[flipflop]

Unable to vote since I don’t have privileges yet. I’ve always had 2 - 3 cars in my garage. After falling for Amaron advertising - I did go the Amaron way a few times - but Exide is no doubt superior. I have had Exides last me 7-8 years and Amaron usually conks in 3-5 years.

[reskaps]

Let me update you - after multiple rounds of email/phone, Amaron finally replaced the battery free of cost. Happy with the resolution for now. My learnings were
1) Buy from a direct seller of Batteries instead of a reseller. Not sure though - how can we be fully sure about who is direct seller, also how it would work in the case of online sales.
2) Maintain all documents - bills, warranty card
3) As other members suggested, Do the due diligence in terms of service support before buying the battery

thanks
Kapil

[satchit_bhp]

My Honda City Diesel's battery has seen better days, and it's giving me a hard time with long cranks in the morning. So, I'm looking to replace it, and I've heard good things about both SF Sonic and Amaron batteries.Before I make a decision, I'd like to gather some insights from those of you who have experience with either of these battery brands. Please share your thoughts, recommendations, and any personal experiences you've had with SF Sonic or Amaron batteries in your Honda City Diesel.

1. SF Sonic Battery (Cost: ₹5,300)
2. Amaron Battery (Cost: ₹5,700)

[dhruvagarwal]

Does anyone here know if there are any constraints in a car identifying that its battery has reached EOL and needs to be replaced? Technology has evolved so far that we're talking about autonomous driving, but there are no sensors/ tech to tell that a car's battery needs to be replaced soon!

Pondering over this since we were stranded on the highway yesterday, with our entire family by our 2019 Kia Seltos. It refused to start (throwing up an 'Check ABS' message and we're suspecting a weak battery (read: 5 yr old). A simple push start helped us get moving, and it's now driving as if nothing happened.

I wonder what's the line of thought of the manufacturers on this? How does the manufacturer expect everyone to be proactive enough to replace a battery every 4-5 years? Neither did the service centre pick it up/ recommend during the last service (7 months ago), nor did the car throw up any errors.

Makes me wonder if all the innovation in features and gizmos are futile if it leaves me stranded on the road!

Any thoughts on this?

[Kar_Om]

My 2016 Jazz came with SF Sonic battery which gave up after exact 4 years of use in May 2020. Replaced the same with Amaron battery which is still going strong with no signs of issues. Amaron battery costed me around Rs.3300 that time.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by dhruvagarwal

Makes me wonder if all the innovation in features and gizmos are futile if it leaves me stranded on the road!

Any thoughts on this?

You can ask the service centre or any battery shop to check the condition of the battery and they will give you the health report. If you are not doing such check proactively, then incident like failure to crank or long cranks, random MID errors are warnings before battery fails and leaves you stranded. I changed the OE battery of my Seltos after more than 4.5 years, without any second thought when the service centre informed me of one weak cell.

Edit: you can also use an OBD reader to get the crank voltage reading.

[dhruvagarwal]

Originally Posted by ashis89

You can ask the service centre or any battery shop to check the condition of the battery and they will give you the health report. If you are not doing such check proactively, then incident like failure to crank or long cranks, random MID errors are warnings before battery fails and leaves you stranded. I changed the OE battery of my Seltos after more than 4.5 years, without any second thought when the service centre informed me of one weak cell.

Edit: you can also use an OBD reader to get the crank voltage reading.

This is exactly my point. Shouldn't this be a part of the standard service checklist? If it already is, then it must be enforced strictly because it is clearly not. How are the manufacturers/ service centres leaving this to user discretion? What about those who're not as proactive/ aware of this, or will find it difficult to remember?

Yesterday, while we were stranded, my grandfather was very quick to bash Kia for a poor quality product, as against Maruti/ Hondas that have never failed us. Such failures also bring disrepute to the manufacturer albeit because of ignorance.

Besides, how difficult could it be to put a sensor/ some tech to alert the user that their battery will need to be replaced soon? We have so many sensors/ tech already. One more shouldn't make much of a difference right? Or am I missing something?

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by dhruvagarwal

Besides, how difficult could it be to put a sensor/ some tech to alert the user that their battery will need to be replaced soon? We have so many sensors/ tech already. One more shouldn't make much of a difference right? Or am I missing something?

Service centres don’t do it proactively. Not Kia nor Maruti based on my experience. I had asked Kia SC proactively to check it about a year and the health was good (but they were insisting I change the 3.5 yr old good battery). This time I knew the battery would need replacement soon. I sent the car for service without any note about the battery. They checked it themselves and informed me that one of the cells is weak. I got the car back and changed the battery the same evening.

Meanwhile our old WagonR was always serviced at MASS. Yet the battery failed at home about a month post service.

Some cars do give voltage readings on MID and also warn when the voltage is low. However that is not foolproof and owners have still been stranded. I guess it is the battery tech to be blamed and not our cars. They can fail abruptly without any giveaways to the car's sensors.

[dhruvagarwal]

Does anyone know if there's an SOP to check battery voltage?

We're suspecting our battery on our Kia Seltos (read: ~5 yrs old) is dead, because it threw a 'Check ABS' error randomly and refused to start. But on checking the voltage, the Exide dealer said that it's working fine, and that it doesn't require a replacement.

I'm wondering whether it was tested in incorrect conditions. Does anyone here know?

[Acid Burn]

Hi, got my car servicing done today.

I had told the Mahindra service centre that there seemed to be an issue with the cabin light which seemed to turn on after 3-4 attempts. Rest everything seemed fine.

The service guy sent me a battery report saying the battery health is low and needs to be replaced.

I don't use the car much and was wondering if a full replacement is needed or if the battery be saved.

The car was bought in April 2021.

Any help will be appreciated.

[pcpranav]

Originally Posted by Acid Burn

Hi, got my car servicing done today.

I had told the Mahindra service centre that there seemed to be an issue with the cabin light which seemed to turn on after 3-4 attempts. Rest everything seemed fine.

I'm not sure if that cabin light issue is really related to bad battery. Try to open the cabin light, see if there any connection issue, corrosion. Check for symptoms of horn / light output.

Sometime back I had similar issue : rear cabin light only worked after few random attempts. Upon opening the cover found some mild corrosion on the bulb contact area and switch part. Gently cleaned it, sprayed a bit of WD40, and now its just fine.

Next, go to a nearby battery shop and get the battery tested - normally takes 10 minutes and 100 bucks. You can even ask they for an overnight slow charge (costs about 300 bucks) and then test for a report. That way you would have better clarity.

About once a year I get my car's battery checked at nearby Amaron shop, with whom I'm nicely dealing since many years. For my bike & scooter, many a times battery had dies due to long non-usage, and I ask them for either charging or changing, as required.

regards,