Can discharging a 10-month-old battery kill it?

[Platonic Solid]

My son, who’s away at college, left his parking lights on and completely discharged a battery that was replaced 10 months ago. He called AAA, who jumped his car and tested the battery claiming that it was no good and should be replaced. Unfortunately, my son, who has never expressed much desire to learn about cars, agreed to let the AAA guy replace the battery at a cost of $108 !!!!

So the question remains - Can completely discharging a 10-month-old battery prevent it from retaining a full charge?

 

[D.Hearne]

No, they're full of it. Unless the battery was defective to start with. I'd make em hand over the discharged battery before paying the bill. If they don't, that's a "sure as ****" tell tale that they've scamed you.

 

[Gailahan]

Did he jump the car before or after he changed the battery? If the battery was bad the car would not jump start.

 

[10secgoal]

Hahaha. You can't tell if a battery is bad unless a load test is performed on a full charge. How did the AAA guy fully charge it on the scene ? Talk to AAA directly.

 

[Platonic Solid]

I thought as much, but wanted some confirmation before calling AAA and reaming them a new one.

Thanks guys.

 

[ron67fb]

The AAA guy is most likely from a contracted tow company, not a AAA employee himself. They range from honest, well trained pros to bottom of the barrel hole-in-the-wall shop employees looking for a quick buck. Chances are the battery cost half that, and he pocketed the rest as well as the money he got from selling the "bad" battery.

Now for the battery part. In my experience, any battery that has been run down completely will no longer hold a charge as well as one that has not. It may not matter in a daily driver but for a car not driven often you will notice the difference. Our 95 Escort that beeped and buzzed if you left anything on had the factory Motorcraft battery in it until we sold it last year. My 89 Mercury had an 8+ year old battery in it until the clutch died and we parked it until it drained, probably because of the dash clock. Jumped it, drove the car and once it was shut off the battery had zero power. Same experience with my Mustang which goes through a new battery almost every other year due to me letting it run down when it isn't driven. A battery tender is next on my list.

 

[CraigMBA]

I have a customer who had a AAA recoginzed auto repair facility (one of only about 10 in Southern California) three years ago. I write "had" because he dropped the AAA affilliation two years ago over this exact issue, among a couple of other things.

They are selling parts in the field and not doing the appropriate diagnostic work. They don't see any problems as "they are providing a service to the member." Uh huh.

 

[Platonic Solid]

The previous battery was installed 10 months ago at the Ford Dealer in East Syracuse, so I have the paperwork to prove it. Plus it was/is still under warrantee!

I’ve emailed a letter to AAA customer service, stating that I expect an immediate full refund for the battery or I will not be renewing my policy.

 

[CraigMBA]

Not to be a buttinski here, but.......if it were me.........

I would place a call to your local AAA contact, and politely explain your dissatisfaction with their 'battery program' and the lack of professionalism of thier retained staff. I'd explain that you'd like to be reimbursed. And I'd be very polite.

I think you'll make better headway this way than by email. Good luck.

 

[suki243]

I'm not sure about any other accounts, but recently my younger brother left the stereo on in my parent's '05, we had to call AAA to jump it, the guy came and jumped it and said go home, and go buy a new battery... We didn't buy a new battery and it runs perfectly.
Do they just say that everytime?

 

[ForceFed70]

Completely discharging a 10 month old battery can ruin it, but it's not very common.

Also, there are ways to tell if a battery is bad without doing a load test on a fully charged battery. Often what will happen (especially after a battery has been fully discharged) is that there is 1 or more cells become shorted. With a battery condition tester, you can diagnose this on a completely dead battery. When I took my last battery back for warrenty that is what they did... told me that they'd have to charge for 24hrs than test before warrenty. But when they hooked up the equipment it failed the initial test and they replaced it right away instead of waiting the 24hrs. And this was at Walmart of all places...

 

[Platonic Solid]

Here is the battery test report that AAA faxed to me today. They said they no longer have the battery and suggest I talk to the Ford Dealer that installed the previous battery 10 months ago.

 

[CraigMBA]

If they have paperwork, you're fighting a losing battle.

It's a hundred bucks gone, but it could be worse.

 

[Platonic Solid]

Yeah, I realize that I’m screwed. (Not that I’m entirely sure exactly what I’m looking at with the above pictured figures). I doubt complaining to the Ford dealer, who installed the previous battery, would be very productive since I don’t have the battery to return to them.

On the positive side (sort of), the AAA battery is guaranteed for 6 years (3 years 100% replacement, then 3 years prorated replacement). Hmmm, I wonder if that guarantee remains valid if I discontinue my membership (I bet not).

 

[69gmachine]

I would think long and hard before cancelling the AAA membership. It's road insurance. If you're in trouble far from home, they will rescue you, and usually in a short time.

The battery I have now was completely drained only a few months after I bought it (d'oh! stupid me). I was not able to charge it at home, but when I took it back to the place where I bought it, they managed to revive it over night. It has never held a good charge since. If I let it sit overnight, I have to put it on the charger to get it to crank over the next morning. Since it's not a daily driver, this has been tolerable, but I will replace the battery before I get back on the road again.