Dealership Battery Replacement Cost?

[MattK]

2020 Gladiator purchased in May 2020 - I asked my dealer to check my batteries while it was in the shop. They called me today and stated the batteries were "a little weak". They stated to replace both was over 900 dollars.

Is this normal these days? I know it takes some effort to get at the aux and I assume it's half OEM parts cost and half labor probably? (maybe more in labor)


This is not a gripe, just checking. I can easily do the main myself. The Aux will take some sneakiness as I am an apartment dweller and they don't allow us to work on vehicles on their property for good reason I suppose.

I can probably handle it at a friend's house when they have time for me.

However, back to the question at hand. Is this a normal charge these days for a dealership to replace both batteries?

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[Lunentucker]

RUN

 

[Lunentucker]

Bypass the AUX and drop a new main in it. Easy DIY job in under an hour for all of it.

 

[MattK]

RUN

?

Yeah I told them to pass on it. The question is, is this a normal charge at a dealership?

 

[MattK]

Bypass the AUX and drop a new main in it. Easy DIY job in under an hour for all of it.

I'm going to stick to the OEM setup. I just want to understand if this is the normal, everyday cost of the dealership to do this work in the forums experience.

 

[Lunentucker]

Well, gas is over $7.00 in CA now, right?
So in the insane inflated micro-bubble economy of your state, it's probably about normal.

 

[kevman65]

First, that's the OEM batteries, which are hit and miss.
You can get better batteries for less than dealership costs.

Second, for the job it is, the labor rate is too high.

 

[Jefe1018]

Have we lost respect for money with these prices? $900 used to be a mortgage payment when I was growing up.

 

[MattK]

Have we lost respect for money with these prices? $900 used to be a mortgage payment when I was growing up.

I'm an early Gen X guy and yeah. Things are so expensive now, "no one wants to work", (the person at the dealership said they were having a hard time getting people to fill mechanic/tech positions), that I suppose it's a thing now.

Anyway, I'll probably just get a couple Duralast Platinum AGMs from Autozone since they're everywhere and if I ever have issues I can probably throw the auxiliary battery and hit a store location. I'll also pick up a Norco battery charger off Amazon so I can charge them on the apartment balcony until they're ready to be dropped in.

 

[Lunentucker]

Removal and Installation begins on page 17
View attachment ELECTRICAL Battery (Service Information).pdf

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I'm an early Gen X guy and yeah. Things are so expensive now, "no one wants to work", (the person at the dealership said they were having a hard time getting people to fill mechanic/tech positions), that I suppose it's a thing now.

Anyway, I'll probably just get a couple Duralast Platinum AGMs from Autozone since they're everywhere and if I ever have issues I can probably throw the auxiliary battery and hit a store location. I'll also pick up a Norco battery charger off Amazon so I can charge them on the apartment balcony until they're ready to be dropped in.

Get a charger with some capacity - not a wimpy 2 amper. Get something much better.
Also, once the batteries are each fully charged, remove the IBS from the ground cable and from the main battery negative terminal, set it aside, while replacing the batteries.
Remember, the system is still hot even when the main battery is disconnected because the aux battery is still powering some things.

 

[Aj58]

Maybe worth this while you have it all taken apart. Next time you change it will be even easier.

https://www.genesisoffroad.com/2018-jeep-jl-stock-battery-relocation-kit.html

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It's not that hard to begin with, especially at the cost of their system for most owners.

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

9 is a bit steep…. I paid just over $425 for Autozone AGM platinums. So with the dealer rates being $160-210 an hour I wouldn’t be too blown away if they said $7-800. No way I would pay it ??‍ but between labor and materials going sky high for everything.
We pay $18 a gallon for hippy grass fed cow milk ??‍ nothing left to pay the dealer for labor…. ???

 

[Mr._Bill]

?

Yeah I told them to pass on it. The question is, is this a normal charge at a dealership?

Sadly, that is fairly typical. You pay a high price for them to install lower capacity batteries of questionable quality.

The replacement is fairly easy. Be careful to keep the ends of the battery cables isolated during the process. I put a plastic bottle over the end of each one.

If you turn the wheel all the way to the left, you can bend the fender liner back and reach the Aux battery from the bottom. It helps to remove the bolts in the top of the liner, but nothing else needs to come apart. The warmer it is, the easier it is to bend the liner back.

These are the batteries I prefer.

ACDelco Gold 94RAGM (88864542) 36 Month Warranty AGM BCI Group 94R Battery https://a.co/d/9UPDdDG

ACDelco Gold AUX14-200 36 Month Warranty Auxiliary AGM 200 CCA Battery https://a.co/d/9CIOhMv

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