Dead battery within new vehicle warranty - AOA refuses to cover

[mungie]

Hey guys, hoping anyone with experience can give me advice on how to proceed.

I just bought a 2014 S4 with 33k miles. It's TD1.

I had the car inspected at an AUDI dealer. They gave me a written report stating that the original battery is dead and needs replacement.
I then had the battery replaced at an indie shop with an interstatebatteries battery (EOM provider). Cost out the door was ~$300.
The indie shop also gave me a TCU tune.

I'm unable to find the "new vehicle limited warranty" coverage document. Aren't batteries supposed to be covered under bumper-to-bumper?
AOA is saying batteries are only covered for 12k, 1 year from in-service date...

Additionally, the statement "it shows they also tuned the vehicle which voids any remaining warranty" implies a tune voids battery warranties. What?


This is what they came back with:

"In order for a battery to be covered under the New Vehicle Limited Warranty, there would have to be a known defect diagnosed by an authorized Audi dealership. Otherwise, batteries are covered for 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever occurs first. Along with that, being that this was done at an independent dealership, Audi of America is not in the position to reimburse the cost of parts or labor. In the invoice you sent and in our records, it shows they also tuned the vehicle which voids any remaining warranty."

I wasn't expecting the royal treatment, but I also wasn't expecting the equivalent of "go f yourself"

I've still got the original audi battery as well.

Any thoughts/comments?

[MVR 155]

Battery is only covered for the first 12 months/12K. You have a car that is likely 3-4 years old (depending on build date), not sure why you expect them to cover the battery at this stage of the game? If you were inside of 12months/12K and were TD1'd and they denied it........ I think that would be total BS. Given the circumstances (age/mileage) I wouldn't go as far as saying someone told you "go f yourself".

[Works2shoot]

Battery is only covered for the first 12 months/12K. You have a car that is likely 3-4 years old (depending on build date), not sure why you expect them to cover the battery at this stage of the game? If you were inside of 12months/12K and were TD1'd and they denied it........ I think that would be total BS. Given the circumstances (age/mileage) I wouldn't go as far as saying someone told you "go f yourself".

I agree 100% here. If it had been a malfunction of car systems that caused the battery to go bad (alternator / parasitic draw, etc), I'd see it being covered. Otherwise it's wear and tear like tires and brakes. Remember OP, although you paid 35k, you're going to have to pay maintenance items on a 60k car.

Find someone with a VAGCOM and you can save a ton of money by doing the job yourself. Heck, I bought one and I'm sure it will pay for itself after the first two repairs that normally require a dealer visit.

[mungie]

Battery is only covered for the first 12 months/12K. You have a car that is likely 3-4 years old (depending on build date), not sure why you expect them to cover the battery at this stage of the game? If you were inside of 12months/12K and were TD1'd and they denied it........ I think that would be total BS. Given the circumstances (age/mileage) I wouldn't go as far as saying someone told you "go f yourself".

Thanks for the confirmation. I wasn't expecting them to cover it if the 12/12 was true.

[SportVier]

Did you sent AoA a receipt from the shop showing that they installed a tune?

If so, well played.

[mungie]

Did you sent AoA a receipt from the shop showing that they installed a tune?

If so, well played.

Lol yes. It was td1 beforehand: nothing to lose.

[SportVier]

Lol yes. It was td1 beforehand: nothing to lose.

Ah, got it. Did not get the timing on that.

[sirsycott]

ummm to stir the pot

i got my battery replaced after 2 years

2013 s4 purchased with 8k miles

i had 27k at the time and the battery cells had died

replaced under warranty

[will13k7]

"...it shows they also tuned the vehicle which voids any remaining warranty"
funny that they threw that in there, but completely inaccurate. If your moon roof stops working tomorrow, they will fix it under warranty. they are just trying to get rid of you, and they had enough of a reason already without adding that.

[MVR 155]

ummm to stir the pot

i got my battery replaced after 2 years

2013 s4 purchased with 8k miles

i had 27k at the time and the battery cells had died

replaced under warranty

This was obviously a "good faith" repair/warranty job, dealers can do this at their discretion but they are certainly not obligated to.

[TTRU]

My battery is 7 years old (original) with 120k miles and zero problems.

However, as I'm typing this... fairly confident that it will be dead tomorrow morning :)

G'nite fellas

[chaos2984]

It seems like warranty is getting less and less and prices are going up and up. I am in the same boat. I had to pay for remote batteries for my car and it was only 2 years old with 14K on it. I use to work for a Chevy dealer. They cover EVERYTHING except for true WEAR AND TEAR ITEMS for the base 3yr 36K miles. We would cover batteries and such for the base warranty. I get that the brakes blades and clutch and alignment should be only 12/12. I've been with a few dealers and found that Ford/ Mazda Mitsu and GM all cover batteries under the base warranty. But i guess they are finding ways to cut cost.

[doug97gxe]

It seems like warranty is getting less and less and prices are going up and up. I am in the same boat. I had to pay for remote batteries for my car and it was only 2 years old with 14K on it. I use to work for a Chevy dealer. They cover EVERYTHING except for true WEAR AND TEAR ITEMS for the base 3yr 36K miles. We would cover batteries and such for the base warranty. I get that the brakes blades and clutch and alignment should be only 12/12. I've been with a few dealers and found that Ford/ Mazda Mitsu and GM all cover batteries under the base warranty. But i guess they are finding ways to cut cost.

as MRV said its all in discretion, the relationship you have with your SA and Dealer and how you present the situation .. if you have done business with them for years bought multiple cars and you are on a first name basis with your SA .. if you drive in and say.. you know _____ all of a sudden my remote isn't working.. they will more than likely say .. you know what .. i will have the tech swap in batteries for you no problem.. not batteries but my SA has let small stuff under an hr labor go because we have that kind of relationship

[blackfunk]

I've gotten three batteries over 5yrs. I'm pretty sure that the batteries come with a five yr warranty though. I could be completely wrong but I'll try to hunt down some paperwork to see what it says.

[Thurston]

"...it shows they also tuned the vehicle which voids any remaining warranty"
funny that they threw that in there, but completely inaccurate. If your moon roof stops working tomorrow, they will fix it under warranty. they are just trying to get rid of you, and they had enough of a reason already without adding that.

yep, that is odd they would put that in there as it is erroneous as you point out.

[Works2shoot]

It seems like warranty is getting less and less and prices are going up and up. I am in the same boat. I had to pay for remote batteries for my car and it was only 2 years old with 14K on it. I use to work for a Chevy dealer. They cover EVERYTHING except for true WEAR AND TEAR ITEMS for the base 3yr 36K miles. We would cover batteries and such for the base warranty. I get that the brakes blades and clutch and alignment should be only 12/12. I've been with a few dealers and found that Ford/ Mazda Mitsu and GM all cover batteries under the base warranty. But i guess they are finding ways to cut cost.

Is your complaint about the principle of the matter or the cost, because my local parts department just replaced my remote battery for about 5$. As I said earlier, your warranty would cover the battery if it were defective, or if the problem with the remote caused it to go bad.

[EIAlfonso]

I thought all, and I mean all?batteries had a pro rated warranty

Granted at 4 yrs I wouldn't expect much of a credit, if any

I'm sure the interstate battery you purchased has a prorated warranty

[chaos2984]

Is your complaint about the principle of the matter or the cost, because my local parts department just replaced my remote battery for about 5$. As I said earlier, your warranty would cover the battery if it were defective, or if the problem with the remote caused it to go bad.

I don't care about the price. Its just principal of the matter. Car is under warranty. I've been driving/ in the business long enough to know a battery should not die within 2 years and with limited use. Hence = defective. Batteries in remotes should last longer than that. We would warranty batteries without even thinking about it at Chevy if the car was within base warranty.
I'm not complaining just was a little caught off guard. I guess its just the time change.

[Acejam]

Living in MA, I'm curious to know which dealer you went to.

[doug97gxe]

I don't care about the price. Its just principal of the matter. Car is under warranty. I've been driving/ in the business long enough to know a battery should not die within 2 years and with limited use. Hence = defective. Batteries in remotes should last longer than that. We would warranty batteries without even thinking about it at Chevy if the car was within base warranty.
I'm not complaining just was a little caught off guard. I guess its just the time change.

my battery died in 2 years.. i think someone said because with the keyless entry and push button start the remove is constantly communicating with the car.. i had batteries in my house i just changed it myself

[Crucible35]

My smart key fob battery lasted about 1.5 years and replaced for $5 at CDN Tire. I think this ^^^ is correct. In my '09, without smart key, I never changed a battery in the fob after 6 years of use.

[jygesq]

My key fob battery lasted aboutv two years. I bought a ten pack of them for $5 from meritline.com. I replaced it my self , 10 second job. Less hassle than going to dealer , cost more in gas to get there than cost of bsttery. I have a spare in the car for next time.

[doug97gxe]

My key fob battery lasted aboutv two years. I bought a ten pack of them for $5 from meritline.com. I replaced it my self , 10 second job. Less hassle than going to dealer , cost more in gas to get there than cost of bsttery. I have a spare in the car for next time.

yes very easy.. i actually flipped the keyfob 5 times looking how to open it my wife grabbed it and popped it open in 5 seconds.. i was embarrased

[hotleadsingergu]

It seems like warranty is getting less and less and prices are going up and up. I am in the same boat. I had to pay for remote batteries for my car and it was only 2 years old with 14K on it. I use to work for a Chevy dealer. They cover EVERYTHING except for true WEAR AND TEAR ITEMS for the base 3yr 36K miles. We would cover batteries and such for the base warranty. I get that the brakes blades and clutch and alignment should be only 12/12. I've been with a few dealers and found that Ford/ Mazda Mitsu and GM all cover batteries under the base warranty. But i guess they are finding ways to cut cost.

Did you ever wonder why Chevy and most American manufacturers were running themselves into the ground for many years? They used to be of the mindset that if they just warranty'd every bit of work customers wanted, they'd continue getting business. The problem was they were throwing money down the drain.

I'd have a hard time believing it's the same now. The reason I migrated away from Ford was because they refused to cover work that I strongly believe should be covered...and my grandfather worked at Ford for 45 years, and he agreed.

Warranty work should be just that: Fixing things that go wrong because of workmanship or defects. In this case, your car is nearly 3x the distance and potentially 3x the age of the period that is covered by the warranty for battery replacement...there's no reason they should cover that.

Also, if you wanted Audi to cover it at all...why would you take it to an independent shop?

[hotleadsingergu]

My key fob battery lasted aboutv two years. I bought a ten pack of them for $5 from meritline.com. I replaced it my self , 10 second job. Less hassle than going to dealer , cost more in gas to get there than cost of bsttery. I have a spare in the car for next time.

This. BTW, hopefully everyone knows this: If the battery in your fob dies, you can still plug it into the dash to start the car. There's still an inductive capacitor of some kind in the fob to get enough charge to use.

[Race Shooter]

On another note here, you also had the battery replaced somewhere else other than an Audi dealership. There is no way that Audi will reimburse you for anything that is not repaired at an Audi dealership. You must have an Audi dealer diagnose and do the work in order for them to cover it under warranty, as it says in their reply to you.

If you had taken it to a dealer, they may have been able to do a good faith replacement for your or at least cover some cost. But by taking it somewhere else, Audi is not going to just believe someone else it was bad and then pay you back for it, even if it was only 2 months old.

[jygesq]

This. BTW, hopefully everyone knows this: If the battery in your fob dies, you can still plug it into the dash to start the car. There's still an inductive capacitor of some kind in the fob to get enough charge to use.

I believe you are talking about the chip built into the key, the battery in the key is not required to start car. Your plastic key used with its carrier from the glove box will start the csr, no key bsttery in it either.

[S4Flyer]

Friend recently purchased a new A4. She got audicare, but also got the next step up, which covers all "wear" items for the duration of the factory warranty. So brakes, belts, and, yes, the battery. Think it cost her an extra $1800 total.

There is a clause in the coverage that says Audi will replace the battery at the owner's discretion once during the term of coverage. The sales guy told her to set a reminder on her calendar, and have the battery replaced just before the factory warranty expires. It does not need to be "bad" to be replaced. It's replaced at her discretion, period. Same for the brakes, should she not drive enough to wear them out during the term of coverage, they will install new pads and rotors at no charge. Not a bad deal for someone who isn't the DIY type.

[chaos2984]

Did you ever wonder why Chevy and most American manufacturers were running themselves into the ground for many years? They used to be of the mindset that if they just warranty'd every bit of work customers wanted, they'd continue getting business. The problem was they were throwing money down the drain.

I'd have a hard time believing it's the same now. The reason I migrated away from Ford was because they refused to cover work that I strongly believe should be covered...and my grandfather worked at Ford for 45 years, and he agreed.

Warranty work should be just that: Fixing things that go wrong because of workmanship or defects. In this case, your car is nearly 3x the distance and potentially 3x the age of the period that is covered by the warranty for battery replacement...there's no reason they should cover that.

Also, if you wanted Audi to cover it at all...why would you take it to an independent shop?

I don't get what your talking about. My car is only 2 1/2 years old and only has 14K miles on it. Unless you talking about the main guy. But i agree with the original guy that a battery should be covered/ last for the base period of the warranty. a car's battery should last atleast 4 years for a quality battery. I have always had good luck with factory Audi batteries. My B7 lasted 6 years.