Auto Zone fails battery installation

[MtnMan]

Daughter needed a new battery, 2017 Highlander, and went to Auto Zone and bought a battery a week ago.

Drove it probably every day, but today, when the high during the day was 10°F, she did a grocery pickup at Sam's. Shut the car off to open the rear hatch, and it wouldn't open, and the car was 100% dead, door locks, etc., dead. She had them load her grocery pickup into the back seat, then went into Sam's to tire and battery to see if they could help. They sent a tech out, with the jumper box, to at least jump her off. The tech found that Auto Zone had tightened the positive post, but not the negative post terminal. He tightened the negative post terminal, jumped her off, and she was on her way.

Cudo's to Sam's Club for helping her out.

Auto Zone, how fucking hard would it be to tighten both battery terminal connectors?

Her Highlander has the feature where if you sit at a stoplight long enough, the engine shuts off to save gas, and restarts as soon as you take your foot off the brake. Could have left her fucking stranded in the middle of a busy highway, or worse.

 

[NutBucket]

TBH not sure why you are surprised.

 

[VashHT]

Happened to me on one of my old cars, I was driving and a low power warning came on which I haven't seen on any other car. Once I tightened the loose connection it was fine and luckily was during the summer.

I did it myself before that instance and went back to doing it myself after that since it's easy to do, though it sucks doing it in January when it's freezing like I had to do earlier this year.

 

[Torn Mind]

Definite case of negligence here. Would be difficult to prove in court though if something bad actually happened though since it is nigh impossible to show a connector is just slightly loose.

 

[deadlyapp]

Definite case of negligence here. Would be difficult to prove in court though if something bad actually happened though since it is nigh impossible to show a connector is just slightly loose.

Why are you so sue happy. Jesus it's a mistake and one pretty easy to make. Even if power was lost mid driving it isn't hard to navigate to the side of the road without power assist and more likely than not it may have still operated via the alternator

 

[Torn Mind]

Why are you so sue happy. Jesus it's a mistake and one pretty easy to make. Even if power was lost mid driving it isn't hard to navigate to the side of the road without power assist and more likely than not it may have still operated via the alternator

It's called understanding the lay of the legal land. Also, companies are implicit professionals and ought to be held to a higher standard. Merely because there is no adjudication does not mean a violation of law did not occur.

Negligence is precisely about non-deliberate, non-intentional acts, actually. Mistakes that a reasonable person shouldn't be doing. For example, the reason there is driving school is in part so if someone is breaking the law, the judge can say...ignorance is not an excuse, you should know the rules.

Worker A has a duty of care (and probably some other like warranty of service, strict liability, whatever else might also apply) to his customer(and his boss) to deliver a fully functional vehicle when doing the act of installing a battery. If the mis-installed battery causes harm, his act of omission is the proximate cause of said harm and ought to be liable for damages. In this situation, no compensatory damages would be awarded, but he'd have nominal damages against him in a world where court is free and proving the lack of connection is easy.

Negligence is basically the alpha and omega of car accident suits.

In the world of car service, the serviceperson is the one who knows better how to escape the clutches of liability.

As far as my experience goes, my mom's Matrix did stall out due to a bad connection in the middle the street. It was stopped at a red light but the car flaked out. Had to go out and tighten the terminals more.

 

[rh71]

I almost had Advance Auto do it for my dad's minivan recently, but decided I would be more competent in turning bolts and putting things back together 100%. Even if they did it though, I would've brought it and watched them.

BTW, that start/stop feature is super annoying and wasteful. They need to cut that shit out.

 

[lxskllr]

BTW, that start/stop feature is super annoying and wasteful. They need to cut that shit out.

I haven't had a vehicle that did that, but I think it would cause me a lot of anxiety. I'd probably do what I could to get rid of that feature.

 

[james1701]

That's why you watch them as they install it, and point these things out. Never trust others to do the job correctly.

 

[NutBucket]

If the customer knew how to do it themselves then they would do it themself.

Do you expect the cashier at the market to be a chef?
Do you expect the cashier at Home Depot to be a (good) carpenter?
Why would you expect the parts guy to be a mechanic?

If the parts guy was a mechanic then he'd make a lot more money working as one.

 

[MtnMan]

If the customer knew how to do it themselves then they would do it themself.

Do you expect the cashier at the market to be a chef?
Do you expect the cashier at Home Depot to be a (good) carpenter?
Why would you expect the parts guy to be a mechanic?

If the parts guy was a mechanic then he'd make a lot more money working as one.

AZ advertises free battery installation, thus one expects that they are at least competent.

 

[Zor Prime]

Could have left her fucking stranded in the middle of a busy highway, or worse.

Been there done that, but I knew what it was. Popped hood, jumped out in the middle of the street to the bewilderment of everyone behind me, raced to the front of the car and tightened the terminals, closed the hood and started it back up and got out of there as fast as I could. lol

 

[NutBucket]

AZ advertises free battery installation, thus one expects that they are at least competent.

Ah. Guess I never paid attention to that. I've always noticed it was like pulling teeth when I saw customers asking for direct help with their vehicle.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

My Sebring battery is in the left front wheel well. Ain't no poppin the hood to get to it. You almost have to pull the wheel.

 

[digiram]

Wow. Just replaced the battery on my minivan. Was gonna have autozone do it but was cheaper to get a battery online and do it myself.

 

[zinfamous]

AZ advertises free battery installation, thus one expects that they are at least competent.

really?

--free
--competent

pick 1

 

[james1701]

If the customer knew how to do it themselves then they would do it themself.

I think of it more as a parenting skill. You would not send a child out in vehicle without being able to change a tire would you? Basic maintenance and troubleshooting is the same.

 

[rh71]

I think of it more as a parenting skill. You would not send a child out in vehicle without being able to change a tire would you? Basic maintenance and troubleshooting is the same.

I will be a bit sexist here, but some of those lugnuts would be impossible for a person of less strength/weight to pop off while on the side of the road. I had trouble with one in the past too and we needed a long bar with a lot of leverage.

If I had a daughter, I'd make sure they knew HOW, but would have doubts about them doing it physically, at least not without struggle.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I will be a bit sexist here, but some of those lugnuts would be impossible for a person of less strength/weight to pop off while on the side of the road. I had trouble with one in the past too and we needed a long bar with a lot of leverage.

If I had a daughter, I'd make sure they know HOW, but would have doubts about them doing it physically, at least not without struggle.

I have a 12v Milwaukee Fuel Impact for battery replacement. I have the terminal steel brushes to clean off the battery terminals and cables. I have a 4amp trickle charger and a 10amp trickle charger/charger for jacking up the battery.

There are always knowledgeable people in the auto-parts parking lots or in the stores who could help you install a simple 12v battery. There are also people who think they know what they are doing that could destroy your car.

These are not the good old days of the Sears auto center. Where you could buy a Die Hard battery and wait 10-15 minutes for the mechanics to put your battery in for you.

 

[lxskllr]

There are also people who think they know what they are doing that could destroy your car.

I was on a paddling trip once, and a girl in our group couldn't get her car started after we took out. I wasn't directly involved cause she was primarily with a different sub group than I was in. I can't remember the exact symptoms, but 'jump starting' was agreed to be the next step. I didn't think that was the issue, but usually doesn't hurt. They're hooking up cables, and one guy in the group says to cross wire it; red-black. Someone else balked, I'm thinking "Umm...", and he pulls out his dick, and says 'I'm an electrical engineer, and I know what I'm talking about!'. Car never started. I occasionally wonder how much it cost to get it driving again :^D

 

[Torn Mind]

I will be a bit sexist here, but some of those lugnuts would be impossible for a person of less strength/weight to pop off while on the side of the road. I had trouble with one in the past too and we needed a long bar with a lot of leverage.

If I had a daughter, I'd make sure they knew HOW, but would have doubts about them doing it physically, at least not without struggle.

Part of the problem is that a tire replacement person might overtighten them with an impact to some massive torque that a typical tire iron or 1/2 ratchet cannot handle.

But a breaker bar and appropriate socket should remedy the extreme torque situations. I've got less muscle than most women but I've never had a problem removing lug nuts not overtorqued.

Maybe some people don't want to get their hands dirty, but muscular strength is a doubtful impediment, especially if the woman lifts at the gym to get "toned".

 

[rh71]

especially if the woman lifts at the gym to get "toned".

And what % of the female population does that would you say?

 

[Captante]

I had my battery replaced at my home by AAA last January and since it got cold again I've been having problems with no-starts. (fortunately it's a manual so I can still start it)

Battery AND charging system ALL tested fine, alternator is charging, no unusual drain, and battery shows full "cranking amps" per two different mechanics.

Finally I cleaned the inside of the contacts with a wire brush and that 90% corrected the problem. THIS illustrates perfectly why I'll never own a car I can't work on/access parts myself!

 

[Captante]

Maybe some people don't want to get their hands dirty, but muscular strength is a doubtful impediment, especially if the woman lifts at the gym to get "toned".

Pffft.

Change enough tires and you WILL run into situations where Popeye the sailor man couldn't get that dang lug off even after his freaking spinach! (no tools and you ARE NOT changing that tire)



Seriously ESPECIALLY with larger vehicles a smaller person (or a self-described weakling like you lol!) can easily find themselves physically unable to remove/replace a wheel even if they know what they're doing. Frankly so can the STRONGEST of large burly men!

Further even though it can seem "routine" changing a tire can be EXTREMELY dangerous on a roadside in close proximity to speeding traffic AND with a crappy OEM jack. (the weight of a car falling off that jack will crush your arm/leg in an instant)

 

[lxskllr]

AND with a crappy OEM jack. (the weight of a car falling off a jack will crush you in an instant)

Spare goes under the axle til the wheel's off, then a quick swap and put the good wheel on. It's the difference between a pissoff and a disaster if the jack fails.