Disappointing WalMart warranty.

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Originally Posted By: Hollow
How to safely dispose of the acid?

I believe the acid can be safely neutralized with common baking soda and water.
 
Find another Wal-Mart or better yet, ask them to show you the warranty in writing that leaks are not covered.

Take the moral high ground and avoid these "sabotage" fixes being suggested by some. You are either in compliance with the warranty or not.
 
Oh my, somebody dissatisfied with Walmart service?? I'm shocked I tell you, shocked! I do a lot of shopping at Walmart and have learned it is what it is. Love to go on Sunday morning at 6:30am--it's so quiet and I practically have the whole store to myself.
 
I would :

1. Try another Walmart. I have found that responses vary depending on who is on duty. If that proves unsuccessful then:

2. Get on Advance Auto's website and buy another battery using discount codes. I had an Everstart that didn't go 3 years in my pickup that they agreed was bad. Cost with prorate was $2 less than a new Silver at Advance. Bought the Silver, with a better warranty. About the only battery I will buy at Walmart now is a tractor battery (those don't have much of a warranty on them anyway.)
 
Wow you guys are over-thinking this. Hammer screwdrivers into it? Pour baking soda in it? How about just reinstalling it in your car and leave the headlights on overnight? It'll kill the battery without sending you to the hospital. Geez...
 
If you dump the acid onto limestone gravel it will neutralize it. Ammonia is a good neutralizer too.
 
Originally Posted By: exranger06
How about just reinstalling it in your car and leave the headlights on overnight? It'll kill the battery without sending you to the hospital. Geez...

That won't do it.. You need to pound a wooden stake through the middle cell.
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Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Take the moral high ground and avoid these "sabotage" fixes being suggested by some. You are either in compliance with the warranty or not.

Compliance with the warranty at Walmart often depends on whether the particular person/manager working the returns counter wants to be helpful or not.

As a matter of fact, always ask to speak to the manager if you can't get anywhere with the flunkies at the returns desk.
 
Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
If possible, buy the identical battery at Walmart, return the defective one a few days later using the new receipt.
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And this is why the cost of a new car battery has basically doubled in the last couple of years. Kill the battery and then exchange it? Yet the same posters are complaining when the cost of a new battery keeps going up. If you ran a business and somebody did that to you, would you be happy?


I agree that it borders on stealing, but poor service and not standing by a product starts to look much the same (I'm making the assumption that the battery did have a leak through no fault of the OP's). Stealing hurts everyone, but at the same time being a bleeding heart to justify that because it is business, the business being "happy" is important, IMO is silly. Standing by the customer and providing a quality product with quality service should be focus #1, however it doesn't align with WM business practices particularly well.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2

I agree that it borders on stealing,


The ends justify the means, right?
 
How's the charging system on the vehicle? Is it boiling the electrolyte out of the battery?
Or is it leaking out of a crack in the case somewhere?
 
Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: JHZR2

I agree that it borders on stealing,


The ends justify the means, right?


I didn't say anything of the sort. Purposely damaging items is like stealing. But it can still sound to me like the OP is being robbed by Walmart with poor quality stuff that they don't stand behind.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
I agree that it borders on stealing, but poor service and not standing by a product starts to look much the same (I'm making the assumption that the battery did have a leak through no fault of the OP's).

This issue is why I draw the line at what I'll purchase at a Walmart and what I will not. If I buy an automotive battery at Walmart and it's defective, I'm going to run into a few problems. First, the staff won't care. Secondly, the staff won't have the physical equipment to test the battery or confirm any issues. Third, the staff won't have the "mental equipment" to do it either; the odds of them understanding the problem are slim to none.

I prefer to buy batteries at one of a few local independent battery shops. The cost isn't much more than Walmart and the staff/owners actually understand automotive electrical systems.

Generally speaking, what I buy at Walmart is limited. If it's something over which they have no control over quality assurance, I might buy it. If it's an item that's cheap enough or "useless" enough that I don't care if I lose the money I spent on it, I might buy it. If it's something over which they exert no control over warranty, repairs, or returns, that's another option.

If it's something I need to be able to rely on, or if it costs a bunch of money, or it's likely I'm going to have to rely on Walmart staff for support, I'll pass, thanks. An automotive battery fits in all three of these categories, unfortunately.
 
Update:

A different Walmart exchanged it, no questions asked. My only cost was new felt washers and some anti-corrosion stuff for the terminals.


Think that is my trip to Walmart for this year.
 
Hmm, my 7 month old replacement battery is doing the exact same thing as the first, lots of corrosion around the vents.

Imagine my suprise.
 
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