Went to start the car this evening and it would almost crank over but lights would just flash and clicking noise. The car is just 3yrs. 4mos. old and still under factory warranty. Is the battery a warrantable item?

If not it turns out pepboys sells a Bosch battery for $92.00 with 850cca...

Here is the battery

http://c2c.activant.com/ctoc/index.j...86A10UX3RTO00A

Any help greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

I heard that the battery will only be covered if you drive the car regularly. Daily driven cars have the best luck with batteries. If you don't drive it every day, it should be on a battery maintainer or else it will eventually die early; or at least earlier than the 5 year life span of a well maintained battery.

When it's time to replace my battery, I'm going to use the opportunity for a "mod"...something lighter weight, perhaps an Optima Red Top.

J

 

My dealer told me that you need to put 6,000 miles/year on the car to keep the battery under the factory warranty. The biggest problem they see with the dead batteries is low water levels. Most people think they are maintenance free and they are not. I have to add distilled water 2-3 times per year.

 

I'm averaging 6300 miles per year right now...I think it should be covered. Problem is I need the car this weekend and I may just bone up and get a new battery.

Dave

 

That is a fact.

If you use a battery maintainer, it tends to slowly cook down the water level.

If a cell goes dry and shorts out.....BOOM, the battery will explode.

Ask me how I know.....lesson learned.

 

Interstate MTP-H7. Perfect fit, dealer recommended, $130, well worth the peace of mind.

 

They pro rate the battery for use. Probably little warranty left. I went w the Interstate but there was a slight mod that had to be made to the battery box in my case. Perhaps tech was being extra cautious or maybe it was a different model# (can't find the receipt) but he did move the clamp/lock to accomodate the base of the battery. NB: as per Dave and Chuck et al this is wrong and the battery is NOT prorated. Thanks for the correction. My battery tested ok at the time but was turning engine over slowly. You might not want to wait for the inevitable if that is the case.

 

Interesting. I did not know this. I thought it was maintenance free.

How do you check water level? How do you add water to it?

 

Unless it is one of the newer generation batteries that is truly sealed....

the same way it has always been done.

Pull off the caps on top and make sure the water level is up to the bottom of the pieces that extend down towards the cells. Some batteries have a level line printed on the outside of them.

 

Update...the battery is under warranty. I was just over the "garage queen" limit of 500 miles per month. I am averaging just at 600 miles per month. Pacific Porsche is bringing me out a new battery out this evening and installing it at 7PM. Beverly Hills Porsche doesn't offer this service, a big kudos goes out to Porsche road side service for finding a dealer within the 30 mile limit to get me this service. Other wise it would have been a jump and I would have to leave the car over the weekend at Beverly Hills Porsche and maybe would have gotten the car back late Monday or Tues. Now I have the car for the weekend..

Dave

 

The battery in my car is fully sealed, no way to check water level.

Dave

 

Battery is covered under factory warranty without prorating as long as you actully drive the car. If my car was at 20k miles or under they wouldn't have warranted the battery. I have 21k miles on the car and it just was at the level they felt the car was being driven enough to warrant the battery and they are delivering the battery to my home and installing it...now that's service.

 

I thought the same but peeled back the black tape on my MOLL which is even with the vent to reveal the 6 openings to add/check water.

 

For the last 5 years I had to add distilled water 2-3 times per year with the OEM battery. Lack of using a battery tender or not enough driving & low water levels cause most of the problems with the OEM battery (or any battery).

Here are 2 links on how to add water to a battery:

http://www.trojanbattery.com.cn/Batt...aintenance.htm

http://www.mz3.net/articles/142.html

 

Batteries are a service component. If the car (any car) is used for frequent short trips or low mileage, particularly with high parasitic loads, batteries will fail. It is an inexpensive part. Its failure is often a significant inconvenience and those incidental costs can easily be greater than periodic renewal . If there are any signs of problems, just replace it.