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.
Traction batteries don’t just “conk out”, and I’d bet there is nothing wrong with the battery. Volt owners know all too well that dealership service departments don’t know anything about EVs, don’t want to work on them, and will absolutely tell you a lie so you go away and leave them alone.
Get that car to an independent EV shop and find out what’s really wrong.
When a dealership tells you “oh, it’s the battery, it’s going to cost XXXXX”, they are lying.
Amen, find out WHICH battery is the culprit from an independent, EV savvy center or mobile repair if immobile.
Yeah, probably the tech said “bad battery” and the quote writer said “battery? OMG” and the tech never got an opportunity to say “not THAT battery!”