06 STS Battery Problems - help !!
When I leave my '06 STS at the airport for a week, it won't start (dead battery) when I return. This has happened twice recently. The dealership says this is normal because the car has so much computer & electronic stuff on board. Said the only "fix" was to go buy a portable booster pack. Has anyone else had this problem or received similar advice ? Thanks, john
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My 05's battery didn't last more than a couple of months. turned out that was a common complaint from many owners when the car first came out. My dealer replaced it with a new one and informed me that they had gotten a bad "batch" of batterys......I haven't had any problems out of the new one and it's sat for 4-5 days at a time...
That is a horrible excuse for a dealership to tell you. I wouldn't tolerate that from them. I would demand that they find out where the electrical problem is. I have every option on my car except adaptive cruise and I have never had a dead battery. When I had my 05 STS I never had any battery issues, including when it was left for an extended amount of time. IT IS NOT NORMAL! Just my two cents!When I leave my '06 STS at the airport for a week, it won't start (dead battery) when I return. This has happened twice recently. The dealership says this is normal because the car has so much computer & electronic stuff on board. Said the only "fix" was to go buy a portable booster pack. Has anyone else had this problem or received similar advice ? Thanks, john
After one year and 12000 miles, my battery went dead after sitting 3 days. Took it to the dealer and he replaced it with a new one without me asking. This tells me that battery failures are normal. Then, I went on vacation for a month expecting the new battery to be dead when I returned. No so. Started right up.
The moral to the story is that a dead battery after only a week of sitting should be interpreted as a defective battery. Dealer should replace under warranty like mine did.
The moral to the story is that a dead battery after only a week of sitting should be interpreted as a defective battery. Dealer should replace under warranty like mine did.
I had a bad battery within the first year of owning my STS05. It finally resulted in the car starter cranking over but it would not starting due to low battery voltage. They towed the car and replaced the battery with a new one under warranty. Before it went completely bad, I had the same trouble with the battery loosing charge after a week at airports and needing a jumpstart.
The new battery never has a problem at the airport after two week vacations summer or winter. Sounds like you have a defective factory battery just like mine. I understand that it is more common for a battery to be defective in a new car than a new battery bought separately. They must abuse them at the factory somehow. :yup:
I had a previous car that had a defective trunk light switch and it took a long time to find the problem. The lamp being hot as soon as I opened the trunk was the clue that solved that one. I think the STS as a 20 minute timeout so it shuts everything off after 20 minutes even if you forget a light switch on or something.
Good luck!
The new battery never has a problem at the airport after two week vacations summer or winter. Sounds like you have a defective factory battery just like mine. I understand that it is more common for a battery to be defective in a new car than a new battery bought separately. They must abuse them at the factory somehow. :yup:
I had a previous car that had a defective trunk light switch and it took a long time to find the problem. The lamp being hot as soon as I opened the trunk was the clue that solved that one. I think the STS as a 20 minute timeout so it shuts everything off after 20 minutes even if you forget a light switch on or something.
Good luck!
I agree, if the battery is the problem they should replace it. However, if it is more than the batterey they should look into electrical problems. I am mearly commenting on the attitude that the dealership gave him. That just was a ridiculous comment to tell a customer. They should do whatever it takes to correct the problem and not tell him to have a jumper on stand by and that's the only resolution.
Did they replace the battery any of the times this happened?
This is not normal. I had the original battery replaced under warranty when it went dead (car was only a few months old). No problem since the replacement was installed. I had a C6 Corvette last year, and during the summers months, my STS sat in the garage for weeks at a time without any battery problems.
This is not normal. I had the original battery replaced under warranty when it went dead (car was only a few months old). No problem since the replacement was installed. I had a C6 Corvette last year, and during the summers months, my STS sat in the garage for weeks at a time without any battery problems.
no they haven't replaced the battery. They kept the car overnight, put it on some kind of tester to check for draw after they charged it, and said it was ok. They also said they tested the battery and it was ok too. Thanks for all the comments .. sounds like i need to start by going the replacement battery route.
I would ask them to replace the battery regardless of their load test results on the battery. At least they will isolate the problem as being with the battery or the car. If the new battery has a problem it's something with the car. If the new battery works, then it was the old battery and they won't have to tow or jump start your car at the airport again. It must be about a wash for them as far as cost between a replacing your battery or another service call. When my 2005's battery went dead, the service truck came out with a new battery and just replaced it on the spot.
I don't think it's normal for any car to have a battery go dead after being parked for one week.
I don't think it's normal for any car to have a battery go dead after being parked for one week.
I had a similar issue with my 2005 when I first purchased. After 3 times happening I took it in and was told the proper way to turn the car off. I had been hitting the shot-uoff button inadvertently twice and leaving the car in "Accessory mode" for days at a time. Then it happened again... I learned that my On-star was staying on even after I had turned the car off. they took car of it promptly and have been great ever since.
BTW the first problem with the Push Button Start was common with a lot of people with it in Acuras as well...
BTW the first problem with the Push Button Start was common with a lot of people with it in Acuras as well...
My STS06 went dead - dead cell - at the dealership. They replaced the battery. It was about 1 1/2 years old. No charge $$. The new one works fine. 
Dead battery after only a week is garbage. Dealer needs to check out your battery or your electr system.
My 2006 battery failed while I was in a restaurant having lunch. The car was starting fine earlier in the day. I properly shut it off, and the car locked itself normally. When I finished lunch, the battery was dead; and the key fob would not unlock the door. I had to use the key to open the door. I had to use my cell phone to call On-Star. The dealer brought me a new battery, and changed it while the car was at the restaurant.
:lies:When I leave my '06 STS at the airport for a week, it won't start (dead battery) when I return. This has happened twice recently. The dealership says this is normal because the car has so much computer & electronic stuff on board. Said the only "fix" was to go buy a portable booster pack.
The Owner's Manual advises that the a fully-charged battery will start the car after 25 days' inactivity ("Vehicle Storage", p. 5-46). Rub your service manager's nose in that and ask for a new battery.
My car would not start one afternoon after sitting overNIGHT. There was insufficient charge in the battery to power the starter. I attached a battery charger for a couple of hours and drove to Stewart Cadillac. Their technician tested the battery and charging system--both were OK. They found no abnormal current drains.
They explained that after starting with a fully-charged battery, the charging system may need 15 minutes of continuous running to fully recharge it. Possibly, but I've seen my car's battery recover in five minutes or less. Furthermore, they explained that after starting with a weak battery, the charging system may need up to an hour to fully recharge it. (I believe that the charging system is governed to prevent burning out the alternator after jump-starting a dead battery, and to improve emissions and fuel economy after starting a cold engine.)
You can observe your car's battery recharging by monitoring battery voltage in the Driver Information Center (DIC). While driving with a fully-charged battery, headlights and A/C off, the DIC should display about 13 volts. If the headlights come on, the DIC display increases to about 13.3 volts. When you start the car with a fully-charged battery, voltage will rise to the high 13s or low 14s within seconds. Battery voltage will slowly fall to the low 13s, indicating a recharged battery, after a few minutes of continuous driving (but it could take up to 15 minutes if the electrical load is high--A/C, headlights, wipers, de-foggers, seat heaters, etc. When you start the car with a weak battery, displayed voltage will rise to the high 14s or low 15s and may not return to "normal" for an hour.
In my unfortunate incident, it is likely that I unknowingly depleted the battery over the previous few days by running multiple short errands, running the engine for only short intervals during multiple start-drive-park/stop cycles.
I was not in the habit of monitoring battery voltage then. I am now.
One last thing: If your battery has deep-cycled (drained to almost dead) twice, get a new one. Car batteries are not designed for that use and are damaged by deep-cycling.
Well, there's possible drain issues, but its also true that AC Delco batteries have higher defect rates, as evidenced by posts in this forum's Seville, Eldorado, and Deville sections.That is a horrible excuse for a dealership to tell you. I wouldn't tolerate that from them. I would demand that they find out where the electrical problem is. I have every option on my car except adaptive cruise and I have never had a dead battery. When I had my 05 STS I never had any battery issues, including when it was left for an extended amount of time. IT IS NOT NORMAL! Just my two cents!
My story. I was just at the beach for the week, drove the STS every other day. Spent about an hour packing this AM, then loaded the wife, 2 year old, and 2 dogs into the back seat.
No start, not enough juice to crank.
By the grace of God, the trunk opened and my handy cables were ready, having a 99STS in the past. Same issues, newer Caddie.
Should I go to the dealer on this? I know the battery now will look fine. Do these cars need a Optimax deep cycle type battery, or is this just par for the course?
After a week upon returning home, my DiscoII with over 100K fired up right away, to add insult to injury!
CG
2005 STS SG1 128K
No start, not enough juice to crank.
By the grace of God, the trunk opened and my handy cables were ready, having a 99STS in the past. Same issues, newer Caddie.
Should I go to the dealer on this? I know the battery now will look fine. Do these cars need a Optimax deep cycle type battery, or is this just par for the course?
After a week upon returning home, my DiscoII with over 100K fired up right away, to add insult to injury!
CG
2005 STS SG1 128K
It doesn't matter how you drove the car over the previous few days. If your car sat overnight and would not start the next morning you need a new battery. I would be very concerned about being stranded with a dead battery again unless you have it replaced.:lies:
My car would not start one afternoon after sitting overNIGHT.
Find a technician with a DVM that has a data logging capability. Connect the meter with a clamp-on current measuring adapter on the negative cable right at the battery. Leave the car sitting overnight just like you normally do. By morning you should have all the data you need to intelligently analyze the situation. This is not rocket science. If your usual technician doesn't understand this procedure he is not competent to work on the problem.
I agree, but if they said that the car's battery went dead because it was only driven on short trips over a few days and for this reason the battery couldn't fully recharge itself ...went dead...your fault...yea right.
I think they have already confirmed their incompetence by trying to say it is not being driven enough, so it's expected the battery will go dead overnight...that's normal. A Geo Metro can handle 5 years of 10 minute commutes without a problem, but the STS can't do that for more than a few days or the battery will go dead. :bigroll:
If there's not a problem with the car you need a new battery!
I think they have already confirmed their incompetence by trying to say it is not being driven enough, so it's expected the battery will go dead overnight...that's normal. A Geo Metro can handle 5 years of 10 minute commutes without a problem, but the STS can't do that for more than a few days or the battery will go dead. :bigroll:
If there's not a problem with the car you need a new battery!
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