NHTSA Complaint #10860818 — 2013 DODGE JOURNEY

PURCHASE DATE OF CAR WAS ROUGHLY 12/01/12. ON 08/23/15, THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T START AND I WAS TOLD IT NEEDED A NEW BATTERY, SO IT WAS REPLACED THE SAME DAY. PRIOR TO THAT, I WAS NOTICING STRANGE THINGS LIKE THE A/C GOING FULL BLAST AND I WASN'T ABLE TO TURN IT OFF, ETC. CAR WOULDN'T START AGAIN 12/07/15, AND I WAS AGAIN TOLD THE BATTERY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. DEALER RAN DIAGNOSTICS AND FOUND NOTHING, BUT CHARGED ME $150. BATTERY WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY WITH SEARS, SO THEY REPLACED IT AT NO CHARGE. BATTERY DIED AGAIN 03/20/16 WHILE SITTING IN A PARKING LOT IDLING FOR A WHILE. WENT ON VACATION FOR 10 DAYS IN SPRING OF 2016, SO VEHICLE SAT, AND I RETURNED TO A COMPLETELY DEAD BATTERY ON 04/05/16. JUMP STARTED VEHICLE AND DROVE IT A WHILE. VEHICLE WOULDN'T SHIFT DOWN WHEN GETTING ON FREEWAY AND WAS REVVING WAY TOO HIGH, THE INTERIOR LIGHTS WERE FLASHING, AND A BATTERY SAVER MODE MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DISPLAY. I TOOK IT TO SEARS AGAIN ON 04/14/16 (IT HAD SAT FOR 2 DAYS AGAIN, AND WOULDN'T START, SO HAD TO BE JUMPED). THEY'VE HAD IT A WEEK NOW, HAVE RUN ALL KINDS OF TESTS AND THE ONLY THING THEY CAN DETERMINE IS THAT THE BATTERY IS DRAINING WHILE THE VEHICLE IS PARKED AND NOT RUNNING. SEARS IS GOING TO REPLACE THE BATTERY FOR ME AGAIN, BUT THERE IS CLEARLY A BIGGER ISSUE GOING ON HERE, AND I HOPE THIS IS RESEARCHED FURTHER. I ALSO SPOKE WITH A TECHNICIAN AT THE DEALERSHIP, AND HE ADVISED THEY HAVE NO RECALLS ON FILE FOR THIS ISSUE. AS AN ASIDE, WHEN RESEARCHING THE BATTERY SAVER MODE MESSAGE, I RAN ACROSS THE FOLLOWING THREAD (SO I MAY HAVE SEARS REPLACE THE ALTERNATOR TOO, WHICH COULD BE A WASTE OF MONEY, BUT MAY BE A NECESSITY... WHO KNOWS): HTTP://WWW.LXFORUMS.COM/BOARD/SHOWTHREAD.PHP/352443-BATTERY-SAVER-MODE-BAD-ALTERNATOR-(MUST-READ)