2004 Buick LeSabre has water sitting around the battery

No clue

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Your car's battery is sitting under the rear seat, and I've always wondered, what genius chose that location in the first place? I can't imagine what's causing steeling water there except a lack of ventilation, and that's what you should check out. Or maybe you have a young child or an aged person with a diaper leak.

Thanks. No small children but will check the battery again. It was fine about 2 days prior

As far as being electrolytes from cracked battery, that’s interesting. Thank you

Thanks for the points. I had a Cadillac that had the battery under the seat and once the vent tube came off and made a big mess under there. But I got it cleaned and made sure the vent tube couldn’t come loose again, amazing what a little silicone adhesive can do.

Is there also an odor? Like a sulpher smell? If so the battery is being overcharged and the charging system needs to be checked. Look closely at the battery as well. It may have a crack or other damage that is causing it to leak. Hope that helps! Jim

Thank you, there is no odor, it looks like a puddle of water. Need to check the battery closely if there is a hairline crack. It’s disheartening after spending over $600.00 for a new battery and installation a few months ago

600 bucks for a battery and installation? That’s crazy.

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You're welcome. Glad to help! If you do find the battery is leaking you'll need to neutralize the water, which is acid, with baking soda to prevent future rust and corrosion. Jim

The battery was nearly $300.00 than installation and new bolt pushed it to over $600.00. I love this car but feeling defeated. Only 68.000 original miles

$600** for a new battery ? Is that like the $3500** brake jobs ? Whatever man

Well, I’m a widow and that’s the best I could do. Actually bought the new battery from Auto Zone or the whole thing would have cost more

If they sold you an AGM battery that explains the cost. Unfortunately you didn't need that kind of battery. But on the other side of the coin it should last a long long time and they installed it for you. But for future reference a standard group size 78 battery is all you need and what the vehicle originally came with. Jim

Well it was just a regular battery. Difficult to find because of the age of the car. So I’m on the fence of keeping the car going, which was my intention. Being 20 years old but in good shape, but continuously putting money into it, might just have to let it go. Thank you for your help and suggestions

You're welcome. Glad to help! Hopefully once you get past this hurdle you can enjoy the car again without having to put a lot of money in it. Jim

It is an 04 but with that few miles it should last years more if taken care of. I think I would find a good independent shop in your area and stick with them, stay away from the dealer cause all they will see is an older car and a female and they think money money money.

Thank you everyone for your help, I’ll give it one more try and try to get it fixed properly because of the low mileage and the good overall condition of the car.

Very true Gene. Dealers are not very enthusiastic about working on older models. They often give the song and dance about not being able to get parts or offer some exorbitant estimate for repairs. For example, the group 78 battery this Lady's Buick takes is a standard GM replacement. Literally used for decades. My 2000 Grand Prix, my '94 Fleetwood, use that battery. As did my 70 Pontiac. At the Napa where I work we keep 10 of them in stock. The better 7578 and the cheaper 6578. The Dealer won't have much in stock for a 2004 model but the local auto parts stores that they deal with will. Or, worse case scenario is it'll take a day to get the part. An even bigger problem at the Dealer is the 18 year old "tech" who has no idea what he's looking at when it comes to an older model. It's unfortunate but if it's not on their cell phone or you tube, forget it! In 2012 the driver's power window on her '93 Cavalier stopped working. She bought the car new and always took it to the Dealer for maintenance and repairs. Well, they told her it needed a window regulator, it was no longer available, nobody had one, and blah blah blah blah and even if they got one it would cost around $800 with parts and labor. So, they wedged the window back up and sent her on her way. I fixed it, correctly, for $6.00! Not a typo, SIX DOLLARS! The plastic wheel that rides in the window channel broke apart. I bought a repair kit, for the $6.00 and replaced the wheel. The window worked fine. The following year she sold the car to a family friend who drove it until 2020. When he sold it the window was still working fine!! The moral of the story is they didn't want to be bothered with her 19 year old car and she was a woman who didn't know much about a car. It was really their loss because they could have gotten two hours of labor out of her and probably $20 for the wheel kit. Oh well, shame on them!! Jim

That was supposed to be "on my sister's 93 Cavalier! Stupid phone! Jim