I bought the 12V AGM battery from my Chevy dealer and replaced the battery myself (2012 Volt, almost 6 years old). The OP experience reminded me why I try to avoid dealer service departments if I can do the job myself. I did, however, have the dealer do some other more complex preventive maintenance later on, but they did not seem to mangle anything.
Battery replacement - problems found after work was done.
I took my 2013 Volt to the dealer (Norman Frede Chevrolet in Clear Lake, Texas) for a battery replacement and coolant change (5 year from manufacturing date) last week.
Today I noticed the rear cargo cover would not close all the way. I found several problems, and uncovered a few more when I removed the whole plastic 'tub' that holds the EVSE and air compressor.
The problems found were:
1. there are two tabs in the rear center of the plastic piece under the cargo cover (which holds EVSE, air compressor, etc) These are supposed to fit into a corresponding slot at the rear of the car under the tailgate latch, and there are four 10mm nuts in the corners of the plastic piece. The mechanic had not inserted these tabs into the slot, instead the tabs were resting on top of the slot so the cargo cover would not close all the way and lay flat (no picture of this.)
2. the steel plate that mates with the magnet in the cargo cover underside had come off, and was stuck to the magnet. I can fix this with some 5-minute epoxy. The magnet is also loose (a potential rattle) so I will epoxy that in place at the same time.
3. The battery vent hose was left unconnected. However when I push it into the hole in the battery, there is nothing locking it in place, it can easily slide back out. Update: there IS a very slight 'click' when pushed in all the way, and I secured the hose to the side of the battery with some tape as a backup.
Also, if you follow the procedure in the maintenance manual ("Battery Replacement) exactly, it says to disconnect this hose when removing the old battery, but does NOT say to re-connect the hose when installing the new battery (it is shown in the diagram however).
![Auto part Technology Electronic device Engine Vehicle]()
4. The mechanic left his 13mm wrench inside the car! This looks like a safety hazard if it should contact the battery terminals bouncing around in there:
![Vehicle Car Auto part Subcompact car Family car]()
Today I noticed the rear cargo cover would not close all the way. I found several problems, and uncovered a few more when I removed the whole plastic 'tub' that holds the EVSE and air compressor.
The problems found were:
1. there are two tabs in the rear center of the plastic piece under the cargo cover (which holds EVSE, air compressor, etc) These are supposed to fit into a corresponding slot at the rear of the car under the tailgate latch, and there are four 10mm nuts in the corners of the plastic piece. The mechanic had not inserted these tabs into the slot, instead the tabs were resting on top of the slot so the cargo cover would not close all the way and lay flat (no picture of this.)
2. the steel plate that mates with the magnet in the cargo cover underside had come off, and was stuck to the magnet. I can fix this with some 5-minute epoxy. The magnet is also loose (a potential rattle) so I will epoxy that in place at the same time.
3. The battery vent hose was left unconnected. However when I push it into the hole in the battery, there is nothing locking it in place, it can easily slide back out. Update: there IS a very slight 'click' when pushed in all the way, and I secured the hose to the side of the battery with some tape as a backup.
Also, if you follow the procedure in the maintenance manual ("Battery Replacement) exactly, it says to disconnect this hose when removing the old battery, but does NOT say to re-connect the hose when installing the new battery (it is shown in the diagram however).
4. The mechanic left his 13mm wrench inside the car! This looks like a safety hazard if it should contact the battery terminals bouncing around in there:
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