Odyssey Battery has gone the way of Optima crap

explorerlyon

explorerlyon

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Odyssey will not honor their warranty anymore. They have turned to crap. After 10 years with a Diehard Platimum (Odyssesy) I purchased another Odyssey 3 years ago from AutoZone. The battery died and won't hold a charge. Battery has been well maintained, topped off as needed with a Ctek quality charger. Took it back to Auto Zone still under warranty (4 year warranty). Auto Zone no longer carries Odyssey (for good reason) so they cannot do an exchange, have to contact Odyssey directly. I sent Odyssey proof of purchase and a battery health report from Auto Zone. Odyssey will not warranty their battery.

Stay away from Odyssey now. Looks like they have gone the path of Optima. From now on, I think I will just stick with NAPA (East Penn) or Costco. Shame to pay $320 for a battery from a company that will no longer stand behind their warranty. This also includes Northstar and X2. All the same group of companies.

Note: Autozone will exchange it for their Duralast AMG (no charge). Not a fan of Duralast, but good on Auto Zone to still try and help out. I also had my alternator rebuilt 3 years ago when I purchased the Odysses battery to help ensure proper charge as well.
 
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explorerlyon said:
Odyssey will not honor their warranty anymore. They have turned to crap. After 10 years with a Diehard Platimum (Odyssesy) I purchased another Odyssey 3 years ago from AutoZone. The battery died and won't hold a charge. Battery has been well maintained, topped off as needed with a Ctek quality charger. Took it back to Auto Zone still under warranty (4 year warranty). Auto Zone no longer carries Odyssey (for good reason) so they cannot do an exchange, have to contact Odyssey directly. I sent Odyssey proof of purchase and a battery health report from Auto Zone. Odyssey will not warranty their battery.

Stay away from Odyssey now. Looks like they have gone the path of Optima. From now on, I think I will just stick with NAPA (East Penn) or Costco. Shame to pay $320 for a battery from a company that will no longer stand behind their warranty. This also includes Northstar and X2. All the same group of companies.

Note: Autozone will exchange it for their Duralast AMG (no charge). Not a fan of Duralast, but good on Auto Zone to still try and help out. I also had my alternator rebuilt 3 years ago when I purchased the Odysses battery to help ensure proper charge as well.
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There have been threads on this in the past, @Jerry Bransford has been saying for years they are not what they used too be.
 
cliffish said:
There have been threads on this in the past, @Jerry Bransford has been saying for years they are not what they used too be.
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I've said that about Optima many times but never about Odyssey who I have trusted for many years. The above is news to me, I hope it's not so but it sure sounds like it might be. :(
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I've said that about Optima many times but never about Odyssey who I have trusted for many years. The above is news to me, I hope it's not so but it sure sounds like it might be. :(
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Facts:
1. Auto Zone no longer carries Odyssey so they cannot handle the warranty as they do not carry Odyssey anymore.
2. I contacted Odyssey directly. Completed their warranty claim form with proof of purchase within the proper warranty period and provided the health report from Auto Zone (as Odyssey required).
3. Odyssey had denied warranting their battery. Reason: Voltage too low. Duh!!!! That is why I am trying to warranty my battery. It won't take a charge. Using a CTEK 7002 charge on the AGM setting.

Speculation on my part....seems there is a rift between Odyssey and Auto Zone (based on employee comments when I went to Auto zone). Regardless, I will never purchase or recommend Odyssey again. Batteries fail, but you expect a company to stand behind its warranty. Odyssey will not. No reason to pay the $100+ premium for their battery anymore.
 
I have no experience w/ Odyssey, but I did have a recent issue w/an Optima yellow-top and AutoZone.
Replaced battery last fall w/ the Optima yellow-top from AutoZone (CA). Came w/ a 3-year warranty.
Jeep wouldn't start last month while on a trip to Utah.
Went to local AutoZone for warranty exchange, but the manager wasn't there and they didn't know how to address an exchange, so I simply bought another Optima Yellow-Top.
Brought the old battery back with me to CA and went to the store that I had purchased the previous battery from.
I explained the situation and was immediately informed that they could simply take the old battery, let me keep the one that i had bought as the warranty replacement, and they would refund all of my $$ for the out-of-state purchase.

Top notch customer service from AutoZone. I now won't buy a battery anywhere else (regardless of brand).
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I've said that about Optima many times but never about Odyssey who I have trusted for many years. The above is news to me, I hope it's not so but it sure sounds like it might be. :(
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Sorry Jerry, I read the OP too fast to comprehend....but I would bet it is true. Everything is going to shit now to save $$ (at least for the manufacturer)
 
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Some of the new LiFePO4 batteries designed for starting applications are intriguing. Inexpensive DC to DC charging solutions and internal battery heaters make them a more viable solution than previously. Something to research and think about.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I dunno if I could trust a battery to hold much charge or be capable of delivering many sustained amps like for a winch that weighs less than 20 lbs.
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In deep cycle service, powering the trailer, the lithium's are a couple of orders of magnitude better than any lead acid technology. The geeks are just starting to figure out how to make it work for starting. High sustained draw, like constant pulls with a winch, isn't even on the radar yet. The solution might be out there, but you'll invent it yourself at this point. It IS possible to pull a lot of amps all at once from them.

Edited to add: Just went back to the spec sheet on my SOK batteries. Max continuous draw is 100 amps. That's for the 206 amp hour batteries. 200 amp max draw for 3 seconds. The 100 amp hour batteries have the same discharge specs. Two batteries in parallel doubles max discharge rates. A 100 amp battery weighs 27 lbs.
 
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Apparition said:
I'd love to try an anti gravity battery but they are cost prohibitive. Has a built in jump start and weigh less than 20 lbs.

https://antigravitybatteries.com/productline/starter-batteries/automotive/
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The specific one is getting way too much social media promotion that I'm kinda wary about it.

I have an Napa legend AGM battery and it's been fine. I think I've had it since 2018. But I certainly don't off road or winch as much as other folks on the forum, so take my "it's been fine" in context.
 
StG58 said:
In deep cycle service, powering the trailer, the lithium's are a couple of orders of magnitude better than any lead acid technology. The geeks are just starting to figure out how to make it work for starting. High sustained draw, like constant pulls with a winch, isn't even on the radar yet. The solution might be out there, but you'll invent it yourself at this point. It IS possible to pull a lot of amps all at once from them.
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So, if someone was looking at a dual battery setup, a lithium for the vehicle and a lead acid for the winch might be interesting.
 
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Lithium batteries don't go dead like lead acid batteries. I have left my Dirt bike that has a lithium battery sit for over 6 months and have had no starting issues following. I've also read on battlebornbatteries site it may cause an issue using a maintainer.
 
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