So between the codes I've pulled out, the symptoms I'm having and the information here on the forum, I believe the time has come for batter replacement on my 2010 Tahoe Hybrid (119,000 miles).

From reading on here and some internet research, I've found 4 options that I was hoping there was some collective wisdom on the best way to go.

1. Dealer Batter Replacement - I called my local dealer and they could only quote the computer estimated times for labor ($580) and the parts department couldn't even find a battery in stock in the US and had no clue if they could even get one, but were happy to quote me $3700 (they weren't even aware the core charge was supposed to come off of this amount). So, is there any dealers in central IL or the St. Louis area who have more of a clue to what they are doing?

2. Green Tec Auto - These batteries are shown on the website as new generation batteries (but don't know if they are new modules or not) for $3000 installed by coming to me. I'd like to know if they are new modules since that's really what I'm interested in to try and get another 10 years of life on the truck.

3. Green Bean Battery - This are marketed specifically as reconditioned batteries that doesn't interest me, but their lifetime warranty seems to cover that. So what I they need to replace them every three years on their dime. It's easy enough to pull the codes. Anyone using these and doing ok with them?

4. Volts Chicago - This is a Chicago location I talked to. He was hard to understand, but he did say they used gently used battery modules in good shape to re-do the battery packs. For a three and a half hour drive, probably not what I'd do, but was a new place I hadn't heard of before.

So, what's the best route the collective wisdom has found to go to keep our hybrids running? And I'm not interested in doing the module replacement myself (for a variety of reasons).

Thanks,
Matt

 

Either buy new from GM, or buy low-mileage modules from junked cars that should hopefully give you most of the life a brand new battery would give you, but cost much less. I bought two 2016 Prius C batteries of similar mileage (20 modules each) and put them together to replace the Tahoe's 40 dead modules.

 

I called the local GM dealer and they’ve done a few replacements, which is better than the Chevy dealer that didn’t seem to know what to do.

I have to stop by and talk to their parts department about how long it’ll take to get it in.

 

Glad to hear you are pursuing the wise solution.

 

Went to the dealer this morning to order the part and they quote me $4200 for it. I showed them the price for the part I could see online ($3800 including core charge) and they said I should buy it. Unfortunately gmpartsdirect no longer ships those batteries so they had over a $1000 markup on them.

So I called green bean battery and they will be replacing my battery this afternoon. That’s amazing service, and it comes with a lifetime warranty so I’ll report back how the replacement goes. This will be interesting.

The guy is coming out of Glendale WI so he’s got a 4.5 hour drive one way to get to me.

 

The field tech from Greenbean let me know an hour out that he was on his way. Arrived on time and parked in a location that he could work. The whole process was 45 minutes to switch out the battery. He was the tech that actually built the battery so we had a good conversation about modules and what he’s seeing in the field.

The first step was to diagnose the issue by pulling the check engine codes and verifying the POBBD.

After that the 12v is disconnected and it’s just the process of getting the battery out from behind the seat. I helped the tech lift it out and put the replacement in. Simply reverse the removal process and the new battery was in. The tech hooked up the battery re-ran the diagnosis, and noted that no codes now existed while running and all was working. I test drove the truck for a few minutes and it ran much more smoothly than before, with very smooth transitions between electric and ICE.

After that he confirmed all was good and was on his way. All the receipts and warranty paperwork was emailed to me and the tech confirmed that the warranty only requires codes from a reader, no dealer diagnosis.

I asked what type of modules they used and he confirmed that they weren’t using Gen 1 modules because of leaking issues. He said the ones used were high-density modules that should lay longer than the originals.

Drove home and all is well. Hopefully this was the simple fix I am hoping for.

I am pretty amazed it all happened in about 6 hours.

 

I provided an update but maybe it was too long to post. Anyway, the battery is in, working great, excellent customer service.