Full service/battery check query....

terrydel

Would a full/major service generally always include checking the condition of the battery?

My brother recently left his car in for its 150k full service, and when he got it back it was having trouble starting, taking 2 or 3 attempts immediately after a 250km drive. This had never happened before in over 4 years owning it.

They had changed the ignition switch during the service which made the difficulty starting even more surprising.

He is out of the country now for a few weeks, so I took the car back to the dealership for him. Turns out after inspection, that a cell in the battery is dead and it needs replacing at €170. My brother is livid! He thinks this should have arisen during the full service. I'd agree, tho I am not sure as I'm no car expert.

This is not the first time this dealer has missed something and left him out of pocket. He is not happy about it.

Any opinions/advice greatly appreciated.

pete4130

A cell for €170? What car? How old? How old is the battery? Price a new battery for it because €170 seems steep.

terrydel

pete4130 wrote: »

A cell for €170? What car? How old? How old is the battery? Price a new battery for it because €170 seems steep.

€170 for a new battery.
Could they simply replace the dead cell? Sorry, not something I have any knowledge of.

terrydel

OSI wrote: »

The whole battery will need replacing, they aren't serviceable anymore. If the car is starting well when they get it into the garage they won't be looking for a worn battery. They might advise you based on age, but if you only dropped it in for the service, they're not going to spend half the day testing every single individual component of the car.

What's the car and engine, you'll likely get the battery cheaper elsewhere.

Cheers. Its an 07 Saab 9-3, 2.0 turbo petrol.
My point is that would a battery check not be a standard check in a major/full service, so it should have been diagnosed then?

vandriver

How is he out of pocket though?
There is nothing done on a service that can improve a battery.

Del2005

terrydel wrote: »

Cheers. Its an 07 Saab 9-3, 2.0 turbo petrol.
My point is that would a battery check not be a standard check in a major/full service, so it should have been diagnosed then?

If the car starts easy then generally that means that the battery is OK. What difference does it make if they checked the battery in the service or not he'd still need a new battery?

terrydel

Del2005 wrote: »

If the car starts easy then generally that means that the battery is OK. What difference does it make if they checked the battery in the service or not he'd still need a new battery?

I understand that. The question is simply how come it didn't show up in a full, comprehensive service? That's all I'm enquiring about.

He got an ignition switch changed and all of a sudden the car had problems starting, and on further inspection they are saying the battery is goosed. So just wondering how this didn't show first time round.

TheBody

You said he got the ignition changed. What was the reason for this? Perhaps the faulty ignition was the cause of the battery giving up. Maybe it only needs a good charge.

I'd try that first as it won't cost you anything if you can get the loan of a charger.

terrydel

TheBody wrote: »

You said he got the ignition changed. What was the reason for this? Perhaps the faulty ignition was the cause of the battery giving up. Maybe it only needs a good charge.

I'd try that first as it won't cost you anything if you can get the loan of a charger.

I don't know exactly why that was changed, I think a warning light was showing that it was faulty.

They've said that a cell in the battery is dead and the battery needs replacing.

I'm just asking how come they didn't spot this during the initial service? I'd have thought a full service might well include this, as pat of a diagnostic check maybe? I don't know.

Kimbot

terrydel wrote: »

I understand that. The question is simply how come it didn't show up in a full, comprehensive service? That's all I'm enquiring about.

He got an ignition switch changed and all of a sudden the car had problems starting, and on further inspection they are saying the battery is goosed. So just wondering how this didn't show first time round.

A battery test will only be done if there is symptoms of power issues, the car was in for a service, normally services are Oil, oil filter, air filter, coolant, brake fluid, tyres etc but never a battery unless you specifically ask them.

REXER

If the ignition was changed, they would have had to disconnect the battery for the work. Just perhaps they didn't reconnect it properly so there is a high resistance on one of the terminals?

Battery started off fully charged, but over time has run down and is not being fully charged.

A diligent mechanic/garage would perhaps load test a battery in a car 5+ years of age heading into the winter months if the battery looked factory. Of course many folk would than suspect/query the conincidence of this extra issue at service time so many more mechanics/garages wouldn't bother.

ironclaw

Battery would be extremely hard to diagnose in a single service. You're generally going to notice a dip in the voltage when the engine is of, even after a good long run (11.5 ~ 11.3 volts or lower) Again, this would be dependent on the use of the car up to this point and even the ambient air temperature. Batteries hate the cold. Its an issue that generally starts small (One or two mis-starts a week) and gradually becomes an issue (Cranky start each time, internal clock starts to go a little wonky) The ignition switch issue may have masked it and the colder mornings may not necessarily help.

€170 is very expensive however, its not that hard to change yourself and would probably cost half that. You have to change the entire battery however, you can't replace a cell as a single entity. The garage is not to blame in this instance, a battery could last 10 years or two, its a consumable item without a defined shelf / service life. Part and parcel of car ownership. To view it another way, its probably the only part of the car you are going to replace once in its lifetime, so cost-wise its negligible.

terrydel

ironclaw wrote: »

Battery would be extremely hard to diagnose in a single service. You're generally going to notice a dip in the voltage when the engine is of, even after a good long run (11.5 ~ 11.3 volts or lower) Again, this would be dependent on the use of the car up to this point and even the ambient air temperature. Batteries hate the cold. Its an issue that generally starts small (One or two mis-starts a week) and gradually becomes an issue (Cranky start each time, internal clock starts to go a little wonky) The ignition switch issue may have masked it and the colder mornings may not necessarily help.

€170 is very expensive however, its not that hard to change yourself and would probably cost half that. You have to change the entire battery however, you can't replace a cell as a single entity. The garage is not to blame in this instance, a battery could last 10 years or two, its a consumable item without a defined shelf / service life. Part and parcel of car ownership. To view it another way, its probably the only part of the car you are going to replace once in its lifetime, so cost-wise its negligible.

Cheers.
The only reason he decided to bring it back in was that the car has always started first turn, and it seemed strange that following an ignition switch change, it was now having problems starting. The start problems first showed very soon after a drive from Dublin - Galway. The car is used regularly for that type of drive at weekends, and all thru the week for shorter commutes.

It seems from the responses here that a check of the battery condition would not be standard in a full service, and that's fair enough, that was my only question really.
Just a coincidence then that's its started to give trouble following the service and ignition switch change.

robtri

micksgarage is selling batteries for 2007 Saab 9-3 2.0t starting at €99...

Cerco

The alarm may have been caused by a dying battery. Perhaps the ignition switch did not need changing after all. There is no way of knowing that now. You have no option other than to get a new battery.
You can then be assured of easy starting come winter.