[ChevyGuy]

Sounds like it's time for a new battery. The factory original seems to last about 3 years. That battery acid is a giveaway.

 

[ChevyGuy]

Unless the car is still under B2B warranty, it will probably cost almost as much for a new battery. I'm not sure what kind of test the auto parts store ran. Only a very expensive machine can definitively test a battery. I doubt if the auto parts store has that machine. And of course, the car probably did start at the parts store - so it was fine at that moment.

There is a issue with the negative battery cable. The quick test there is the next time the car won't start, use a jumper cable to connect the negative battery terminal to the car's ground. If it suddenly starts working, then the battery cable is the problem. (Can't do that with a jump pack, you have to have jumper cables.)

It's hard to tell the difference between battery and cable just by the symptoms.

See this thread for details: http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/25-g...al-coverage-14311-negative-battery-cable.html
Note that you are covered for a bad battery cable even if you're outside the B2B warranty.

 

[ChevyGuy]

I can't speak either on what type of tests they did, or how effective those tests are or are not, other than they had me do numerous things while a machine was connected to the battery, including rev the engine, turn on the AC, turn on the high beams. It was the most in-depth test I've had done on it yet.

That's testing the car to see if the charging system is up to snuff. It doesn't say anything about the battery.

I had it tested once a week ago or so at another store and the guy just hooked his machine up to the battery, pressed a couple of buttons, and it spat out a piece of paper saying the battery needed charged.

A much better test. Clearly some kind of automated device that goes though a series of steps. However, either the device can't charge the battery or the operator didn't want to spend the time charging the battery so it could be put though the other tests. An undercharged could be a bad battery, or it could be a defective charging system.

Problem there is I've tried to charge it, and it won't take a charge.

Annnnnd, there you go. Unable to take/hold a charge is pretty much the definition of a bad battery.