Dead Battery Already

[stylez09]

Originally Posted by djm17178

Well, I just got back from the dealership. They ran their extensive battery tester on my battery, and everything came back good.

They said that since I had low mileage (1500 miles in 3 months) that the problem was probably that I am making two many short trips and the battery does not have time to charge properly. I wonder if they're right... Of course, I have never had this problem with any of my other cars and the same driving habits, but the service manager said that this car has a lot more electronics, BOSE audio, LED lights, etc, and that if your trip is not at least 7 miles long, you are taking more from your battery than you're putting back into it. They recommended that if I continue to drive it on short trips like I've been doing that I get a charger and periodiclly charge the battery up. That seems crazy to me, that they make a $40,000 car that can't be driven in the city on short trips, but maybe that's just how it is.

They wouldn't replace my battery, but to keep me happy they replaced it with another one from a brand new car. We'll see if it makes a differnce. The service manager was actually really nice, and everyone there like the new R2C intakes - they had never seen them before.

That explanation is B.S..if that were the case they would mention this somewhere on the TSB or even in the manual. I drive my G37s 6MT 3 miles one way every day to go to the local park and ride. I have never had any issues with my battery. I would tell them to get this issue fixed ASAP. The service manager is making excuses.

[djm17178]

Originally Posted by stylez09

That explanation is B.S..if that were the case they would mention this somewhere on the TSB or even in the manual. I drive my G37s 6MT 3 miles one way every day to go to the local park and ride. I have never had any issues with my battery. I would tell them to get this issue fixed ASAP. The service manager is making excuses.

That was my thought too, but I really didn't know what else he could do for me. The battery tested perfectly (of course I had just trickle charged it the night before). He replaced it with another battery from another car, so hopefully if it WAS a battery problem this will fix it.

Working from home, I only drive my car every other day, and sometimes I'll go a couple weeks without a trip of more than 10 miles. I wonder if the battery just doesn't get a chance to charge properly in this timeframe? I dunno what else it could be though.

[ufo]

Originally Posted by djm17178

Well, I just got back from the dealership. They ran their extensive battery tester on my battery, and everything came back good.

They said that since I had low mileage (1500 miles in 3 months) that the problem was probably that I am making two many short trips and the battery does not have time to charge properly. I wonder if they're right... Of course, I have never had this problem with any of my other cars and the same driving habits, but the service manager said that this car has a lot more electronics, BOSE audio, LED lights, etc, and that if your trip is not at least 7 miles long, you are taking more from your battery than you're putting back into it. They recommended that if I continue to drive it on short trips like I've been doing that I get a charger and periodiclly charge the battery up. That seems crazy to me, that they make a $40,000 car that can't be driven in the city on short trips, but maybe that's just how it is.

They wouldn't replace my battery, but to keep me happy they replaced it with another one from a brand new car. We'll see if it makes a differnce. The service manager was actually really nice, and everyone there like the new R2C intakes - they had never seen them before.

This sounds like BS to me my friend. I would take the car to Autozone or Sears or somewhere and have them test the battery. If it goes dead for the reasons that the dealer stated then Infiniti did a sh*tty job of sizing the battery to the car or else you have some other problem that is causing a current leak when the car is off. I don't buy that short trip story at all.

[SkyMG37x]

The battery may test out fine, but what I've learned about the charging system on this car may be related to why the battery gets drained.

There's a current sensor module between the negative terminal of the battery and the ground - it's part of the Variable Voltage Control System that's mentioned in the owner's manual and detailed in the service manual. The purpose of the current sensor is to determine the amount of current draw and control the voltage generated by the generator. So if your battery is not charging properly then it's quite possible that the current sensor could be the culprit and not properly controlling the generator output. The dealer really needs to check the entire electrical system especially the current sensor module. I read at least one person on the forum had a problem with that.

[aznutx]

yeah they always "test" fine, but in the end it's always the battery problem.
and to relate to ur story
i drive to work 3.5miles, drive back 3.5miles, a total of 5mins there and 5mins back, for 10mins total a day on workdays, and with 2 failed infiniti batteries, once i went aftermarket, it all stopped. and the second time my infiniti battery failed, it was tested at 3 different places, autozone, oreilly's, and pepboys, all said it was fine. when it would die after 1 day

there's my 2c

[2009G37]

Low mileage is not the issue. I have 1400 miles on my car in 8 months! No battery problems yet....and I'm hoping it will stay that way.

While on this topic, if I have to leave town (and my car) for 1 month, can I just let it sit, or should I disconnect the battery? Will it die in that amount of time? I mean, most cars shouldn't, but we don't have the average car haha.

[SkyMG37x]

Originally Posted by 2009G37

Low mileage is not the issue. I have 1400 miles on my car in 8 months! No battery problems yet....and I'm hoping it will stay that way.

While on this topic, if I have to leave town (and my car) for 1 month, can I just let it sit, or should I disconnect the battery? Will it die in that amount of time? I mean, most cars shouldn't, but we don't have the average car haha.

Owner's manual suggests disconnecting the battery if the car is not driven for 30 days due to the electronics and associated drain. This is not abnormal as any car with several on-board computers will continue to use some power. Chevy recommends the same for similar reasons.

The other option is get a Battery Tender and hook it up if the car will sit for that long.

[calvin_hobbes]

Originally Posted by ifinity

Dealer battery test was good. Service Manager says playing the radio/ipod/nav system during lunchtime without the engine On is a load that could take the battery down. Second accessory battery in trunk (plus for more traction) would seem to be solution? Will be checking Volts, plus Amps with my Fluke y8100 ac/dc current probe under various conditions to see what is happening for myself. Waiting for HPAuto Greddy Informeter to see Volts on regular basis.

Maybe due to all the mods I've done to the car:
gigapan: Corsa Motorsports Zytek 07S Zytek

unrelated: check this tree full of insects in my neighborhood out--
gigapan: 090116 Main Ellwood Monarch butterfly grouping

Service Manager says playing the radio/ipod/nav system during lunchtime without the engine On is a load that could take the battery down. >>>>

Thats just plain 'i dont have an answer' talk. What a bunch of crap.....you cant enjoy some tunes at lunch without worrying if your car is going to start?

[mbentle]

Mine is 8 months old. Dead Battery. They know that there are electrical issues. The dealer said the alternator does not recharge the battery the way it should if you do not drive allot of miles. I drive about 400 miles a week.. Nonsense.
I have had other quirkly electrical issues.. hesitation, power surges, issues with the trunk, hard starting , misses when it starts. All point to electrical issues.

They suggest putting in an over sized battery.
This isn't over yet.......

[motocopter]

Originally Posted by last lemming

Do you drive short distances to work and such? My wife had a Miata, and after two years the battery died, I thought that sucked and got a new battery. About two years later we traded for and Audi, and in two year s latter that battery went dead. Come to find out because my wife drives less than a mile to work, the short trips never got the batter fully charged, so over time the battery just went out. If the G uses a lot juice for the electronics, you may not be driving long enough to recharge fully and you will eventually ruin a battery that way.

Just a thougt.

That is what I told my wife after I had to go and jump the car while she was trying to leave work about a week ago. Today I notice the motor turned over slowly and now I have the battery on a charger for the night. I won't bother with the dealer in Nashville and just go buy a good battery. It just isn't worth the effort involved.

[jtlockyer]

Here is my first Infiniti ‘service’ experience.

Like others who have posted comments, I too am having battery problems after six months and 4800 miles. My car refused to start after coming home on Monday (after a 30 minute commute) and leaving the headlights on for five minutes. I took it to the dealer today (Tustin Infiniti) and they say everything is normal. WTF! The headlights should be able to run for at least two hours before the starter can't crank!

The service advisor was nice and up-front. He said corporate knows about battery problems, but blame it on problems with the emissions control system where some pump will run for an hour after the car is shut down. But, that is not the problem here.

He said Infiniti will grant an 'exception' after I bring it back three times because it will not start. At that point, they will put in a new battery like those used in the other POS Infiniti vehicles. (I am over-joyed.)

I have not received this kind of support and service from my other cars; Lexus, BMW, and Mazda.

[aznutx]

Originally Posted by jtlockyer

Here is my first Infiniti ‘service’ experience.

Like others who have posted comments, I too am having battery problems after six months and 4800 miles. My car refused to start after coming home on Monday (after a 30 minute commute) and leaving the headlights on for five minutes. I took it to the dealer today (Tustin Infiniti) and they say everything is normal. WTF! The headlights should be able to run for at least two hours before the starter can't crank!

The service advisor was nice and up-front. He said corporate knows about battery problems, but blame it on problems with the emissions control system where some pump will run for an hour after the car is shut down. But, that is not the problem here.

He said Infiniti will grant an 'exception' after I bring it back three times because it will not start. At that point, they will put in a new battery like those used in the other POS Infiniti vehicles. (I am over-joyed.)

I have not received this kind of support and service from my other cars; Lexus, BMW, and Mazda.

might just be that dealership, someone else said something about tustin, where as i got mine replaced for free, in the same scenario

try a different dealership perhaps and ask them?

[demuslee]

Has this issue happened G37 owners of models manufactured prior to 09/08? In reading through these posts it seems that all of the cars with these dead battery issues are 08 models that were likely manufactured in 07. Can we do a poll to see what the manufacture date was ... if this is isolated to the 08 (07 manufactured date) model, then we know that Infinity identified and corrected the problem and perhaps you can point this out to your service writers at the dealership next time for a solution. I have an 09 model manufactured 09/08 wih 3400 miles and knock on wood no battery problems yet. To see the year your car was manufactured just check the white sticker in the driver's door. To isolate this, maybe we can do this analysis by listing the characteristics mentioned in this forum pertaining to the batter. To start this off:

Manuf Date: 09/08 - No battery problem so far (3400 miles). Daily Driver about 40 miles daily. Use door button for lock and unlock. Prem packg no extra electronics.

[gurneyeagle]

Originally Posted by demuslee

Has this issue happened G37 owners of models manufactured prior to 09/08? In reading through these posts it seems that all of the cars with these dead battery issues are 08 models that were likely manufactured in 07.

I've got one of the first '08 G37's built - purchased in mid-Aug '07 off the dealer order sheet. Car delivered first week in September '07.

I have a seven mile commute each way. Never play the radio without the car being on, don't use the auto headlight feature, use the door lock buttons.

[2008G-Man]

I have a 08 Journey Coupe. I put a battery tester on it and it was charging at 14.8 at idle. Did a load test and it tested fine. Appears to be the stock battery.