2005 Saturn Relay--gone two weeks and battery is dead!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I am sooo angered by this. I called to find out precisely WHY this could be possible. After all the car has mechanisms to shut off forgotten lights and the radio after 10 minutes, so it isn't even possible for that to be the cause.

Do you know what the response was?????

The computer draws sooo much amps that that would do it. So I asked how to prevent this. They said to disconnect the battery cable when you go on vacation. WTH!!! Where in the manual does it say that? "Nowhere" was the response. Claims snowbirds (those who live here only half the year) do this when they leave. Last time I checked 2 weeks is a heck of a lot less than 6 months. Who in the world has to unplug their car for a vacation???

My last van could start up just fine after sitting at an airport for 15 days. My hubby's car started just fine today after almost 4 weeks of sitting. Why in the world would a company make a vehicle that would drain all power in 2 weeks???

This is the second time this same service person has said something dumb.

I did call the salesguy and he will get to the bottom of it. I told him he was lucky that we didn't take the van to the airport otherwise I would have been committed if I came back to a dead van. Oh--and the fact that we are driving over to Orlando tomorrow for marathon weekend--oh wait, the van is dead. Guess I'll walk on over and that can be my warm up.

I will say I did leave the van doors open (in the garage) to air it out as we had a torrential downpour the day before we left and I had been on a training run. I didn't want to come back to mildew. But I leave it open every night anyway. The lights and everything have auto shutoff.


Sorry this is long--but I'm steamed!!!

 

[Aurora63]

I'm no car expert, but I'd be mad too...especially that the service people are trying to blame it on the computer...please...they must think you're an idiot. Something else is the matter with it and they don't want to be bothered, that's all. Hope you get it all worked out.

 

[Towncrier]

This happened to our 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. After sitting for 3 months, not 2 weeks. I too was told that this is quite common in newer vehicles. When the battery on my 1995 Saturn SC2 died a horrible death about a month ago, I installed a new battery and, on a whim, measured the current being drawn by the car as it just sat in the parking lot. Believe it or not, the car was drawing nearly half an amp. And it does NOT have an electronic dashboard nor does it have as many electronics as do more recent automobiles.

I guess that sooner or later, automobile manufacturers are going to have to provide us with some sort of switch to completely disconnect the battery in the event that we want to park our cars somewhere for an extended (???) period of time.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They haven't seen it yet. I was outraged at their suggestion though. Just seems ludicrous. Saturn roadside assistance is on the way to try to charge it. We attempted that but were unsuccesful and I didn't wish to drain someone else's car. We are leaving for 2 weeks in October and I must say this has me concerned about driving the thing to MCO and leaving it in the lot for 2 weeks. I would expect a 2005 vehicle to be reliable for this sort of thing.

 

[Chicago526]

Maybe it's just a bum battery? Sometimes they just go kaput for no good reason. It could also be a bad altenator, that's what charges the battery while the car is running. If the altenator is bad, the battery doesn't charge and you get a dead battery eventualy. I'm surprised Saturn wasn't more helpful, they usually have great customer service. Maybe they just didn't want to speculate until someone actually took a look at the car. Anyway, good luck!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It was a "used" vehicle when we bought it--so a bum battery could be a possibility. My salesman was extremely helpful (at least sounded like he was). The particular service guy I spoke with didn't seem all that helpful. I've had problems with his lack of knowledge in the past.

 

[experiment626mom]

Welcome to owning a Saturn. I had a Saturn wagon for 6 years and I was all ways having problems. And I was all ways getting "interesting" answers from their service people.

Good Luck

 

[diznygirl]

Actually, we are on our second and third Saturns and customer service in two states has been great. We did encounter one gentleman who was extremely unhelpful (we told him the horn was broken - he told us to press it harder!) so you will always, no matter which brand of car you own - meet up with one person who is a problem. Just ask to speak with someone else.

Hope you get this figured out.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

The fix it people came and successfully charged it--took about 10 minutes to get it charged high enough to start. We are now running it while the girls take a bath (they found some mud ). And then we will go drive it around.

The fix it people said Hyundai's were the worst for this sort of thing though. Personally I think it is all silly--perhaps they need bigger batteries if the little things can't handle 2 weeks without starting.

 

[Chicago526]

The fix it people said Hyundai's were the worst for this sort of thing though. Personally I think it is all silly--perhaps they need bigger batteries if the little things can't handle 2 weeks without starting.

Well, Saturn is GM, and my brother always said that GM cars are just really hard on their electrical systems (blown altenators and dead batteries are common). He does recomend a larger battery than what comes with the car/is recommended in the hand book, so you could be right!

I've had my Saturn SL2 since '98 and haven't had any problems other than ordinary wear and tear, and the CS has been great!

 

[Nicolepa]

When you are not going to drive the car for an extended period of time you should turn the auto headlight's off. The manual of my car (not a Saturn), says that the battery may drain if the car is off for an extended period of time and the auto headlights are on.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

When you are not going to drive the car for an extended period of time you should turn the auto headlight's off. The manual of my car (not a Saturn), says that the battery may drain if the car is off for an extended period of time and the auto headlights are on.

I don't understand.

All my vehicles lights have auto shut off.

 

[Nicolepa]

On both my Toyota and BMW I have to set it to "A" for automatic shut off. I can still turn them on and off when I want, by switching it to either the "On" or "off" position. So when I go on vacation I have to turn it from "A" to "Off" so it doesn't drain the battery.

 

[MICKEY88]

wow my '96 Dodge Intrepid sat for 3 months, and started right up when I needed it..

 

[Towncrier]

I should NOT have posted on this thread. I seem to have angered the battery gods. My Saturn SC2's battery died last month in a spectacular manner. The replacement battery only lasted one day. I went back to NTB and they cleaned off my battery cables, tested my charging system, and announced that my car was fit as a fiddle.

On the way home from work tonight (with headlights on, rear defroster running, heater, and radio blasting), the battery light came on. Off went all the accessories and I sweated bullets as I was still 10 miles from home in rush hour traffic. My headlights and dashboard lights seemed "dim". After 10 or 15 minutes, the battery light went off and everything returned to normal. I stopped off at the grocery store and my car restarted without incident.

So whatever I said to anger the battery gods, I take it back.