Hi all,

I thought maybe this would be the place to go to see what can be done about my mom’s situation. For context, last year, in Nov 2022, my mom bought a used, 2018 Smart ForTwo EQ for around 20k. Just a week or two ago, she calls me to tell me her car won’t start, so I ask her to show me what it says, she video calls, and I see something similar to a High Voltage battery error. So we get it towed to her house, and she makes an appt with the Mercedes dealership she bought it from. FF to today, they tell her that it’ll be 23k to replace the battery. Anyone here who might be able to help me figure out what her next steps are? She doesn’t have anywhere near that kind of money on hand, and neither do I.

  • schenkzoola@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    What country is this in? In the US, all EV’s have an 8 year/ 120k mile warranty or more on the motor(s) and battery.

    • SpicyChickenFlavor@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      US, California. I had a feeling the car had an 8 year warranty, I have the same on my EV and thought it was ridiculous that they are charging her for something under warranty.

      • hoodoo-operator@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        In my experience many dealers and manufacturers tend to be really crappy when it comes to honoring their EV warranties.

        ​

        I would still double check the 12v battery first, as it’s possible that this is just a super simple easy fix.

        • edman007@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          You have an actual source? Some law, some FTC statement, or something in the federal register?

          I just did a search, and found nothing, and honestly, the top result was me doing the search and finding that federal law does NOT require it, and California doesn’t require it either (and california hasn’t changed their statements on either).

          From my most recent search, I actually see many sites that claim it’s federal law now, but absolutely none cite any source. I’m sure it wasn’t the case for the 2018 MY (as has been pointed out), did the IRA change it and it’s not a new 2023 warranty? That would make sense, but I can’t find the text.

          • CubesTheGamer@alien.topBEnglish
            1·
            10 months ago

            Wow that’s a good way to force manufacturers to build their cars to last longer and extend planned obsolescence.