Thor Forums

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by JeffDelanoRw

I was looking at the Sonic as well then saw the procedure.

Sonic

Special Procedures: Run the engine at the beginning of each day and at each RV fuel stop for about 5 minutes. Shift auto transmission to P (Park), turn ignition off. Set parking brake. To prevent battery from draining while vehicle is being towed, remove the DLIS fuse from fuse block. For Keyless Access vehicles, remove BCM1 and BCM2 fuses from the instrument panel fuse block and fuse 7 from the engine com- partment fuse block. Turn ignition on, apply brake pedal. Shift transmission to Neutral. Turn ignition to ACC/ACCESSORY. Release parking brake. Re-install fuses once destination has been reached.

Spark
Special Procedures: Shift the transmission to Neutral. Disconnect the negative battery cable. Cover negative battery post with non-conduc- tive material. Release parking brake.

Just seemed like Spark was much easier, and since I drive a stick regularly in other vehicles, it worked for me. Maybe those procedures are not always the case depending on year.

Jeff

That procedure for the Sonic is pretty involved for a Push-to-start vehicle. Mine is a Turn-Key start vehicle so it is much easier and the written procedure is unnecessarily complex.

Running the engine at the beginning of the day and after 6 hours of towing (at fuel stops) is required to circulate the transmission fluid - a pretty common requirement but not one I have to think about as the engine is run to connect the toad and I have not driven over 6 hours at a stretch in the MH yet.

Removing the DLIS fuse does two things for you:
Allows you to turn the key OFF and remove it with the transmission in neutral.
Times out the BCM after 10 or 20 minutes to kill all ACC power if the key is left in ACC as stated by the manual
There is no need to leave the key in ACC as the Sonic does not have a steering wheel lock.
And since leaving the DLIS fuse removed does not affect day-to-day driving I just leave mine out. You could install a fuse-switch if you felt you needed to.

My Sonic has over 90,000 miles on the odometer plus almost 20,000 miles as a toad. My simplified procedure is:

1 - Connect the car to the MH with the tow bar.
2 - Insure the transmission is in Neutral
3 - Turn off the car, remove the key and lock the doors.

Just as easy to disconnect.

My wife's Colorado on the other hand has a much more complex procedure: so much so that I have a checklist to insure I don't skip a step. It might get easier as we tow it more and I get used to the routine but it will never be as easy as my Sonic.