Getting the dreaded “drive carefully systems initializing” on your Infotainment system after switching on your Honda can be quite alarming, fortunately, as a mechanic, I have encountered a lot of Civics with the same problem, and it’s an easy fix.
In this article, I will share what this means, what are the causes, and how to fix the problem. Let’s get to it.
What Does “Drive Carefully Systems Initializing Mean”?
In short, when you get this message on your Honda it simply means that your car’s infotainment system is booting up and initializing, which means that it’s checking all of its systems to make sure they are working properly.
However, in most cases, this is a malfunction and doesn’t go away on time as it should, and you need to do a complete drive cycle to clear the message.
let’s look at what is causing this fault message on your Honda
Honda Drive Carefully Systems Initializing Causes
This message will occur in several situations, including:
1. You Just Changed Your Battery:
Sometimes, when you change your car battery, a message will appear. This happens because the vehicle doesn’t have enough power to boot up properly and you’ll need to drive the vehicle until it’s fully charged.
2. The Battery has been Disconnected for a Long Period of Time:
when you disconnect the battery of your car for a long period of time, the vehicle’s computer will lose some of its programming and system settings.
3. Aftermarket Mods Draining the Battery:
Another common cause is aftermarket modifications that drain the battery. Any equipment that draws power from the electrical system will cause this message to appear, such as aftermarket stereos, subwoofers, and other power-consuming devices.
How to Fix and Reset the “Drive Carefully System Initializing” on your Honda Civic
Fortunately, this is an easy fix, after getting this message on your dashboard, have two options:
1. Drive Your Honda for One to Two Miles
This is what I recommend to people as the simplest solution. Once you get this message, just drive your Honda for one to two miles and it will reset itself.
This can be done on a highway, residential street, or anywhere else that has plenty of room for you to travel at 35-40mph.
After driving for a mile or two, turn off the engine and then restart it. This should fix the problem for you.
2. Reset Your Honda Civic’s ECU
If you don’t have time to drive your car, or if you’re worried that your Civic may damage other components, then there is another option: resetting your ECU by clearing the codes.
You can do this using an OBD2 scanner, once you connected the scanner to your car, you can simply clear all error codes and that should solve this problem.
How Long Does it Normally Take a Honda System to Initialize?
According to Honda, this process should not take more than 10 minutes (usually takes less than 2 minutes from my experience).
If you’re experiencing longer than that, then it might be a problem with your car and you can use the above methods to solve the issue.
Additional Sources
http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/om/ac0707/AC0707N00094A.p
Hi there. For some reason my 2016 civic still has system initializing pop up, even after the mechanic tried to reset its still not initializing. VSA codes, uphill assist are also showing. Help?!
My experience is that the battery that we purchased is not 100% charged. I should have asked at Costco for fully charged battery.
I connected the newly purchased battery to the charger at home and it’s showing it’s just having 40% charge. Let’s see once it fully charges.