Dealership Battery Replacement Cost?

[ShadowsPapa]

$200 ish for batteries, 20 minutes of time. Do it yourself if you know how to spin a socket.

200? For two quality batteries? I pay over 150 for a single battery for my cars and it was almost 60 for a walmart battery for my John Deere lawn tractor.
200 is a bit questionable for me as far as getting 2 quality batteries.

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[ShadowsPapa]

They had to put a new aux battery in my '22 JT after sitting on the lot 611 days.

Wow, that's hard on batteries for sure! I wouldn't trust the crank battery for very long if it sat on a lot that long, only ever going for short "test drives" at the most.

 

[hepcat]

Wow, that's hard on batteries for sure! I wouldn't trust the crank battery for very long if it sat on a lot that long, only ever going for short "test drives" at the most.

It's like falling off a tall building... "it's ok so far..."

 

[MoDean]

I just bought a 23 Mojave. I'll be interested to see how long the batteries last. The Sport S I traded in didn't even quite make it to 3 years before the batteries failed. I think my odds of them failing while still under warranty are very good, and now I keep a jumper box in my Jeep for just such an emergency.

 

[MattK]

JTs used two different batteries for the crank battery - those with factory aux switches got a slightly larger batter than those without. So get the biggest one for that tray.

Yeah I am going to go with these I think:

• Autozone Duralast Platinum AGM Auxiliary Battery AUX14
• Autozone Duralast Platinum AGM Battery BCI Group Size 94R 850 CCA H7-AGM
  • I have the AUX switches and tow package/high output alternator so it should have the larger battery. Either way it's getting the larger of the two battery options Autozone has.

*Charge them before installation

Yep, I'll be purchasing a trickle charger. I can use this on my apartment balcony to charge them before install.

• GENIUS10 6V/12V 10-Amp Smart Battery Charger

*Reset the IBS by disconnecting it from the crank battery and the ground cables and let it sit a few minutes.
*Make sure when you pull the cables off the crank battery, neither the ground cables or the hot/positive cable can touch anything else - especially that positive cable as with the aux battery still in place, that positive cable will blow things if you let it touch ground!

Check. @Mr._Bill mentioned putting some plastic bottles over the ends to keep them isolated. I like this idea as I have an ingrained fear of electrical after being stuck to an electrical panel as a kid when I was asked to turn on the apartment building external lights for night when my mom used to be the apartment manager. That was 3 seconds of my life I will never forget. ?

Try to keep the batteries charged.
If you do mostly short drives, short commutes, or it sits a lot, strongly consider a battery maintainer. I use a BatteryMinder on mine. I have it rigged to connect using the trailer 7 pin connector.

I live in an apartment so I don't have access to electrical outlets at my parking space. I have seen small 10-20 watt solar panels that have MPPT controllers on them and you can just run the alligator clips to the battery under the hood. This might work for my case. I don't know how the aux battery gets the trickle charge if it's just clamped to the main but something is better than nothing.

• SUNER POWER 20W 12V Solar Battery Trickle Charger & Maintainer PRO

There are cheaper ones all the way down to $22 but I like that this one has an MPPT and rigid frame for the panel. A bent solar panel is an unhappy solar panel.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Check. @Mr._Bill mentioned putting some plastic bottles over the ends to keep them isolated. I like this idea as I have an ingrained fear of electrical after being stuck to an electrical panel as a kid when I was asked to turn on the apartment building external lights for night when my mom used to be the apartment manager. That was 3 seconds of my life I will never forget. ?

I used to work as an electrician at PFG (electric including 220, networking, phones, etc.) and during one big office move we had one of the furniture guys helping us pull wires through very crowded floor channels. The building engineers had been doing some work with the high voltage lighting panels and had the cover off one in one of the closets we had to pull wire into for work station outlets. The pull was hard because the floor wiring troughs were pretty full. Ollie was pulling on that fish tape and give a big final tug. The fish tape came loose, whipped up sliding across the buss bars of that lighting panel with the cover off. Showers of sparks and horrible noise. Ollie was ok and when we asked how he was (hope this doesn't offend anyone!!!) he replied "have you ever seen a black man turn white?"
He was shaken, but ok. (a few of us were cursing the building engineers for leaving that panel open)

 

[MattK]

I used to work as an electrician at PFG (electric including 220, networking, phones, etc.) and during one big office move we had one of the furniture guys helping us pull wires through very crowded floor channels. The building engineers had been doing some work with the high voltage lighting panels and had the cover off one in one of the closets we had to pull wire into for work station outlets. The pull was hard because the floor wiring troughs were pretty full. Ollie was pulling on that fish tape and give a big final tug. The fish tape came loose, whipped up sliding across the buss bars of that lighting panel with the cover off. Showers of sparks and horrible noise. Ollie was ok and when we asked how he was (hope this doesn't offend anyone!!!) he replied "have you ever seen a black man turn white?"
He was shaken, but ok. (a few of us were cursing the building engineers for leaving that panel open)

It's hilarious now, right? But in the moment, not so much. ?

I had a very small hand in helping my brother-in-law build his house. He had an electrician friend from their church come over one day to set up one of the main circuit panels for the garage area. There were too many cooks in the kitchen I suppose and someone elsewhere decided to power up that line going to it and BAM! Same thing. Sparks everywhere, guy hands were numb and a couple finger tips were blackened , he got lucky.

We cleared everyone out of the house and reset some expectations. It was all church volunteers working on it so I'd probably liken it to watching an off-road recovery turn into a ? show where everyone has an opinion and they're all standing in the triangle of death while line's being pulled.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

It's hilarious now, right? But int he moment, not so much. ?

I had a very small hand in helping my brother-in-law help build his house. He had an electrician friend from their church come over one day to set up one of the main circuit panels for the garage area. There were too many cooks in the kitchen I suppose and someone elsewhere decided to power up that line going to it and BAM! Same thing. Sparks everywhere, guy hands were numb and a couple finger tips were blackened , he got lucky.

We cleared everyone out of the house and reset some expectations. It was all church volunteers working on it so I'd probably liken it to watching an off-road recovery turn into a ? show where everyone has an opinion and they're all standing in the triangle of death while line's being pulled.

Luckily Ollie was a pretty easy going guy. Took a lot to really get his fuse lit, then it was slow. He was a joy to work with and always volunteered to help out others. I'm just glad his volunteering to help didn't get him hurt, or worse. He knew electric, at least the basics, so he was trusted help in such times.

 

[Biff Happy]

Just last week took a 2020 to the dealer with ASS light on and after running the scan tool the service guy printed me a quote to replace the auxiliary battery for over $450, and happily stated I was getting the diagnostic for free. When I laughed and said I’d do it myself and he then asked if I was prepared to go through the firewall? I laughed again and stated you go through the fender area and he backtracked and stated there’s a special tool needed. I left said dealership.

 

[MattK]

Just last week took a 2020 to the dealer with ASS light on and after running the scan tool the service guy printed me a quote to replace the auxiliary battery for over $450, and happily stated I was getting the diagnostic for free. When I laughed and said I’d do it myself and he then asked if I was prepared to go through the firewall? I laughed again and stated you go through the fender area and he backtracked and stated there’s a special tool needed. I left said dealership.

"I didn't realize a socket set and some time were special tools."

The most exotic tool for replacing the auxiliary battery is the external torx socket you may need to swap the posts to the new battery if it didn't come with them.

 

[Mr._Bill]

"I didn't realize a socket set and some time were special tools."

The most exotic tool for replacing the auxiliary battery is the external torx socket you may need to swap the posts to the new battery if it didn't come with them.

Just a regular small socket works for moving the posts between the Aux batteries. I think 4mm was the size I used.

 

[Chris A]

Gladiator knew, but my Promaster diesel was in dealer for other maintenance and they said my battery was weak. Quoted 1057.00 to replace. I purchased a Walmart battery with 4 yr replacement warranty for 189.00. Battery literally sits in a well in front of driver seat. 20 minutes with a friend assisting. This battery is a beast! Flat blade screw driver to quarter turn the cover locks and 10mm socket to remove hold down and positive cable. Negative has a quick release. So 900.00 sounds like a bargain! ?

 

[Bama_Swampfox]

This is a good thread for information. I was lucky (?) and my batteries failed and were replaced 2 months before the warranty ran out. I was looking at the scope of changing the aux battery and my wonderful dealer left out a few of the inner fender fasteners….

Looking to have some spares on hand for the “next” time - does anyone have a P/N or a source for the push in buttons to fasten the fender liners? They must be a common part but I looked around and didn’t find a sure fit replacement.

 

[starrskream]

HOWEVER, it's been shown that many of those untrained people at parts stores don't realize that when they take the cables off the crank battery to replace it, that positive cable is still HOT and SPARK and they blow one of the high current fuses.
I'd frankly not trust a parts store person to do it without my close supervision.
Some don't realize these have the setup they have.

My point was more that if he wanted that, it is available for way less than a dealer would charge. Something like a battery change, in my opinion should be a DIY job all day.
I honestly did not think of the cable being hot until i saw another post of yours a few days ago. I had suspected it, but as my truck is still quite new haven't had to mess with it. Though I always wrap my hot and ground in a dry rag when changing batteries.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

My point was more that if he wanted that, it is available for way less than a dealer would charge. Something like a battery change, in my opinion should be a DIY job all day.

True for "most" forum members and quite a few owners, however, knowing what i know about vehicle owners in general, you don't want 3/4 or maybe more of all owners putting a tool in their hand while looking under the hood.
Take my brother, for example - has owned Jeeps since the 1980s, started with a CJ7 and kept trading and swapping and buying and selling and last I knew, paid to have a Wrangler imported to IA from ME. You don't want him swapping batteries and on a JT - you'd not want him doing the oil change. He used to do all of that in the 70s when we were teens, but trust me - you'd be better off paying someone to do it than to have him doing it.
My wife has a JLU - you don't want her to even open the hood. Sewing and quilting machines, award winning quilts, best of show and so on - but don't let her under the hood of your Jeep.

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