car battery warranties

[Dave M]

YUASA 12 volt Black 75AH 740A batteries carried a lifetime warranty. That has now been withdrawn. Such a battery was purchased April 2018 & used in a circa 1929 Alfa Gran Turismo, last used for events October this year. Car has battery isolator switch, along with a clean power battery desulfator, with battery isolator switch utilised when car not in use. Car last taken last October. Check early December revealed battery would not turn engine. Checks of car electrics & battery replacement with old spare started engine, confirming no problem with mechanics. Battery charging with Ring charger, with cut out on charge completion, has revealed drops in volts & amps (show 300), with rapid dropping when charger disconnected. Retailers reported manufacturers voided guarantee. Manufacturers terms on internet contain exclusions including Sulphuration. Battery is a sealed one, so not possible to check battery internals, leaving question whether a battery which has been disconnected from car electrics & with fitted & working Desulfator , should fail in this manner (current amps after charging show 300A, & 14.5 volts, both rapidly dropping when charger disconnected indicative of serious battery fault, with further questions over whether internals including plates manufactured & fitted to standard to meet a lifetime guarantee, against more normal limited lifetime guarantees of between 2-5 years ?

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[Dave M]

Did you buy this online or at a B&M store?

Do you have YOUR warranty, on a piece of paper, from when you bought it?

I'd take it back, and don't take no for an answer. It's not sulfated. It's not undercharged. It's bad. New one, please.

I have the purchase confirmation from Halfords. They advised after they tested the battery the manufacturer had voided the lifetime warranty, reliance is being placed upon YUASA warranty, which contains exceptions

This warranty does not cover​

• Normal wear and tear
• Physical Damage
• Sulphation
• Incorrect application
• Negligence (before or during use)
• Overcharging
• Failure arising from the addition of fluids other than water
• Batteries used for motorsport or racing activities

Yuasa batteries are manufactured using processes conforming to the nation’s leading Automotive Manufacturing quality assurance accreditation.

From my battery checks currently after charging volts 14.5, amps 300A both falling after charger disconnected. Cannot check internals as battery sealed. Charger 'Ring' with auto cut out to avoid risk of overcharge. Appears from retailer that because battery failure did not occur within a timeframe indicative of poor manufacture, but rather found some 5 years 8 months later, assumption due fault of buyer, so falling within an exception.

 

[Dave M]

That's not how guarantees work. The longer the guarantee, the higher the chance you have to replace and the cheaper you have to make the product and the more expensive you have to sell.

But have you contacted Yuasa? It seems to me all you have is what a salesman told you?

Have contacted a UK YUASA rep, but no response as yet, save that retailer no longer offers a lifetime guarantee.

 

[Dave M]

Are you saying that in 2018 when you purchased the battery it had a lifetime warranty, and now said warranty has been withdrawn? Or that now they don't come with lifetime warranties? They can't do that unless they give you your money back for it.

Their batteries no longer come with a lifetime warranty, but in rejecting liability they simply appear to rely on their exceptions.

 

[Bladecutter]

When you BOUGHT the battery, it CAME WITH a LIFETIME warranty.
You need to remind YUASA of that.
They are legally required to offer you a replacement.

What warranty their battery offers today does not matter to you.

And argue with them, not us.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Are you in the USA? I ask, because the Magnusson Moss Warranty act covers this. You should read it in full.

You need to contact Yuasa. The warranty in affect when you executed the agreement - ie when you bought the battery - can not be changed by one party after the fact. They can change it to whatever they want for new customers, including not having one at all.

Have you tried to follow whatever process the warranty documentation describes - usually there is a process - such as contact someone or call some number?

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title15/chapter50&edition=prelim

 

[f355spider]

Are you in the USA? I ask, because the Magnusson Moss Warranty act covers this. You should read it in full.

You need to contact Yuasa. The warranty in affect when you executed the agreement - ie when you bought the battery - can not be changed by one party after the fact. They can change it to whatever they want for new customers, including not having one at all.

Have you tried to follow whatever process the warranty documentation describes - usually there is a process - such as contact someone or call some number?

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title15/chapter50&edition=prelim

OP is in the UK, not USA.

 

[Dave M]

When you BOUGHT the battery, it CAME WITH a LIFETIME warranty.
You need to remind YUASA of that.
They are legally required to offer you a replacement.

What warranty their battery offers today does not matter to you.

And argue with them, not us.

That is correct & YUASA were so reminded.. YUASA appear however to be relying on their warranty which contains a number of reasons whereby they can deny a recovery & void the warranty. The position the retailer took was simply the battery had not failed shortly after purchase, but rather over 5 years later, it was not then a production fault, so fell within warranty exclusion. What however remains unclear is that the new battery version (80AH 740A) is only warranted for 5 years usage, begging unanswered question as to why & whether there is any material construction difference between the two forms. My reason for raising this with the forum is whether any readers have faced a similar problem, how the manufacturer reacted, what further action was taken & whether they managed to settle it with the manufacturer? Litigation is after all expensive & may not always prove successful in practice anymore than complaining to consumer protection.
.

 

[Dave M]

OP is in the UK, not USA.

OP is in the UK, not USA.

Are you in the USA? I ask, because the Magnusson Moss Warranty act covers this. You should read it in full.

You need to contact Yuasa. The warranty in affect when you executed the agreement - ie when you bought the battery - can not be changed by one party after the fact. They can change it to whatever they want for new customers, including not having one at all.

Have you tried to follow whatever process the warranty documentation describes - usually there is a process - such as contact someone or call some number?

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title15/chapter50&edition=prelim

in the UK. YUASA UK have been contacted, but as yet no response. We do have consumer protection legislation, but what reaction that would bring is uncertain & YUASA do have strict warranty exceptions upon which they appear to be relying basis battery failure found to have occurred sometime between 5 years 6 - 8 months from purchase, whilst car equipped with battery isolator switch & desulfator.

 

[SC Maintenance]

in the UK. YUASA UK have been contacted, but as yet no response. We do have consumer protection legislation, but what reaction that would bring is uncertain & YUASA do have strict warranty exceptions upon which they appear to be relying basis battery failure found to have occurred sometime between 5 years 6 - 8 months from purchase, whilst car equipped with battery isolator switch & desulfator.

So what your saying is the warranty was not worth the paper it was written on?

In the end, that isn't much different than here. Even with our protections it often entails a fight that isn't worth it.

Assuming your description is accurate, I would say it appears there was nothing you did that wasn't correct, unless there was an issue with your maintainer, or the battery was low on electrolyte.

 

[Dave M]

So what your saying is the warranty was not worth the paper it was written on?

In the end, that isn't much different than here. Even with our protections it often entails a fight that isn't worth it.

Assuming your description is accurate, I would say it appears there was nothing you did that wasn't correct, unless there was an issue with your maintainer, or the battery was low on electrolyte.

Many thanks. As this is a sealed battery, no checks can be done on the internals, electrolyte level etc ,& yes litigation could well prove potentially not worth it. All that could be done to avoid risk of failure was done, including checks of car electrics, battery isolator etc. One is then left with uneasy & unanswered questions including why the change from a lifetime to a 5 year guarantee for what appears as an identical battery & whether in practice a battery with a lifetime guarantee can actually meet it's warranty or is the meaning to be attributed to the lifetime of the battery, not the car?

 

[SC Maintenance]

Many thanks. As this is a sealed battery, no checks can be done on the internals, electrolyte level etc ,& yes litigation could well prove potentially not worth it. All that could be done to avoid risk of failure was done, including checks of car electrics, battery isolator etc. One is then left with uneasy & unanswered questions including why the change from a lifetime to a 5 year guarantee for what appears as an identical battery & whether in practice a battery with a lifetime guarantee can actually meet it's warranty or is the meaning to be attributed to the lifetime of the battery, not the car?

Most "lifetime" guarantee's are marketing gimmicks, because they know most people will forget about it, be too lazy to use it, or get rid of whatever it is before the lifetime is finished. There betting on paying out only a vey small percentage of claims. In this instance it sounds like not enough people forgot.

No battery lasts forever.

You should get in contact of with the manufacture. Squeaky wheel gets the grease. See above.

 

[Dave M]

Have tried contacting YUASA UK (battery sales Swindon - UK Manufacturer Wales Ebb Vale ), but as yet no response (could be closed for Christmas, so can keep trying before considering contact Trading Standards to see if they can help) .

 

[Bladecutter]

If you have proof of the lifetime warranty in your purchase documentation, you can give them one last change to replace your battery.
Ask them if it would cost them more or less to replace the battery, or to pay their lawyers to defend their stance in court?

And also, on your side, you have to ask yourself if its worth more or less to pay for a lawyer yourself, or just to give in, and buy a new battery for yourself?

 

[sloinker]

If you have proof of the lifetime warranty in your purchase documentation, you can give them one last change to replace your battery.
Ask them if it would cost them more or less to replace the battery, or to pay their lawyers to defend their stance in court?

And also, on your side, you have to ask yourself if its worth more or less to pay for a lawyer yourself, or just to give in, and buy a new battery for yourself?

If you take someone to small claims civil court in the UK are you required to wear one of those weird white wigs?

 

[Escape08]

Buy Bosch batteries instead

 

[mitchflorida]

The lifetime warranty on this battery only applied to the owner of the battery store, and he unfortunately died last August. You don't have a leg to stand on.