rcooper

IT IS COVERED! PERIOD!!! I have had mine replaced twice and covered by warranty. Have them fix it and call Chevy Customer Service and tell them about your issue with the dealership. They will contact the dealership and I am sure resolve the issue there.

IrishSpuds

I don't have anything definitive - at a ball game with kids and getting dirty looks from herself....

Try this http://m.chevrolet.com/owners/warranty-faq.html

vette_guy_2020

Yep - This url says that the battery in GM vehicles is covered for 3 years/36k miles, whichever comes first, and should be taken to the GM dealership for replacement:

http://www.acdelcotechconnect.com/pd...y_warranty.pdf

This other url describes the Chevy bumper-to-bumper warranty and states that "it covers the vehicle bumper to bumper on any vehicle defect related to materials or workmanship":

http://m.chevrolet.com/owners/warranty-faq.html

My vehicle recently had around 34.5k miles on the odometer. Hopefully it hasn't passed 36k yet....

phileaglesfan

Batteries are covered buy the bumper to bumper warranty, brake pads/rotors are not (unless they fail within the first year/12k or so).

They should be replacing it since they said it is bad. My guess is that they'll run and hide since it is not bad. I had the same issue with my GMC dealer. He said there was "junk in my power steering fluid" so I should have it changed. I said if there is junk in it at 30k miles then it is covered under warranty. He also told me I needed to change other fluids and GM won't cover my warranty if I didn't. So I called GMC, GMC called the dealer and I never saw the guy again. That instance made me decide to buy a Chrysler instead of a GMC when I went car shopping a few months later.

cagotzmann

The battery is covered under the 3 year warranty. I had mine replaced with 2 weeks left on my 2010 GS 3 year bumper to bumper for the same reason, leaking.

calemasters

The GR8 is an electronic battery tester made by Midtronics. It has 2 leads with alligator clips, an LED display and a can be used with a printer and charger. The tech connects the leads to the battery, inputs if the battery is connected to the vehicle or if it is out of the vehicle, (battery cables disconnected is preferred) inputs the CCA, inputs battery temperature and then the GR8 performs the test. The GR8 will then display, "Battery Pass", "Battery Replace", or "Battery Pass - Needs charge". It will also display and print an encrypted code (used for warranty claims). The GR8 uses Dynamic conductance technology combined with advanced charge control to provide fast and accurate results for determining if the battery is good or bad. I used the tool at the assembly plant (yes some new batteries are bad) and found the tester to be correct 98% of the time. The GR8 display has no scale. It just returns "GOOD" or "BAD" along with the test code. The good thing about the tool is that it works well on a discharged battery so the customer does not have to wait for his battery to be charged prior to testing.

The nice thing about the charger that is available with the GR8 is that it outputs a very clean +12v DC signal. Techs can use the charger when flashing modules on the vehicle. It has no voltage spikes or ripples and the tech does not have to worry about the vehicle battery going dead during reprogramming.

I hope this helps.

Silverado Desperado

Unless it is free never ever ever ever buy a Delco battery because you cannot get it warrantied unless you take it to the exact place that you bought it from with the receipt, and even then it is a horrible warranty when it is not a free replacement at the dealership. I would never ever buy a new Delco battery ever again in my entire life. The warranty for a 6 year Delco battery that was just over two years old was they wanted to give nine dollars credit towards purchase of a new battery, I told them to give me the $9 let me get the hell out of there.

4thC4at60

... I replaced my battery through my local Chevy dealer in Commerce, Texas, the battery failed while I was visiting in Harlingen, Texas, the Harlingen dealer installed a new battery and contacted my selling dealer to send him the necessary paperwork. I was not out a cent and was on my way within half an hour of arriving at the dealership. This is normal - I have more than 600K miles in Corvettes in 45 of the lower 48 states, over the past 23 years.

HOXXOH

The wife's Caddy had the battery die in the garage at ~47K miles on a 4 yr 48K warranty. The dealer had someone come out and replace it within an hour at no charge.

However, previously at less than 30K miles when she took the car in for a discounted oil change, the same dealer presented her with a $1790 list of "needed" parts and services. She laughed and left, knowing full well everything on the list was BS.

It's pretty common for the service dept. to "notify" customers of impending doom. Especially if the car is at the higher end of the price scale and the customer is older and/or female.

rgamache

Top of the line batteries are nowhere near $175. A quick test with the engine off...put high beams, fan on high, everything electrical and not if lights are dim...if not battery is fine....battery with a bad cell..will have dim lights and will turn over engine hard.

Snowwolfe

Tell your dealer how nice he was to do the free inspection of your battery and that you will be sure to run to NAPA or Pep boys and buy a new battery as soon as you get the chance

vette_guy_2020

@cale - thanks so much for all that info and the time you spent putting it together.

I think you mentioned that all GM dealers have that tool, I'm guessing for consistent reporting to GM? Any chance that GM might be using a different tool now or a particular dealership might not have that tool or might be using a different tool?

I just want to get my facts straight so I can ask the dealership with confidence "Did you test the battery with the GR8 tool? What did it say?"

Whenever I press the start button my car always starts up, I never have to retry. Also, nothing about the car's behavior has made me wonder if there's something wrong with the battery.

What's the likelihood that a car would have a battery that seems normal to the driver where the GR8 tool would indicate "battery replace"?

vette_guy_2020

Ok - Sounds like NAPA and Pep Boys are good places to buy a battery and I'm guessing I can get them to install it as well.

Sounds like some people are knocking Delco. What battery do you recommend instead? I want a battery that's going to perform as expected but I only keep my car for 39 months so I don't need an ultra high end lifetime warranty or anything like that.

calemasters

It is an essential tool for all GM dealers. Of course, dealers or techs may be using a different tool for non warranty battery testing. If they do not have the GR8 test code print out attached to the warranty repair order and the test code documented on the warranty repair order, the claim will not pay. Period.

It is possible to have a vehicle that starts OK, but the battery may have lost its ability to hold much of a charge. If this occurs, I would expect the battery to fail the GR8 test. It is also possible for a battery to be discharged to the point where the vehicle will not crank/start, but if the battery is properly charged, it can recover.






Today, ALL AC DELCO BATTERIES come with a no pro-rate warranty. So if you buy an AC Delco battery with a 4 year warranty and the battery fails at 3 years and ll months, the battery is replaced at no charge to the customer. Also, AC Delco batteries can be warranted at an GM dealer, or AC Delco jobber, assuming the customer has the proper documentation.

Also, the same company that manufactures AC Delco batteries also manufactures batteries for NAPA and other brands.

RJRSW

When I replaced the battery in my 2007 it was getting close to 5 years old and I bought a Delco Professional 6 year warranty battery from my local chevy parts department for $85.

vette_guy_2020

@cale - Sounds like you're suggesting that a car could start normally and not have any symptoms of low battery life, but the battery might be running low on charge?

It seems like whenever I've had battery problems there have always been warning signs before the battery actually dies.

Sounds like you're suggesting that a battery charge could be lower than optimal but not low enough to have any effect on the car. But if this is the case then wouldn't the GR8 say "battery pass - needs charge" instead of "battery replace"? And if the GR8 says "battery pass - needs charge" then couldn't the dealership simply charge the existing battery without having to replace it?

vette_guy_2020

I called my local pep boys and they quoted me $151 including tax for a Bosch battery, installed. I asked of he had any cheaper options and he told me that was all he had. I think he said the base price of the battery was $116.

Of course, he also mentioned a $20 off coupon online for purchases > $100 so I could save $45 by having PB do it instead of the dealership. Of course, considering the price without the coupon, I don't feel the dealer price is a rip-off, just overpriced, unless of course I don't really need a new battery lol.

carpe dm

calemasters

Sounds like you're suggesting that a car could start normally and not have any symptoms of low battery life, but the battery might be running low on charge? Yes, it is possible. That is why the GR8 test is helpful.

Sounds like you're suggesting that a battery charge could be lower than optimal but not low enough to have any effect on the car. But if this is the case then wouldn't the GR8 say "battery pass - needs charge" instead of "battery replace"? Yes. Correct. As a battery ages, it starts to loose capacity. But just because the battery is not 100%, does not imply it needs replacing. A battery at 90% may still last for a long time.


And if the GR8 says "battery pass - needs charge" then couldn't the dealership simply charge the existing battery without having to replace it? Yes. You would want to charge the battery, not replace it.

vette_guy_2020

Ok - Is it pretty easy for the dealer to charge the battery? I'm assuming they have a standard machine to do this? If my battery needs to be charged and I'm having other work done to the car then is it fairly customary for the dealership to do that for me for free? Or should I expect a $20-$25 dealer charge for this?

I think you mentioned that the GR8 tool has print functionality? I'm assuming that the printout has some type of unique identifier for the vehicle? I wonder if I could just ask for a printout of the GR8 report for my battery to validate their claim?