I have a 2011 S40 and we have been getting the immobilizer message ONLY when the car is cold. This message popped up a few times when the temp first dropped but the car would start on a second try. After the engine warmed, no problem.
This morning around 7am the car would not start, immobilizer message and it was very cold out; at 10:15 and still cold, it started right up.

Does anyone have any idea why the immobilizer is a problem with a cold start or advice on how to eliminate this problem?

Thanks for any feedback.

JD

 

Hello and Welcome to the Forum!

I believe it's a symptom of low voltage. Either a weak battery or poor connections. But do not replace the battery on my advice. First try cleaning the battery posts. You want nice metal to metal contact with the battery cables. Clean both the lead battery post and the inner metal surface of the battery cables. There is a simple tool sold at the parts store just for cleaning these areas. It is made of steel bristles and works quite well.

Second try hooking the battery to an automatic charger overnight. Then see if the same symptoms appear the next morning. If the symptoms go away then try it without the charger the next night. If the symptoms come back then it's the battery.

If neither of the above helps then you can look elsewhere like the alternator. You can get both the alternator and battery tested at your local Autozone, etc.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you find?

 

Thanks Hudini
I forgot that my son told me that the low battery light came on once before we got the immobilizer message. I had the battery tested at Advance and it said the battery needed charging but did not say the battery is bad. We have the trickle charger hooked up tonight to see if the battery will charge back up.

The concern is that the battery showed 0 CCA.

Thanks again.