New car fitted with wrong acid battery

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Angela_Northwich
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Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:49 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai - J11 (2013–2017)

Post by Angela_Northwich »

Hi All. Have never posted on an automotive forum before but really need some advice. I bought a brand new (3 miles on clock) pre registered Qashqai Ntec+ in 2015 but recently have been experiencing battery issues despite the vehicle being in daily use. Yesterday the car wouldn’t start and wouldn’t respond to jump - start, trickle charge etc. Called the AA and it turns out, despite the vehicle being stop start, it’s been fitted with a standard lead acid battery and not the required AGM.

AA man seemed very appalled and has advised me to at least contact the dealership to reclaim my money back (£175 for new battery plus fitting) and to contact a solicitor if no joy as the consequences could apparently have been serious. I have tried doing the former but am being fobbed off and ignored.

Has anyone else had this happen to them and if so did they get their money back? I had a baby last week and don’t particularly relish the prospect of extra stress by going after a dealership - who are denying all knowledge - but at the same time don’t want them “getting away with it.” Car hasn’t been left anywhere else apart from a few hours at another dealership for its first service.

Deleted User 759

Post by Deleted User 759 »

AGM isnt always needed, infact, in the 3 Nissan's I have had with stop start (J11 QQ, K13 2012 Micra and Pulsar), none of them have had AGM, but a lead acid type called EFB. The lead acid EFB battery in my Micra is now 6 years old and showing no signs of expiring any time soon.

Can you confirm exactly what battery is fitted? Even better, a picture!
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Gel
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Location: Thames Valley UK
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai - J11 (2013–2017)

Post by Gel »

Assuming you have serviced at Nissan you automatically have free Nissan Breakdown Service which you should use;
there has been a faulty batch of batteries (Fiamm) which RAC are well versed in, and are authorised by Nissan to replace for free if failing.

However, in your case, who has fitted wrong sort.?
2014-19 J11A-14 1.5dci Ink Blue Tekna owner; now departed for a Mazda CX-5 GT Sport Nav, 2.0L Petrol :D
Angela_Northwich
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2018 11:49 am
Qashqai Model: Mk.2 Qashqai - J11 (2013–2017)

Post by Angela_Northwich »

Hi. Sorry the AA guy took the old battery however I can confirm it was identical to the attached.

8A38848A-CEE9-4FBD-87D2-A4217E66582A.jpeg

Think this is the type you are talking about Gel. I think the problem is that I’m not complaining to an authorised Nissan dealership but a car supermarket business I bought the car from where it was pre-registered in 2015. I should have posted on here before calling the AA for a replacement but I’ll see if I can reclaim at least some of the cost from contacting Nissan directly.
gvmdaddy
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Post by gvmdaddy »

That is the standard battery used in the QQ
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Hound
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Qashqai Model: Still looking for one....

Post by Hound »

Yes, that's the standard Qashqai battery, an Enhanced Flooded type. It's supposed to be able to cope with stop/start but in reality it struggles, and a large batch from 2014-15 failed prematurely, as did mine from my 2015 N-tec+. My dealer wasn't prepared to look at my non-starting car for three weeks; I got the RAC to come out within hours and they immediately replaced the battery with an AGM type (I was lucky there). You would have been covered by Nissan's Roadside Assistance who use the RAC, but unfortunately you called the AA instead. A call to Nissan Customer Services may help to set things right!
Used to have 2015 1.6dCi 130 Xtronic N-tec+ in Gun Metallic
Deleted User 759

Post by Deleted User 759 »

EFB is perfectly capable of supporting modern stop/start cars. Infact, they were specificly designed for such a task and are cheaper than AGM type. The fact that my Micra is a 2012 model still on its original EFB battery today, stop/start is used frequently, as well as a lot of short trips. Nout wrong with them. There were some iffy Fiamm batteries knocking about so it could be the case that your original battery had suffered, but you may have struggled to get a replacment from Nissan being outside of warranty and these items being 'consumable' items. The battery you have posted will more than likley be the original battery to the car.

If anything, AGM might actualy be an incorrect choise for Nissan cars as they may not have the correct type of charging system to look after them properly and you will probably suffer from an early death.

Dont always trust an AA/RAC/other type of road side assistance to give you correct advise. Great as a get you home/destination.... but often giive poor in gving long term advise as at the end of the day they are general mechanics, not specialists!
Deleted User 759

Post by Deleted User 759 »

From Yuasa batteery manuf
https://www.yuasa.co.uk/info/technical/ ... t-warning/
[For the aftermarket replacement of the original equipment battery, IT IS ESSENTIAL to replace batteries with like-for-like technology, i.e. if vehicle is fitted with an original equipment AGM or EFB technology battery, it should be replaced with the recommended Yuasa AGM or EFB battery of equivalent size.
And using Yuasa's battery checker, they will ONLY sell you an EFB rather than upsell an AGM.
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Hound
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Qashqai Model: Still looking for one....

Post by Hound »

I should have said "in reality it can struggle on the QQ, partly due to its charging system". Duncho will tell you all about that.

Knowing that AGMs and EFBs have different characteristics, the RAC man spent some time with laptop and software making sure the parameters of the Bosch battery were matched to the car in the system, so that there'd be no charging issues. Not a job for the average home mechanic!
Used to have 2015 1.6dCi 130 Xtronic N-tec+ in Gun Metallic
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