Factory Battery Warranty and Electronics

[BigEasyGT]

Anyone here ever have an issue with getting a dead battery replaced under warranty when you're running a radar or dash cam?

Dropped my car off at my local dealer this morning as I've been having a lot of trouble with my factory battery over the last few weeks. Had to put it on a charger to start it a few times and finally had time to bring it in for service alongside the door latch recall. As a background, I run a radar detector as well as a dash cam, but both are hard wired to circuits that shut off when the ignition is shut off. I also have a stereo system with a 4 channel and a monoblock amplifier. I'm fully aware that the stereo may get me here but that's besides the point, I want to know specifically about radars or dash cams.

After getting checked in, the service writer asked if my radar and dash cam stay plugged in 24/7, and I said they do but they're hard wired and shut off with the car. She told me "that doesn't matter, they likely drained your battery and if so, we will not change it under warranty." I argued about the circuit shutting off, checking it with a volt meter, etc. but she wouldn't see it any other way so I handed the keys over and left the dealer. She even argued that leaving a phone charger plugged in with nothing on it would drain the battery.

Any thoughts? I'm not worried about the outcome either way, I just want to know if this is the norm with small electronics.

Sponsored

 

[melwff]

From the dealers point of view somebody has to pay for the time the technician works on your car, either Ford or you. If they fully charge the battery and then do a load test and find a bad cell you are covered by the warranty. If they dont find a bad cell then they have to start looking for a parasitic drain and if they find one they cannt take your word that the modification of hard wiring your devices was done correctly at which point things can become unclear as far as where responsibility lies.

 

[GT Pony]

A lot of members have reported the factory battery dying in short order. I noticed the acid level in mine was way down only after 2000 miles of use. You can pop the cell caps off and add distilled water to keep the level correct, which might help the battery last longer.

 

[BigEasyGT]

I had to do that on my last car but didn't even think about it for the Mustang. They still have it at the dealer, couldn't finish the door latches yesterday so no updates on the battery yet.

 

[BigEasyGT]

Just to close this out, I picked up the car earlier and they did replace my battery as it failed their load test. I also checked my dash cam footage and besides some funny commentary about men in rompers and how low my car is, they treated it well.

 

[ANGST]

A lot of members have reported the factory battery dying in short order. I noticed the acid level in mine was way down only after 2000 miles of use. You can pop the cell caps off and add distilled water to keep the level correct, which might help the battery last longer.

Our explorer battery died after 2 years.

Sponsored