Battery Warranties

[Travelman1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Travelman1]

Had an interesting experience this week. The Australian made cranking battery in my D4D started playing up just before the end of the two year warranty period. I went back to the local branch of the battery franchise I bought it from and was told the battery tested faculty, they could give me a loaner battery but it could take at least two weeks for a warranty claim to be assessed by the manufacturer before I could be allocated a replacement battery. They said this is normal practice.
I thought a warranty claim would be sorted out on the spot. The claim process described to me would be a disaster for someone travelling interstate who had a warranty problem and needed their battery replaced with a new one.
What's been the experience of other PradoPointers who've made battery warranty claims?
Cheers
Travelman1

[Anth120playdo Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Anth120playdo]

It's very annoying the way some retailers, want to wait on their wholesale suppliers to see if they are going to cover it.
If the battery fails, then they should have the confidence & be able to replace it or you.

[tokhi Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokhi]

Got an Allrounder as my cranker, and it stopped charging about 3mths after warranty expired.
Took it back to Supercharge wholesaler, he tested it, and said "yep, looks like it may have dropped a cell" and changed it on the spot..... no charge.
Service like that, and I will o back to him everytime I need a new one.
I have also sent him a lot of business aswell.
I have no affiliation to Supercharge Batteries, I am just a happy customer.

[GQTrav Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close GQTrav]

I had a one and a half year old Optima start loosing charge very quickly while I was travelling through Kununurra in the Kimberley. Went to an auto elec there who stocked Optima batteries, he tested it overnight and agreed that there was something wrong so I was give a new Optima battery in the morning. I was dissapointed that it happened in the first place but happy with how Optima looked after me.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Toyota stuck one of their crap "Smart Drive" batteries into my Prado and it died at 13 months. Tough luck.

[MDSimpson Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDSimpson]

I had an issue with my Aux battery, outside of the written warranty period. After discussion with the supplier, and them discussing with the importer, the importer begrudgingly supplied a new battery, based on the original cost and the expected life of the battery. I didn't hurt that the importers original response was 'it failed because you put it under the bonnet', where their brochure clearly states, suitable for under bonnet applications.

So, while the process was not pretty, it was also not critical as it was my Aux battery, the end result was good for me..

[Ex Niss Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ex Niss]

I had the same issue with supercharge batteries, but they would not cover it under warranty. So I bought a century battery from
Anthony. He gave me a great price and haven't had any issues with it.
It lasted twice as long as the supercharge battery for the same 105 amp hours with the same bushman fridge.
I am buying a new century battery for the new car. I don't think you can go past the century battery and getting a good price
from Anthony makes well worth it.

[rhs58 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rhs58]

I have had 2 century batteries die at less than 2.5 years.
Funny things batteries - sometimes they last 6 years, sometimes they don't.

[mickmac_42 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mickmac_42]

I had a similar issue with a PC power supply. It stopped working after 9 months so i took it back to the retailer who told me it would be 2-3 weeks before they'd let me know if they were going to honor the warranty. I asked why, and pointed out that 2-3 weeks without the computer was not an option. They said the manufacturer inspects the item to determine the cause of the failure and identify if it's a problem with their product, or misuse by the customer. As far as what i'd do with my PC in the meantime... that was my problem. I pointed out that the end result would be me buying a new power supply, thus negating my need for a replacement under warranty.

Not happy, i called the ACCC for advice. They confirmed that the seller/manufacturer are entitled a right of reply (they don't have to automatically replace an item just because you say it's broken) and that they have a reasonable period of time in which to do this. I asked, "what's a reasonable time?" They told me that it's not defined, but a couple of weeks was considered acceptable.

Mike

[Travelman1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Travelman1]

I eventually managed to get the battery replaced under warranty by standing my ground and refusing the offer of a loaner battery. Given I'm leaving in a day or two for an extended remote area trip, it was a no- brainer. But my experience has certainly made me aware that I have to ask some very targetted questions about warranties when buying new products in the future.
Travelman1