hello,


I have a 997 GT2 and recently replaced the battery with an oem version. previous battery was non oem. I usually have let the car sit for 2 months at a time during winters in NJ with no issues. I recently moved to FL and went to Champion to buy an oem replacement. the battery died within 2 weeks of install, I had to do the whole emergency trunk open to replace it with a new Duralast.


anyway, I tried returning it to Champion and they wont refund my $ bc they said my car is to blame and not the battery. Has this ever happened to anybody with an oem battery? thanks.

 

P cars have very fussy batteries. Pick up a Porsche Battery tender. Mine plugs into the cig lighter. Mine is a 2011 and it fires right up.


I believe c tech make the charger but I got mine form the dealer.

 

By "OEM" do you mean Moll or just OEM size? Champion is a sponsor here so I think you should put more pressure on them to replace. Since you already replaced it's unlikely they will refund but they should replace - it has a warranty. What is their explanation about "car is to blame" - you need to escalate this to the service manager or higher. Good luck.

 

Bought a OEM 'Porsche' battery from a Porsche dealer, just after 2 years the battery crashed. One cell collapsed. 2 weeks out of warranty , dealer said Porsche will not accept claim, no use in asking.
Kept in on a battery tender when not in use.

 

I bought the Porsche battery tender when I had surgery and could not drive the car for a 2 months and it worked great. Found it on Ebay for under $100 shipped.

 

I always replace the battery on my cars that sit every year... but I live in a desert.

 

Maybe the battery wasn't fully charged when you put it in? Owners manual says car shouldn't sit for more than six weeks. CTEC mus 4.3 has a recondition mode and an indicator on charge level. See if you can recondition it.

 

That's what I would have suggested too...but he already replaced the battery - he wants to return his Porsche battery and get his money back - good luck with that - maybe a replacement but probably not a refund.

 

Had similar issues on 3 of my Porsches. Turbo got home from dealer and a few weeks later was dead...Dealer response was...oh well...they die just sitting in our showroom....Porsche OEM batteries are crap...Do not waste your money. Went to AutoZone and replaced with one of their best batteries and have had no issues for years now. It is also a lot lighter than OEM.

I found it comical that Porsche put aluminum doors and bonnet to save weight, then put that monster battery up there that must weigh 80 lbs!

First time I tried to pull it out, I thought I missed a bolt and it was stuck...because it was so heavy!

Good luck,
DC

 

OP…if your car was simply off for two weeks with a two week old (new) battery it should start no problem. If the key was left in the ignition or the light switch was not turned to the off position then this could contribute to a new battery with insufficient cold cranking amps, thus unable to start the vehicle. No matter what the cause though, most retailers that sell batteries will always work with you when a battery loses charge after two weeks, heck most will work with you and provide a pro-rated program up to 48 months in some cases. The right thing to do when you return with this claim is to test the battery. This takes minutes and can provide the condition of the battery. A two week old battery should be able to be re-charged and work fine long-term, assuming normal conditions. Frankly I am surprised this isn't the route the vendor took. It costs nothing to test a battery and almost nothing to charge.

Cars that are daily driven likely don't face these challenges. Mine is a weekend fun car only driven on weekends and it will often sit in the garage for a couple weeks, depending on my schedule, weather, time, etc. The last battery I purchased, not OEM, lasted nearly 4 years with no battery tender and no more than 2,500 miles driven per year. Over this past summer (Houston) i wasn't driving much and noticed it was harder to start after a couple weeks. I took the battery out and took it to the same place I purchased it. They tested it twice and it did show it needed a proper charge but other than that the battery was fine. Because it was still showing as a good battery but needing a charge, they would not provide any prorate for a new one. However, they did say they would be happy to charge it for me. I opted to purchase a new one, as I was thrilled to get 4 years anyway.

Sorry for the long post but my point is…I purchased aftermarket, rarely drive my car and have no battery tender, and it lasted 4 years. For you to go two weeks on a new battery and then it not start is not normal.

FWIW, I am now in Seattle and the car is sitting in storage with a new non-OEM battery…the one I purchased (Sept.) before leaving Houston. I go to the unit and start the car every two weeks and it fires right up!

 

thanks for all the replies guys. Unfortunately Champion won't refund my $, they said it is a used battery and tested fine. What I don't get is how can a brand new Porsche battery die after just 2 weeks of install? its not a daily driver and I get they can't sit long, but 2 weeks? They want me to go pick it up, but I'm not gonna install it again, it was a pain just to replace it.



on another note, my car is due for service and I did want to bring it to Champion, but I'm not so sure now.

 

OEM meaning its a Porsche battery, I tried talking to a few people but no luck. They gave no explanation about why the car is to blame, just said I had to bring it in so they can check and see.

 

We always use and recommend Interstate batteries here at our shop. We offer a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty on them, and they've proved to be ten fold better than the Porsche factory batteries - if you google you'll find that many people have had similar poor experience with the factory batteries - for some reason they just aren't up to snuff.

Feel free to contact us if you have any other questions, always happy to help!

 

Interstate batteries are indeed good - if you use the Megatron-Plus 94R/H7 it actually has a 30 month replacement warranty from Interstate and prorated after that through 6 years.

 

See my post above...Pure crap. One time an aftermarket is superior....And save weight to boot!

DC