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05 Buick Battery Location

18 years ago

I was looking at a friends 05 Buick LeSabre, he told me the battery is located under the back seat. Is this true? If it is how does one get to the battery, does the back seat have an easy removal setup?

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Comments (12)

cowboyind
18 years ago
Many cars do have the battery under the back seat or in some other location besides under the hood. I haven't looked closely enough at a LeSabre to know, but it could well be true.

Yes, in all cars I've seen that have the battery under the back seat, the seat pops up easily so you can get to it. Normally you will also find positive and negative connection points under the hood that you can hook jumper cables to if necessary. This allows you to jump start the car in the usual way (from under the hood) rather than having to run jumper cables to the back seat or trunk or wherever the battery is.
jemdandy
18 years ago
I've got a "98 Dodge Stratus. It's battery is in the left front fender in front of the wheel. Access to the battery is achieved by removing a plastic panel in the wheel well. It is just barely possible to remove the battery if the front wheel is turned all the way left. (I changed my battery last fall. Batteries Plus normally would do the change-out, but would not touch the Stratus.) However, it's a little easier if the front wheel is on an block that elevates it about 1.5 to 2.0 inches. This will allow the battery to clear the lower plastic fender/splash guard and permit it to slide out while it is on the ground. Else, you are stuck with the standard procedure which is to remove the front wheel.

There is a pair of heavy duty terminals under the hood.

I hope the change-out of your Buick's battery is easy.

However, I do have a concern about a battery full of sulphuric acid inside the passenger compartment. I suppose that crash tests have been made to test the safety of putting the battery in this location.

Some of the European cars have located their batteries in places other than under the hood. Last winter, I stopped to give a man a jump start on his Audi and the battery was not under the hood. We could not readily determine which termial was postive and I was not going to touch it until I could 'positively' determine which terminal was postive.
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earthworm
18 years ago
The air cooled Volkswagen was the one know for this, but the location made perfect sense.
I can see trouble down the road with the Buick's location, with long cables- VW had some trouble here with their ill-concieved type IV big car.. Here the battery was located under the front seat !
Cars are already safe enough, its about time "operating economy" and common sense were given their due....
cowboyind
18 years ago
I think the reasons for putting the battery in some place other than under the hood relate to saving space under the hood and improving weight distribution. Having the battery concealed under a seat or plastic cover probably improves safety because if the battery ever does explode, it will be covered up by something and won't blow up in someone's face.
johndeere
18 years ago
Yes its true my Aunts Buick LeSabre has the battery under the back seat.I have a 05 Century and its under the hood however.I also have a 94 Regal and its also under the hood.However its hard to see it on the regal because the windshield washer fluid resovoir is huge and it sets above it.
bucky
18 years ago
My 96 Buick Riviera has its battery under the back seat. Actually its a great idea as it uses what is usually wasted space and gets the battery in protected location away from engine heat and nature's cold. I just replaced the original battery in my Riv last week so it lasted me almost 10 years. It was still working fine but I live in a cold climate and didn't want to risk another winter with a 10 year old battery. Battery is easy to get to and remove. They have a ventilation system to vent gases outside the vehicle so they are more expensive than the standard type under the hood unit. Well worth the extra cost as they last a lot longer inside the car.
Socalinspector
18 years ago
Posted by: earthworm

"" The air cooled Volkswagen was the one know for this, but the location made perfect sense.
I can see trouble down the road with the Buick's location, with long cables- VW had some trouble here with their ill-concieved type IV big car.. Here the battery was located under the front seat !
Cars are already safe enough, its about time "operating economy" and common sense were given their due.... ""

Obviously You havn't dealt with many VWs'. The Volkswagen you're referring to is the TYPE 1 and I've personally worked on Dozens of them that had fried Wiring or worse a fire, and these were a direct result of the batterty being in the rear compartment, under the seat. The problem with this design was shorting out the Battery from the bottom of the seat. The METAL FRAME & supports would contact the battery and short out the system. Anyone that's been around VWs' long enough knows what I mean.
earthworm
18 years ago
JohnDeere, having the washer reservoir above the the battery may protect it from the engines heat, but I would like to see cars a bit larger in front, allowing for adequate engine access room...

Positioning the battery under the rear seat is also a good idea, Bucky, - the under hood temps are a problem and are hard on some plastics and electronics, and the battery...
And this is made possible by modern day plastics...
cowboyind
18 years ago
Socalinspector, why not take it easy on Earthworm? This is just a forum for regular people and their opinions. If you don't agree with what he says, why not just post a response and explain why you believe what he said isn't right?

So I'm curious, since I fully admit I've never worked on a rear-engine VW: Why is the rear seat a bad place for a battery on a VW?
earthworm
18 years ago
At the dealership I worked on the newer ones, in better condition.
VW used a metal cover well secured to protect the battery from the seat - later on, as I recall, a plastic cover was used over the 12 volt positive battery terminal..

Properly maintained, there can not be a problem..

Under the rear seat was the best possible battery location for the rear engined Volkswagens...The positive cable was very short..
yampaw
16 years ago
My '01 LeSabre also has battery under rear seat, which is not a problem except that "Batteries Unlimited" tells me they can not sell me a replacement due to the special venting, and the only place to get one is a Buick dealer. Sounds absurd - can this be true?
rivman
16 years ago
Dead battery in '95 Riviera.
Replaced with Sears Die Hard (an apparent big mistake).
Immediate interior odor - sweet, acid, chemical small
Sears said battery was leaking acid and put in a new one - no help.
Trim shop cleaned out battery well with alkaline solution and used an overnight ozone deodorizer - temporary help, but odor returned.
Dealer said the vents were not attached and that the odor was being piped back into the car - smell is still there, but I will wait a day or so to see if it dissipates.
Long-range plan, if necessary: Have Buick dealer replace battery and repeat cleanup process.
Any suggestions out there?

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