Has anyone experienced a battery dying on a 2009 Maxima if it is not driven frequently?
Cherri, Specifically, How Infrequently ? Give Us A Description Of Its Typical Use, Please.
CSA
Sorry I didn’t give enough info, I’m new at this! My sister and I inherited a 2009 Maxima CVT after our brother passed away. We usually don’t drive it very often but at least 3 times since Feb. 2010 after the car has not been driven for at least 3 days, the car will not start and the battery is dead. The last time was 4/10/10 when my sister was able to start the car at her home, drive about 5 to 10 miles to the train station to pick me up and when she tried to start the car, it wouldn’t. One person tried to jump start us but it would not start. It took AAA with a concentrated charge to get us going.
We have been told by a service writer at the local Nissan dealership that we must drive the car daily due to all the electronics to avoid this problem and that the Mercedes dealership that she previously worked at kept trickle chargers on all of their cars to keep the battery charged to avoid this problem. I’m am appalled at this explaination. My question to the Service rep when I called them is: If my sister leaves the car at an airport parking lot for 8 days, does she need a tow truck waiting to get her started? I even bought my sister a AAA membership to make sure she was safe while we get this figured out. Presently the car is at the dealership being evaluated but it was suggested that I pose this question for others to see if anyone has had a similar problem. Any comments, suggestions or solutions? It will be greatly appreciated.
You should be able to leave the car parked for at least 4 weeks without a problem… IF …the battery is in good shape and there isn’t an excessive current drain happening in the electrical system. The shop should be checking these things out and I’m sure they will.
My guess is the trouble was caused due to a low charge on the battery because of not being driven enough and it never got charged up properly. When a battery gets low on charge like that it should be charged back up using a battery charger, not with the alternator in the car.
Chances are that if you fully charge the battary with a battary charger, you won’t have any further problems with the car. You should drive it around for 20-30 minutes every couple weeks just to keep things lubricated and the battary charged. Is daily driving required? Absolutely not.
Fantastic idea! Makes a lot of sense. I imagine that my brother drove the car regularly and it wasn’t a problem. I’ll see what happens with the dealership now.