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I purchased a Bosch car battery with a 36 month free replacement in 01/2009. When I purchaed the battery at the PEPBOYS in Salem, NH, they did a Prostart Complete starting system test and said it was all was OK.

After a short period of time after I purchased the battery the car would not start if unused for 2 weeks or longer. I would have to use a battery charger to charage the battery each time I used the car if it sat for longer than 2 weeks. This got to be annoying so In 10/2011 (withing the 3 yr replacement) I brought the car to PEPBOYS for a new battery. I was told the problem was not the battery, and it was common that a vehicle would not start after sittiling idle for 2 weeks.

I was charged $16.18 for a "Prostart Starting/Charging system test) that did not show any problem with the car's charging system. They said the problem was not the battery and they would not replace it. I never had this problem before I got the Bosch battery and now it looses its charge and will not start if the car sits longer than two weeks. I was basically called a LIAR by the service representative.

I have never experienced a case in my 50 years of owning a vehicle that a vehicle with a "good" battery would not start if sitting for 2 weeks. I have left vehicles for months that would start when needed. Prior to the new Bosch battery the vehicle always started, even if left for extended period of time.

I know the vehicle and I know its the battery and not the vehicle. Roger Duhamel, Salem, NH.

Location: Salem, New Hampshire

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Guest

I have the same problem with a bosch Battery,Same thing here,these batteries are junk, absolutely junk.Demand a replacement with a different name brand they sell.Dont settle for anything less

Guest

You could have whatโ€™s known as a โ€œparasitic drawโ€, causing the battery to drain while sitting... or the battery has developed a bad cell.

Just take the battery after itโ€™s dead out of the vehicle and take it up by itself and ask to swap it out under warranty...

tell them youโ€™ve charged it multiple times and it wonโ€™t hold the charge... theyโ€™ll swap it

Guest

I hear ya my battery works after not starting it for months at s time also. Pep boys should have replaced the battery and gave the man his 17.00 back for s pro start

Guest

Garbage product and lasts 8 mo if lucky- i am on my 5th one but last as the pep boys *** do not care or know its crap

Guest

I was on my third Bosch battery in 4 years, the last 2 replaced under warranty. The most recent one lasted a few months.

I went to a different auto store and bought a different brand. They tested my systems and found no problems, just the dead Bosch battery.

Guest

I have had my Bosch car battery since April 2017 and it will not hold a charge. If it sits idle for 1 and a half days it has to be jump started. I also purchased it at Pep Boys and they would not even look at it without my receipt.

Guest

I also got a bosch premium battery at pepboys 2 years ago, and it is almost dead. I was wondering how its 3-year replacement warranty works, and googled to find this article.

well..

maybe it is normal for bosch premium battery to last only 2 years.. then what's the 3-year warranty for?!

Guest

I am having the same issue. Replaced battery with a Bosch in Sept '15.

All was good till month ago. Car wouldn't start. Jump started and went back to Pep Boys. They tested and said battery was bad and replaced it, no charge.

Had to go out of town on business and the car sat for 10 days. Would not start. Back to Pep boys again. They said battery was good but low charge.

They tested alternator and checked for parasitic draw which both were OK.

Told me to disconnect the battery if I am not using the car for over a week.

Total JUNK!

Guest

God it's so true.. your story is very similar to mine.

The vehicles that are not getting started every day is loosing the power to supply the enough charge to starter, especially in cold day this problem gets worse. I got my bosch premium batteries replaced two times already.

Since it was under warranty they replaced it free of charge. But, these batteries are TYPICAL CHINESE, they are meant not to last.

Guest

My car is a 2004 BMW. Battery is a 4 year old Exide.

It sits from December until March every year, no charger and starts perfectly.

No modern car should have any problem starting even if sitting for a couple months on a good battery unless there is something wrong with the car. I'd return every battery until I got one that worked as expected or get a refund and buy another brand.

Guest

Went through 3 Bosch batteries same problem luckily 3yr warranty every time the car sat for a few weeks I had to charge it. Finally forth battery is a charm no problems since...always looking fpr a warranty from now on though

Guest

I agree with Bob. I work at AutoZone and a lot of the times it is not the battery's fault. It all depends on what car you have it in, where you live, and the car's condition.

Guest

Roger, I hope your new battery solved the problem, but it could be your car. Years ago when you turned your car off, it was off.

but now there is a constant drain on the batteries. Computer, radio memory,alarm systems etc. If when ign.

off you connect battery and there is a spark, something is drawing a current. This could be the problem.

Guest

I will never use pepboys again. I brought my car there to check the battery because i noticed the lights flicker when i turned it on.

They replaced the battery.

I drove 10 min down the road ran into a store and when i came out a 1/2hr later the car was dead! All the mechanics looked miserable, moved like snails and even worse was when one of the mechanics came out of a charger and i realized he was the *** flying down the road and almost hit the car in front of me on the highway as he was speeding and weaving between cars in traffic.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-750936

Same thing happened to me

Guest

This is how battery-powered vehicles work. You think that is bad?

My motorcycle would not be able to start if I let it sit for more than 6 days. Now it obviously depends on the quality of the car.

My neighbor's Mercedes can sit for about a month without dying, but 2 weeks is the absolute maximum for my truck (less than that if in very cold weather). Try learning something about cars before calling someone a scammer, you dumb ***.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-686574

My friend. I can assure based on what you just wrote.

You are the most uninformed, uneducated person to post. If your truck won't start after 2 weeks of sitting, your batteries @! $/ or your truck is s#$#. I have an sl mercedes I can start after a year of sitting.

Probably because I know what to buy and how to care for it.

You love to clown on people who are obviously smarter then you. Go drive your truck lest it die...it's been almost 2 weeks.

Guest

The problem is with Bosch batteries, period!

My Pep Boys location here in Tempe, AZ has been very cooperative in replacing mine in two vehicles. The first failed Bosch was manufacture dated July, 2012, and failed suddenly after the vehicle was sitting for about two weeks, even though I was starting it up an running the engine for 5-10 minutes every day.

I am now on the fourth battery for the same vehicle, if you include the brand new one that failed directly off the shelf in the store. When the battery in my second vehicle died, it tested bad in the store, even after using two different testers, and the next two off the shelf were also bad. To cut my losses, I went with a Prostart 2 yr warranted battery, for which the store issued me a credit for the price difference. It is worth noting both vehicles were electrically tested by an independent specialist, and passed all tests.

In both cases the batteries failed after as little as one day of inactivity. Bosch is generally a most reliable company, and this problem seems to be focused on quality issues with the plant in Mexico where they are manufactured.

Guest

was the guy's name Butch? he is the service manager there...he's a real winner

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-397822

I resemble that remark

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