My car is a 2008, still under warranty with about 10,000 miles. I drive my car mostly on short round trips of 10 miles. So I start the car when I leave home and again on the way home and drive at relatively slow speeds. Recently my battery was dead and I had to call for a tow truck to jump start me. So, is this what I can expect with my usage pattern, or should I take the car to the chevy garage and have my battery checked?

Thanks a bunch, Uncle Dewey

 

So, you were driving your vehicle at least 10 minutes after starting it. That should be plenty to recharge whatever was used up by the starter. I think you should take it in and get it checked out, and get it on record for warranty purposes. They'll test the charging system and battery and look for an abnormal drain.

P.S. I came across more than one case of the OnStar VCIM responsible for mysterious drains.

 

You can expect the battery to go dead if the car is not used for long periods of time.,There is always a parasitic draw happening,for the ECM and Radio. Even more draws are possible depending on options installed in the vehicle.Warranty has nothing to do with it! Even flashlight batteries go dead over a period of time. Get a new battery for your vehicle(preferably AC Delco) and have some one professionally wire in a battery maintainer(small charger).

 

Thanks for your interest. The first thing I'll do is it take to the dealer and then go from there. I do know that OnStar is a constant drain, but... I'll let you know what they say.

Uncle Dewey

 

The dealer Performed Complete Battery System and found only that the battery had to be recharged. and battery all OK at this time. I'm not comfortable with just recharging, but have no knowledge or ammunition to challenge the dealer. At least it was checked under warranty, so will have to wait for another failure.

Uncle Dewey