2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

I want to thank all the members here again for providing a great database of info for owners. I have had my 08' Hybrid for 2 weeks now and have had a couple concerns. The first being the weird motor niose coming from what I think are the brakes. It sounds like a small electric motor running...no effect on vehicle performance and it disappears in about a min. I hopoe this is just normal. Second is consmetic, but really annoying, the rubber coating on the steering wheel is peeling. Gas mileage isnt bad...avg.18.7, but I live in W. PA so there are alot of hills. I was just about to leave for lunch today and my vehicle is dead...so dead the key fob wouldn't unlock the doors. GM roadside is towing the vehicle as we speak. Not sure how this could happen even if I left lights on (which I didn't) within a 3 hour period.
Hope it gets better from here..because I do like the vehicle overall.

have them check
 

the 12v battery to make sure it is the correct one. some 2008's were shipped with incorrect 12 batteries under the hood which have caused issues and been replaced under warranty, you can't just stuff any old 12v in it for some reason. I believe there is a TSB out on this issue.

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

get a new battery from the dealer. congrats on your new car. driving a hybrid needs getting used to. there are weird noises, sometimes electric sparks noise but everything is good. after driving a loaner escalade for three days, I rather be driving the hybrid.

Re: have them check
 

Anybody know about this TSB???

Last night I went to buy fuel, When I got there I turned the engine off, But accidentally left the key on with power going to the gauges, Well it left everything else on like the seat heater, The heater was still on auto, The head lights where on, And the radio as well.

Within one minutes time with everything left on I was going through gauges on the dash and noticed it read 11 volts, So of course me being me I wanted to see if it would start and it would not start at all, So I just turned all the accessories off and it started up on the second turn of the key switch.

I just didn't think it should go that low that quick.

I am surprised that they put in such a small cold cranking amp battery in this vehicle, Mine's rated at 600 CCA, I'm a boat service technician and all the Mercruisers MPI style engines have a minimum of 750 CCA that is needed to start a EFI/MPI engine using a marine starting battery, And a basic marine engine in most boats does not have anywhere near the amount of accessories a vehicle like this has on board that I can think of off hand without getting all technical between the two.:confused:

I have already had to charge the battery up once a few months ago for leaving the interior lights on for about a half hour.:omg:

Thanks.:)

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

1porscheman - don't leave us in suspense. Have they found the issue with your Tahoe yet?

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

Sorry for not responding...yes, they found that there was a bad cell in the battery, and not covered under warranty. Roadside was great picked up car in 30min. no charge. The dealer charged for diagnosis and battery..$316 w/tax...not happy about it, but hey could be worse. had the car back next morning. Yes, I'm still getting used to driving the hybrid. My wife loves it not because of the gas mileage...because I've been driving so slow! I have been trying to keep it in V4 like you all have mentioned on here. I'm getting 18.5mpg right now...way better than the 11mpg I was getting in my h2 sut (wife hated hummer..thought it was stupid).
Thanks Again

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

I'm pretty surprised to hear the cost of replacing a cell is so low - and also that a single bad cell knocked out the Tahoe.

Glad to hear you have it back on the road!

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

Lake,

It was a bad cell in the 12 volt battery, not a bad cell in the traction battery. They just replaced the 12 volt battery.

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

the hybrid battery has an 8 year, 100k mile warranty. it is the 12V that is not covered unfortunately.

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

Aha - that makes much more sense. That price seemed pretty darned cheap for replacing a cell in the traction battery. On the other hand - $300+ for a 12V is pretty steep!

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

I guess I am also a victim of listening to the radio espn sports(go bears!) while cleaning my two cars in 45 degree weather.

after finishing both vehicles and it was time to park it inside the garage, the battery of the escalade just went dead:(

maybe too much sports radio but this should be normal stuff.

anyway, I also found out that I was charging my "smartphone" at the back's 112V outlet. all, contributing to this.

fortunately, I had a SEARS charger and rapid start equipment. the fast start would not work as it had only <9V. anyway, after 30 minutes of rapid 30A charging, it went up to 13.3 V charge and fired right away.

will the dealership replace it under warranty? any experience?

Re: have them check
 

The reason the 12V battery is small is because the engine is started by the traction battery. you may notice there is no starter on your engine. The 12V system is basically for compatibility and control. There is also no conventional alternator. The 12v system is charged off of the 300v system.

Re: 2 weeks with my Hybrid-its dead today
 

You can check the cell of the battery with a meter. If you are capable of doing it.
Have a meter set to 12 vdc, open up the caps of the cell. Yes you can open on the maintenance free battery.
Place the black lead on the neg post, dip the red lead in to the cell, not touching the plates. The cell should read, 2 vdc in each. This adds up to the 12 vdc. If you get one that is low, it has a shorted cell on the plates. Again, just dip the lead into the acid.
When complete, make a solution of baking soda and water and dip the leads in to neutralize the acid. So it does not eat away at the leads.