HAH 12V batt really matters

Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
18,243
Location
OH
Had a weird problem with the Accord Hybrid this morning.
I went out to drive the car to work and was greeted with a cascading series of failure indications on the dashboard display, things like EPB unuseable, ABS inoperative, TSC inoperative, service brakes not fully functional, things like that. With the car powered up, the EPS was not operating either. It was also not possible to select either drive or reverse, so the car was basically bricked.
Called the office and told them I wouldn't be in and called for a wrecker. Had car taken to the dealer from which we purchased it, Joe Morgan Honda (yes, that Joe Morgan) which is only about six miles up the road from our house. The service advisor with whom I was paired seemed a little ditzy, but it turns out I was wrong about her. Anyway, she called after a couple of hours and told me that the tech had found the 12V battery to be weak and she asked for my approval to replace it for $200.00. Considering that I'd have paid at least half that much for a battery I told her they should go ahead and do it. She called me again around 4:00 pm telling me that with the new battery all was well, as I thought might prove to be the case after learning that the original was weak.
I had also asked them to diagnose the now very weak AC, since Honda has extended warranty coverage for leaky condensers. They did this and told me that the AC repairs would be fully covered and they'd be done with the car tomorrow.
This whole episode demonstrated to me that at least some dealer service departments really are honest and competent and that something as simple as a weak 12V battery could have a disabling impact on the car.
Car was assembled May 2018, so the battery was old enough to be ready for replacement. I thought there was supposed to be some indication of a declining 12V battery in the dash display, just as there is for the fob battery, but if there is I never saw it.
 
Last edited:
This whole episode demonstrated to me that at least some dealer service departments really are honest and competent and that something as simple as a weak 12V battery could have a disabling impact on the car.
Car was assembled May 2018, so the battery was old enough to be ready for replacement. I thought there was supposed to be some indication of a declining 12V battery in the dash display, just as there is for the fob battery, but if there is I never saw it.
I would hate to work at this dealer. It sounds like they do not pay their technicians diagnostic time and pay very little for a battery R&R!
 
I would hate to work at this dealer. It sounds like they do not pay their technicians diagnostic time and pay very little for a battery R&R!
The other side of that coin is that when the car needs actual expensive work, I know where it'll go.
Also, there is plenty of gravy work at most dealership shops, like oil changes and brakes and Batteries+Bulbs would have done the battery R&R for free and would have supplied the battery at lower cost. Last time I had this done I gave the guy a fiver as a small tip and he said that I didn't have to. I replied that I wanted to.
As our formerly dealer fleet tech at work would say, you take the good with the bad.
 
Just replaced a battery yesterday from batteries plus they had installed the incorrect battery and just figured out a way to make it work. So much for free install.

The battery had failed not due to the install but it was a face palm moment like *** what are places thinking
 
Also, there is plenty of gravy work at most dealership shops, like oil changes and brakes and Batteries+Bulbs would have done the battery R&R for free and would have supplied the battery at lower cost. Last time I had this done I gave the guy a fiver as a small tip and he said that I didn't have to. I replied that I wanted to.
As our formerly dealer fleet tech at work would say, you take the good with the bad.
The "gravy work" you mention is often performed by hourly, entry-level "technicians" who can barely tie their own shoes. That is how most dealers treat non-warranty repairs.

The real line techs are stuck with warranty work and/or diag. On flat-rate. And in this case, diagnosing an issue for free and probably getting paid .2 or .3 to replace that battery. Not saying this is your problem, but dealers who do not compensate their employees well are long-term recipes for disaster. As a customer, these are the dealers you want to avoid - there is a high likelihood of getting crappy work from unhappy techs.
 
Picked the car up today and all is well.
As it turns out, $51.00 of the cost of the battery was labor, so the tech did make a little money and probably had a very good idea going in that this was the problem, so I doubt that he wasted a lot of time on diagnosis.
The fact that the shop was also able to follow Honda's steps to warranty the AC repair along with doing a software update and replacing the seat belt buckles on recall in only about a day indicates to me that their people are pretty competent.
The service writer also made zero attempt to upsell me on anything, which counts for a lot to me.
It also impressd me that the parts needed for the above fell readily to hand and were not on some ridiculous backorder.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the service this dealer's people rendered.
 
The other side of that coin is that when the car needs actual expensive work, I know where it'll go.
Also, there is plenty of gravy work at most dealership shops, like oil changes and brakes and Batteries+Bulbs would have done the battery R&R for free and would have supplied the battery at lower cost. Last time I had this done I gave the guy a fiver as a small tip and he said that I didn't have to. I replied that I wanted to.
As our formerly dealer fleet tech at work would say, you take the good with the bad.

He was thinking 5 friggin bucks this is 2023 at least give me a 20

You got a good deal and the tech got jack and crap. Maybe he was hourly but if he is flat rate he wasted his time
 
He was thinking 5 friggin bucks this is 2023 at least give me a 20

You got a good deal and the tech got jack and crap. Maybe he was hourly but if he is flat rate he wasted his time
This was Batteries+Bulbs.
They don't have techs, they have counter people who are at an hourly rate.
They change all sorts of batteries at no additional charge.
It is a simple courtesy to offer a small gratuity. I'm sure you would have given the guy a twenty.
 
Back
Top