I think SEAT have lost the plot?

[motormadmarc]

Hi Guys.
On Saturday morning I was supposed to be taking my wife to see her elderly mother In London. It's about a 270 mile round trip. But when we went outside to leave, my 70 plate Leon 1ltr SE Dynamic would not start. The battery would not turn at all. All I could hear was a clicking sound that I'm guessing was the Solonoid. And to cut a long story short, when the breakdown guy arrived and connected his jump start equipment my car started as It usually does first time. So the next day (Sunday) I decided to risk making the long journey to London and took my wife to see her mother. And thankfully the car started fine to and from London and completed the 270 mile round trip. So surely the battery should have had a full charge from that journey?

But jumping forward to this morning, and even after the car started fine on Monday & Tuesday the car would not start again and the battery was completely flat just as It was on the Saturday.

So this time the breakdown/recovery team sent out a VAG/SEAT roadside assistance guy to sort out the problem rather than the local tow truck guy like on the previous breakdown.

So after some testing he said that I definitely need a new battery and then proceeded to fit one. Now this Is what I don't understand about SEAT. Once the battery had been fitted the technician said that he wasn't sure who would cover the cost of the battery. What do you mean I said? I'm certainly not going to pay for a new battery because It's a lease car.

Anyway, the SEAT technician then proceeded to fit a new battery, spent about 30 minutes on the phone and then left without asking me for any money.

So guys what Is your opinion regarding this battery Issue? I tried to explain to the mechanic that my car had only covered 3k In 10 months and that surely the battery should be covered by the manufacturers 3 year warranty regardless of the mileage. But this according to him was the problem. He reckons that the VAG group are getting very strict where car battery replacements are concerned on new cars. And because I have only covered 3k In 10 months this was the reason why the SEAT admin team probably wouldn't cover the cost of the battery.

So that's where I am at the moment. The car Is up and running again and I'm happy because no money has been spent by us.

So please guys, any opinions that you may have on this battery Issue please feel free to let me hear them. And have any of you guys ever experienced anything like this?

Marc

 

[BoomerBoom]

I've had warranty repairs refused by the manufacturer stating 'driver damage' even though there was no way for the driver to have damaged the part that failed.

So, in this case, they could argue that the lack of use led to the battery being discharged but that shouldn't have then required a new battery - that does sound like like a genuine warranty issue.

Also, the dealer will always sort who is paying before the repair is done, so I'd be surprised if you hear anything more.

 

[RADIOTWO]

Hi Guys.
On Saturday morning I was supposed to be taking my wife to see her elderly mother In London. It's about a 270 mile round trip. But when we went outside to leave, my 70 plate Leon 1ltr SE Dynamic would not start. The battery would not turn at all. All I could hear was a clicking sound that I'm guessing was the Solonoid. And to cut a long story short, when the breakdown guy arrived and connected his jump start equipment my car started as It usually does first time. So the next day (Sunday) I decided to risk making the long journey to London and took my wife to see her mother. And thankfully the car started fine to and from London and completed the 270 mile round trip. So surely the battery should have had a full charge from that journey?

But jumping forward to this morning, and even after the car started fine on Monday & Tuesday the car would not start again and the battery was completely flat just as It was on the Saturday.

So this time the breakdown/recovery team sent out a VAG/SEAT roadside assistance guy to sort out the problem rather than the local tow truck guy like on the previous breakdown.

So after some testing he said that I definitely need a new battery and then proceeded to fit one. Now this Is what I don't understand about SEAT. Once the battery had been fitted the technician said that he wasn't sure who would cover the cost of the battery. What do you mean I said? I'm certainly not going to pay for a new battery because It's a lease car.

Anyway, the SEAT technician then proceeded to fit a new battery, spent about 30 minutes on the phone and then left without asking me for any money.

So guys what Is your opinion regarding this battery Issue? I tried to explain to the mechanic that my car had only covered 3k In 10 months and that surely the battery should be covered by the manufacturers 3 year warranty regardless of the mileage. But this according to him was the problem. He reckons that the VAG group are getting very strict where car battery replacements are concerned on new cars. And because I have only covered 3k In 10 months this was the reason why the SEAT admin team probably wouldn't cover the cost of the battery.

So that's where I am at the moment. The car Is up and running again and I'm happy because no money has been spent by us.

So please guys, any opinions that you may have on this battery Issue please feel free to let me hear them. And have any of you guys ever experienced anything like this?

Marc

Hi Marc
Not the same problems but I found my 19 plate started acting up on the stop/start, it would not stop, so wondered if it was a battery or charge problem, so started testing, the first thing I did a test with a drop test type unit and it came back "charge battery" which I thought was strange, so put my smart charger on over night, next day was fine, then the day after the problem came back, I had checked the charge voltage from the alternator and that was ok so contacted dealer, and said take it in, and got a call to say it need charging ! so said what I had done , so they said leave it over night, about dinner time I got a call to say they were putting a new battery on(no mention of costs) I was then told they had put the wrong battery's on some cars and so thats why they changed it, and not had a problem since ,
But not your problem but just a thought with ref wrong battery and no charge.

 

[motormadmarc]

Thanks for the replies and Info lads