I can't seem to figure out why and when the red light on my start button illuminates. I have looked for an answer in the owners manual and cannot find it. When my car is shut off sometimes the red light will come on and sometimes not. It does seem to change its actions depending on whether the door locks are on or off.

I would like to try and figure out what is going on and locate the information in the owners manual or be pointed in the right direction for an Internet search. My attemts so far have yielded nothing.

 

Is it for when you are in the accessory mode and want to turn it off? I guess I never noticed, will have to play around with it and see.

 

With mine,if I want to be in "acc. mode", I hit the upper portion of the switch, like when you want to start the car, with my foot off the clutch. The red light turns on and will stay on until I hit the off position.

 

I checked mine out this evening. Boy was I wrong. The acc mode light is yellow, the shut down light is red. Shut off engine, red light appears until the door is opened or you wait until it times out. Like when the radio is still playing before the door is opened. Push off again to get into acc mode and yellow light. Sorry for the misinformation.

 

The reason I asked the question is this: Went out the other day and manually locked the car with the button on the door. Came back 10 minutes later and the red light for the start button was still on. I say still on, but is may have been activated by the auto open for the car lock on my fob.

The funny thing is the owners manual doesn't even mention the red light.

 

I think it is the RAP described on page 91 of the owner's manual.

9 Acc. (OFF/ACCESSORY): When the engine
is on or the vehicle is in accessory power mode, it is
recommended that a manual transmission be
placed in REVERSE (R). An automatic
transmission must be placed in PARK (P). Then
press the Acc. button to turn the engine off and
place the vehicle in RAP. See “Retained Accessory
Power (RAP)” later for more information. If an
automatic vehicle is not correctly placed in
PARK (P) a SHIFT TO PARK message will display
on the Driver Information Center (DIC).
For more information, see DIC Warnings and
Messages on page 212.
When the engine is off, press this button to place
the vehicle in accessory mode. ACCESSORY
MODE ON will display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC). This mode allows you to use
things like the radio and the windshield wipers
while the engine is off. Use accessory mode if you
must have your vehicle in motion while the
engine is off, for example, if your vehicle is being
pushed or towed.
After being in accessory mode for about
20 minutes, the vehicle will automatically enter
RAP or OFF, depending on if the doors are
opened or closed.
Retained Accessory Power (RAP)
With RAP, your power windows and the audio
system will continue to work for up to 10 minutes
after the engine is turned off or until either
door is opened. If a door is opened, the power
windows and audio system will shut off.
Starting the Engine
Move the shift lever to PARK (P) or NEUTRAL (N)
for an automatic transmission. For a manual
transmission the vehicle can be started in
NEUTRAL or any other gear as long as the clutch is
depressed. To restart a manual transmission when
you are already moving, use the NEUTRAL position
only. To restart an automatic transmission when
you are already moving, use NEUTRAL (N).
Notice: Do not try to shift to PARK (P) if your
vehicle is moving. If you do, you could
damage the transmission. Shift to PARK (P)
only when your vehicle is stopped.
The keyless access transmitter must be inside the
vehicle for the ignition to work.
page 91

 

eboggs,

I had read the section regarding RAP, but I do not think this is my situation. RAP is supposed to work for 10 minutes OR until the door is opened. I had opened (and then closed) my door and the red light was on when I returned to my car 10 minutes later.

 

Try setting your car so the doors do not auto-lock upon exit, so you don't need your fob to get in.

Shut it off, take the fob with you, and walk away. Put the fob about 50' away and wait a few minutes. Then come back, open the door, get in, close the door. Check if the red light comes on.

That should tell us if the red light is activated by merely opening/closing the door, or by the fob coming into the car.

Enquiring minds want to know...

 

My car does the same thing. It looks to me that the red light is lit whenever the car is in RAP or when the courtesy lights go on:

Engine running, turn off engine, red light is on (RAP) until the door opens or 10 minutes elapse.

Doors locked, press UNLOCK on fob, courtesy lights come on and red light is on for about 15 seconds.

Doors locked, open door with auto-unlock enabled, courtesy lights come on and red light comes on.

 

Gearhead,

My car is not set to auto lock..... only auto open. Also the red light does not illuminate as I described all the time.

--------------------------------------------

Leo,

I think you may have found the answer in your last sentence. That is exactly what happened to me. I normally do not lock my car. As I stated, I manually locked it and auto lock unlocked it. Therefore, I saw a red light that I never noticed before. Looks like it did not stay on, but was turned on by auto unlock.

Thanks to all who chimed in here. This Forum really is fantastic.... A guy from New Jersey has his question answered by LeoDelC from Washington three thousand miles away.

It looks like there is nothing wrong with my start button after all. Funny how the red light on the start button is not mentioned at all in the owners manual. I guess if everything these car did was listed in the manual it would contain over 1,000 pages instead of over 400 pages.