Finally.... my VX craps out....

[WormGod]

Well, I may have one of the only VXs that has NEVER had to go back to the dealer for anything. Maintained and taken care of more than I take care of myself even. Hell, the dealers probably dont even know mine exists except for when it left the dealer about 5 years ago. Well, it did go back once when the antenna was hit my lightning, but that proved to be nothing more than a melted antenna, heh.

So.... she is finally off for some much needed work. I came out into my garage Sat morning to take her to get her emissions testing done, and there was a horrendous smell in the garage. I found a huge puddle of various liquids on the floor under the engine bay. I popped the hood and found something from a horror movie. The battery (OEM) had exploded and the battery acid had gone to town on nearly everything. Wire, hoses, belts, plastic covers, even the entire plastic composite top of the radiator had been melted away. It ate it's way through my passenger side headlight assembly and burned up the hood insulation. I seriously thought I was gonna cry. Needless to say, a few screams of profanities that could be heard throughout my neighborhood sufficed.

Now, check this out.... I called a local ISUZU dealer about me having it towed there for repairs and the shop manager said, and I kid you not, "Ah, a VehiCROSS.... I would check some other ISUZU dealers. I don't know that out techs are very familiar with them so I don't think we should do the work." WHAT?!?!?! Ah well, at least he was honest about his techs SUCKING before I found out on my own. Regardless of the real reason, they don't sound like the guys I want working on my VX anyways. So, I am gonna deal with the guys that do the work on my WRX. Trustworthy, but expensive. They already called about some of the major parts I know that are screwed and have them ordered. They said about 3-5 days for the headlight assembly and the radiator. The rest is gonn ahave to wait till I get the poor VX towed to them.

It was a very sad weekend for me indeed.

And no, my insurance (State Farm) said they will not cover that damage due to the fact that it is related to the battery. They told me to deal with the warranty concerning that. Funny.... a battery covered under warranty after almost 5 years? Ya.... right. They would give me a rental car though. Oh joy! Thanks, but I have a second car.Whatever.

So, my VX fun continues.

[etlsport]

OOOF thats rough, sorry man! id also avoid the isuzu dealer in frederick, i stopped in there to try and order a few parts, i told the parts guy i was looking for a roof rack for a VehiCross and he says a what? i say.. vehicross! and point out towards the parking lot, he says, we only deal with isuzu and audi.. i thanked him and left...

do you know what caused your battery to go byebye? is it the stock battery?
best of luck tracking down your parts.. (and if you happen to find a junkyard VX make sure to let us know!)

[VX4EJR]

I would try to get after the car battery manufacturer, provided nothing other than normal/oem use, conditions and wiring existed under the hood. In other words...no additional wiring, fuses, splicing, etc was added or present.

Get the battery manuf on the hook for fault or defects, to pay for repair and any alcohol consumption you endured after the event...because I know I'd be a basket case.

[Cyrk]

That SUCKS... good luck with it all.

[nfpgasmask]

Oh Wormy, that sucks! And I was just talking with Anita earlier today and we were both saying how much we love the look of your VX!

I'm curious about your battery too, was this the regular stock battery? I have never heard of a battery exploding like this....I installed an Optima Red Top after I bought it, I hope these types are devoid of this kind of problem!

I hope it all gets worked out for you.

Bart

[VehiX]

I feel sorry for you man. I don't know how I would have reacted to that situation at all!

That's so wierd, you had probably two of the most rare occurances that could ever happen to a vehicle happen to your VX! First, it gets struck by lightning and now your battery explodes. What are the chances of that?!

Note to self: Use caution if I ever hang out with Gary

Seriously though, I hope it all works out for you in the end.

[Joe_Black]

That's nasty! Sorry to hear about it and hope you get it squared away with minimal stress.

I've seen the results of various automotive and industrial engine batteries exploding and it can be as minor as some cosmetic damage to as serious as major fire and even serious injuries. Using the Optima batteries virtually emlinates the chance for this to happen as the construction doesn't create the conditions needed for a common wet cell to explode.

[Triathlete]

Internal shorting will cause the battery to heat, expand and then explode. I have had a couple batteries get to the hot and expanding stage but have always caught them before they explode...usually because they stop holding a charge. They seem to be more prone to this here where the temps are extremely high in the summer.
Good luck!

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

Sorry for your troubles. Hopefully she'll be as good as new when their done with her!

Curious though about the availability of the hood insulation as I could use that myself. I had a problem with a red squirrel using my hood insulation for nesting material up in my factory air-box during the winter along with the O.E.M. filter (darn lucky my wiring and everything else was not touched!) so I had to remove the shredded up hood insulation and have run all summer without it. Wondering how necessary it really is...so far I've noticed no ill-effects but figure it was put their for a valid reason!

Another reason against living out in the country! Darn varmints! I was even kidded at work by the guys saying they saw a squirrel feeder at "Tractor Supply" and it looked identical to a VX!!!!!!

[Chopper]

My original battery exploded the first trip home from the dealership. It happened in the driveway after the inital 30 mile drive to the house. I had insisted on doing the delivery cleanup myself, just stripped the white plastic wrap, cleaned the windows, and drove it home (I worked there at the time) Because of this, (plus the fact I was staring at it every two minutes) I noticed the problem pretty quick, and took a hose and baking soda to it . A bit of the hood blanket and some paint on the battery mount and frame were the only casualties. A little spray bomb paint and all was well. Isuzu cheerfully replaced the crappy stock battery, and I gave it to a painter at the shop and bought a red top. Stock tires and batteries are generaly the cheapest the manufacturer can get away with and are best replaced at the soonest opportunity, in my experience. Wayne

[etlsport]

very strange, ive never heard of a battery exploding just sitting in a car.. what kind of battery is stock? theres an energizer battery in mine now, and i wanna get a new one if its prone to exploding

[Joe_Black]

Any wet cell battery has the potential of exploding. Sulfuric acid, hydrogen gas, electricity, heat... It all comes together wrong and it's not a good thing.

You don't want that risk? Get an Optima.

[Ldub]

That's about an 11 on the suck-ometer...the only good thing is, that you WEREN'T adding washer fluid or doing something else under the hood when it let loose. :deadg:
Hope you get her back to par with as little hassle factor as possible.

[tbigity]

i think i respond for all of us when i say that as I was reading that I found myself saying "oh....no...not the...oh gawd, no! THE HUMANITY!"

I feel like we should all pass a card and mail it WG, that hard core sux man. You have had some pretty ruff VX luck here lately.

[Anita]

I guess the only thing you can say is that the damage could have been a lot worse. You keep your baby in such good shape...what a thing to happen.