[solar_dave]

Well the 2012 just puked, tow to the dealer and a new battery with codes cleared. Insurance covered the tow, the battery installed was $250ish, minus a $50 coupon sent from dealer. Not to bad considering the only other battery I could find was $189 and I had to install. Should have seen the DIC go crazy, traction control, brakes, HV charging system ....

So the 2011 went in the next day for a replacement and 3rd oil change! Hehe a new coupon arrived the next day.

I have to say that I considered a battery replacement last spring, but life intervened instead. Almost 6 years out of the factory battery on the 2012 and the 2011 is well over 6 years old.

 

[lagagnon]

All lead acid AGM batteries will have reduced capacity as they age but if well looked after and properly charge-maintained can last a good 10 years, but with reduced capacity. Yours should not really have just died completely after just 6 years so I suspect a faulty battery and just bad luck. In other word I wouldn't expect your situation to apply to most owners.

 

[viking79]

The Volt battery seems to last 4 to 6 years. I don't have a logging DC power meter. Has someone ever looked at steady state power draw from the AGM battery?

My thought is sometimes the car doesn't turn itself off completely (like 1 in a 1000), and drains the battery. This would give the appearance of a bad battery after a few years.

If you ever have the issue where the car fails to start and spews error codes all over, try charging the battery first. Make sure the car is fully off. I think you have to press the brake and press and hold the power button for 5 seconds or so, otherwise it gets stuck in an endless reboot cycle, could also disconnect negative battery cable.

I use a 12 volt low amp motorcycle charger, but any 12V charger should work. I replaced my battery at 4 or 5 year mark and when it did it again to me this past year, I charged it, and it has been fine for the last 3 months. Unless my new battery was weak or something.

 

[marcusm]

Thanks for the info regarding charging. The dealer I bought from replaces the battery every 4 years so we’ll definitely be doing that when the time comes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hallcp]

So am I the only one who sees the irony of having to replace the tiny 12V battery every few years but the big traction battery is supposed to last the life of the car?
There has to be a better way! Either tap 12V off the traction battery or just get a Li-Ion 12 battery?
I think it's the price for that dang 12V battery that gets my goat.

 

[Dutch]

I think it's the price for that dang 12V battery that gets my goat.

Me too. I damn near had a heart attack.

 

[Henry_FL]

No surprises as the 12V battery is only charged while the car is on. I leave my 24/7 on the EVSE, but that does nothing for the 12V battery.

I checked mine the other week with a DVM, it was down to 12.10V resting which is very low, so I put a charger on it. I don't drive everyday or when I do, not for very long, and I suspect most that have 12V batteries issue maybe similar usage patterns.

 

[2VoltFamily]

No surprises as the 12V battery is only charged while the car is on. I leave my 24/7 on the EVSE, but that does nothing for the 12V battery.

I checked mine the other week with a DVM, it was down to 12.10V resting which is very low, so I put a charger on it. I don't drive everyday or when I do, not for very long, and I suspect most that have 12V batteries issue maybe similar usage patterns.

2013 and newer charge the 12v battery while it is on the EVSE.

 

[Henry_FL]

2013 and newer charge the 12v battery while it is on the EVSE.

Not my 2013, it was on the EVSE when I checked but car was fully charged. Possibly it is active when the car charges, but mine can sit for a few days without driving.

 

[Volt Rush]

This makes me think I should replace my six year old battery in my 2012. Hmm.

 

[Mister Dave]

I got one from O'Reilly Auto Parts last month. $189 installed. 3 year warranty.

 

[Fred_B]

I just replaced my 2013 (built in late 2012) AGM battery last month. No symptoms yet , but just done as preventative maintenance.
It is not clear to me whether the 12V battery will be maintained once the EVSE has shut off (car fully charged) but remains plugged in.
So whenever I plan to leave the car for a while I will hook up a "battery tender jr" directly to the battery terminals (+ lead fused) and power the battery tender jr from a timer that runs it for 2 hours per night. I run it for only 2 hours in case there is some conflict with the car trying to maintain the battery, but those 2 hours, over time, should be enough to bring the battery to a fully charged state.

It seems to be working so far.

 

[fishhawk]

I got mine a little over a year ago from Advance Auto with a 20% off coupon. I ordered online and picked up in store. I just checked their web page, and a 20% off coupon popped up so a similar deal can still be had.

 

[Mister Dave]

I got mine a little over a year ago from Advance Auto with a 20% off coupon. I ordered online and picked up in store. I just checked their web page, and a 20% off coupon popped up so a similar deal can still be had.

I've found that Advanced Auto charges at least 20% more for everything. It's the former JC Penney discount scheme.

$236.51 with core charge - $39.40 discount (20%) = $197.11 (no mention of delivery fee but I'll guess it comes after entering my credit card) and I have to install it. I did better at O'Reilly. Maybe if I drive over there they'll offer to install it for free - I don't know, but that would bring it in at only $8 more.

 

[jcanoe]

Hyundai is doing something innovative with the Ioniq hybrid. If the 12V battery needs a boost you can tap the high voltage battery by pressing a button on the dash. Not really sure how it works.

 

[marcusm]

I guess if I’m away for a while and it it didn’t trickle charge after the EVSE was done charging the main battery I could use the Onstar app to run the car remotely every few days, but it would be nice to know for sure under what circumstances the 12v is or isn’t charged while the car is not on. I have two Gen 2s by the way if there is a difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jcanoe]

The Gen 2 Volt will charge the 12V battery while the Volt is powered on and also when connected to the EVSE and the traction battery is charging. Once the high voltage traction battery completes charging the Volt does not continue to charge the 12V battery. This might be one case where charging on Level 1 is superior to Level 2 charging since Level 1 charging will take 4X longer than Level 2 and can continue to charge the 12V as long as required.

 

[marcusm]

Thanks. We charge Level 2. I’ll remember to run the car every few days then if we are not around. The 12 V battery status seems to be the Achilles’ heel of this entire sophisticated system from everything I’ve read on this board.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jcanoe]

The Volt should be able to remain powered off and unplugged for up to 30 days without running down the 12V battery to the point that the Volt will not start. If your Volt's 12V battery will not hold a charge after a few days and prevents the Volt from starting the 12V AGM battery is defective or too old and should be replaced.

 

[canehdian]

All lead acid AGM batteries will have reduced capacity as they age but if well looked after and properly charge-maintained can last a good 10 years, but with reduced capacity. Yours should not really have just died completely after just 6 years so I suspect a faulty battery and just bad luck. In other word I wouldn't expect your situation to apply to most owners.

Like you, I've rarely seen a battery not last 8-13 years. But we're in cooler climate than OP's hot AZ. I suspect that's all it comes down to. Roasted battery = shorter life.

So am I the only one who sees the irony of having to replace the tiny 12V battery every few years but the big traction battery is supposed to last the life of the car?
There has to be a better way! Either tap 12V off the traction battery or just get a Li-Ion 12 battery?
I think it's the price for that dang 12V battery that gets my goat.

The 12V battery exists to boot up the main battery - it's a safety feature. High voltage is completely off until the 12V starts up the computer which does circuit checks and fires it up.
They could make a second 12V using li-ion, but that adds cost for no major gain.
They could design it differently with capacitors, etc. But again, cost. And lack of familiarity with the tech to outsiders vs everyone knows what that big heavy cube is.