Now that explains why my battery was dead. I thought I had left something on. First thing I did was get the car smogged at the AZ DMV. 2 days later totally dead battery!.

 

Yep, that does it.

 

Hi,

I brought my 'new' used 2019 home from the dealer last night. Sunday, when I was checking out the car and made the decision to purchase, the battery was dead and the car wouldn't start. I test drove another used F-Type to get a feel for the car. By the end of the visit they had charged up the battery, and left the car running for me to get in and see how things looked.

Yesterday, when I went to pick it up the car was displaying a low battery message (my wife was sitting in the car, so I don't know the details of the message). The dealer connected a charger up to the car and that seemed to do the trick.

It sounds like with all the electronics in the car that it places a lot of demand on the battery, which can be problematic.

I haven't yet driven the car today, so hope that I can start it and then take it for a drive to keep the battery up. I did lock it last night (in my garage) but will try to avoid that going forward. Hopefully I don't find that I have a dead battery when I go out now to start the car.

Is the a particular CTEK model that is recommended? I saw the reference to the diagnostic tool and plan to order one. If getting a CTEK maintainer is the way to go I will do that as well.

Thanks

 

Given that your battery has gone flat at least once, its life may be compromised. Nevertheless the CTEK maintainer will extend its life as long as possible. The battery in your new car is or should be an AGM (not wet cell) battery, so the CTEK unit you want is one which has an AGM charging cycle in it (there are several). The easy manner of permanently connecting the CTEK is found in several threads on this forum (it is not directly connected to the battery). You will also need what CTEK terms their "comfort extension".
You have bought a car that will be addictive! In fact, owning Jaguars is addictive. This may be your first Jaguar but it will not be your last.

 

Many thanks. My battery wasn’t dead, so I’m hopeful that things aren’t too serious. I’ll pick up the CTEK maintainer and see how that goes.

 

Worth checking that the hazard switch light extinguishes after after about 10 minutes of switching the engine off and locking hte car - if it doesn't it indicates the OBD port disconnect issue that can be resolved by briefly diconnecting the earth lead form the battery.

I use the CTEK 5.0 MXS and find it perfectly fine. If you're prepared to leave the unit in the boot/trunk when charging you won't need any cables other than what's included in the box - that's how I charge mine and trail the power cable out of the boot/trunk, which closes fine on the 10A extension lead (careful to avoid the boot latch mechanism, of course!).

 

Hi, While my 2016 F-Type was under factory warranty, the battery failed and was replaced. This was in March 2019. The battery may be bad again and the dealership is telling me the battery only had an 18 month warrantee. What's even worse is that they want to charge me $189 to charge the battery and that is what is needed so they can continue the diagnostic process for all my warning lights coming on. They are charging me a $295 diagnosis fee. I would take it elsewhere but there is no other place in my area that will work on it. So, is the warrantee only 18 months and any advice on these fees. Or, is there nothing I can do? Thanks.

 

Get an AGM from Costco for $200. Keep a charger on it when parked. Use an OBD reader to clear pesky codes. Might have to disconnect a battery lead to clear some codes. I keep an OBD reader in the glove box and a wrench in the boot for these. Avoid that dealer who sounds like a crook.

 

Unfortunately, due to the multitude of warnings, I am stuck with them diagnosing the car. However, I will not have them do anything I can get done elsewhere. I did not know Costco sold batteries (not sure why since they sell everything else). I will look into getting one there. Thanks.

 

Low battery = lots of warning lights. Could be as simple as that.

But - Are you sure battery is an issue or are they trying to charge you $500 just to rule it out? It could have failed after 18 months - but could also be something else. Have you fully charged it and tightened the terminals then tried it?

If battery is bad they are only a couple of hundred dollars and takes 10 mins to swap it out - max. Would just do that yourself. (And fully charge it - they don't come fully charged)
Then - if you still have issues you can pull the codes for free at an auto parts store and post them here.

 

no you are not. First deal with the battery! Reset everything by disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds. Charge the battery. Now see if the warning lights remain on. If they are gone, you have solved the problem.
if they are not gone, it would be well worthwhile buying a good OBDII reader for yourself (there are many. I use the excellent BlueDriver). That way you have an indication what may be wrong, and a printout of the codes can then be taken to the dealer. Do not forget to do the battery disconnection reset after removing the OBDII unit from the port.

 

New battery, battery maintainer and code reader will still leave change from that diagnostic fee!

 

So again, thanks to all those responding. I'm kind of stuck at this point with the diagnostic fee and other screwing on the charge to charge the battery. Car is at dealer and to pull it now would put all that out the window. When they do come back with what they think the problem is, if my local mechanic can handle it, I'll pull the car out and take it right to him. I don't think it's just the battery being bad (although still could be). After the problem started, my mechanic (the honest one) told me to charge the battery and then bring it into him (I do have one of those good chargers everyone on this board recommends). When I took it to him and he saw all the codes, he suggested I go to the dealer. My mistake (and I guess his) for not asking him to check the charging system to see if the battery was holding a charge. If he charged it and it did not, pretty much case closed with bad battery. So, I took it into the dealership and here we are.

I do feel better because to the unknowing (me) seeing all those lights made me think all those things on the lights were broken or the computer(s) was totally shot. It's all you on this forum that have calmed that fear down. Once I get the car out of the dealer, at a minimum, if I can't get that rip-off charging fee off the bill, I'm going to contest it on my credit card. I agreed to the $295 diagnostic fee which to me means, that is what it costs to diagnose the problem so this extra nonsense will be dealt with.

After all this is over, I think I may sell the car. I love the car but maybe it's time to move on.

 

But what on earth could you replace it with that won't make you regret losing the Jag?

 

I'd just use my 2013 Sonata and no longer would I be respected at the gas station and people would no longer think I'm cool. Well, they don't think I'm cool, it's the car. Women stare at it with eyes wide open. Then I get out and you see the look of disappointment. Seriously, I'm really afraid it will be a never ending bunch of problems costing me thousands if I keep it. You folks are experienced and this is my first "crisis" problem. Am I worry too much?

 

In my experience you're worrying too much. The F-Type is my fourth Jag and I can say none of them has let me down or been unreliable. They've had a few problems (burst oil pipe at 95,000 miles on a 2004 XKR, and the occasional water pump failure (but that's a Ford part!)) but they're no less reliable than other makes. Find a decent independent (I think you've already got that) and you're good to go! And we'll still be here if you need us.