[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by wwiiavfan

The batteries in these cars seem to be really sensitive to loss of efficiency. As in, there seems to be no margin of error for a few bad cells. I had the battery crap out after one year and less than 5k miles on my SS. I had stored it with a tender on it the first winter, and the following spring as soon as the weather started warming up, it would intermittently not start, and I thought, oh boy, here we go...
Dealer checked battery (and a bunch of other stuff) declared it good, and sent me on my way. Of course the problem returned. After checking the battery and having it test "good" AGAIN, I asked them to replace the battery. They did it on their own, as GM won't replace one that tests good. Problem went away and never came back since, nearly 3 years and many, many starts later.
Anyway, point is, ALL components of the system have to be in top working condition, there is no wiggle room.

I just got a notice that the battery is low, tested at 12.05V! This is after a little over 2 yrs and 19k miles.

I'm bringing it to the dealer but will ask to pay extra for an Optima gel cell battery, if not I guess the stock one will last another ~2 yrs. That sucks, it's obviously a poor quality battery. OP, if you have a stock battery maybe replace it with something better. I have a hard time believing this is a design flaw of the starter, GM has been making SBCs for a little while now.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

I just got a notice that the battery is low, tested at 12.05V! This is after a little over 2 yrs and 19k miles.

I would assume the battery is still good and thoroughly investigate the charging system.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

I would assume the battery is still good and thoroughly investigate the charging system.

Thanks, it's going to the dealer for the 1st time on Monday.

It's also losing a coolant slowly so there's that too.

[m6-lt1]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

Thanks, it's going to the dealer for the 1st time on Monday.

It's also losing a coolant slowly so there's that too.

The car slowly eating coolant is normal as long as you are eating coolant from the bottom reservoir only and not the top one (the top one should always be full). I believe it is stated in the manual that it’s normal for the bottom reservoir to get low on coolant over time especially after being driven in hot climates.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by m6-lt1

The car slowly eating coolant is normal as long as you are eating coolant from the bottom reservoir only and not the top one (the top one should always be full). I believe it is stated in the manual that it’s normal for the bottom reservoir to get low on coolant over time especially after being driven in hot climates.

Ugh, ok... it IS the top one. And I have been able to smell a little coolant in the last few months, only when driven hard though. Hope it's just a minor leak somewhere.