Could not start my 2008 Corvette this morning. Dead battery. I have seen numerous threads on this subject. Has GM come up with a solution to this problem?

 

The dead battery syndrome, were from earlier models. Is it possible that you may have left the lights on? There is a **** on the left side of the dash. Some have accidentally pushed this **** with their knees and not realized it. I know I have, but I always stand there to insure the interior lights go out.

 

Really need more detail, such as how often do you drive the car, how long was it sitting. There really is no DBS with the 2008 that I am aware of other than people letting it sit for more than 2 weeks or so without a battery tender.

 

I agree, in the recent years most likely something got left on. The knee knocker button on the left, map lights, fob left in car, car left in acc mode... I double check everything, if it happens again see mr dealer.
There is a bulletin of a flow chart of everything for them to check. It's based on how much parasitic draw there is after 20 minutes of sitting. Based on the mA of draw, the chart takes you down different diagnostic paths.

Make sure the fobs are a good distance away. Many garages are close enough to interior rooms, if someone is walking around with the fob in their pocket, it might be waking the car up too often.

 

The battery died in my 08 within 4 weeks after purchase... I think I left something on as I was getting familiar with car and playing around..
Had the battery replaced at the dealer... no problems in over 14 months..

 

I have an 09 Coupe. Bought 9/08. My battery was dead about a month ago. Its winter time here. The car had not been started or driven in 6 or 8 weeks. I called the dealer, they referred me to the 800 222 1020 people and they sent out a jump start person, no charge to me. 3 or 4 days later the battery was dead again. I jump started from a friend this time. I went out and drove it about 90 miles to try to charge the battery. 2 days later it started like normal and I took it out and washed it and put it away for the winter. I now have the battery tender on the car and will see whats what in the Spring. I know that nothing was on in my car to cause the battery to go down. Could it be that there are so many electronics on these cars now, they constantly draw power, that it takes a battery tender to keep the battery charged. This dead battery issue is still happening to so many people. I know about the button on the lower part of the dash, I learned about that a few Corvettes ago. Paul...

 

These cars will always draw power even when properly shut down.

Red Cell.

 

I have 8,600 miles on the car so it is driven regularlly. The car was last driven on Friday as I was out of town for the weekend. Normally the car is driven every day.

 

You need to charge it to full charge and drive it every couple weeks or put a battery tender on it.

 

It sounds like a trip to the dealer is called for. There is no way the battery should die in a few days.

 

Do you have a NAV System .I dont and have no problems wonder if this is a big drain on the battery?

 

I dont have Navigation...

 

Has your battery gone completely dead before?
If so, the life has probably been shortened. Once they go dead, they are never the same.

I think I read where there could be a problem on some cars where the power windows stayed activated and could be a drain on the battery. Also, if you think about it, to recognize a key fob, there has to be some electrical systems that never power completely down.

 

these cars cant sit for long without some kind of tender hooked up.

 

If you are driving it often, AND they are not short, grocery-getter type trips, then you have another problem and probably need to go to the dealer for a diagnosis. If you are doing around-town driving, start up, shut down, then unfortunately it's the car and your driving experience. The car will wear down the battery on short trips and eventually this will cause the system to fail in starting.

 

Doesn't matter as they will time out in about 20 minutes (part of the RAP).

 

Yes, Anything left on will shut off after 20 min. Also yes , once they die a couple of times they are toast. Put in the biggest battery you can fit if you are in cold climes, start it or drive it more. If you have prob again get it looked at.

 

I'm pretty sure both issues are misinformation. As others have noted, there is an automatic shut down on the C6's (except 2005) - if the lights are left on, they automatically shut down after 20 min. Same thing for Accessory if I remember corrrectly.

As for the fobs - they don't really "wake up" the car, do they??? When an external button is pressed on the Vette, it sends a signal that checks for the presence of a fob. So the fob is always transmitting, but the car doesn't react (or power up) just because it's near.

Unfortunately, once someone reads information like this, they'll always have stuck in their heads "It's a Corvette problem... Has GM solved it yet?".

There are small parasitic drains on the battery of the Vette, but nothing that should cause a healthy battery to die after a couple of days (or weeks even). If the battery isn't healthy - i.e. discharged a couple of times which killed capacity, or is driven infrequently, and for short trips where the battery doesn't charge - then it's the same as any other battery/car - the battery may die after a couple of weeks.

I think the combination of short drives, infrequent use, and lots of electronics drawing current while the car's being driven all contribute to batteries that don't get fully charged, so the batteries become unhealthy and die. (just my theory, with nothing to back it up! )

My Vette is somewhat of a daily driver during normal (non-snowing) months. And when the weather turns bad, or I'm on one of my frequent trips, my Vette will sit in the garage for 2-3 weeks (or more over Christmas). Never a problem...

 

Suday morning I went out to run some errands and NOTHING. Neither fob would work. Had to open the hatch to get the doors and hood open.I have a 2005 coupe with a Optima red top in it (or had in it). Replaced it and no problems now, btw it's my dd 25 miles each way.