Vented Battery Urgent Warning (Export)

Reports have been received of dealerships installing open vented batteries to 2007-2008 Lumina and Caprice models with the battery located in the vehicle's trunk.

This is an unsafe and unacceptable practice and any such usage of open vented batteries should be immediately corrected by the dealerships concerned. If you are aware of this having occurred within your dealership, you must urgently arrange for the customer to be notified and for the battery to be replaced by a battery of the correct specification.

When a lead acid vehicle battery is charged, either on the bench or by an in-vehicle charging systems. the electro-chemical reaction which takes place releases oxygen and hydrogen. Batteries which have either vented filling caps or fully sealed batteries without controlled vent outlets, enable gases to be expelled into the area surrounding the battery. If this type of battery is used in the vehicle trunk-mounted location, such as is used in the 2007 and later Lumina and Caprice, the gases will be expelled from the battery into the enclosed trunk space where they will accumulate, causing a potentially explosive mixture. The vented battery specified for 2007 and later Lumina and Caprice combined with the external venting tube results in oxygen and hydrogen gases being carried from the battery directly outside of the enclosed trunk cavity. It is therefore critical that the specified and correctly vented battery be used in the Lumina and Caprice and that the venting tube be correctly installed to prevent the escape of gases into the vehicle trunk. Please ensure that batteries of correct specification are available at all times to enable any required replacement. Installation of uncontrolled vented batteries for even a short time is a most dangerous practice.

The correct battery specified for 2007 and later Lumina and Caprice 2007 models is an ACDelco® battery, P/N 0048-6MF.