So, here's the story. Myself, wife and kids were overseas for almost a month and car ('16 Honda Pilot, 33K on the clock) sat in the garage. A friend of mine had the car collected and picked us up at the airport so I'm not exactly sure how it started after sitting for a month (I'll have to ask him). Two days after, my wife was driving the car and hit a tow hitch of the parked truck with the right side of the Pilot's bumper (scratch on the bumper, some damage to the lower skirt and plastic cover came loose). No lights came on, no issues with the fog lights or any of the that. Cosmetic damage (so it seems). Car ran just fine. Four days later (which was yesterday), I was starting the car and it took a second more to start then it would normally take. It had me alert for a second but then later in the day it started just fine. This morning before leaving to work I've decided to start it up just to make sure it won't leave my wife with two kiddos stranded and sure enough - it barely started. Took a 2-3 second of starter winding and gauge cluster flickering and then fired up. Killed, started again - did the same. Drove to AAP and had a battery tester hooked up with engine off - 12.3V - Charge the battery. AAP guy said the battery seems fine, just needs to be driven around. Ok. Car is still under warranty so took it to Honda. Drove for almost 30 min and upon arrival to dealership stopped the engine and tried to start it up again - same thing, took several seconds to fire it up. They tested the battery and told me that it is bad - 245 CCA with the battery rated at 600 and recommended replacement. They also told me that starter and alternator tested ok, no blown fuses either. I agreed and replacement battery works fine, starts right up as it used to. Note, this is a first time in my 16yrs of driving i had a battery die on me.
So, here are my questions:
1. Are sudden battery failures common?
2. What could be the root/cause of this battery failure?
3. Can the accident my wife got into have anything to do with the battery issue?
4. Would low CCA that was revealed on the test warrant the battery replacement in your opinion?
Appreciate the suggestions
So, here are my questions:
1. Are sudden battery failures common?
2. What could be the root/cause of this battery failure?
3. Can the accident my wife got into have anything to do with the battery issue?
4. Would low CCA that was revealed on the test warrant the battery replacement in your opinion?
Appreciate the suggestions