NHTSA Complaint #11689780 — 2019 RAM 1500

I bought a new battery from the Chrysler dealership in February of 2023 that started going bad in May of 2025. It is under warranty until February 2026. On May 28th 2025, I was attending a canine seminar out of town. At the end of the day, I went to start the truck & the battery was dead. I was able to get a jump start & immediately took it to a local retailer to have the starter, alternator & battery checked.The battery had Indications of going bad, the alternator & starter passed the tests. I purchased a mobile jump starter to make sure I wouldn't be left stranded somewhere. When I returned home, I scheduled an appointment at the dealership to have them replace it. The dealership kept it overnight & said their diagnostic machines did not give the code that allowed them to replace the battery under warranty. I was getting ready drive to Indiana from Florida & wanted to make sure it would be safe.I then drove to Texas after that, then back home, about 1200 miles each leg. When I went to leave to Maine a couple weeks later, the truck would not start. I was able to use a jump starter to get it going. When I got to Maine, I scheduled an appointment at the local dealership to have them check it. They ran the same tests & said they could not get the code to replace the battery under warranty. It became increasingly difficult to start the truck & even got to the point where I couldn't use a mobile jump starter to start it. When I returned from Maine, I made an appointment with a reliable mechanic who said the battery was swollen & leaking acid. He said it was ready to explode, potentially catching the engine compartment on fire. At that point I contacted the dealer again, and they said that yes, with acid leaking & the battery swollen, they could replace the battery under warranty. It should never have gotten to the point where the battery had to be leaking acid to get it changed out under warranty, the testing the dealerships do does not properly identify bad batteries. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF