Not sure if anyone is still tuned in to the issue, but hoping someone can shed some more light; wondering what outcomes everyone here had.
My wife has an '08 Saturn Vue Redline. Here’s what happened:
About six months ago, we noticed that the headlights and radio would flicker—a hardly noticeable dimming while driving. One night, we were running errands and after our last stop, we came back to the car, turned the key and nothing—NOTH - ING. No sounds, no dash lights, remote didn’t do anything, like the battery was gone. We got out and called AAA, and while we waited I would try the remote every couple of minutes to see if it’d do anything. After about 20 minutes, the remote worked, and the car started like nothing was wrong.
The next day, I took the car to my local car part store for diagnostics on the electrical system, and they said everything was working properly, and the battery was good but it needed a charge. I put it on a trickle charge overnight, and the car was good for another 2 months.
Two months later, same thing. I took the car to my mechanic who I trust, and he said it was the battery. One new battery later, the car was good.
Was good for another two months. Last week, same thing. After a full week in the shop, diagnostic test drives, and a thorough going-through, all he could find was bad wheel sensors. We did have a minor issue with the Stabiltrack and traction control dash lights intermittently coming on, but still doesn’t sound to me like it would be the culprit.
Something is draining the battery only while it’s running. From a past experience from a rental car, I get the impression cars now have a powersave mode that saves power for… well… I have no idea why. At least with old cars you could tell how much juice was in the battery by how fast the starter cranked.
Any insight—from anyone would be greatly appreciated.