Has anyone had their battery replaced under warranty with more than 36k miles? My truck is 2 1/2 yrs old with 58k. The battery number is 78-7YR, Does the 7YR mean it is a 7yr battery and can be pro-rated? Dealer not open today (Thanksgiving) and the right hand positive post fell out...Should I buy new ones somewhere today if I can find them or wait and ask the dealer tomorrow? Thanks -:t

I can't say for sure about the warranty issue, but welcome to the world of Delco batteries!:mad:

I replaced mine with Optima yellow tops when one of my batteries failed about 6 months ago.




Kevin:D

I doubt they will warranty them. Even if they were to prorate them they would be prorated from retail. They would likely cost you more then you could buy another brand. I would go get a couple optimas or other good quality battery and be done with it. Also, make sure you replace both not just one!

My Delcos were shot in 18 months - no cranking power. Dealer couldn't/wouldn't help, said maybe if they failed inside on one year. No matter, didn't want to replace them with Delcos again anyway.

I just brought my wife's Trailblazer battery back to the dealer cuz it was leakng fluid out. It's a 03 that's almost 2 years old. They gave me a brand new one, no charge. :)
I also brought back one of my old one's out of my truck that I replaced with Optima's about 1 year ago. It wouldn't take a charge. They put a tester on it and said it was bad and gave me another new one, no charge. :)
They should give you a new one if they have a heart, just say it leaked acid all over your battery tray and made a mess. If not it should atleast be prorated against a new one under Delco's warranty.
Also it looks like Delco switched manufacturer's or battery cases because the new battery's look a little diffrent.
Good Luck.

They are good batteries power wise but the side post design has been terrible for at least 10 years with no sign of them ever redesigning them. I have had at least three bad ones... leaking, in 10 years.

Shame on AC Delco. They embarrass us.

As a rule, when I was with gm, the battery was warrantied for 3/36, regardless of what the battery said....after that...no warranty....Not sure if all dealerships treat them this way though

Its worth a try, it says right on the battery its a 7yr warranty, but your prorated value left will likely be minimal and your better off with something different then a Delco anways, My vote is on the Optima's

At 35,500 mine had the same problem and both batteries were replaced free. Thats at least 4 times the delco batteries have given out with the same problem on various trucks and vans. My opinion, do not buy delco batteries if they dont warranty them. I also have used yellow Optimas without any trouble at all.

Partsguy is right with the warranty. It is 3/36 even if it says 7yr. My service manager at Rydell Northridge, said he would love to help me but couldn't. 4k past on the mileage. He said off the record they have had a problem with them but will not do a TSB on them. All leak around the posts. Optima!!

A fellow at Pep Boys told me one of the problems is the terminal bolts are bottoming out and cracking the case. Not sure of the valididty of that but he gave me a couple of regular short hex head bolts to replace those tiny headed factory screws. I never used them but it coul be a good idea. Those little bolts tend to round off real easy. Before you know it you gotta use juice grips.

That very well could be Hoot.

I've done that to a few batteries where I've changed the terminal bolt to a standard off the shelf one and have drove them right through the bottom.

I started measuring after a couple of ruined batteries.

That would be an embarrassing oversight if Delco spec'ed the wrong dimensions for the post depth or terminal bolt length.

Also, there could be some guys on the forum that believe in cranking the crap out of the terminal bolts for a "good connection". Sometimes "spot torque" is a bad thing.

I understand about the 3/36,00 warranty but if the battery is warranted at 7 years then that's what it should be covered for. I don't know if it's changed lately but when I used to work at sears auto center if a battery came back bad it was prorated towards a new one. ie if the battery was supposed to be good for 6 years and it died after 3 years, they gave you half the purchase price towards a new one. I don't think that should of changed. If the dealer tells you it's not covered past the 3/36,000 then GM is getting out of 4 more years of warranty coverage on the battery. I would give a call to the dealership again or to Delco and find out what's going on.
The battery's are date stamped on the side of the case to tell when they were made. Usually a letter/number stamp, like E/3 would be May/2003
Good Luck
Diesel Dragon

I can't believe you guys are having this much trouble with Delco, never had a problem with them in all the years I have used them. Boats-tractor an all my past vehicles even had one in my street rod that set 99% of the time. Watch when I go somewhere in the truck it probably won't start bout my luck.

Wonder what P.C. runs

Ditto what geno said. They use those small headed bolts to keep shade tree mechanics from over torquing and breaking something. :D A little six inch long box end is absolutely all is needed. Anything more will break the battery and allow acid to run out. Imagine that. Later! Frank

I have a quick question, why do the OEM batt's use to different CCA ratings? And why not larger. I use Delco batt's in my race cars and they both have 1000CA / 875CCA. No problem in five plus years there, but they don't look like these cheapo batt's we have. Anywho, just wondering. I always like more power!!(amps)):h ):h