Hi there, my '06 Rio has a freaky battery problem. I've seen others on different forums mentioning similar problems, but never seen a "fix". Here's what's been happening.
Summertime; sitting in a parking lot for ten minutes with the fan only on - Dead battery. Roll start it - It's fine. No problem for about two weeks.
Cooler weather, drive home at highway speeds about twenty minutes. Stop at drug store for prescription (engine stop, not a drive-thru). Come out, engine starts normally, but then drive from there to gas staion across street (~100 yards) and when I try to re-start - Dead battery! Get a jump start and drive home. Notice headlights are brighter when car is moving - Uh Oh! Sure 'nuff, dead battery next morning.
Get a jump start and drive to Wal-Mart (figured they'd have a battery). They don't, but the car starts like brand new. So I drive directly to Pep Boys, and they put it on the diagnostic. They tell me - There's NOTHING WRONG. No problem with alternator, battery, solenoid, cables, nothing! Graciously, they don't charge me anything.
So now I have to figure out what to do next. The dealer wants to take the car for a full day, and not on the weekend. I'd rather not do that right now. The car has NO after-market equipment of ANY kind.
HELP!