My McLaren 570S shows Battery Fault and battery management active. What do I do?

Short answer: Owners say this almost always means the 12V battery is low, so the car is shedding power-hungry features to protect itself. Get it on a battery charger or tender for a day or two. If you're away from home, turn off the Active panel, turn the A/C off and the fan low, and drive gently so the alternator can catch up. If it keeps happening, have the battery tested and the codes read with McLaren's tool.

Symptom: After a short stop or a week of sitting, the dash shows Battery Fault, battery management active, and faults for the wipers or turn signals. The screens may be dim.

What to check first

1. Check the battery state on the car's display if you can reach it, or measure voltage at the battery.
2. Put the car on a tender or charger for a day or two.
3. If away from home, cut electrical load (Active panel off, A/C off, low fan) and drive smoothly.
4. If the battery is old or won't hold a charge, replace it.
5. Have stored faults read and cleared with McLaren's diagnostic tool if messages stay.

Likely causes

1. Low 12V battery charge. The 570S is very sensitive to battery voltage. When it's low, the car shuts off non-essential electrics to protect itself, which can disable wipers and turn signals and dim the screens.
2. Car sitting without a battery tender. Owners say these cars should be on a tender whenever they're parked for long.
3. Other stored faults after low voltage. Low voltage can leave other fault messages behind that need McLaren's diagnostic tool to clear.

What it usually costs

A tender is cheap. A battery and diagnostic visit at a McLaren dealer or specialist costs more, so ask for a quote.

Is it safe to keep driving?

Without wipers and turn signals the car isn't safe in rain or traffic. Drive only if you must, carefully and in daylight, until the battery is recharged.

DIY or shop?

Charging and battery testing are DIY. Code reading on these cars usually needs a McLaren dealer or specialist.

Recalls, bulletins and complaints in plain words

• Recalls: NHTSA lists 2 recall(s) for the McLaren 570S in these years, and none match this problem. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. If your car is part of a recall, the dealer fixes it for free.
• Plain words: The complaint count below shows how often owners reported problems that mention these words to NHTSA. A count is not proof of a defect.
• NHTSA complaints: 1 keyword-matched complaints for McLaren 570S 2016–2021 (of 3 unique complaints queried, NHTSA complaints API by model year, queried 2026-11-01; keywords: battery, voltage, electrical, fault, warning, dead, start) (NHTSA returned no data for 48 model-year queries). This counts complaints that mention these words. It is not a defect finding.

What owners report

• In 2020 570S Battery Fault? on Reddit r/mclaren, a 2020 570S Spider owner stopped for lunch, and on restart got wiper fault, indicator fault, a red battery fault and a white 'battery management active' message, with dim screens. Restarts and a 20-30 minute drive didn't clear it. Owners said to put it on a charger for a day or two and always use a tender. The owner later said what worked was turning off the Active panel, turning the A/C off and the fan low, and driving gently so the battery could recover.
• In Error on 13,000 mile 570s on Reddit r/mclaren, an owner's 2018 570S threw an error at a light after sitting about a week, and a generic code reader couldn't read it. One owner said starting and stopping a few times and letting the tender bring the battery to 100% fixed a similar error. Others suggested McLaren specialist shops if you're out of warranty.

Quick tip

On any modern exotic, a battery tender is part of owning the car. Most of these scary messages are a tired battery asking for help.

Vehicle focus: McLaren 570S coupe and Spider, 2016-2021.

Safety / mechanic note

Lost wipers or turn signals make the car unsafe in traffic. Verify with a mechanic.