rm50

I didn't want this issue to get lost in the other thread concerning Chevrolet Customer Service and Geoff Allen.

The most important thing I want my cars to do above all else is start every time. I am amazed at the number of battery issues that are posted on this forum. I am amazed at the number of C6 owners who feel it is necessary to hook their vettes up to a battery tender.

I owned an 05 C6 convertible for 5 years and had 5 batteries put in it. Each time I was told that I had a defective battery. I don't think I really had 5 defective batteries in a row. The first time I took it to the dealer the service tech told me that the battery would discharge in as little as 5 days if it is not driven.

Quite frankly I loved my 05 and was willing to drive it till the C7 came out except I lost confidence in its reliability and I saw the Grand Sport and I purchased that. I still have a moment of question each time I start the Grand Sport but have had no battery issues with it.

I hope other forum members who have had battery related issues will post them here.

I hope other forum members who feel they have to put their C6's on battery tenders to make sure they start will post here.

If enough members post here then the size of this problem will be very apparent to GM

AORoads

I don't think 200 posts stating that owners have had problems will materially change the issue; either the GM Customer Service person is watching, or he isn't.

You may have stated it well, for your experience, but maybe not for everyone else's. I haven't had a battery a year, 5, 2, or 3 years of ownership.

Let's leave it at one actual, real problem and see what happens.

rm50

I disagree, 200 posts might get some attention. There are two battery posts currently on the forum right now. I am amazed how tolerant Corvette owners are. We seem to accept battery failure.

I was hoping that everyone who had battery failures would post here so we could present a collective message to GM

lefthander

Finally had to replace my battery in my 07C6,purchased 7/06. I don.t think 44 months is a problem. Never charged it or used a battery tender.

not08crmanymore

GM fixed the battery issues in the 05's which really was a symptom of another issue the car had with not shutting down properly.They gave it a reflash and it seemed to work. No issues with my 08 to date,2 years in.I do leave it on a tender all winter and for any extended down time.DELCO batteries are good for 3 years or so.

lh4x4

I have an 02,05 and an 08 along with 6 other vehicles that all have the original batteries and NEVER a starting issue.

I will suggest that it is operator error for the most part.

All have 1.5 amp Schumacker tenders connected. They get unhooked when the vehicle leaves the garage and reconnected upon returning.

The small battery in the Corvette is to save weight. All the little brains for the nanny's suck juice 24/7. On Star, CD player and other features suck juice.

A Bowling Green Corvette engineer talking to a group at Funfest viewing the new GS last year stated when the question about battery life came up, that the battery will only hold one two three weeks at best without a tender due to the parasitic draw. He recommended the C-Tex.

I have read all the threads on battery problems and can not understand how anyone can repeatedly endure the same problem over and over and not correct it with a tender.

It is NOT a customer service issue. It is a owners failure to maintain the vehicle properly.

GM knows that the unattended Corvette will discharge in 1 - 3 weeks. They think that the customer is sophisticated enough to insure that they will properly care for the car. Boy are they wrong!

CO Lightfoot

I don't understand why some people are so reluctant to use a battery tender.

I use a CTEK 3300 battery tender whenever I expect my 09 will sit for a week or more. It's quick, simple, and easy.

Is it necessary? For me, probably not. I could just disconnect the battery during winter storage. During the other 3 seasons I take enough long drives in my C6 regularly. And since I measured the parasitic draw, I have no reason to expect battery problems.

Reality check: Many C6 owners experience battery problems. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...ocked-out.html

So IMO a battery tender is a wise precaution. Anyway, I like knowing my battery is fully charged. And the CTEK has a maintenance cycle, for max battery life.

I also use the CTEK on my 05 Ford Escape (original battery) especially when it's just used for short trips.

6spdC6

Well, let me tell you GM knew all about the trouble with the 05 Vette MANUAL back when. The term DBS was coined HERE do to that issue, since then it has morphed into any kind of battery issue

It was a much bigger issue that you see now and it took over 2 years to find and come out with the reflash FIX.

I personally publically went after Dave Hill at Carlisle in summer 05. I also went after Wil Cooskie and a couple other engineers and gave them all sorts of paper detailing the trouble and what I as an owner and others had tried in order to get it figured out. Many of us were in contact with GM many times, not to mention the amount of cars the dealerships were attempting to fix.

You apparently have no clue as to how big an issue this was from 05 till 08 on here. I could say much more about it now but will not, as I sure put out a lot of posts and started threads back in that time.

Do a search and look for posts/threads under my name and also a fellow name HOONOSE.


Changing subjects a bit. GM batteries are crap to begin with and the NORMAL electrical load to keep all the electronic stuff running right even when the car is off is heavy.

I have and use a tender whenever the car is parked for more than 5 days. All Vettes (ANY C6) & batteries are different and some only run a couple days and some get by for a month.

cclive

There are certainly individual cars that have an electrical problem that causes the battery to become drained too soon. If it happens in a few days, then it is a problem and it should be fixed. A battery tender in this case is just a band aid on the symptom, instead of a cure of the disease.
On the other hand, a car that is a few years old and has only been driven a few thousand miles must have a battery tender on it. The car cannot be expected to endure long stretches of inactivity, followed by short drives, and have the battery hold up.
I believe that most of the battery issues are caused by the fact that Corvettes are perhaps the least driven car made in the USA...unfortunate but true. Delco batteries are made by Johnson Controls just like so many other brands and its hard for me to believe that they are inherently worse than others. JC is the largest battery maker.
I tested the drain on my car and it is 11-17ma after all the systems quiet down. My car has gone 3 weeks and still had plenty of juice to start. Its a fairly simple procedure to measure the drain and from it, figure how long the car will be able to sit and still start. If a car is drawing 100ma, then it needs to be fixed, not put on a tender.

Rule292

You're preaching to the choir. I can tolerate the orange peel, the previous generation audio components and with the interior leather quality. These are simply gripes and they cost lots of money to improve and GM spent the money on making an LS3.

No excuse for starting problems in this car or the hard cold shifting issues in the T6060 (or the flying roof...). That shows sloppy project management at GM for tolerating these design flaws year after year after year.

These fixes should have been on some engineering team's project plan and should have been unheard of by the 2007 model year, not still recurring in 2010.


You shouldn't have to use a battery tender. I hate having to use a battery tender.

The car has a engineering parameter design flaw. It has a charging/starting system designed for a daily driver that is started every day.

The Vette is a fair weather toy for many folks and a DD for a minority of the folks. GM had to know this when designing the car.

On the positive side, it does give some engineering folks some work to keep them busy for a better-than-c6 c7 when it comes out!

dads toy

I am hoping you can make a difference but I really doubt it when the service managers response is "I can put a battery tender in for you"

I have a 6 year old truck with original battery and a 10 year old truck with 134,000 miles and it has the original battery. I agree its absolute BS that the vette system was designed the way it is to allow batteries to be drained. Not acceptable for a car that costs what it does.

I will add my name to any list that this issue should be corrected.

srpbaer

You can add me to that list..My 07 had a new battery installed within the first 8 months and the new one was a red top and has done fine until this winter. The battery was dead and I drove the car about three weeks ago...I too feel the car should be capable of sitting in a heated garage and surive a three week period....Up until now I did not feel it was a hugh issue but my opinion is about to change....

SpdWhite

I also have an 05 Z51 manual. It had to be towed/flatbed to the dealer 6 times in the first two years. It took 3 batteries and finally a re-flash to give me a car that was reasonably reliable.

I will NOT use a battery tender on a $60K car if I am not going to drive it for a week. More than a month, well OK. Right now it hasn't been started since last November and is sitting with a tender installed.

I lost a lot of faith in Corvette and GM in general and still pray it will start each time I go out to my garage.

And, yes, Delco batteries are crap. If and when I do replace it I will go for an Optima.

Tom_Slick

My "last" battery was a "Red Top?"

My car was a daily driver when new... I've been commuting by train for the last two years and am on my 3rd battery in my '06. My car can now sit a week or more without being driven/ started. I've been reading about/ considering a "Priority Start?" I'd like this because it seems to work smarter that the "Tender" and doesn't rely on being plugged into a wall outlet to work? Anyone using one of these? Would you recommend it?

"Stops a dead battery before it happens
*Monitors Voltage
*Senses Drain
*Automatically Disconnects
*Automatically Reconnects"

KX

To the person that posted GM batteries are crap: do you have evidence to support this position or are you just flaming GM and making a huge generalization....!

I had the original Delco battery in my ZR-1 last for just short of 10 years! The next one lasted till the car got toasted, 7 years later....so, where is your proof of this crap statement!

HuskerBullet

I've had my '07 for 2 1/2 years now still with the original Delco battery. I have also let it sit in my garage for about 3 weeks several times without starting it up and without a battery tender. When I went out to finally start it, it fired right up without any hesitation. So far, I haven't had any battery issues, but I'm ready to replace it with an Optima Yellow D34 when needed.

rm50

I am sorry if this upsets you but I was hoping that someone would do a post like yours because you are making my point.

First there is no operating error, you turn your car off and you should expect it to start the next time, shouldn't that be the norm

Your norm is you turn your car off, you open the hood, you hook up your battery tender and you have no problems.
My norm is you turn off your car and the next time you get it in starts. That has always worked on every other car I have owned in the last 40 years except the C6.

I don't want to save any weight using a lighter battery if it makes it the vehicle unreliable.

For a GM engineer to admit there is a parasitic draw and the charge will only last 3 weeks and suggest using a C-tex is appalling.

Your last paragraphs reads that it is our fault for battery issues. I disagree. Again all I expect is the C6 to perform as well as any other car I have ever owned.

Again I have read this forum for the last five years and can't believe the number of battery threads and posts. I hope that everyone who has had battery issues will post here.

IH4x4 I apoligize for using your posts and I certainly respect your opinions

JJGOLD

I use a battery tender after every use of my 08 C6 coupe. I noticed that even after having driven 20 to 30 miles that when I get home and hook up the tender that it takes several hours to return to full charge light on the tender. Today it took 6 hours before the full charge light came on. Never have had a battery problem in two years and three months using this procedure. Keeping your battery near full charge constantly will extend its life according to the technical battery articles that I have read.

ejbarre

Picked up my new 06 in Sept. 2005, daily driver til Jan. 2008, retired. 4 years, 6 months & 49,915 miles later, my AC delco original battery still works fine. (knock on wood). Whenever it quits, I will surely replace it with an AC delco.