Battery problems

[PMC]

I'm wondering if anyone else with an 09/10 has had the anaemic battery problem. My battery went dead the other morning, it wasn't even that cold (-5 °C). It has been through -20 weather and I tend to drive short trips about 10 minutes or so. I took it in to GM and they said yes it was low, they charged it up and it's fine now, but they suggest I buy a new battery (they didn't seem to share my feelings that it's ridiculous for a 1 year old car). Even they admitted that the 320CCA is about half of what it should be. I should mention that my car is the 1.8l, I suspect the 2.4 has a bigger battery.The best part was when they tried to chare me $35 for testing it...a little arguing changed their mind on that.I read through the pinned thread on battery problems and had hoped that Toyota/GM had decided to put beefier batteries in after all the problems with earlier models but I guess not. Any chance of me convincing GM to give me a decent sized battery or should I just save my breath?

[star_deceiver]

I havn't had any problems but I agree, 320CCA is pretty small!

[jake75]

$35 to test it when you can get a 600+ CCA new battery at COSTCO for about $65.GM will probably say the battery has a 3 year warranty, a new one is $180, and you get a prorate credit of $120. Net $60 if they don't charge your to install. Screw that!

[Zimm]

no problems here.the stock battery in my '98 Sonoma died after about 2 years (that thing ate batteries! and tires, but that's another story...) anyway, iirc, they replaced mine for free.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by Zimm »no problems here.the stock battery in my '98 Sonoma died after about 2 years (that thing ate batteries! and tires, but that's another story...) anyway, iirc, they replaced mine for free.You also have a 2010 Vibe and maybe store yours in a garage? Give it a year or 2; also you are not located in NL; they have some wicked weather at times.

[Caretaker]

Yep, the battery for my 09 went bad within a few months of purchasing the car. My dealer put in a slightly larger battery (more CCAs) that does not quite fit properly in the tray. I have it well secured in place, but once again, the dealership bungles another simple repair job.

[bikeman1]

I have a new 2009 purchased in July. Just this week (Tuesday morning), the battery had insufficient voltage to engage the starter. After jumpstarting, driving for half an hour, and turning it off for less than an hour, still dead. I am guessing it was holding less than 12 volts and not charging. The dealer replaced it on warranty and said 2 cells were bad. Also said that this is not unusual. Same experience as Caretaker. quality control must be an issue with these units. If yours is failing at those temperatures (mine was turning over slowly before this in the cold), it well may be failing. Doesn't sound like your dealer is giving you a lot of love. Is that where you bought the car?

[Sublimewind]

The stock batteries SUCK, just replace it.. Get as large of a battery you can to fit the space.. (at least that's what I would do, being a northerner)