Yes, one of GMs odder jokes on their customers.

Not many cars I can think of require dismantling the body panels to change a battery......

At vintage MG meets we sometimes have a contest to see who can start their engine using the factory hand crank the fastest. I guess BMC figured having one clipped in the trunk was a good idea, but they actually come in much handier for setting valves than starting.

This would seem the obvious equivalent for Kappa meets. First guy to have his battery out sitting beside his car is the winner. Paint scratches deducted from time.

 

Remove the wheel and then remove the plastic fender wheel-well liner. This method is much easier and you don't have to remove the fender at all. Just push back the plastic liner enough to remove the battery and your done. Install the new battery the same way. You don't even have to remove the entire front section of the wheel liner. Only the rear part attached to the fender.

 

Of course, to remove the tire means you'd have to jack the car up first. Not having a jack or the special 'pucks' would make that difficult. I would opt for the fender removal.

Don't mean to get this thread too far off the subject, but in reference to lifting our cars, I heard if not done right one can crumple the door panels. Is this due to NOT using the pucks to lift, raising only one corner of the car, or some other cause? If anyone has the factual reason I'd (and maybe others) would like to know.

 

In years past, I had read, on the Forum, that when removing the fender panel it was a good idea to put alignment marks on the fender (actually on tape) to facilitate realignment of the panel. The liner movement method described by RedDevil eliminates that concern.

 

2006 battery change

I had to change the battery in my wife's and I did not remove the tire. I turned the tires to the left and loosened the inner liner and took out the fender brace and will come straight up.

 

Thank you fellas!!
I'll look it up. Don't plan on doing work on the car at this point but who knows about the future.

 

I hate to be critical of the "how to change your battery" video. It definitely helped me get my battery out. However, removal of the fender panel is not necessary. If you remove the two screws at the bottom of the fender, ,the four screws holding the wheel well 'skirt' to the fender, and the two facing out in the door jamb... then the whole hinged assembly, with the fender panel still installed, will swing out, allowing you to slide the battery out (once, of course you have loosened the hold down bolt at the base of the battery shelf.

Thanks for the help though!

 

Just in case anyone wants to see the method Clocke is talking about - see this video instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZTiqKkBWxg

 

Thank you for posting these instructions. This is going to make my job of replacing my battery a lot easier. I have a 2007 solstice but everything looks the same as your 2006. Thanks again Bob

 

Hi:Thank you for posting this. I followed your instructions to replace my battery in my 2007 solstice. I got my battery out and the new one installed. But I could not align my fender. If you have to change your battery again there is an easier way. Don't fight the bolts between/behind the door. Here is what I did. Open your hood. Take the three bolts on the top of the fender out. Take the three bolts that hold the plastic wheel well cover from the fender. That leaves the two bolts holding the bottom of the fender; Remove the bolt closest to the door and just loosen the bolt closest to the tire. With this done the fender panel will lift right off. With the fender off the two bolts that you could not get to behind the door are now easy to take out with a ratchet. Before you take these out take a marker and mark around the frame so that when you remount the bracket it will be in the same place to align your fender. What you have left is a triangle piece. That piece actually aligns the fender. Take out the two bolts that connect it to the side of the car by the door; The third bolt is the one from the back of the top of the triangle on the opposite side closest to the tire just loosen this one. This triangle bracket will now swivel out of your way. Disconnect your battery cables and remove the piece holding the battery at the bottom take the battery out. Put the new battery in replace the cables and the battery holder. Swing the triangle back in place align the bracket with your marks bolt it down then tighten the third bolt on the other side. Then re install the fender panel. This may sound complicated but it really is very simple. No special tools; just a ratchet and the right size sockets. All bolts were easy to get to. Took a lot less time this way. Hope this will help you if you have to replace your battery again. Bob

 

Not sure how many people are still reading this 8 year old thread, but I just changed out the OEM battery on my 2007. Amazing that it lasted almost 12 years. I watched the video that clocke mentioned, but noticed that I was missing a bolt. One of the two bolts holding the bottom of the fender is long gone. I can only imagine when it happened, but I would like to replace it. Anyone have a part # or more specs than just a 10mm bolt?

Thanks in advance.

btw, I'm also having issues aligning the fender, but I'm hoping having that 2nd bottom bolt will help.

 

To answer my own question, I think it was this one:

https://www.gmpartsonline.net/oem-parts/gm-lower-housing-bolt-11516725/

 

So did they change the design so that it is much easier on 2008 or 2009 models? I have a 2007 and there are multiple methods shown here. Which method is truly the easiest? Has anyone done this two different ways and have a preferred method?

 

I still think my method was the easiest, but it had it's drawbacks too. I hit a cat with the passenger front tire. Cat's don't fit between the tire and the fender liners so it took it out and bent up some front bumper mounts, etc. I had to wait a couple of weeks for parts so I decided to install a new battery before the body work was done.

Since the cat already removed the liner all I had to do was jack up the car, remove the wheel, swap batteries, and reinstall the wheel. Probably 15 minutes total.

Well, then there was the insurance deductible, time at the body shop, etc. etc.

 

I've changed batteries twice and have used the inner fender method took me basically an hour as for the design change no they are all the same no matter what year .

 

Just my :jm2c:
The battery in my 06 lasted a little over 12 years.
When it needed changed my dealer did it for around $50 in labor.
Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.

 

I have used both methods and overall they are about equal in difficulty and time. That said, I prefer the fender removal.

 

Why mess with fender alignment. We have changed many batteries at our annual mkc club mod meet. We use the fender well method.

 

Thanks everyone. I would rather not mess with the fender so I think I will give the fender well method a try. Thanks for all the advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

It was a bummer deal. Disconnected the battery for winter storage. Connected it 2 weeks ago. Threw the charger on it after reconnecting. Charger light was green the next day. Went to start up the car and head to the first cruise of the year Saturday and wouldn't start. Had to take the G8 which I didn't mind but my wife was looking forward to driving her car for the first time this year.

 

Well got it out in a little less than 90 minutes. pulled inner liner bolts and mudflap. Pulled the 2 nuts at the base of the pivoting rod and end up pulling the pivot nut and taking the whole bracket out. Tried turning the wheel all the way to the left but still could not get battery out without taking wheel off. With the wheel off it comes out pretty easily. Now to find a Battery, think I'll try the Interstate store tomorrow.

 

Interstate had the battery. Went in nice and easy. No messing with fender alignment. Nothing else to compare to but I like this method. Started right up.

 

Just had to replace the battery on my new-to-me 2007 Solstice. I used the fender method and it was a breeze getting the fender to swing out of the way. BUT, getting things back together and lined up was a whole different story. I spent an embarrassingly long time getting things back in place and I still have to make some minor tweaks to make it look halfway decent. Apparently, a previous owner used the fender pull method as there were scar marks / paint chips exactly where my tools went to remove the fender. I always wondered how those got there, but I know now! Battery I pulled out was from 2014, so I'm hoping the new one (with a Sept 2021 date!) lasts as long.

Long story short, save yourself some time and do the fender liner method. It may seem like a longer time to remove the wheel and liner, but it will save you in the long run.