Holden VE Commodore Battery Drain Issue Resolution
24 Sep, 2007
45 Comments 
Following our initial story about an issue many VE Commodore owners have experienced with regards to a lack of battery charge, we received many complaints from owners agreeing that the issue was getting long in the tooth, especially when vehicles would be dry of charge at inconvenient times.
This information was forwarded to Holden Australia with the ambition of resolving the matter and hopefully putting owner’s minds at ease.
Thankfully, Holden issued a response to our article with some information about the issue, along with the steps owners can take to resolve the matter.
We would like to thank all the owners who e-mailed in with their stories, along with Holden for a prompt and detailed response with regards to the problems plaguing some owners.
Holden’s Communications Manager - Kate Lonsdale - responded to our queries with the following information:
Mrs Lonsdale told CarAdvice that, “we [have] identified a battery related issue with some of our early production VE and WM models, whereby under certain driving conditions and customer usage patterns the battery state of charge may deteriorate and may not be fully recovered by the vehicle’s charging system.”
Further to that, Mrs Lonsdale went on to say, “A fix for this issue was identified and released to the Dealer Network in July. Subsequently, all vehicles brought in for a routine service and those where customers have specifically reported the issue have been fixed.
If any customer has experienced this matter and has not reported it we encourage them to contact their Holden Dealer or our Customer Assistance Centre to have their concern investigated and corrected.”
When asked about the proper procedure of jump starting vehicles affected by a loss of battery charge, Mrs Londsale said “the vehicle’s owners Handbook explains the correct procedure including the location of the jump start posts which are on the left hand side of the engine bay.”
For those interested in a technical explanation of the issue; a technical adviser for a Sydney Holden dealership explained the following to CarAdvice:
“The issue does vary alot with the different models.
Holden have release updated BCM (Body Control Module) software to correct SOME
of the charge problems, the new software changes the the rate of charge from the
altenator and sets the BCM’s “state of charge” to a different tolerance.We have had some cases where the batteries in new VE’s have been faulty from
factory, with the batteries only receiving half charge.
When only given half charge from factory the ECU and BCM automatically see this
as “default charge” and will only ever charge to that level.
This level is enough to start the vehicle and operate all the systems, but the
drain becomes too much for a half charged batteries, so if the problem is
presented to the dealerships, the battery is usually replaced and the updated
BCM software is installed.The drain issue changes from model to model, we have had a Calais V where we
replace 2 modules of the electronic system to correct the battery drain issue.The issue can sometimes be the computer system (the high and low speed buses of
the ECU and other components), they have a shutdown timer as they stay active
after the vehicle has been shut off for other features of the vehicle, like
lighting features and security.Sometimes they need resetting as they stay on for too long after the ignition
has been turned off and can drain the battery.”
With that, we urge VE Commodore customers that have been affected by the battery drain issue to contact their Holden dealership and arrange for the aforementioned works to be undertaken to ensure battery charge remains at an optimum level for the vehicle to operate.
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not including dealer delievery taxes... by Markie is BORED
September 24th, 2007 at 9:01 am
So this is the last we will ever hear of this issue?
Have been called anti Ford as well
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:14 am
WOW… such a little problem took so long to identify?
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September 24th, 2007 at 11:29 am
HAHAHA Holden owner’s, I feel sorry for you please try to buy a decent car that doesn’t fall apart, you would be better off with a Ford which invented car’s as with Holden they invented Crap with a capitol C………
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September 24th, 2007 at 11:57 am
yeah righto tosser
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September 24th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Well done Car Advice for getting those owners out there with problems some results finaly.
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September 24th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Have had two Commodores, a VK and VR. Didn’t give me half the problems of my BA
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September 24th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Fair call JJ, but I am ready to sell my VE HSV Clubsport. The number of things I have had go wrong with it and had it back at the dealers is just not on.
My work BA XR8 ute on the otherhand has performed flawlessly.
I thought I’d try the new VE, but I am annoyed I did… I should of just bought a BF II Typhoon and had a solid car.
Oh well, you live you learn.
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September 24th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Yeah for what its worth the Vic government is about to pass a new law stating that any Brand new cars sold that have some fault or another can be givin back to the dealer.
Quote= ” New car buyers will be entitled to a full refund or a replacement instead of enduring repeated repair jobs.
The rights could also be extended to cover used cars and could eventually cover other big-ticket purchases.
Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson said the lemon law would limit the number of repairs before the vehicle was replaced or refunded”.
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September 24th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
OK then, the Holden/Ford thing has started but hang on…..
Paul said: I knew this would be a big problem ’cause it’s not a Toyota, and it’s RWD too. Oh and it cant tow as much as a landcruiser.
Seriously though, a good call by “caradvice” to get this out there. Obviously with quite a few owners bitchin’ I would have thought Holden may have been better off talking to customers rather than waiting for them to complain. I agree, it probably doesn’t warrant a recall, bad press and all, but maybe they could have been a bit more proactive.
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September 24th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
i thoght some people had reported they had software update and still had the issue
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September 24th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
JJ… funny comment as I have owned both and my BA 2004 LPG ute has nil problems in 102K kms and Commodore opposite. Mate you must drive wrong or got dud car!
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September 24th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Maybe JJ stands for ‘Just Joking’?
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September 24th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Andrew M - I am one of those people who have had the update but still have the battery issue!!
It is still with Holden as I type!
This is attempt number FOUR to fix the battery issue!! (amongst other things
)
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September 24th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Benje…. preach like it is brother. Amen. LOL
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September 24th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Nick…. have you spoken to someone like Kevin Rudd there about the problemo. Sounds like he is looking into it (Mirror Mirror on the wall who is the biggest baby face wuss of them all….You Kevin) with nil policies and no understanding of cars just like the tax system, medicare, unions, etc. Kevin Rudd a deadset goose wally and an utter dud!
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September 24th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Curious - when has Holden ever been proactive sorting out thier own fu*k ups !!
As far as i am concerned… Holden (GM) has displayed thier normal give a fu*k attitude as they always have.
Not giving a sh*t is just part of the Holden (GM) cultural attitude. It will never change.
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September 24th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
The response you got from Holden’s Communications Manager was nonsense and did absolutely nothing to explain the fault to customers affected by it. What she should have done was explain the fault to at least the detail listed by the Holden dealership and not rely on a nondescript, uninformative and totally useless answer that amounted to “bring it in and we will fix it, but what we fix is a secret”.
If you spend the kind of dollars a new Calais or Statesman costs, you deserve to get a straight answer.
Its these kind of “duck and weave” exercises that really put me off buying from a company. Far, far better from a customers perspective is to just state the facts. Things go wrong in complicated machinery - just make sure we know you understand it, acknowledge it and can fix it. Leave the PR fluff where it belongs on the brochure or go and work in real estate.
Dan
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September 24th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Nick,
mate you prove just what i have suspected. car advice has been given the typical “just tell the press we are right on top of it” line.
when i read this i could instantly recall a few people saying they had had the “fix” yet it hadnt fixed the problem.
im guessing it is a bigger problem than dodgy batteries.
it will be interesting to see if a VE bought today also suffers in 6-12 months time
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September 24th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
DINGO IS HOWLING LOUDLY THE TRUTH ON LAST COMMENT… Dumb and Dumber service while they vague you back out of there Holdenwoo nest…. HOLDEN MEANS A GREAT DEAL TO ITSELF AND F..K THE CLIENT AFTER PURCHASE!
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September 24th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Colonel Klink said
September 24 2007 @ 5:49 pm
Nick…. have you spoken to someone like Kevin Rudd there about the problemo. Sounds like he is looking into it (Mirror Mirror on the wall who is the biggest baby face wuss of them all….You Kevin) with nil policies and no understanding of cars just like the tax system, medicare, unions, etc. Kevin Rudd a deadset goose wally and an utter dud!
Colonel Klink, you are the biggest dud of all. You can put whatever claims you want out there but the majority of the population do not agree with you and the sooner the Libs are out the better. Howard is only keeping his wife Janette happy. The Libs said no G.S.T. hahaha, the Libs said W.O.M.D. Howard is the only W.O.M.D to the Australian people. You sound like to me that you are a professional mudslinger throwing S–t at Holden and Labour.
I will tell you now, the VE/WM will be Australia’s biggest export/money earner for Australia in the near future and the coalition will be out of office and on the brink of destruction again by the end of this year.
Datsun
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September 24th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
jonny appleseed…. LOL hook, line, and reel the little catch in. Labor are parasites that based on Unions mate and I have worked on enough sites to suggest to you that Unions are good up to a point, but above that they can run amuck and have worked in it / seen it - so do not come to me for your baby face leader telling me his shit does not stink - he fell into into and covered himself quite easily last week as he is a nothing guy with a babies face (I quoted to you the F.UPS last week which he fell into quicksand over). LABOR GETS IN AND UNIONS WILL HAVE POWERS TO WALK ON ANY SITE, PREMISES AT THERE POWER TO INSPECT, FIND FAULT AND AS I HAVE 2 BUSINESSES AND LIVE WITH MY HEAD NOT UP MY ARSE… well I want a right to stop this happening! What do you do buddy BOY!
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Good old holdenwoo, having so much trouble with reliability is one thing but keeping customers happy is another, from reading the post’s on this blog, I think you must have a real good look at that 1 billion dollar’s again, was all this money pissed up the wall, cause the only reaction we are getting is very negative… I will stick with Ford thank very much, fuking BIG money waster.
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Ted like really, the word in the street is Holdenwoo hired Kenny to get the dunny runners in (think that event cost $2.6billion dollars of Monoploy money) and they pissed it up and made a mess in mobile toilets as the walls stunk after a while….
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I too have a couple of businesses and I see no reason to sack good employees and then re advertise their position to the staff sacked on lower wages or less conditions and then blame it on decreased profits which businesses can legally do. The difference with me is I see it as the staff who make a company, not just myself and I have run some very profitable ventures and I reward those who help make it happen. When I look at businesses like the commonwealth bank who pay their C.E.O Millions a year in salary to sit on th bums and have consultants do basically all the work except for the signature at the bottom of the contract and I see the bad actually pathetic wages the staff on the front line who bring the customers in.
Even a guy on the workchoices ad was found out to be not paying the right salary to his staff. At least with awards everyone is paid equal rates and protection was there for the staff. Enterprise bargaining is the best way to get a balance not putting all control into business owners who say take it or stuff it. Unfair dismissal laws were taken away to take whatever protection small business employees had against greedy employers. You wont beat me in this argument and you cant beat someone with masters in Law, Accounting and Business Law so give up before I make a fool of you. The Liberals funny how liars is a anagram of liberals LIbeRALs, because they are the biggest lot of lying polititions I have ever encountered and even the lie of interest rates has bitten them on the bum.
Back on topic VE/WM is headed to Europe badged as Opels,also to Britain as Vauxhall along with the middle eastern and U.S. markets.
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Politician not politition, late at night after long day running businesses so I have excuse for spelling error
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Johnny… Mate you are too funny. Stiff dam crackers about you quals mate as I have enough too but I dont strut in around like a peacock (in your case turkey). When you want to go through point by point on history with your pathetic stupid recall (quote for you is eaten bread is soon forgotten - so in other words you have no recall on the Hawke Keating era). Let me know when and where Iam well versed and well trained in that field! Do you remember just recently like think 1.5yrs ago Beazley said that Labor are distancing itself from Unions and that support is done. What branch stacking has occured as Labor is up to its eyeballs with ex-Union members and secondly bugger all women there too! Til you understand what employers go through as I witnessed the tragedy of your last regime when in power and what my friend had to go through with her employee (i.e. nobody there for her and all rights to employee does not creat licks of employment as your last Labor Prime Minister gloated so passionately about. Get back under the rock, I will demolish you on this subject!
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
Yes too late at night… that support is down. When you want to raise the bar to baby smile last week and see the backflips with Gillard about Medicare let me know! Mate, you must love Unions and the best thing to EVER happen was not make Union membership compulsory. Mate did you get a heart transplant then as must of hurt so deep for you and your regime bumchums
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September 24th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I would bury you as mentioned, Don’t forget the stock market crashed during that era causing the recession. Keating was a smarter person than little Johnny would ever wish to be. Oh we are heading towards a recession if another american market crash happens. Will the Libs blame Labour again. Probably despite most of the damage occuring over the last 4 years. Howard and his bum chum Bush are the worst thing that could have happened. We are not safe in Australia due to the Iraq oil grab. We did not have the terrorist problems in the 80’s when Labour was in. I remember the era well and we were better off then in this country. Oh Georgie whatever you say you know best says little Johnny. My brother who is a civil engineer with the RAAF and went over to Iraq will tell you the real reasons behind it and despite Sadam Hussein being one undesirable person at least he kept the other radicals in line which is well and truelly gone now with over 500,000 little Hussein’s around shooting each other. HoWARd is pro war just like Bush who wanted to complete his old mans plan. Also look at all the off shore jobs around now, telephone companies, banks etc relocating their customer service centres taking jobs off Australian’s. Just wait until labour wins, you will have egg on your face big time and if you blog on here I will remind you.
VE and Labour the winning team for Australia
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September 24th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
More labor to fix VE Holdenwoo warranty problemon’s, just curious does Kevin Ruddy even drive a stupid Holdenwoo.
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September 25th, 2007 at 12:33 am
jeez guys, is it such a big deal, there was a minor problem and holden seems to have it covered. cut em some slack
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September 25th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Johnny…. Mate any time you want a item by item comparo let me know as you prove to me how shallow you are as been there done that and very well versed. Yes we should not of gone to Iraq is my answer to all people and agree; BUT NOT ONE SIDED AS IT LOOKS….that in theory makes us supporters somewhat of human rights abuse and the regime that ran the country was growing more radical everyday. The women treated so bottom class by the male over there and when you observe what went on there it is disgusting. Dangerous and disgusting and getting worse daily! Yes there is oil - but if nothing is done are you telling me you support the regime that was ruthless and rained shocking terror on its people as seems to me that is what you are telling me. Yes we can all look at the needle in the haystack like you, but I for one was horrified at kids beaten to a pulp by the fathers for just swimming as the men over there took it the kids where living a western culture. Would you like your kids playing with guns instead of sandpits and swings! You support the similar union loving regime here of which I have seen and worked in - so do not give me your PHD in stupidty and I know more then you gutter views. Mate, you are in another stratosphere when it comes to politics and your wank quals are exactly that as you have to resort to Iam smarter then you. I would demolish you at your so called thoughts. Yes I also know people over there and know what goes on - it is sad and will get better for it many many years down the track. Will leave you with this thought, go 60yrs ahead from now and lets say Aussies never supported Iraq war…. population bigger worldwide and do you have an inkling that this big huge country might have people forcing there way into here much more readily in bigger numbers - and with your tunnel vision thinking, don’t think it wont happen cause after last WWII there were plans for the Japanese if you remember. You have to take into account the overall picture and not just your chardonnay followed by latte tunnel vision. The meltdown to some major extent occured after September 11 when money lenders went backwards to loan money out willy nilly and that has taken a few years to show up FACT. You sat idle and cocooned in your world thinking all was safe when Saddam Hussein and his scourge gang were turning up in parliament with shotguns and killing heaps of people and getting worser as time went on! Gee whiz your recall of the Hawke Keating Era is stunning. Best times, safe as and recession cause of 1987 stockmarket crash. What happened September 11 and its after effects!
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September 25th, 2007 at 7:01 am
Johnny Cum Lately… and it 60yrs time what would happen if we needed an allie??? Do we turn to whom??? I bet you are one of these people that live in today and do not live some 60yrs down the track. Short term thinking over latte buddy boy!
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September 25th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I gotta say, I agree with everything Colonel Klink has said.
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September 25th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
FRED… do not know whether Mr Rudd drives a Holdenwoo - he speaks good Mandarin so dare say could be strong possibility.
Maybe JOHNNY cannot remember Mr Rudd’s wife with Work Directions business and the shambles there as seems like you have a SIEVE for remembering things and are quite jaded in your tunnel vision recall. JOHNNY….. LOL SO DAM MUCH your comment we were safe back in 80’s??? - mate are you stuck in a time warp as repeat that was some 28yrs ago! For someone who has the intellect as you are so quick to brag about you sure a dill = you went on to say earlier….Saddam Hussein being one undesirable person at least he kept the other radicals in line which is well and truly gone now with over 500,000 little Hussein’s around shooting each other. MATE DEADSET YOU NEED A SOLID OVERDOSE OF REALITY TABLETS (not to mention spelling properly) - WHAT DO YOU THINK GOES ON NOW OVER THERE WITH SEPARATIST GROUPS AND ALLIANCES STILL IN PLAY THERE AND IF USA AND OTHERS LEAVE AND IT GETS WORSE WHAT WILL HAPPEN CAUSE IF I LISTEN TO YOU THERE IS NO UPRISING THERE BEFORE SEPT 11TH AND AFTER SEPT 11TH …. mate you are funnier the Mr Bean and he is smarter then you too as you have proven that to be true!!!
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September 25th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
no place for this chat but 1 thing is it actually makes no differenceto whom is in power.
i think people who consider who they vote for in relation to what that party may have been responsible for say 30 years ago need to get over it.
my opinion is Rudd will not demolish work choices as he would look like a bigger idiot as all the money spent by howard setting it up would be wasted and the same amount would be spent again to implement a new system.
the thing i cant stand the most about politics is that the only way parties run campaigns or the only way they seem to make themselves look good is to make the other party look bad?????
my vote would go to the party who immediately showed maturity and good possibilities or structure rather than giving us reasons not to vote for the others. how about some reasons WHY to vote for them?
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October 3rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
WHEN ARE YOU PEOPLE GOING TO LEARN THE HOLDEN IS CRAP. HOW MANY VEHICLES ARE YOU GOING TO BUY FROM HOLDEN TO REALISE THEY MAKE EXTREMLEY UNRELIABLE CARS? JUST GO BACK 10 YEARS AND LOOK AT THE CARS THEY HAVE MADE, AND LIST THE PROBLEMS THEY HAVE ENCOUNTED.
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October 3rd, 2007 at 2:15 pm
HOLDEN SAYS THAT THEY THE BEST CAR EVER MADE IN THE WORLD!!!
WHAT FUCKING BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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October 3rd, 2007 at 2:19 pm
I’M SORRY,
HOLDEN WAS RIGHT,
THEY ARE THE BEST CAR COMPANY IN THE WORLD…
At making lemons that is!!!
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December 4th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Well chaps if we had something that our great ally the United States of America “really” had to have and we said NO. See what a “great’ ally the US, would do then.
I am not a Holden or Ford fan, but really if either was so bad, why are there many 20 year old plus, Holdens and Fords still driving around?
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December 22nd, 2007 at 11:21 pm
The Holden press release above is a load of crap. My dealership won’t replace anything on my Calais, not the battery, no modules, nothing.
They just keep my car for a day and charge my battery and that’s their fix !
$58,000 and it makes me miserable, last Holden I’m buying, and I’m going to tell everyone I know what a piece of shit it is…
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December 23rd, 2007 at 12:11 am
Adam, iv had my whole diff replaced and brakes etc too because a noise was evident as i was cruising the hume sydney to adelaide flat chat.All fixed no dramas thanks ford for the 3k job it cost me 0 thats what im talkin about.
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December 23rd, 2007 at 12:48 am
I’d say “I told you so” if I could. holden rushed this thing out the door, and plenty of people got sucked in. billion dollars, pffft, you’d think some testing would’ve been included in that budget.
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January 3rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I can tell you as a ex holden service advisor, having spoken to many holden empolyees who worked on the VE, Holden knew about the battery drain issue before the VE was launched to the public. They couldnt determine the exact fault on what was causing it, so they decided to release the car, and let dealers fix the problem, while in the mean time trying to fix the fault before anymore were built. I also heard they were trying to move the battery back under the bonnet in an effort to fix the problem.
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January 15th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
so was this a recall? And if not, should it have been?
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June 17th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I’m just wondering what exactly politics have to do with battery drain issues??
I have a VZ Crewman, my parents have a VZ Caprice and VZ S ute and all three have battery drain problems. I’m not sure that this issue is only a VE problem.
My crewman is almost out of warranty so I’m glad it has happened now and not in 2 months! The Caprice has had 3 new batteries in 3 years. We have all been told not to drive witht the lights on during the day.
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