less than a year old and dead battery?

[jadmt]

I agree. I went through an Optima Red Top every year for 3 years in my Jeep. The only thing good was the free replacement. Maybe Canada gets the good ones still. I switched to Odyssey and had much better luck. I am now running an X2Power battery and it has been great but it is probably less than 2 years old.

nice thing about the X2 power is the warranty is not pro rated and every town has a dealer unlike Odyssey where if the battery fails it is pro rated but most places will not have one available.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

nice thing about the X2 power is the warranty is not pro rated and every town has a dealer unlike Odyssey where if the battery fails it is pro rated but most places will not have one available.

Here there is only one odyssey dealer and no x2 dealer but many optima dealers….. plus up until a couple of years ago when my uncle and father retired from the military i would get the Optimas free as that what the Canadian military runs (or ran its been 3 years since then)

 

[mwalsh9152]

I have heard people say that for the last 10 years but never experienced it They are still great for me i put them in everything i have and never have issues, i just replaced one that was 15 years old from my diesel tow behind compressor

A friend of mine had two fail within a year of each other. Prior one lasted many years.

I agree. I went through an Optima Red Top every year for 3 years in my Jeep. The only thing good was the free replacement. Maybe Canada gets the good ones still. I switched to Odyssey and had much better luck. I am now running an X2Power battery and it has been great but it is probably less than 2 years old.

I'm a fan of Odyssey as well. Granted, I used to get them for about $100 a piece when I worked for the parent company, but they work well. They were actually designed initially for use in tanks, so they are quite vibration resistant. Its too bad that the Diehard Platinum isnt a rebranded Odyssey anymore, because the not available everywhere issue is real.

 

[gimmie11s]

So dropped it off first thing this morning. Service writer said should take a couple of hours. 5 hours later I call get put on hold for 1/2 hour finally hang up. 8 hours later same thing so decided to have wife take me to dealership. Service writer says he will check with the tech to see what is up. Gets off the phone with tech and tells me he still has it on the G8 machine and it is acting wonky and might need a new battery or new alternator or both...WTF. I told him i watch the volt readout all the time when I drive and it has never dropped below 13.9 and usually runs 14.0-14.2 consistently. He said well it should never drop below 14V or that is an indication the alternator is bad..I called my buddy who I new was on his way home in his 2020 pw and asked what his volts were reading he said 13.8V. I told his alternator was faulty he said FU lol. The service writer said they needed to keep it over night hooked up to the G8 to determine what it needed.....Unbelievable.

Another note to myself to never ever ever let the window-licking, crayon-eating BAFOONs at the local dealer touch my truck unless something catastrophic happens like the crank flies out of the bottom of the truck.

Unreal how crappy these guys are.

 

[jadmt]

Here there is only one odyssey dealer and no x2 dealer but many optima dealers….. plus up until a couple of years ago when my uncle and father retired from the military i would get the Optimas free as that what the Canadian military runs (or ran its been 3 years since then)

in the usa battery plus stores are everywhere.

 

[gpattikjr]

I agree. I went through an Optima Red Top every year for 3 years in my Jeep. The only thing good was the free replacement. Maybe Canada gets the good ones still. I switched to Odyssey and had much better luck. I am now running an X2Power battery and it has been great but it is probably less than 2 years old.

Odyssey in the jeep, x2 in the fj. Cant go wrong with either. Deka batteries are good too. Duracell branded batteries from bjs are deka. I think interstates are re stickered dekas.

 

[mwalsh9152]

Odyssey in the jeep, x2 in the fj. Cant go wrong with either. Deka batteries are good too. Duracell branded batteries from bjs are deka. I think interstates are re stickered dekas.

Interstate is made by the former Johnson Controls battery co.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

I like the Duracell AGM batteries they sell at sams club. Bout half the price of a red top and had better luck with them since red tops started sucking

 

[mwalsh9152]

I like the Duracell AGM batteries they sell at sams club. Bout half the price of a red top and had better luck with them since red tops started sucking

The Duracell AGMs are made by Deka. Not sure if they are rebranded, or made to a different spec, but as my #1 competitor, East Penn makes a good battery.

 

[RamCares]

I have a 2020 RAM 3500 with the dual batteries, dual alternators (440 amps) from the factory Snow Chief package. I cannot leave my truck parked 7 days without the batteries being so dead that the key fob won't unlock the doors. No electronics left on. I live about 100 miles from the nearest dealer, and of course, they offer no loaner vehicles and say I likely need to leave it with them a week to replicate the problem. (yes, BS) The truck is less than a year old and under warranty, so I hesitate to waste a lot of my time doing troubleshooting. Is there any way to get it into RAM's documentation that I've had this problem, short of driving to the dealer? Also, some users have talked about a technique to separate the (dual) alternators and batteries such that I could isolate one so it could not be drawn down by a parasitic draw. Any suggestions on how to do this?

Hi @MCV ,
Sorry to hear you are experiencing this, we certainly understand why this would be concerning. If you end up addressing this with your local Ram dealer, please let us know via PM. We'd be more than happy to provide you with an additional layer of assistance for that process.

Rob
Ram Cares

 

[RamCares]

i think you are at the mercy of the dealers..might hit @RamCares up and see if they can help out.

Thank you for the the tag!

Rob
Ram Cares

 

[lovegolf44]

I wrote in the CP4 thread that I now have low-voltage batteries after getting my CP4 replaced via the recall and cant start my truck without a jump. I can't even test the batteries because something's drawing on them even when the truck is off. Checked all inside lights, tailgate light, etc., and nothing's on that I can see. Bringing it back to the dealer because I'm sure I now have two bad batteries now that they've been drawn down so many times.

 

[MCV]

I wrote in the CP4 thread that I now have low-voltage batteries after getting my CP4 replaced via the recall and cant start my truck without a jump. I can't even test the batteries because something's drawing on them even when the truck is off. Checked all inside lights, tailgate light, etc., and nothing's on that I can see. Bringing it back to the dealer because I'm sure I now have two bad batteries now that they've been drawn down so many times.

Lovegolf44, I explained my saga above. The (3rd) dealer did eventually replace one my my batteries (passenger side). They did document an enormous draw, and determined it was coming from the battery itself. Reportedly, as soon as they disconnected the defective battery, the draw ceased. That may be worth checking on yours. I continue to be concerned that the other battery being drawn down to zero a dozen times will have done permanent damage to its capacity, but Stellantis only approved of replacing one. Even though the battery replacement was completed under warranty, my portion of the rental car expenses for the week-long diagnoses far exceeded what it would have cost for me to just replace both batteries out of pocket. The truck has, for now, at least started, which is a welcome improvement. But I have not had an opportunity to let it sit more than 2 days at a time, so can't report a confirmed success. I am encouraged to hear that you were able to get the CP4 recall. All three dealers within 100 miles that I have called continue to tell me there are no parts availabile for this recall, and I was assured I would be contacted as soon as parts are available. I guess I need to be more persistent to work my way up their priority list.

 

[lovegolf44]

Lovegolf44, I explained my saga above. The (3rd) dealer did eventually replace one my my batteries (passenger side). They did document an enormous draw, and determined it was coming from the battery itself. Reportedly, as soon as they disconnected the defective battery, the draw ceased. That may be worth checking on yours. I continue to be concerned that the other battery being drawn down to zero a dozen times will have done permanent damage to its capacity, but Stellantis only approved of replacing one. Even though the battery replacement was completed under warranty, my portion of the rental car expenses for the week-long diagnoses far exceeded what it would have cost for me to just replace both batteries out of pocket. The truck has, for now, at least started, which is a welcome improvement. But I have not had an opportunity to let it sit more than 2 days at a time, so can't report a confirmed success. I am encouraged to hear that you were able to get the CP4 recall. All three dealers within 100 miles that I have called continue to tell me there are no parts availabile for this recall, and I was assured I would be contacted as soon as parts are available. I guess I need to be more persistent to work my way up their priority list.

Well, I'm supposed to drop the truck off today or tomorrow so I'll wait to see what their prognosis is for the battery draw. With the two batteries in parallel, I don't see how one could be good and the other bad but who knows. I hope I have more success at the dealership than you. What a nightmare I'm sure.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Well, I'm supposed to drop the truck off today or tomorrow so I'll wait to see what their prognosis is for the battery draw. With the two batteries in parallel, I don't see how one could be good and the other bad but who knows. I hope I have more success at the dealership than you. What a nightmare I'm sure.

Its very common to have one bad one not very common to have 2 bad ones

 

[lovegolf44]

Its very common to have one bad one not very common to have 2 bad ones

Verdict: Bad battery according to the dealership.

 

[762fmj]

I don't know who makes Mopar batteries but it seems like they've been pretty bad for a few years now. I only got about a year and a half each out of two of them in my Jeep I've seen a lot of complaints in general on the local Mopar fb group.

 

[MCV]

Hi @MCV ,
Sorry to hear you are experiencing this, we certainly understand why this would be concerning. If you end up addressing this with your local Ram dealer, please let us know via PM. We'd be more than happy to provide you with an additional layer of assistance for that process.

Rob
Ram Cares

Rob, it has been two years with randomly dead batteries and trips to 5 different dealers, two of which required me leaving my truck for multiple days for diagnosis. So far, the STAR engineers only authorized replacement of one battery. That improved my situation a bit - I now can start my truck the following day. But it is still dead if I leave the truck parked for a week. Every battery manufacturer I have reached says that drawing a standard lead-acid battery to absolute zero charge and leaving it that way for an extended time does permanent damage to the battery. And that happened at least a dozen times. However, Stellantis would not authorize replacing both batteries. Your colleague Robin is aware that I'm still having problems and her only solution is that I take it back to some dealer and leave it for more diagnosis. It costs me more to rent a car during another week-long diagnosis than it will cost to just purchase two new batteries out of pocket. My plan is to just order two new batteries and pay out of pocket, but I do want to voice my displeasure with how I have been treated, and how Stellantis would rather me sit here with an unreliable vehicle than simply fix the problem.

 

[Redfour5]

2020 Power Wagon has under 9000 miles on it. getting ready to head out to go camping and truck is deader than a door nail. Never had an issue starting before. I jump start it and if fires right up but it will not shift out of park. check engine light is on. I light it run for 20 minutes or so and shut it off. It starts back up under its own power still won't shift into gear. let it run a while longer and shut it off again and let it set a few minutes and it starts and shifts into gear and check engine light stays on for the next 20 miles or so and two stop and starts and then goes off all seems fine. volts are reading 13.9-14.2V cruising down the road. end up driving about 150 miles to camp spot and everything seems normal. This morning jump into leave and dead battery again. Nothing is plugged in no accessories etc. My buddy jumps me and it runs fine and goes into gear no issue this time. Check engine light stays on until I get home and then after two starts goes out. I know batteries can go dead early but this seems really early. Truck does not sit for long periods of time and most trips are long enough not to abuse the battery. Nothing wired, no accessories etc

I had a bad one in a Cherokee died under warranty around 2 years... I tried the repair thing on the battery charger and after a few hours it basically said, Nope not happening, not going to work. But then again, I have an over five year old OEM battery on my Renegade I should have replaced last summer. It finally said no after a single digit night and I was like, oh well, got the goodies out of that one. But, I put it on the repair/recondtion mode and now it acts like new again, so I guess this summer I'll get a new one, but now am tempted to see just how long it will last... Sometimes you just get a bad one I think. And sometimes you get a really really good one...for some reason...

 

[44Dan44]

Rob, it has been two years with randomly dead batteries and trips to 5 different dealers, two of which required me leaving my truck for multiple days for diagnosis. So far, the STAR engineers only authorized replacement of one battery. That improved my situation a bit - I now can start my truck the following day. But it is still dead if I leave the truck parked for a week. Every battery manufacturer I have reached says that drawing a standard lead-acid battery to absolute zero charge and leaving it that way for an extended time does permanent damage to the battery. And that happened at least a dozen times. However, Stellantis would not authorize replacing both batteries. Your colleague Robin is aware that I'm still having problems and her only solution is that I take it back to some dealer and leave it for more diagnosis. It costs me more to rent a car during another week-long diagnosis than it will cost to just purchase two new batteries out of pocket. My plan is to just order two new batteries and pay out of pocket, but I do want to voice my displeasure with how I have been treated, and how Stellantis would rather me sit here with an unreliable vehicle than simply fix the problem.

Jeez, that will really turn you sour on a brand and its dealers. Sorry you have to deal with this, If my vehicle is not reliable, I don't want it, I don't need the hassle and I certainly don't want my wife in her car stranded in downtown D.C. or on the route there and back. Any chance you have better local independent shops that could do the work? I'm sure they have a procedure to get warranty claims paid as well. I think exactly like you, time is money, I'd be better off just getting new batteries out of pocket and being done with it.