A couple of days ago the 'Battery is not charging' warning appeared on my display. The circumstances however where a bit unusual. My wife was in the supermarket and whilst sitting in the car I was reading up on and adjusting various settings (I've only had it a few days). I say unusual because I'd start the engine, explore some features and then switch off. A few minutes later I'd remember something else I wasn't sure of and start the engine again to experiment with the settings. I must have done this three or four times without moving the car.
This warning signal appeared but, as soon as we drove off, it disappeared. We stopped at another shop shortly afterwards and I once more sat in the car only for the warning to appear again. We drove off, the warning disappeared once more and since then, having driven it about 150 miles in three or four separate journeys, it hasn't reappeared and all seems fine.
Could I have upset the engine management system with all my starting and restarting whilst stationary? I checked the obvious things, such as the battery terminals and all seemed OK and the battery was fully charged at the start of the journey in question.
However, the most annoying and exasperating thing in all this was the dealer's reaction. I phoned to ask if I could speak to a technician just to ask if they had any experience of this and was told that I must bring in the car where they would do a 'visual inspection'. Don't you love management-speak? God knows how they'd do an inspection without looking at it!
I asked what the case would be if I lived a hundred miles a way and had to take in the car only to find that a mechanic will tell me that there's nothing wrong and that he could have told me on the phone that this is something that they'e come across before and that nothing needs fixing? I was told quite firmly that it would make no difference, they do not give any advice on the phone and I must go to the dealer.
I said that I was most unhappy about this policy and she told me that she's see if anyone could phone me - no one did!
I find it staggering that dealers are so frightened of possibly giving wrong advice that they won't even talk to you on the phone. I never had this problem with Mercedes who would happily speak to me. Yes, they may well have then told me that I need to take in the car, but at least they'd discuss the problem first, and on occasions, tell me that there isn't a fault and save me a long journey to hear the same thing face to face.
I'm going to phone one or two more dealers within a reasonable distance and if I can find one that is more accommodating it's they who will do my servicing and it's where I'll buy my next car.
This warning signal appeared but, as soon as we drove off, it disappeared. We stopped at another shop shortly afterwards and I once more sat in the car only for the warning to appear again. We drove off, the warning disappeared once more and since then, having driven it about 150 miles in three or four separate journeys, it hasn't reappeared and all seems fine.
Could I have upset the engine management system with all my starting and restarting whilst stationary? I checked the obvious things, such as the battery terminals and all seemed OK and the battery was fully charged at the start of the journey in question.
However, the most annoying and exasperating thing in all this was the dealer's reaction. I phoned to ask if I could speak to a technician just to ask if they had any experience of this and was told that I must bring in the car where they would do a 'visual inspection'. Don't you love management-speak? God knows how they'd do an inspection without looking at it!
I asked what the case would be if I lived a hundred miles a way and had to take in the car only to find that a mechanic will tell me that there's nothing wrong and that he could have told me on the phone that this is something that they'e come across before and that nothing needs fixing? I was told quite firmly that it would make no difference, they do not give any advice on the phone and I must go to the dealer.
I said that I was most unhappy about this policy and she told me that she's see if anyone could phone me - no one did!
I find it staggering that dealers are so frightened of possibly giving wrong advice that they won't even talk to you on the phone. I never had this problem with Mercedes who would happily speak to me. Yes, they may well have then told me that I need to take in the car, but at least they'd discuss the problem first, and on occasions, tell me that there isn't a fault and save me a long journey to hear the same thing face to face.
I'm going to phone one or two more dealers within a reasonable distance and if I can find one that is more accommodating it's they who will do my servicing and it's where I'll buy my next car.
