u/Accomplished_Skin_90

It was a very cold winter here in New England. My wife was driving to work one day in February and got reduced propulsion and 0 miles on a full charge. She made it to work but I went to go check it out anyway. When I got there, the car would not start. I had it towed to the dealership we bought it from new. They said the traction battery was bad and it would cost $10,000 to fix. Car not worth that so I said I’d think about it. They said I could drive in hold mode so that’s what I did. A few weeks later, I went to try and start it and the door locks were dead. It wasn’t locked so I got in and nothing. Dead, dead, dead. Something similar happened last year about the same time and dealership said it was BECM and they said that they replaced it under warranty. Before that diagnosis, I had AAA come out and replace the 12v battery as it was a bit old. Back to present, I hooked up my trickle charger/jump starter up and it said it only had 3.6 volts. I called AAA to come test it. He said it was ok and just needed a jump and a full charge. The car has been fine ever since. I was cautious at first, since full range was 24 miles, about half of what it was before. But the more I drive it, the range is increasing. Did dealership misdiagnose 12v battery issues? I asked them explicitly and they said no that their Voltec technician gave the traction battery its last rites. Let’s just say I’m glad I didn’t take their advice.