Odyssey Warranty is as worthless as their batteries!!!

[DrGonzo]

First off this is not a stab at STM as I know this is not at all their fault.

So here is the story,

About 6-8 months ago I purchased one of STM small sealed batteries. I was relocating mine behind the rear pass seat and needed a sealed battery. I know Austin has had good success with it so I decided to buy one. Got the battery installed and wired in no problems. Finally got the car running, drove it to BRG2011 and back "12 hours round trip" The battery is strong and never had an issue with the car starting.

Last month I got some engine knock and started to tear into the engine to find the problem. Battery was unhooked as I had to drop the pan to look at the bearings which requires removing the starter. For about a month the car was down doing various repairs and part installs. I finally got everything back together about 2 weeks ago. Hook the battery back up and it's dead...WTF!! Nothing was hooked to the battery for the last month now so why is it dead.

So I put the battery on my digital charger on slow charge and let it charge "8amp" for 12 hours. "This type of charger shuts off when battery is fully charged". Next day I come out to check on it and the battery is 2% completely charged...WTF!! 12 hours and it will only hold like 2 volts. Within 30 min there was no voltage on the battery at all. The damn thing drained itself!!!

OK so the battery is fried for some reason. I called STM and spoke with Brian. He states I need to contact Odyssey directly for the Warranty claim, No Biggie, not the first time I had to contact the manufaturer. For two days I tried calling and finally got through. Lady at the office says I need to call the manufacturing plant to speak to them about the warranty..... and that the warranty has to be processed thought the person I bought it off of!!! OR I can take it to a local dealer "Which there are none around me. Odyssey's website only shows like 5 states that have dealers. Now I'm getting dizzy from the loop I just went and starting to get a little P'd off!!!

So I call Brian back at STM and let him know what Odyssey told me. He calls them for more info on the warranty claim. Here is what I am now told:

1. I have to ship it to STM so they can ship it to Odyssey. I have to pay all shipping!!!

2. The battery is not made for vehicles but motorcycles and snowmobiles!!
If you go to Odyssey's website and click on Auto/LTV the PC680battery is listed there: Odyssey Drycell Car Batteries
If it was not made for auto's then why do they have the option for SAE automotive terminals??

3. Odyssey tells STM that the battery should be on a trickle charge when not in use and stored. Ok, when is unhooking a battery for a month timeframe considered storing the battery??

Design specs from their website

Odyssey design:

• 2 year full warranty
• Rugged Drycell sealed design
• Military grade
• Vibration resistant
• 60% more starting power
• Deep discharge reserve power
• 2 year storage life
• 8-12 year design life
• Can be mounted flat or upright

All bolded items have just been shown to be false in this case.


I am not going to stop fighting this issue as this is total BS. I paid $150.00 for a battery that lasted 6-8 months on a vehicle that is not raced,dragged and barely even driven. I don't have an electrical issue so there is no reason for this battery to be dead.

So right now I have a 5year old Walmart special "Neverstart" Lead-Acid battery sitting in a turkey basting pan "As it leaks when on charge " in the trunk just so I can start my damn car!

I should have just gotten a Braile or a Optima!!!

[IPD]

nice fail. definitely sticking with a yellow top.

[Hans@GZP]

I've never had luck with any expensive battery. I just stick with the cheap ones and replace them every few years. If they die, I just slam them on a charger for a day or 2 and see if it holds a charge. If not, no biggie... just buy another for $40. I've gone through Optima yellow and red tops like candy. Sure, they will warranty them, but it's not worth the hassle. If an Optima dies, it's really hard to bring it back to life.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

i've run a lot of neverstarts in the past. if you don't discharge them completely you can get 5 years out of them. i'm running an autozone gold battery (group 51) and it seems to be good so far. I've killed it 5 or 6 times and it comes back every time.

I don't know what the obsession with fancy batteries is. Good marketing I guess.

[BigTyla]

Fancy batteries are a waste of money IMO. I have no problem with buying mine from good 'ol Wal-Mart.

[green-lantern]

I've had great luck out of my red top Optima. I've drained it several times (this year at BRG) and it's always came back. It takes longer to get it charged up but it takes a long time to drain it.

[Jimvr4]

I'm running a Duralast Gold from Autozone too. My last one was a POS Optima Redtop that died AND leaked all over my batter tray and supports So much for the theory that it's a DRY cell

[green-lantern]

I hear so many people say they have had trouble with their red top (or Optima in general) but I honestly could not be any happier with mine. Love it!

[dbest671]

The 94 has a Diehard Gold, found the receipt for it and it was 7 years old before it finally went. We bought Autozone premium battery which lasted all of 6 months. Read some horror stories with Optimas, so we didn't want one of those. Ended up getting an Interstate and never had an issue. It was one of the first things we bought for the Spyder also. That car can sit for months with no trickle charger and still start right up. I think only once the battery got drained because the door was left opened.

[DrGonzo]

So I got word from Brian at STM. He spoke with Odyssey and come to find out I can take it to any BatteriesPlus store to get it tested and replaced......

So after all of the conversations with Odyssey on the phone they just now disclose this information...WTFH!!!

Major prop's goes to Brian at STM for taking the time to deal with Odyssey and their pain in the ass clueless customer support.

So I'm off to hopefully get this thing exchanged! Wish Me Luck!!!