absurd.
Beachy this is doubly bad….
1). They obviously have no one who knows how a car works or how accessories like car infotainment systems are used… Proof of that is when the Silverados had low batteries the act of cranking the engine would cause the ‘infotainment’ to forget all the saved stations.. This is fixable in the design phase of the radios for around an extra $1.
2). They make a change then send it out for OTA UPDATE without even the most minimal testing…. Then that causes problems with many customers instead of just being a bad try that GM could have kept secret.
The current Issue I mentioned when camping I know how to work around to prevent the 12 volt battery from discharging…. I don’t care that GM doesn’t realize it is happening because then I’d have to live with the no doubt triply damaged car after GM thought they ‘fixed’ it.
It isn’t uncommon for software updates to break other functions that were previously working just fine. Just ask Microsoft 🙂
In all seriousness, this is the new type of issues we will see as EVs become more and more common. While they are allegedly more reliable mechanically, the software behind them will be what needs to be “serviced” when something goes wrong. The software engineers at the corporate level will become “master technicians” and be expected to manage the operating systems of all of the various models of EVs. It’s kind of alarming when you think about it. Dealer service techs will fix small issues and just swap out modules if something fails.
I’m not a Tesla fan, but Tesla had OTA capability on the first model S, and it just works, and has always worked. GM should have stolen some expertise from other car companies. GM’s OTA issue isn’t limited to EVs, it affects every model they sell with OTA capability.
Tesla in the early days had quite a few hung updates and dead 12V batteries.
Tesla also had quite an interesting coding bug… where it would keep writing to a log file and stuff their SSD full until it failed.
Exactly! Call TESLA! Put down your pride/ego and speak with the appropriate professional at Tesla.
Why fail once when you can just keep failing repeatedly……
Yep, we’re “all in” on this BS train…
The Corvette C8 has had this problem since it’s introduction. It doesn’t affect every C8 and every update, but plenty of them have ended up with dead batteries after failed OTAs. Given that the C8 has been out for 3 1/2 years, you’d think GM would have figured it out by now.
besides being on the same electrical architecture the hardware in the Lyriq is completely new and the first GM vehicle to be running Snapdragons new chips.
meh:
First off, there is no reason why EVERYTHING in the LYRIQ should be completely new…. I have not run into this ‘Infotainment’ making the car battery dead since I do not have on automatic updates and I defer/refuse all other software updates….
My car refuses to charge the 12 volt battery when doing a ‘mini-camping’, unless I fool it first into starting to charge the battery – which then will continue as I am using it once it has started.
But I REALLY DO NOT CARE what GM recommends to do since it is more than obvious that GM is clueless as to what they are doing….Of course, they have ‘kinda partially solved’ the Silverado dead battery troubles (although the infotainment still forgets everything including full volume levels) – and it only took hundreds of engineers and 3 years (!!!!!!) to get a partial handle on it.
There is plenty of evidence of poor design in the LYRIQ’s cabin, but at least I no longer need to suffer from dead 12 volt batteries as long as I never do any software updates – NO THANKS to GM, of course.
Maybe HYBRID was the solution until all this EVS stuff was engineered, by ALL auto makers, correctly?
GM better get this under control. Lots of EV sales are going to go elsewhere. Tesla has learned and gotten past most of these OTA failures. We will have to see what other companies experience.
The bad news is, the ota update problem.
The good news is, they haven’t produced that many of them. Or is that the REALLY bad news?
This issue does not seem to be impacting any 24s that have been produced only DEs and 23s.
I have Read: GM/Cadillac Recommends CHARGING Overnight Even if NOT needing a charge LEAVE PLUGGED IN and by leaving vehicle PLUGGED IN overnight as SOFTWARE UPDATES occurs it DRAINS the 12v battery! Is this accurate?
I test drove LYRIQ However I am waiting to hear the 12v battery issues has been fixed NOT waiting TOO long since I test drove other vehicles . . . HOW LONG will this Take?
LASTLY the MAGNET the POWERFUL Magnet that breaks apart the Middle section between driver and passenger,
This seems like an EASY FIX yet on FB Group of OWNERS of LYRIQ so many owners have this issue to contend with as well. WHAT is the DELAY with ALL of this that I am reading and learning about TIRES UNAVAILABLE, Really, is this true? Replace Tires are on BACK ORDER? Is this TRUE?
Colette:
I for one, DO NOT CARE what GM/Cadillac recommends. They are obviously clueless and give no guarantees that plugging in the car will do anything to help the 12 volt under the hood battery..
I follow my OWN recommendation: I NEVER ALLOW automatic updates and I NEVER do requested manual updates.. My car still works just fine, and although I’ve found additional trouble GM/Cadillac is unaware of, it is still no trouble since I’ve found the work around for that issue also and there is no benefit to even notifying GM/Cadillac about this other issue. If they knew about it they’d screw it up more than it is.
My car runs just fine and I do not run into any of the problems mentioned here.
I climbed inside of my Lyriq through hatch and was able to jumpstart it 2 weeks ago. Today I got a call from the dealership that they replaced the 12v battery but wasnt’t able to find the reason of draining. I also spotted that my myCadillac app displays that software update is in progress all the time (from the infotainment system it looks like the same update was installed 2 month ago). After battery replacement I lost a connection to my car from the app. Now dealership is trying to fix it.
Ugh….the electrical gremlins are going to be headaches for quite some time to come.
Have your dealership look at the TSB 23-NA-124 there is a module that is stuck running when it should be sleeping.
I don’t think those lazy and stupid technicians can use internet. I will call my service advisor.
Question…… why do we need OTA updates? Cant we just grt in the car and turn it on and drive it from point A to point B? Is it really critical to change minutely how the radio interfaces with the driver every 2-3 months?
Heres an idea, leave the damn things alone. Save the money from all the engineers and wireless modules needed for OTA. It doesnt maoe our lives or theirs any better
No, people want functionality and to be able to listen to all their apps while driving. Today is a digital world.
GM tighten up the download process. Give the owner the option to fully download it when they want like IE when they are plugged in at home and make them verify its complete before driving off and if it is not allow them to defer ANY updates until a good time like being plugged in again overnight at home. If folks want to risk it on auto pilot let them at their own risk. I like telling WINDOWS when to download my software not it doing at a wim. It would prevent a whole lot of disgruntled people who may get stuck on the road.
My father has a launch edition Lyriq. This article was super helpful. Yesterday we found his car was completely bricked as the article alludes to. Couldn’t open the door because they are electronically actuated. Cadillac HQ (not dealer) gave instructions to us to get into the car using the hidden key in the fob to manually open the trunk (there is a physical key lock to the right of the license plate hidden in the hatch to open the hatch manually). I was able to climb in, get into the driver’s seat and open the hood. From there we pulled the central shroud and jumped the battery. All issues resolved. So the article is correct that hanging software update likely drained the 12v. When looking at the software update history in the Settings menu, it’s curious to see that the last software update was 5/2023. So my best guess is that someone in GM figured out that the OTA was screwing things up and they rescinded the update so it never installed (there is no indication now that the SW needs an update). Having said all of this, I think folks don’t understand how freaking hard and complicated this next generation EV software is and is going to be. It’s a completely different ballgame from what we had before. We will see what GM’s track record will be with it, but everyone is going to face issues like this – Telsa was horrible 10 years ago when they started, had to completely rewrite their code base after firing their first SW architect. Auto company success this century will come down to software competency (even more than EV competency). Whole new ballgame. I have more faith in an American auto company, regardless of startup/legacy, than I would with German or Japanese. What’s the last world class consumer facing German or Japanese software company you’ve come across? ** crickets **
Yeah Dan ….
I have a 2023 LYRIQ and I avoid this problem mentioned ad nauseum here… Solution?
I just do *NOT* ever do any over-the-air updates EVER !!!
The dead 12 volt battery problem I *ALMOST* experienced is when running an external INVERTER with the hood open.. Cadillac / GM is UNAWARE that the car does this but I DO NOT CARE. I found a work around by putting a load on the battery which starts the charging… THEN I can use my inverter all I want…
As far AS I am concerned – GM never has to fix this bugaboo since I know the easy work around.
This how I keep my phone from having issues too.
This OTA update crap is just that….crap. If the car had problems when it was released, they do a better job and release a car without problems, then you won’t need to do “updates”
This like taking your car to the monkeys at the dealership and having them screw it up, except now, they can screw up your car wherever it is, no need to go to the dealership….yeah progress.