12 Volt battery replacement / Factory only ?

Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Messages
492
Location
Western usa
The 12 volt battery in our 2017 Lincoln MKZ hybrid is dead / We finally took delivery on May 21st. Sure Enough the battery is toast. It's left us stranded twice needing a jump. Taking it back to the dealer ( Carmax ) tomorrow. They say they will replace it for us but I fear they're going to install the cheapest option available. What would be considered a proper replacement for this vehicles 12 volt battery ? I can't find the thread but I recall reading at the fusion hybrid forms that the replacement battery should be OEM / does this sound accurate? Thanks
 
OEM or equivalents. Look in your owner's manual and the specs should be in there. If your battery is original to your car, there is plenty of information there too.
 
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I do feel grateful that they are supplying a replacement. Our Carmax experience as actually been very positive overall. My fear was that a sub-par replacement may be detrimental to the proper function of the vehicle. It Seems the 12V battery in the Fusion / MKZ hybrids has a reputation for early failure.
 
This is crazy talk, lol.

1) Maybe the battery is toast or maybe it just needs a full charge put on it. I'll take your word for it that it's toast.

2) Carmax? You were asking to be reamed. That's as far distanced from responsible seller status as it gets. They treat cars like they are a broom, not something that needs assessed on an individual basis.

3) If they install the cheapest battery, you just accept that because you're too deep in to come out better otherwise. It will still be okay for a "few" years.

4) There is no need to replace it now, just to recognize that being low end, it will need replaced sooner.

5) No, there is no reason why the 12V battery needs to be OEM. In fact the OEM factory battery was probably not high end in the first place, penny penching by the factory to just meet minimum expectations.

6) No, your carmax experience wasn't positive if you consider that you just payed more for their involvement as a middleman, but that does have some value if they handle any problems.

7) Reputation for early failure doesn't mean anything, just that the factory put in a budgetized battery that won't last as long as a premium priced battery would. You can make the same choice, depending on where "western USA" is, you may not have cold enough winters where you need more cca than budget batteries provide, but hot weather also degrades them.

Overall, it seems like you want extra attention because you just bought something, but with no problems from it??

If you want encouragement to go after carmax for more than they gave you, it is a losing proposition. Their profit model is very anti-consumer driven and it's now 100% on you to just assume ownership and proceed as if they are out of the picture.

You are worrying too much. Wait until there is a problem and then deal with that.
 
If it is just the 12V regular car battery (not the hybrid battery), it should be fine with any brand.

As it is, most of the batteries in the retail market are made either by Johnson Control or East Penn, sometimes, you can find Exide but very small.

For all practical purposes, any battery of any brand should be fine especially when the seller replace it for you.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9

2) Carmax? You were asking to be reamed. That's as far distanced from responsible seller status as it gets. They treat cars like they are a broom, not something that needs assessed on an individual basis.
6) No, your carmax experience wasn't positive if you consider that you just payed more for their involvement as a middleman, but that does have some value if they handle any problems.

If you want encouragement to go after carmax for more than they gave you, it is a losing proposition. Their profit model is very anti-consumer driven and it's now 100% on you to just assume ownership and proceed as if they are out of the picture.



Maybe a bit harsh? This may vary from place to place.

We just bought a car from our local carmax. They had to install a new battery and it was a mid level car quest. Not premium but not junk either. They were excellent with warranty work, as with no questions asked, they also installed a new oem seat belt retractor and sun roof motor to my wife's satisfaction. They called me daily with repair status, offered a loaner, gave us $100 in service coupons, and finished early. The only thing they didn't handle right was leaving some fingerprints on the headliner.

Back to the OP- 12v batteries are not caviar. They are pretty crude devices. You'll get at least 3 years depending on your climate. I'd say to enjoy the new car, congrats!
 
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