Q: I have an ’07 GMC Sierra 1500 with 80,000 miles. The other day my radio went off for no reason and I also noticed that my seatbelt warning light was not on as well (I don’t wear my seat belt). Yesterday I shut off the truck and the radio and the door alarm ping stayed on after I shut the door. Any suggestions here?

A: Absolutely — wear your seat belt! It is beyond my understanding how any rational human being can choose not to utilize the fundamental component of automotive safety — the seat belt. Failure to utilize this critical safety system by not buckling up disables virtually all of the extensive passive and active safety systems engineered into a modern automobile.

There are only four primary causes of injury or death in an automobile crash; the human body impacting the interior of the cabin, the cabin being crushed, an outside object penetrating the cabin, and fire. Carmakers spend millions of dollars engineering and building crash management systems into today’s vehicles that absolutely minimize these possibilities — all predicated on use of the seat belt. But of course, if the driver or occupants don’t buckle up, these safety systems are severely compromised.

If you don’t care enough to protect yourself and others in case of a crash, I don’t care to answer your question.

Q: I have a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora purchased in 1999. I replaced the battery for the second time since new at a GM shop in January. I purchased a Delco battery but four weeks later, after 88 miles, the battery was dead again. After putting the charger on for a half-hour, it started. The shop said the alternator was good, no drainage of juice, battery was good and that I wasn’t driving it enough. In years past when a battery was new it would start a car after months of sitting without starting it every day. What gives?

A: I would be more suspicious of the battery’s state-of-charge when you purchased it. I don’t know how long that battery sat on the dealer’s parts shelf or whether the dealership charged it before installing it in your vehicle, but if it wasn’t fully charged at the time of installation and you only drove 88 miles over the next month, I’m not surprised it needed to be recharged to start your vehicle. In fact, I would have preferred you charge it with an automatic battery charger for 24 hours to make sure it is fully charged.

I’m sure this battery is still covered by its original warranty, so if there’s any further issue with its performance, ask the dealer to replace it under warranty.

— Brand is an automotive troubleshooter and former race car driver. Email questions to paulbrand@startribune.com. Include a daytime phone number.