Well, my 2011 F-250 diesel just suddenly died on me, no warning. Sunday night I went to get Diesel gas, drove to the parking lot to spiff her up and do the windows, rims, chrome, leather seats and had parked for about 45 minutes. Then got in to start the truck and barely turned over. Dead as a door nail. So I phoned CAA and said I might need a flatbed if the jumpers won't work. Was going to take about an hour for the auto service to come. I tried the truck after 10 minutes and she barely started. Drove to the local Ford Dealer not far away and left the truck and keys at the night drop off box. On Monday, I called the Dealer, they looked at the truck and said I needed 2 new batteries for about $500 with taxes, labour. The batteries were pulling about 280 amps. Batteries were not under warranty as I have just over 100,000 miles.on the truck. About 107,000 miles. Dealer said the batteries were in stock and I would get the truck back by noon. Just before noon they called and said my starter was drawing too many amps and I would need a starter. So now we are up to $1,200.00 plus. Dealer said they had none but could get one from a local dealer and I would have my truck by 3. Then dealer calls back at 2 and says the starter they got was the wrong one and none in town and would have to be delivered from out of town. So no truck for 2 nights. On Tuesday morning the Dealer called and the truck was ready. Just picked it up and so will see if it is good. I worried about the dual alternators. Now that would cost a lot more. And I wonder why the starter went at the same time as the batteries and if they were connected and that is why they both went at the same time? Dealer said the charging system was fine with testing. Brought back memories to my Dodge days with the Dodge truck I had. This is my first Ford and they now have the record for most service problems and costs for a still fairly new truck. Batteries are 850 amps instead of 750 cold cranking amps and have a 3 year full warranty and a 5 year prorated. I think the starter is warrantied for 2 years. Being without my truck sucked.

 

You paid a dealership to change your batteries?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using IB AutoGroup

 

No, to check out what was wrong with the truck. Charging system, batteries, alternators, etc. Not like the old days when changing a battery was in and out.
Point being they needed batteries and a starter just after 3 years. Besides, I don't have the time for such things

 

If my truck does not start, the dealer gets the first look too. Yes, I know getting anything fixed at the dealer is expensive and this is no exception. If my truck just needed batteries, I would pay the money. In this case, the dealer looked beyond what batteries plus or farm and fleet would look at and found a bad starter. Sounds like good work by the dealer to me.

Sucks that it broke and writing big checks to get the truck fixed is not easy or fun.

 

If your truck is a 2011 model and has only been in service for 3 years, I suspect that it was a leftover and sat on a lot for a while since the 2012 models were out fairly early in 2011. My 2006 was built in November 2005 and I purchased it August 2006. Same deal for me, I didn't get more than 3 years of service out of the batteries and less than 10,000 miles later the alternator died.

I find it highly suspect that your starter was bad. These trucks turn over pretty easy compared to past models. From the prices charged to the suspicious starter deal, I would think twice about returning to that dealer. At more than 100,000 miles, now is the time to find a reliable diesel shop since you have no Ford warranty to protect. $500 is big money to drop 2 batteries in a truck. Even with an hour of diagnosis, somebody ate steak that night!

 

I put two industrial Excide batteries in my 04 about two years ago. Ran the factory batteries about eight years. The 850 CCA were $99 each and I had a 10% off coupon. So, if Ford charged you $500, they charged you $300 to change the batteries. I am in the wrong business apparently.

 

Well said.

 

I had thought about aftermarket batteries too! When I had my Chev truck the battery went bad and since I was in Northern Ontario where it was quite cold I wanted a better battery. I think the Chev came with a 650 cold cranking amp battery. (single) I bought an aftermarket for a better price and it was 1100 cold cranking amps. So when it was cold that baby had the jump to get it going, whether block heater, or battery heater or not. And what a great battery over time. This time I was more in a rush and it happened to leave me stranded. I dread the day the alternators go b/c I don't know the prices but alternators are usually 500 apiece and if these are heavy duty might even be more.

Dealers charge more and generally b/c of my travels I just go to the local dealerships rather than try and find a local independent that I know nothing about.

The Ford hasn't been a bad as the old Dodge truck I had, and hopefully doesn't reach that level. In the Dodge I took to having in my box either my ATV or my skidoo b/c I never knew when the truck would leave me stranded. I dumped that truck and swore no more Dodges. These days maybe Dodge has fixed their problems though.

Here is a story from about 20 years ago. I worked at a steel company back then before going back to school. We rolled galvanized steel and this order was for Ford. The order was huge and the steel company made a mistake and put to much galvanized dip on the steel. So the order was shipped to Ford with no extra charge. Ford returned the steel. Reason we were given was that the steel would have made the auto last about 15 years rather than the 6 or 7 thru the regular process. Maybe the other auto companies would have done the same but I just remember that it was Ford and it was a big deal at the steel company.
PS the roller that made the mistake got in big trouble for the mistake.

 

No, you are wrong there. I had the truck built special order as they couldn't find one with the option list I wanted. Even tracked the build. Got it in December 2010. I am told that is about it with the batteries, especially in the cold up in Canada here.

Now I noticed since I got the 2 new batteries that my mileage display is all screwed up. Meaning it used to show when full about 800 kms or so until empty but now it shows less than 600 kms after filling up? So maybe it has to learn again to display properly. It just seems weird that it is doing that after the 2 new batteries and the new starter were installed. My mileage per km seems fine at less than 12 litres per 100 kms.

 

At about the three year mark it's a good idea to check batteries with a hydrometer.
The batteries should be fully charged and allowed to sit overnight.
In the morning, disconnect one and check with a voltmeter.
Battery voltage should be at least 12.6 volts.
Check each cell with a hydrometer. If any cell is weak, replace the battery.

If you buy private label batteries at Costco, Sears, Walmart, etc. . .check those batteries every two years and expect a service life of a maximum of five years.