Is my under warranty battery dead dead?

I sort of abused my Walmart EverStart Maxx 24F battery. Too many jumps due to forgetting to unplug my iPhone and falling asleep. Too many times using my food warmer pouch without idling the engine. Anyways, roadside assistance guy tried to jump it. Nothing. Not even a clicking sound. He told me it was “dead dead.” It’s still under Walmarts 3 year replacement warranty. Here’s my question, if it was put under a trickle charge, or whatever, for days…might it show enough life for Walmart to deny me? They obviously wouldn’t wait that long. Will they put a stress load meter or whatever and tell me it has a tiny pulse and deny me my warrant free replacement? Some have said they might.

 

the only way you will know for sure is go find out. One Walmart the auto service department closed not enough work. No one liked the service received.

you have checked that another electrical problem is not causing your problem.

Does your I phone draw that much current ?? I have an android work phone it lives plugged in from Friday early afternoon to 0700 Monday with no problems. How much current does your food warmer draw??

So you are draining your battery to the point the vehicle does not crank all the time.

Possible the battery has sulfated and shorted out.

Sounds like the battery was never right from the start

 

IME the people at Walmart don't give a shit and wont hassle exchanging it

 

How would they know what u did with it. Bring it in, say it’s dead and want to warranty it. Keep it simple.

 

Put booster cables on with another truck.... sit back and let it charge it for 5 minutes (or a lot more if it's a small vehicle trying to boost you).... then try to start it.

Completely dead batteries can still be brought back to life.... battery booster packs have great difficulty getting them going though as it needs some amount of charge for the safety features to acknowledge it's hooked up correctly.

 

In other words…I’m getting another Everstart Maxx for free. I don’t see otherwise, even tho I abused it. A gal with clout told me she’ll handle it. Cool. Naturally I’ll not abuse it this time. No falling asleep with my phone charging and using my food pouch warmer going unless I’m idling my engine. BTW, Walmart can look up your warranty info just by the buy date, no receipt needed. The date of purchase is what they lookup because of the batterie’s serial number associated with that purchase date.

 

You are making this harder than it needs to be.

Quit asking everyone's opinions, as they don't matter.

Read your warranty papers, follow the instructions on how to make a claim and do that.

To keep from being stuck somewhere in the future, learn how to not kill your battery. And/or find out the real problem with your truck. Because it's doubtful a charging iphone is it. I mean my outlets power down when the truck is off. Thinking yours should too.

 

My plan exactly. I was stranded. Most roadside assistance tow truck drivers give you one choice…an Interstate battery costing $259. WOW. Thanks, but no thanks. Most with money to burn say…alright. Not me gdamnit! I got my bro to get me mobile buying a $59 Walmart battery to get me to their store where I’ll prove my case for a free Everstart Maxx replacement.
Are $259 Interstate batteries that good? Seems every roadside assistance guy has that and that only. “Take it or leave it.” You’d be surprised how many take it. I can’t afford that! Nothing a bit less expensive? Nope says the guy. My battery was totally dead dead.

 

I don't think interstate batteries are what they used to be...at least not the ones that I buy from Costco.

 

Now if I was 1000 miles from Home I would suck up the offered battery

Unless I could see a place to buy a battery I could walk to. Though carrying a battery even 1/2 a mile would get old fast.

 

Glad I'm not the only one thinking this.

 

Just read my warranty papers? Okie dokie. Why would I revive a battery unable to any longer take a charge with some poured in chemicals. The big display sign at the Walmart battery shelf states “3 YEAR WARRANTY REPLACEMENT.” With the battery in a shopping cart, the cashier scanned my battery’s bar codes. Out came a little printed sticker that read “The replacement date for this battery expired on March 11 2021.” So much for “reading warranty papers.” It was bought March 11 2020. I was under the 3 year replacement mark by 4 months. I stood my ground and got another EverStart Maxx for free. Reading Walmart reviews, others stated they were only given prorated refunds for their “dead dead” batteries and accepted that BS. Hence my having made the original post. Tuff if it’s not up to your snuff. Yes, I abused my battery and have wised up. So…excuse me Mr. brain police.

 

Yes, but reconsider if what you're doing is taking advantage of this by trying to warranty a battery that was abused.

 

Lots of places advertise a warranty, most state x number of years. The fine print in your warranty paperwork will most likely state that it is free replacement for the first year, every year after that, you will be charged a prorated amount. That amount increases every year the battery ages, up to the x number advertised. You stood your ground and got a free battery, so take the win.
Though I have seen brand new batteries off the shelf be no good at all.

I can literally go on and on about automotive batteries and which one I buy, but none of that really matters. There are a lot of variables going on in your current situation. It’s possible that the battery was was the root cause of your problem, but it’s also possible that it wasn’t. Only time will tell now, just see how things go with the new battery. I’m fairly sure that’s what the other members were trying to explain with all the comments and questions. There is a lot of experienced people on this forum, and automotive batteries is sort of a rabbit hole topic. How far down do you wanna go?

I honestly don’t think there is any possible way under the sun to “abuse” a battery. Unless you’re talking about changing the electrolyte with something else, and that could end with you in the hospital. The worst possible thing for a battery is to let it sit, unused. Some people say the clock is ticking whether you use the battery or not. Most professionals will probably agree that exercising the the battery through its recommended state of charge often can actually prolong the life of the battery.

Keeping to your situation and truck in question, the root cause of your no start condition could be a number of things going from the battery to a parasitic draw, to high resistance somewhere else in the starting circuit, including the starter.

In my professional career the longest lasting battery I’ve ever seen was a motorcraft group 65 FLA battery installed by the factory in a Ford F-150. According to the build date of the truck, the battery was just shy of being 10 years old when it was replaced. It would still start the truck during the day, but wouldn’t handle an overnight cold soak.

Do a little research before purchasing your next battery, they are not all the same, and the warranty varies.

 

You asked, they answered. Tacoma World and your local Walmart's service desk don't exactly have a secret communication hotline with each other. So take the battery and your questions to them if you want to know for sure.

And for future reference, starting batteries really don't like to discharge below 80% of their fully charged state. Degradation of the plates (sulfation) accelerates with lower charge states. The degradation gets really bad below the 20% mark, which is where most lead acids are considered to be "fully discharged." It doesn't take many full discharges to thrash a battery. It's a cheap part, all things considered. Live and learn.

 

>>It's a cheap part, all things considered. Live and learn.<<

In 1962 I had to buy a new 12-volt battery from Sears. Came with a 4-year or so warranty. It was one of those long and narrow batteries often found in vintage 1953-1955 GM cars, and it cost me $32. Yikes!!!

Since then, the cost of living has risen by an average factor of 10-12. Meaning that the same battery would today cost around $300. So yes, you're right. It is a cheap part.

 

Walmart is going to exchange it. Its very rare they wouldnt.

thats what a warraty is for I wouldnt sweat it..

 

I erred on asking for opinions on a stores battery return policy for a completely dead unable to hold a charge battery. There are too many variables. Sorry for opening such a can of worms.

There are two kinds of dead batteries, if I may, as it pertains to a stores “warranty.” One I refer to as “dead” the other I refer to as “dead dead.” A “dead” battery may be one that holds enough charge but not be able to sufficiently crank an engine over, but might be denied a replacement. A “dead dead” battery on the other hand has no capability whatsoever to ever again hold a charge. Long story short, some with a “dead dead” battery were still denied a free replacement when under 3 years. Walmart tried to do that with me. My original post was basically…” I ain’t having any of that bullshit.” They yielded.
P.S. like I said…a small printout came forth from Walmart’s cash register that read..”The end date to have a warranty replacement was March 11 2021.” Huh? Wha?. (I purchased 3-11-2020). A minor error on Walmarts part? Companies make untold millions with such “innocent” errors. Sheep accept it.

Again sorry for the tirade. (“Alright already, what else is new”?).

 

Too late. At this point you’re going to have to part out the truck to compensate.

Or just go get a battery.

 

Funny!
I got a new Walmart EverStart Maxx for free. 4 months under the deadline. BTW, their new ones have no caps to check the water level. My old EverStart Maxx had caps but never had any fluid loss.