Signs that the original battery is on it's way out?

agoldberg308 · March 7

I'm still running the original battery in my 2023 Sierra 1500 truck (6.2L). Got it mid-January of 2023, so just over three years old. Most of my driving, before now, has been less than 30 minutes per leg. Over the last few weeks I've noticed that the auto stop/start (yes I let it run). isn't engaging as it did before. Were before, if I went to the grocery store (20-30 minute drive) it would engage at least at the end of that drive (if I hadn't driven the truck much in the previous couple of days). Now, it's not engaging until driving much longer. As in not at all during my hour+ long morning commute, but sometimes at the very end of the evening drive.

Is this an indicator that I need to replace the battery? I went and had the battery tested last weekend, but without having the CCA number I suspect the test wasn't valid. I'm tempted to just replace the thing with a new one either way.

2016 Sierra Owner · March 8

You will start getting random warning messages most of the time. These trucks hate low voltage and it will cause them to pop up. The charging voltage will usually stay above 14 when driving as well. I know it's not related. My wifes Acadia was giving 2/3 warnings randomly. Plus when I drove it the voltage stayed over 14 all the time. I installed a new battery and the warnings have gone away. The voltage drops down to around 10 or less after driving a little as well.

silveradosid · March 8

my battery was 5 and half years old, one morning at the begining of winter i put the truck in servive mode and it gave me a low battery warning. the truck started fine but i replaced the battery anyways. old battery is still starting our manlift. but i guess it doesn't take much to turn over the 2.7 as compared to a v8

agoldberg308 · March 8

I'm thinking that I'll just replace the original battery in the coming weeks more to cover my a$$ than anything else. I could wait until my coming oil change to get the shop to do a full charging system test (or get the parts store to run a test). I'd rather do repairs/replacements ahead of things going sideways. I'll be going for an oil change in about a month. I just don't know if waiting that long will be OK or not. Driving about 120 miles to/from work each day makes me want this thing to be 100% issue free.

I did get a 'low voltage' message via BlueDriver. No more details than that though. I did have to clear the FCA alert icon on the cluster (either last weekend, or the one before). I had hoped it would have been an item that the tool would find but there was nothing. Removing the negative cable from the battery for ~10 minutes cleared the flag. It's not come back either.

With the warmer days coming upon is (in New England) I should see the stop/start system engaging more. I don't have any alerts showing on the instrument cluster at present either.

Gregory Coleman · March 9

My indication of battery failing. Was auto stop start no longer operating. I replaced battery. Then purchased adapter to bypass auto stop start permanently.

diyer2 · March 9

With the electronics today I don't wait for the battery to go dead, I have always changed them at 5 years. I just don't understand the thought process. It's going to die so why wait until it won't start.

SC4R3C120W · March 9

my wife's traverse had a battery that didn't last more than 4 years. My 2020 LM2 had 160,000 miles and was 5 years old with no signs of slowing. Some people like to be proactive and change out 3-4 years just because, but I like to stretch my money if there are no signs.

agoldberg308 · March 10

@SC4R3C120W Pretty sure the high mileage you put on that 2020 is why your battery is still going strong. I put all of about 11k on my 2023 Sierra in three years. I started doing more miles as of late January (250-300 a week) due to a new job and how far it is from me.

At this point I'm planning on swapping it out for a new battery. Got my eyes on a Duralast Platinum Elite 850CCA AGM unit. It has a 5 year warranty on it, and is under $300. Plus it appears to be in stock at the store I plan to visit. Pretty sure it's got a higher CCA rating than the battery in my truck now. Since I couldn't find the info label on the original battery, I have no way to know, for certain, what the CCA rating of it is. Could be 800, could be less, could be more.

At this point, I'm not sure if I'll be getting a new truck in the coming years. My current plan is to wait for the coming generation (2027) when it does it's mid-gen refresh (around 2030) and then I'll decide. It really comes down to what the new V8's from GM are like. Plus what's available in the 1500 series trucks. If nothing else, I'll just keep my 2023 running for as long as possible.

agoldberg308 · March 15

Installed the new battery yesterday afternoon. Went out today and it behaved pretty much as it did several months ago (auto stop/start engaging and such). Feels like it also started faster/easier than before the replacement. I didn't time the start before the battery change, so no real data to tell for certain. I might use my BlueDriver module in the coming weeks to see if the 'low voltage' message comes up again or if it's gone.

Glad I had another person to hold the assembly that goes over the positive post aside so that I could do the swap. Plus there was one connection I needed to remove in order to get that to happen.

Need to go through the additional settings that I had changed from default that reverted with the battery swap. I've done a couple, but the rear seat reminder has yet to be disabled again.

Minnvmax · April 19

2019 6.2 with 140k. Original battery. I will change it this year for sure. Waiting for a sign. The auto stop/start did stop working for a while recently then started working again. Hmmmm

KARNUT · April 19

There are no signs and no fixed time. My wife’s 2011 Genesis had two. The first one lasted 4 years the second one installed at the dealership is still going. The driving loop is the same. I have many examples similar to that. So I carry a jump box and inflater with me. The 80$ device is cheaper than replacing a good battery.

anthony2558 · May 7

How about the stock clock (manual set) feature. Mine loses about a min every 2-3 days. I know that my telematics module is dead cause the compass, Onstar, location based clock all don't work. But why can't my truck keep time? Could this be battery related. I've tested the battery and it usually states 90% SOC and 75% SOH. Says battery is good condition.