My brand new 2009 Ford F 150 (fewer than 110 miles) would not start; clicking/clattering noise instead; then did start.
What did I get cheated out of – a new battery? (the lights and radio work fine with engine off) a new solenoid? a new starter? what did they swap in before I picked up the truck? Or is the Ford F150 a piece of junk as I secretly feared it might be after all? (My wife wanted the Toyota, now I’ll never hear the end of it.)
Possible loose battery cable connections at battery, ground and at the starter.
Make certain all these connections are clean and wrench tight. (NOT hand tight)
Get after the people that sold you the truck and make sure the problems are cured.
There shouldn’t be any major problems with a brand new vehicle. I don’t care where it comes from.
A little paranoid, are we?
My guess is the truck has been sitting on the dealer’s lot long enough for the battery to be nearly dead, and you haven’t driven the truck enough to fully charge the battery.
The entire vehicle is under warranty, including the battery. Take it back to the dealer and let them fix it.
Dealers don’t swap good parts for bad before delivering new vehicles. You didn’t get cheated out of anything, although you’re probably right about never hearing the end of it.
Haven’t you ever heard, “Happy wife, happy life?”
It is also possible that the battery is defective. I once purchased a new battery from Quality Farm and Fleet (stores are now out of business) and the battery lasted a week-end.
Also, the engine may be pretty tight in your new truck and require more current to crank. If, after driving the truck for a while, this problem does not reoccur, the battery is probably o.k.
Things go wrong with new vehicles. I had quite a bit of grief with a new Toyota 4Runner that I purchased back in 2003. The serpentine belt wouldn’t quit chirping. After 3 new belts and the dealer installing one belt improperly so it pulled out the crankshaft oil seal, we finally got things straightened out. The spring in the belt tensioner was defective. I haven’t had any mechanical problems with the 4Runner since that time. However, it has never gone back to a Toyota dealer after the problem was fixed. Since my wife wanted the Toyota 4Runner, I kept my mouth shut.
Thanks – I took your advice; it turned out to be a bad battery. THe dealership gave me a new battery and was very good about a prompt solution. Thanks.
A healthy skepticism never hurts, particularly if you have been ripped off in the past. I have some great stories – personal experience. In this case, it was a bad battery, which they promptly fixed.
You were absolutely right. The dealership put in a new battery. They admitted they hadn’t checked the battery before turning over the truck, and that they should have. Since the truck, a 2009 model, had been started and moved around the lot so many times without being driven for any substantial period of time, the battery was shot. Thanks for your comment.