Car battery warranty explanation needed, please chime in.

[knever3]

Here's the backstory..

 

I have had trouble with a slow crank on my Renix MJ.  I've done/checked the following.

 

New Die Hard Platinum AGM battery

New Mean Green starter

New 1/0 positive battery cable

New 1/0 negative cables including body and engine grounds

Replaced failed oem 60A alternator with an ALL NEW Bosch 100A unit

New battery terminals

 

Checked motor cranking amps before starter replacement, 300A.

Replaced with the above Mean Green starter

A year or two goes by...

Retested battery, 12.1V resting, 200A cranking

When started, alternator voltage at battery was 14.7V

Figured battery had a bad cell

 

I was going to buy another Optima battery since my battery try is made specifically for these oval batteries, Die Hard never fit, just sat there.  I called Advance Auto to see if they had one in stock, their website kept redirecting me to a Die Hard battery even when they over the phone gave me the specific part number, strange, but they had one in stock.

 

I pondered  for a bit, and thought, I wonder if mine is still under warranty?  Sure enough, it was!

 

Went to Advance, they tested it, sure enough, dead cell.  I said I wanted to get the Optima battery and pay the extra, he said "our policy is like-for-like, unless not available anymore."  I said, "I'm not leaving without that Optima."  He called his manager and made it happen.  I paid $60 extra for the battery.  Now, this is where it finally gets interesting.  He said you have a 13 month warranty on this battery.  So, the Die Hard actually had a 4 year warranty, this Optima, 3 years.  He said because it is Pro-Rated I only get the remaining warranty.  I said Pro-Rated went away years ago, now it's just a replacement based on years/months.  Am I missing something?  Hopefully this battery lasts 3+ years and this will be a moot point, but I need to know if this is how battery warranties work.

[knever3]

I was on Optima's website, I guess it's true to this day.

 

Read The Fine Print

Battery warranties generally have a lot of terms and conditions. Most describe what is covered and what is not and how to go about getting service. One thing many folks don't realize when they purchase a battery, is that the warranty coverage doesn't re-set with each warranty replacement. That means if you bought a battery with a three-year free replacement warranty on January 1, 2014, that warranty coverage ends on January 1, 2017, no matter how many times your battery was replaced under warranty during that period. Re-setting a warranty with each replacement would essentially result in a lifetime warranty and the last company we heard of, who offered such coverage on batteries they sold is no longer in business.

[ratrapp]

this is usually how it works on all batteries.when they replace it under warranty it doesnt start the warranty period over.interstate batteries work the same way.

[fiatslug87]

Otherwise you could potentially get free batteries forever.

[Htchevyii]

I hope that you have better luck with that Optima  than I've had. I ran them in my Classics for years with  no isues, but I've heard that the quality went downhill after the plant moved the Mexico. Sure enough, every one failed in a relatively short time. After three warranties, my dad went to an O'Reilly's lead acid and never had another issue, that's been about 5 years since, so the replacement outlasted 3 Optimas  by a few years. I've been running the O'Reilly AGMs with good results and had an XS Power brand AGM that lasted 11 years!

 

When you warranty a battery at Costco, they refund you and recharge you. Sometimes the price goes up a few dollars, but your warranty starts over.

[knever3]

Yeah, I was weighing my options.  I have a Dirtbound Optima specific steel battery tray, and I couldn't stand having a battery without a proper hold down the last few years.  I know there was mixed reviews on Optima's, honestly I didn't really like my OG yellow top, had trouble charging it.  My choices were to buy a new battery tray for $70, or warranty this battery and go back to the Optima.  Time will tell how this plays out, sure, there are great batteries out there such as Odyssey or XS, but I didn't want to spend the money on any of those right now.  I am so glad this was still under warranty and it starts great now. 

[ratrapp]

if i remember correctly the optimas use a different charger to bring them back to life.i use to use alot of optimas ack in the day but there quality is definitly not what it use to be.

[pizzaman09]

Yep, I have had experience with the prorated warranty on automotive batteries.  Your experience sounds normal to me.  The warranty is from the original battery and will play out to the end of that, it doesn't reset with a new battery.