Hello! We are trying to get our battery changed and are wondering why it is so complicated. We have been told from most stores that we need to go to a professional. Why can’t a normal auto shop deal with it? What makes it so complicated?
They’re too scared to replace it
It’s actually not that complicated. From what I can see, the battery is located under the PCM . . . I can only speculate that the shops are too scared to “mess with” the PCM in order to replace the battery
I believe you have a top-post group 48 battery under that PCM and bracket. No special tools are even required . . . just common sense and some basic hand tools
BTW . . . unless you use a memory saver, you’ll have to reprogram your clock, radio presets, and so forth, and the car also won’t be ready for a smog inspection for awhile
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Those stores–presumably a parts store, like Autozone, Advance Auto, or O’Reilly’s–normally only replace batteries in a “conventional” location, which enables them to simply lift the old one out after removing the hold-downs, and then just dropping the new one into place and securing it.
Unfortunately, the Equinox has what I would consider to be a very unorthodox location for the battery–underneath the Powertrain Control Module. More than likely, these parts stores don’t want any potential liability for damaging the very expensive PCM.
A good mechanic will probably not shirk this job, but if any do tell you that they don’t want to move the PCM, you might have to go to a GM dealer. Hopefully you can find a willing mechanic near you.
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I’d rather replace an Equinox battery, versus one that’s located under a seat, in the trunk and some even worse locations 
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Hopefully the OP can find an equally willing mechanic.
Sometimes disconnecting a vehicles battery can cause all kinds of problems.
Losing radio presets isn’t the biggest one
Getting the anti-theft system to reset is.
https://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_disconnect_problems.htm
Tester
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+1
Additionally, maybe it will make the OP feel a bit better if she knew that replacing the battery on a BMW requires that it be electronically “registered” to the car. Luckily, her Chevy doesn’t require that procedure.
Concur w/advice above, b/c of the placement, this is definitely not a job for an auto-parts store staff or even for a newbie diy’er to attempt on their own. Suggest to take your Equinox to a Chevy experienced shop or a dealership for its battery install. OP should write down all their radio presets beforehand, in case shop forgets. If you ask the shop tech to show you how, so you can do it on your own next time, the worse they can say is “no”.
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That’s a good question. There’s nothing difficult or complicated about changing a battery in that car. Perhaps you’re mechanic is sub-standard?
I think that we need the OP to clarify what she means by “normal auto shop”. I believe that she is referring to a parts retailer, where changing batteries for customers is fairly routine–unless it is in a somewhat unorthodox location. Perhaps she is referring to an actual mechanic, but I tend to think that she isn’t referring to qualified mechanics.
Can the OP please clarify for us the type of “shop” that has declined to replace her Equinox’s battery?
In spite of the battery being located underneath the PCM, replacing it takes but a few minutes
Yeah, I seem to recall that the Chrysler “cloud cars” had the battery hidden under a front fender liner, and required jacking up the car and removing a wheel to access…and for that reason (among other bad design features) I always avoided those cars, even when they were cheap.
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I agree, but I think that the corporate folks who determine policies at the retail parts stores have directed the staff at the stores to not touch the batteries on these cars.
Even though temporarily moving the PCM is not likely to damage it, if customers ever experience PCM-related problems, they might claim that the PCM or its electrical connections were damaged by the store’s staff. I think that the corporate folks have decided that the loss of some battery sales is preferable to being sued for expensive damage to a customer’s car–even if the store staff did nothing wrong.
I think that this is a case of Risk Aversion.
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Our Cobalts had batteries in the trunk. Access looked easy to me. I never had to replace them, even after 10 years, because of the benign environment in the trunk.
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+1
Mine is located under the cargo area of my PHEV. It is quite easy to access, it stays immaculately clean, and because it is located in a much cooler environment than it would be if it was under the hood, I anticipate that it will likely outlive me, at my advanced age.
Welcome to the Car Talk Community!
Andy
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Neighbors car sat in driveway for last 3 yrs. He is working on it now. Said battery was 3 volts. He charged it and yesterday said it was 12.4. Car is running. I was surprised battery has recovered. We will see