Can anyone help me on this issue? I found out that my battery is dead after i returned from my trip. I am wondering if there is warranty cover for the "Panasonic" battery. And how do i claim it?

Any helps would be greatly appreciated!!!

-Alvatune

 

Is this the OEM battery? If so, then it is under warranty if your under 36k or 3 years.

 

so all i have to do is go to one of the dealer and have them replace my battery??!

-Alvatune

 

Yep, they will replace it for free if your cars still under 36k and 3 years. Just call a dealer up and make an appoitment, let them know the battery is dead and your under warranty.

 

The stock battery isn't that great, especially in cold weather. If you have an autozone or checker where you live, I would take it there and have them test the battery for free. They can tell you if the battery is going out.

 

Man, the dealer wants me to sign a paper before replace the battery for me!!!
They said that they need to do some kind of diagnostic test on the battery before they replace it for me. If there is anything wrong w/ my car and caused the battery malfunction, they will charge me $125 for the stupid diagnostic test, what a wonderful dealer!!!

BTW, this is the respond from Ron Price Subaru, a dealer always 'bull ****' and try to charge you.

I didn't go to Carlson Subaru yet, i would find out if they will do the same thing to me or not. But, from the past experience, this dealer should have a better reputation compare to Ron Price.

Anyone has any comments?

-Al

 

You also have warranty that covers the tow. Hate for you to have your own company tow you or worse, pay for someone to tow it. Is your car stock? If so, then even if there is a malfunction that caused it to go, its not your fault. I

 

They will do a load test on the battery and also check the electrical system in the car. It isn't unreasonable for them to do this, as they need to confirm that the battery actually failed on its own before they go ahead and give you a free replacement under warranty. They may also find that the battery will still take a charge in which case they won't replace it either.
As long as you haven't done any electrical mods or added equipment that would cause the battery to drain, there shouldn't be an issue if the battery does turn out to be bad. However if you are hesitant to proceed because of the possibility that you will be charged for the work, you may want to consider the fact that the OEM battery isn't very good to begin with, and in the long run you'd be better off replacing it on your own anyway.

 

Mulder said it all. If your car is stock you should definately be covered under warranty no matter what the elctrical problem is.

If your modified then it may be better to just go out and buy a better battery for less then the diagnostics charge.

I would do a search on the board and see which dealers people in your area recommend, and give them a call.

 

Actually even if you're stock I'd suggest replacing the battery with something better, especially if you let the car sit occasionally. I replaced mine with a Red-Top Optima after less than a year, not because it failed but because I wasn't happy with the cranking performance in cold weather and decided to replace it premptively. The Optima has much higher cranking capacity than the OEM, can tolerate full discharge without damage, and has better self-discharge characteristics if the car sits.

 

The Optima Group 35 Red-Top is a direct fit in the Subaru battery tray. There are two varieties of this battery, the 35 (sometimes also referred to as a 35R or reverse), and the "universal" 35/75. The 35/75 has both top post and side terminals, and is the one most readily available at stores such as Pep Boys. However although it can be used (I have one), the terminal location requires replacement of the OEM battery-to-starter cable because it will be too short. This isn't really a big deal and it's a cheap part, but the 35 is a better choice because it is a totally drop-in replacement and works with the existing cables.
The 35 Red-Top can be found online for around $100 or less, sorry I don't have a link for you.

 

It's standard procedure for a dealer to make you sign a waiver before they do any warranty work. Don't sweat it. If you're stock and under 3/36, wouldn't you rather have the root cause of the battery failure fixed, if it is something other than a defective battery?

FWIW, my battery lasted about 3.5 years. Battery life depends on a ton of variables such as the distance you typically drive your car, at what rpm's and ambient conditions among other things.

 

My stock battery lasted about 2.5 years and 75k miles.