$1,350 battery replacement?

[RiverMtnBeach]

Let this be a lesson to everyone - don't trust Jeep dealers.
Glenn E. Thomas Jeep in Long Beach, CA just charged me the following to repair a non-op ESS system that left me stranded:

Fuse - $99
Battery x1 - $454
Battery x1 - $240
Push Pin x4 - $31.80
Rivet x4 - $51.20
Labor - $375

I needed it fixed and was in a hurry. Yes, I'm an impatient fool for agreeing to this. Regretting it now. Hey, @JeepCares, does this sound excessive to you?
At this point I feel like there's no other option but public shaming.

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[Lost1wing]

It's the price you have to pay to save the environment. Without ESS, you could have eliminated the Aux battery, rivots and the majority of the labor. Yeah those prices are high but typicle for a dealer. You are lucky they didn’t toss on a $250 diagnostic fee.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Public shaming them or yourself? They don't do work without approval. The main battery is a 5 minute job with a 10mm socket or nut driver. The aux battery is a labor intensive PITA. 2 minutes on the forum and you'd know which fuse to pull (f42 iirc) to bypass it if you were in a hurry and just wanted a functioning Jeep. Labor rates are high everywhere but the dealer is the worst. It's crazy what a new battery costs these days, but at least that $300 is all it cost me on the wife's JLUR on a similar situation.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

It's the price you have to pay to save the environment. Without ESS, you could have eliminated the Aux battery, rivots and the majority of the labor. Yeah those prices are high but typicle for a dealer. You are lucky they didn’t toss on a $250 diagnostic fee.

They tried, LOL. That was the "discount."

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

Public shaming them or yourself? They don't do work without approval. The main battery is a 5 minute job with a 10mm socket or nut driver. The aux battery is a labor intensive PITA. 2 minutes on the forum and you'd know which fuse to pull (f42 iirc) to bypass it if you were in a hurry and just wanted a functioning Jeep. Labor rates are high everywhere but the dealer is the worst. It's crazy what a new battery costs these days, but at least that $300 is all it cost me on the wife's JLUR on a similar situation.

Mainly curious to see what others paid. Was having a bad day, just needed it fixed. And yes, I did agree to it over the phone, but... was kind of expecting a laundry list of stuff for that money, not a couple batteries, a fuse, and a handful of rivets. Hard to think straight after waiting 2 hours for a tow truck, finding someone to tow my trailer home, and then relief to learn it's just the stupid ESS acting up (everything locked up, no power, no cranking, couldn''t get it in neutral, had to put the transfer case in neutral to have a passing Jeep yank the whole rig and trailer to side street.)

 

[Zachanadandy]

Mainly curious to see what others paid. Was having a bad day, just needed it fixed. And yes, I did agree to it over the phone, but... was kind of expecting a laundry list of stuff for that money, not a couple batteries, a fuse, and a handful of rivets. Hard to think straight after waiting 2 hours for a tow truck, finding someone to tow my trailer home, and then relief to learn it's just the stupid ESS acting up (everything locked up, no power, no cranking, couldn''t get it in neutral, had to put the transfer case in neutral to have a passing Jeep yank the whole rig and trailer to side street.)

The aux battery is labor intensive to access. It's a lot of money but that's more an issue with the engineers not the dealer. I haven't bypassed the aux battery on my JT yet, but that's definitely the 1st step for me when there's an electrical issue or the main battery needs replaced. Obviously the dealer can't/ won't offer that option. I apologize for my smart ass wording in the initial post, I'm not good at turning it off.

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

The aux battery is labor intensive to access. It's a lot of money but that's more an issue with the engineers not the dealer. I haven't bypassed the aux battery on my JT yet, but that's definitely the 1st step for me when there's an electrical issue or the main battery needs replaced. Obviously the dealer can't/ won't offer that option. I apologize for my smart ass wording in the initial post, I'm not good at turning it off.

LOL! No worries. It's my default mode as well. Just wish I thought of the ESS when it died on me. I've been using a Tazer to switch that off for so long I forgot the truck had ESS! Towing up mountains and back with lots of high RPMs, no sign of battery issues up until then, and the way it stopped with a clunk and then loud clicking when trying to restart made me think blown engine (I had a Commander that seized up one time). Could have been worse - by far.

 

[FrankFrqnkFrank]

It's the price you have to pay to save the environment. Without ESS, you could have eliminated the Aux battery, rivots and the majority of the labor. Yeah those prices are high but typicle for a dealer. You are lucky they didn’t toss on a $250 diagnostic fee.

we are to the point of not just diminishing returns but negative environmental returns caused by adopting these theoretical-only engine efficiencies

the aggregate of the few ounces of gas VVT will save each of us is more than offset by the aggregate carbon footprint of the cam failures a percentage of us will suffer

I’d imagine the carbon expended by data centers distributing and storing all our comments about the cam issue offsets the aggregate VVT gas savings

 

[RiverMtnBeach]

we are to the point of not just diminishing returns but negative environmental returns caused by adopting these theoretical-only engine efficiencies

the aggregate of the few ounces of gas VVT will save each of us is more than offset by the aggregate carbon footprint of the cam failures a percentage of us will suffer

I’d imagine the carbon expended by data centers distributing and storing all our comments about the cam issue offset the aggregate VVT gas savings

The aux battery that just got tossed for my repair probably offset the environmental benefit of several vehicles having the feature. On that note, I would buy PHEV Gladiator paired with the V6 in a heartbeat, which would have had an immediate benefit to eliminate emissions for most of my driving even with a paltry 20-30 mile range (that's all most people need on a daily basis anyway).

 

[Volt0]

Um, I did both batteries, on both my JTs, and didn’t think it was labor intensive at all. I guess it’s all relative.

it was by no means hours, more like 1 hour. Even if I had used manual ratchets, I don’t think I would have been beyond 90 minutes. In a pinch, I would just head to the local parts store, buy the batteries, buy a socket set and screwdriver set, and just do the work in the parking lot for under $600. There would even be extra to hit the local watering hole on the way home.

 

[Chaos Theory]

Anyone experience trade-in issues after they've dumped the aux battery/disabled ESS? It seems like winches and lifts and all that wouldn't matter, but messing with the innerworkings of the vehicle would create some hesitation on re-sale.

 

[jmr]

Those are dealer prices which are usually very high. At least they didn't charge $100 for shop supplies.

 

[Jaxmax]

Anyone experience trade-in issues after they've dumped the aux battery/disabled ESS? It seems like winches and lifts and all that wouldn't matter, but messing with the innerworkings of the vehicle would create some hesitation on re-sale.

Yes my wife is thinking of trading in her wrangler , and found a real nice low milega e, Hemi powered Wagonner, I did do the basic pull wire off battery and not worry about it , but dealer noted that on trade in price figuring there was a problem with ESS, I tol dthem what I di d, an dI'll swap in a good battery and they were fine, but would have to fix it to sell it if I did not......Jack

 

[Lost1wing]

we are to the point of not just diminishing returns but negative environmental returns caused by adopting these theoretical-only engine efficiencies

the aggregate of the few ounces of gas VVT will save each of us is more than offset by the aggregate carbon footprint of the cam failures a percentage of us will suffer

I’d imagine the carbon expended by data centers distributing and storing all our comments about the cam issue offset the aggregate VVT gas savings

That is still a lot of batteries having to get recycled. Just awesome for the environment. We have to pick our poison. This type of equipment is causing the cost of vehicles to skyrocket. Not just the initial purchase but the maintenance side as well. Some people can barely afford a used car much less a new one with this type of technology. The sad part is, this type of technology is becoming the "used cars" for the people that can't afford to drive it, not to mention repair it. The OP may bitch about the cost, but obviously he can pay the bill. The poor chap in thectrailer park will say " I guess I"ll get it fix in a few months". $1300 is a chunk of change to most.

The people making decisions on our behalf, can afford the initial cost and the upkeep. They are not thinking about the one that just get by.

 

[Hootbro]

Anyone experience trade-in issues after they've dumped the aux battery/disabled ESS? It seems like winches and lifts and all that wouldn't matter, but messing with the innerworkings of the vehicle would create some hesitation on re-sale.

I have traded in two JT's with a full aux battery delete to include cables without issue. Did not hide it but also did not disclose it. To me, it was a mod like anything else that was on it when I traded them in.

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