- Report: #130955
Complaint Review: AC Delco / GM - Nationwide
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AC Delco / GM
www.acdelco.com Nationwide, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-223-3526
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AC Delco / GM ripoff - 78-6YR battery leaking acid Nationwide
I purchased my Oldsmobile Intrigue in 7/2000 from an Oldsmobile dealership in Santa Monica, CA. In 3/2003 (less than 3 years), I took my car to the Folsom Chevrolet in northern CA to get it serviced and they noticed that the ACDelco 78-6YR battery that came with the car was leaking acid from the positive terminal.
The car had a little over 36k miles on it, but the dealership managed replace the battery under warranty. The battery cable, tray, and whatever else damaged by the acid were covered under the 7-year/75k protection plan I purchased with the vehicle.
The new battery was the same 78-6YR ACDelco model. Not knowing too much about cars (this is the first car I've owned), I didn't question their choice and didn't ask about the warranty on the battery. I figured that they knew what they were doing and that they had fixed the problem. I'm not making that same mistake again!
On 2/7/2005 (less than 2 years), I noticed that the battery was leaking acid again from the positive terminal when I was getting my oil changed.
I called the Oldsmobile customer service and was told they do not cover the battery replacement if it's older than 1 year or has 12k miles on it. I called ACDelco to report the problem and was told that they have not heard of any problems with that battery. I was told by the ACDelco representative that they wouldn't do anything about the problem since they haven't heard anyone else complain about it.
I guess I'm lucky that both problems were caught before the positive terminal fell out or any further damage was caused and that I didn't have to pay for the 2nd battery, but it's not right for them to keep providing faulty batteries to people who are unaware of the problem with their batteries!
As for the current leaking battery, I decided to buy a Sears Gold DieHard battery after some research and recommendations by friends. Also, when I went to the Sears Auto Center, a guy getting his battery changed mentioned that he had his DieHard battery for 7 years before it died. It cost me $86 total with tax for the battery and it has a 3-year free replacement warranty and a 100-month prorated warranty, so I think it's worth a try.
However, I couldn't get it replaced at Sears because apparently to get the battery cable replaced, I have to go to the dealership since they're the only ones who carry it. I'm going to the dealership tomorrow morning to get the cable replaced and to get them to install my new DieHard battery. Crossing my fingers that I won't have any more problems trying to this problem fixed!
I also filed a complaint on www.nhtsa.dot.gov but I'm not sure what they can do. I've tried finding an ACDelco address where I can send a complaint, but haven't had any luck finding one. If anyone has an address for AC Delco where I can send them a complaint or knows of anything else I can do to get GM/ACDelco to stop using these batteries, please let me know. Thanks.
Amy
Glendale, California
U.S.A.
The car had a little over 36k miles on it, but the dealership managed replace the battery under warranty. The battery cable, tray, and whatever else damaged by the acid were covered under the 7-year/75k protection plan I purchased with the vehicle.
The new battery was the same 78-6YR ACDelco model. Not knowing too much about cars (this is the first car I've owned), I didn't question their choice and didn't ask about the warranty on the battery. I figured that they knew what they were doing and that they had fixed the problem. I'm not making that same mistake again!
On 2/7/2005 (less than 2 years), I noticed that the battery was leaking acid again from the positive terminal when I was getting my oil changed.
I called the Oldsmobile customer service and was told they do not cover the battery replacement if it's older than 1 year or has 12k miles on it. I called ACDelco to report the problem and was told that they have not heard of any problems with that battery. I was told by the ACDelco representative that they wouldn't do anything about the problem since they haven't heard anyone else complain about it.
I guess I'm lucky that both problems were caught before the positive terminal fell out or any further damage was caused and that I didn't have to pay for the 2nd battery, but it's not right for them to keep providing faulty batteries to people who are unaware of the problem with their batteries!
As for the current leaking battery, I decided to buy a Sears Gold DieHard battery after some research and recommendations by friends. Also, when I went to the Sears Auto Center, a guy getting his battery changed mentioned that he had his DieHard battery for 7 years before it died. It cost me $86 total with tax for the battery and it has a 3-year free replacement warranty and a 100-month prorated warranty, so I think it's worth a try.
However, I couldn't get it replaced at Sears because apparently to get the battery cable replaced, I have to go to the dealership since they're the only ones who carry it. I'm going to the dealership tomorrow morning to get the cable replaced and to get them to install my new DieHard battery. Crossing my fingers that I won't have any more problems trying to this problem fixed!
I also filed a complaint on www.nhtsa.dot.gov but I'm not sure what they can do. I've tried finding an ACDelco address where I can send a complaint, but haven't had any luck finding one. If anyone has an address for AC Delco where I can send them a complaint or knows of anything else I can do to get GM/ACDelco to stop using these batteries, please let me know. Thanks.
Amy
Glendale, California
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Amy
Glendale,California,
U.S.A.
Update on 78-6YR battery leaking acid
#2Author of original report
Sat, February 12, 2005
I was wrong about the current leaky battery being my 2nd battery. I checked my records and I found that I had the 1st battery replaced after < 2 years, the 2nd one replaced after < 1 year, and the 3rd and current one after < 2 years. That's THREE batteries that leaked acid in LESS THAN 5 YEARS! Today I went to the GM dealership to see about getting the battery situation fixed. They wouldn't change the cable or the tray and told me that they would only clean and neutralize the acid. Since this is a "maintenance" thing, it's not covered under warranty and I would have to pay for it. I would need to keep driving the car until the cable breaks before the warranty would cover fixing the cable. To just take a LOOK at the battery would cost me $50, and to neutralize the acid and replace the battery would cost me $220!!! What the F---??? After I managed to calm down a bit from this unfair treatment, I asked them if I took it to another mechanic and the cable broke when they were trying to change the battery, would that then be covered under my warranty? In that case, yes. So I took it to Sears and they were able to replace and neutralize the acid without the cable breaking. They also made sure that the cable was still intact. How much did they charge me? $10. And they were nice. Needless to say I'm writing letters to GM and ACDelco to make them aware the problem with their ACDelco battery. And I think I've learned enough about car batteries to hopefully not get screwed over again. Corporate Headquarters for GM: General Motors 100 Renaissance Center, Detroit, MI 48243 Chairman/CEO: John F Smith, Jr. 313-556-5000 Haven't figured out how to reach ACDelco yet besides calling 800-ACDELCO.
George
Los Angeles,California,
U.S.A.
Good Decision!
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, February 11, 2005
Hi Amy, You have made an excellent decision going with a Sears Battery. They have what I think is about the best auto battery on the market, and there are many excellent brands available. I have heard on this website that some people have had problems with getting Sears to honor their warranties on batteries. If some time in the future you run into that problem, just go to another Sears outlet and hopefully you will find better service. Regarding ACDelco, there has recently been another complaint posted on this website about an ACDelco Battery which was purchased through a GM Dealer. That person also had a leaking positive terminal, but only decided to go with another brand after 4-5 replacements. It is my understanding that ACDelco is a subsidiary of General Motors. Maybe a GM dealer parts department can give you the information you need to write directly to them.
