Never thought I'd see the day...

[Lopedawg]

Car had to get towed to the dealer due to dead battery. Nothing was left on, I stayed in the garage with her for over 5 minutes on Friday when I parked her and this morning the battery was completely dead.
The svc department called about 4 hrs later and said they had not found anything wrong with the car yet and now they are saying they need it over night WTF??? Anyone else had similar issues with the battery? Car has only 4200 miles and I had no battery problems during the winter when the car was parked.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd218/lopedawg4id/G8/DSCN4204.jpg

[DRCUSTOMPARTS]

A dead battery is a common issue with the G8, the battery will drain if the car sits for a long time. If you store the car for the winter you need to charge the battery once a month or so.

[GeorgeInNePa]

A dead battery is a common issue with the G8, the battery will drain if the car sits for a long time. If you store the car for the winter you need to charge the battery once a month or so.

This.

I have already replaced the OEM battery. i should have had it warrantied, but I did it out of pocket.

Oh, BTW, the new battery is dead...

Been sitting since December.

:(

[-Ray-]

CTEK battery charger will keep you from killing a battery. I'm still using the OEM batt.

[GotMyG8V8]

Awwww, I hope my car never has a flatbed experience, that's gotta bring a tear to your eye seeing that happen.

[Belo]

Why not just hook it up to a battery tender? Use one for my motorcycle. Keeps it charged and stored safely all winter. And why is it being towed for a battery? Why not just buy a new one and swap it in?

[Devilish34]

15k on my non DD G8 and all is well. Just proves these cars are meant to be driven lol

[Panzer Leader]

Glad that this issue has resurfaced. My car is driven dailey. My Battery Chage in the Engineering Mode shows 83% is that considered normal? Car has 21K miles and has been in service for one year. I know others have reported a similiar charge % and had the batteries replaced under warranty. Question, what does this % refer to? Battery life remaining? Originally the charge % was about 86 when the car was "new". My hacked Atari Volt meter usually shows around 14.6

[-Ray-]

Charge percentage refers to state of charge. It adjust according to temperature and driving style. 80 percent means you have 80 percent of CCA available.

[VegasNate]

I'm already on my third OEM battery. It's been replaced twice under warranty in less than 2 years. It definitely doesn't like to sit.

[Kaos]

I saw the same thing even though the car was in a heated garage over the winter. 5k miles and the battery wouldn't turn the engine over. Had to charge it for a couple hours. Any of the esteemed Master Tech's know what electronics are draining that much juice? Onstar maybe...?:uhm:

[-Ray-]

The battery can discharge without a drain after a few months. That's why i put a charger on mine during the winter

[Lopedawg]

I started the car a couple of times during the winter and it started just fine. I used the car on Friday and had no issues. Dealer called today and said the negative cable was loose and corroded, they said they performed other checks on the battery and they said its fine. Drove the car home and then to school and all is good now.

We'll see what happens. Funny thing is over the last four years I've stored a 92 Firebird, an 83 Z/28, a 98 Firebird and now the 02 Trans Am and the G8. All were stored and treated the same way. The only ones I've had a problem with were the last two... I never changed the battery on the first two, who knows how old those were?:uhm:

[Panzer Leader]

What are other battery brands other than OEM available for the G8? (Bet this "sparks" a discussion.)

[DRCUSTOMPARTS]

Someone put an Optima battery in their G8 and that's one of the best available.

[DVDDave]

who is that someone??? i would love to put an optima yellow top in my car...

[SRG963]

Dealer called today and said the negative cable was loose.....


This happened to me shortly after I got my car. Even locked the key in the ignition, she was completely dead. VMS suggested looking at my battery connections, and they were right on the money. After they told me how to get into my trunk (lol), I was able to pull my negative connection right off.


Anyways, glad things worked out for you!

[SRG963]

Here's some helpful Battery Info


I'm a little late to the party...but the battery is group size 94R, 730CCA. The Odyssey, the best glass mat battery, is 34R-PC1500T 880CCA. One may have to be a bit creative on the hold down clamp. It's one hell of a battery.... if you roll your G8 you will still be able to crank it over!!! Just watch what charger(if you ever need one) you use.

[DRCUSTOMPARTS]

who is that someone??? i would love to put an optima yellow top in my car...

Dave I have no idea, I just remember reading it on the other G8 board. I think the guy has a GXP if that helps any.

[DVDDave]

Hey Don,

I think I did read something like that, but I think he had to do more modifications to make it fit than i care to....Why can't they just come out with a 94R Yellow Top ?????

[mackerman22]

I work for a Telematics company. Onstar would not be draining the battery. It goes into a "sleep" mode after 24 hours. It will then retransmit once the ignition is turned on. The battery in my G8 seemed to struggle to start the car from day one. Not sure what could be draining power continuously when the car sits for a long period of time.

[phpd7102]

My car sat all winter and I just brought it out 2 weeks ago, no issues and started right up. 2008 GT

[nono50]

My battery was dead 4 times in a row, turned it is was a TSB on the Onstar/Bluetooth box being bad and draining the battery. Since it was replaced no more problems.

[todds87ss]

Perhaps one of you guys that has to store your car try to disconnect the OnStar box and see if that helps.

[Nickj]

I let my car sit from 7:45pm Saturday night until 4:20am this morning and it was totally dead? I have had a couple of times where the DIC says "Battery Saver Mode" for about 15 minutes..... I searched good old google and Im coming to find out that this is pretty common unfortunately, but mostly with cars that sit. 1 day is about as long as I normally let mine sit, so, Im tempted to waste my time and call the dealer to at least set something up for them to check it....

[mjf232]

When I try to start my car its starting sluggish as if it doesnt want to turn over then after the 3rd or 4th rev it starts. Sometimes on the DIC the abs light comes on and says my traction control is turned off. I pulled the battery and took it to be tested and it was fine. I called the dealer and have an appointment on Wed. They said it still could be the battery or a faulty connection somewhere. We'll see.

[BMS1/56]

When you guys store your cars do you turn the radio and havc controls off? I put my GXP to bed in Dec. and would start it once a month and let it run for 10-15 min. When I pulled it out of storage in March it started right up and knock on wood I haven't had any problems.

[Camss57]

I let my car sit from 7:45pm Saturday night until 4:20am this morning and it was totally dead? I have had a couple of times where the DIC says "Battery Saver Mode" for about 15 minutes..... I searched good old google and Im coming to find out that this is pretty common unfortunately, but mostly with cars that sit. 1 day is about as long as I normally let mine sit, so, Im tempted to waste my time and call the dealer to at least set something up for them to check it....

I had the same problem with mine. It turned out that the battery had a dead cell. It took the dealer a few tries to find it, but I had my car back the same day with a new battery.

[Darkside]

Just replaced the battery on mine as well, dead cell.