desert_rat

The truck was built less than two months ago so I know that it wasn't sitting on the lot for a while. But yes, the heat here in Phoenix does kill batteries pretty quickly. Average batteries only last 2-3 years but I go with Deka batteries because I can easily squeeze 5+ years from one of those in this heat. If this happens again, I'll probably just go get a Deka. I shouldn't have to do this for a brand new truck though. I'm hoping the dealer finds the problem and doesn't just hand the truck back saying nothing needed to be done. I'm taking it on a road trip soon and I don't need to be stranded because of dead battery lol.

gn85

A couple people here have said "jump it yourself" and take it in... in most cases, I would agree, but if this thing is brand new (read: under warranty), I may not jump it. I would be ticked to bring it into the dealership only for them to tell me that jump starting it caused a problem.

Can't blame ya for calling roadside assist. It's Ford's problem... let them deal with it.

TexasTexas95

That's not bad then. I understand situations like that where RA brings out an additional battery or you're stuck in a garage without cables. I promise just this one time I wasn't trying to be a dick. Purely curiosity.

Saintango

Most ignorant people will tell you the battery is good because all they see is "volts output." Ofcourse it's good, I just charged the battery. What they don't do (either out of laziness or don't want to lose money by giving you a new one) is check for dead cells.

A.) Use what you pay for
B.) Ford should replace battery no questions asked
C.) Double check for leakers
D.) Try a different brand of battery. I learned that lesson with my Jeep

desert_rat

Fixed! Dealer just called me after having it for 2 days. The battery has 2 bad cells so it wouldn't hold a charge overnight. They replaced it for free under warranty. Good thing I told them to keep it. Stupid kid that looked at it initially hooked up a meter that read 12.6 volts and said it was good. He didn't load test it though, they have real mechanics for that lol. Anybody know who manufactures the batteries for Ford? Are they known for being junk? I know from personal experience on several newer Honda vehicles, that Honda uses cheap batteries for OEM and they last about a year. They are also typically undersized. But I also know that no car manufacturer makes their own batteries so it just depends I guess. This is a little embarrassing that my brand new truck is at the dealer already lol, although I know its not Ford's fault. My coworker has been giving me Sh$% because he drives a dodge ram and brags that its much better and mine sucks because it already broke. However, he has had 3 transmissions at 80,000 miles and thinks that is "Reliable" lol.

eric_hu

If the oem battery is any good there wouldn't be a 3 months 5000km warranty on it... Another thing I found is on my 2011 there's no battery protection on the cigarette lighter plugs only the electronics in the truck gets shut off at low volt.

scap99

Johnson Controls used to make them.

Interstate is the retail brand, I think. OEM branding may be unmarked.

iFord

I've had great success with Interstate batteries. Batteries can be the source of a whole heap of issues!

SkiSmuggs

You can get portable jumper batteries. I take on camping in case my RV trailer battery dies while dry camping. Just make sure you get one big enough to jump the truck. I got a small one at first and it would jump start a friend's Tundra so I got a much bigger one.

Cord

Typically, the best battery that I get is the one that originally came with the truck. Makes sense, that battery was probably only a couple of weeks old when it was installed. There is a date code so you can try reading it, but I remember several years ago Consumer Reports checking the date codes for batteries that were on the shelf and some were well over a year old!