The technicians have agreed to change the battery under warranty this time.
BHPian jono213 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hey there!
So a short little intro, we have 2 cars: A 2017 VX petrol Honda City and a new-gen 2020 EX petrol Creta, the latter of which this article is about.
It all started on the 12th of Jan, when the driver took the car out to pick up a relative, got a call from him saying the car wouldn't start, puzzled, I went down to the garage and attempted to start it myself but all I got were consecutive clicking sounds from the engine. Until now the car had been absolutely blissful, even though it was the starting EX variant, noise levels inside the cabin and general comfort was top class, anyways coming back to the issue, made the decision to phone up Hyundai Roadside Assistance and got connected to one of their reps, explained to him the issue and he assured me that one of their assistant mechanic partners would be at my location in about an hour, which was fine with me.
The mechanic arrived on time an hour later and fiddled around with his battery tester and determined that the battery was out of juice, having made this assumption myself I wasn't really surprised, he then jumpstarted the car and told us to leave it on for about 30 minutes so we could drive it to a battery retail shop to get it replaced, the mechanic was very professional, troubleshot every possible cause to rule any other issue out, he even recommended to us what battery to buy and having been paid his dues, he left. (couldn't take any photos because making this post hadn't come to mind yet)
Now this is where things start to get a little sticky, dad phoned up the showroom to ask to get the battery replaced since it was still under warranty and their manager told us to get the car to the location, now since I had classes to attend, the driver took the car there. Once all formalities were done, the manager told my dad that instead of replacing the battery, they would recharge it and it would work for a little longer (a detail I hadn't known until the car was back) and my dad agreed to this compromise but I wasn't really sold on this entire compromise and it seemed a little suspicious to me.
So fast-forward to today and the car hadn't been used for the past 5 days since the driver caught covid and since my dad drives the city usually, it was left untouched in the parking (except for the usual start of the engine). I was cleaning the car and just decided to start it up for no reason whatsoever but what I got was a very weak, strangled start of the engine, a little bit alarmed, I tried it again and this time it just went blank.
No response from the engine and my subconscious was laughing at me since I did predict this would happen, I called my dad downstairs, he tried starting the engine but no response whatsoever, he then phoned up the manager again and asked him why this was happening if they had just recharged the battery and had assured him it would last for about 6-7 months.
I'm not going to make any accusations whatsoever about the dealership, neither am I going to reveal which one it is, but this issue just shows how willing reps are to cut costs, since there was still 6 months on the warranty, they would've had to replace the battery in its entirety but they convinced my dad that this was the better option, and what I told him that day came to pass and as expected the car isn't starting up again.
The manager told us that he would duly dispatch their technician again tomorrow morning and assured us that the battery would be changed under warranty this time, so fingers crossed I guess. I will update this thread tomorrow, along with a little more content and pictures but this will suffice for now.
Here's what BHPian Akshay6988 had to say on the matter:
I'm surprised to see battery failure this earlier on a base variant of Creta. My Creta stays idle for nearly 10 - 15 days at a stretch, and I've never faced any starting issue, touchwood. Perhaps is there any aftermarket accessory (dashcam) that is draining the battery when the car is parked? Make sure you are present when the showroom guys change the battery!
Here's what BHPian SS-Traveller had to say on the matter:
Ask the dealer / RSA mechanic to use a multimeter and check for unusual current discharge or short circuit that is draining the battery. Anything above 300mA in a new car would indicate some current leakage somewhere. He can then isolate the culprit circuit by pulling the fuses one by one, and checking if the current drain stops.
It would be very unusual for a 1-year-old battery to fail and need replacement.
Here's what BHPian Indian2003 had to say on the matter:
Why did you start the car occasionally when the car was parked for 5 days? It takes some kilometres to put the charge back into the battery every time you start the car. Just starting the car without driving with a weak battery is asking for it to be discharged. I leave my car for weeks sometimes without starting. Last time for 2 weeks at the airport in sub-zero temperatures.
From what I read, you need a new battery. I don't think it is a manufacturing fault but rather your driving style and lack of maintenance. A trickle charger is a must when you do only short trips. Get one and use it and your battery problems will go. A car battery is not a fit and forget component.
If a battery is allowed to drop below 50%, it starts to die and if left discharged will never wake up again. You will be able to jump-start the car but it will never keep any charge.
Every time I start my car, I drive 20 km to work and once more to get home. A month ago my car was charged to 100% and today it showed 50% and is now connected to a trickle charger.
A charger is so cheap these days and many come with a plug to attach to the starter battery and are very easy to connect.
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