News

Tata Nexon battery issue: Result after 2 days of diagnosis at the SVC

27th May 2022, 16:44 by Rahul Nagaraj

The health of this particular battery was checked in the last service 3 months ago and it was all good as per SC.

BHPian Zignor recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello BHPians and more specifically Tata Nexon owners (especially BS6). Off late, a few members from our car group came up with battery draining issues. They'd complain of battery being discharged even though the car was switched off or run only for a short time. As a true car detective, fellow BHPian Apratim and a few other members decided to investigate.

The problem: A dead car

A few days back, suddenly the car stalled due to low battery and would not crank. The car was in use daily and was driven a short distance. The blower was on for hardly 10 minutes without the engine running which is very normal. A local mechanic was called and the car was somehow started. The next day morning again same issue occurred and RSA was called. RSA technician could not jump start it and said maybe the issue is with the starter. The next day the car was towed to the service centre for a check-up. The discovery is a lesson for all of us.

The Investigation: Battery mein kuch to gadbad hai...

Briefly, after 2 days of diagnosis, the battery needed replacement (the life of the battery was 20 months). This is what the analysis at the service centre came up with (attached screenshot). The warranty had expired just a couple of months back. The batteries supplied with the car have 18 months warranty from the invoice date, whereas the same battery outside comes with 55 months warranty. The health of this particular battery was checked in the last service 3 months ago and it was all good as per SC.

Usually, when the battery is checked, SC doesn’t share this report with us but if your battery is within 18 months of invoicing and if the bars mentioned are less than 70%, please ask the SC to cover it under warranty.

The Culprit: Is behind bars (or should I say behind the battery bars)

After a lot of research in the market about car batteries, a few observations:

Exide batteries are not good for Nexon (based on the number of complaints we are facing). Moreover, the battery does not fit properly in the bay and may lead to loose connections).
In Exide batteries we need to crank a little more which may lead to wear & tear.
Exide battery (available in the market) needs to fit in reverse order (back to front) as terminals are opposite
Warranty period given for the above is 30+25 months of purchase from the market whereas Tata provides 18 months only.
Tata Green gives only a 24+24 warranty
Bosch is good but hasn't been researched with regard to servicing.
Amaron is a worthy substitute with 55 month warranty.
SF battery (sub-brand of Exide) with 24+24 warranty can be considered as a VFM option.
SC charges around 7500 for the same battery which is available for cheaper in the market.
Petrol Nexon comes with a 47Ah battery which is not manufactured by Amaron anymore (it is anyways made to order for OEMs). 50Ah can be used and no issues with the warranty.