Complaint 1926257

Complaint Summary

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY

Owner Narrative

Purchased a duralast battery from AutoZone store #1299 in Hialeah in August 3rd and installed it. The staff was insistent that this battery was a direct replacement part for my lead acid battery. The car drove normally for approximately a month, and on the morning of September 6th started normally with no warning lights. After being driven less than a quarter mile, in slow-moving traffic, the car suddenly lost all power and large amounts of smoke came from under the hood accompanied by a burning smell. This happened in an intersection during 830 AM traffic on a weekday and I was unable to immediately exit the vehicle. This could have been a fatal incident for myself or potentially others. It was towed to a mechanic who started disassembling it to determine the damages. As per the mechanic, there is evidence of an electrical fire - the cables connected to the battery have melted and the alternator (which was TESTED AND INSTALLED BRAND NEW LESS THAN 2 YEARS AGO) are damaged. The mechanics have also stated that the fans and cooling system have been affected, but not to what extent as they are still mid-teardown. When they attempted to put a load on the battery, it began to overheat dangerously, and they state that it is the likely culprit of the fire. I attempted to return the battery to the store I had purchased it at, where the staff were verbally abusive and insisting that it was impossible for a battery to cause an electrical fire and they'd never heard of such a thing, and that perhaps my mechanic was the one who had messed up my car. They refused to aceept a return, and kept telling me the battery was good. They provided me with a area manager phone number who is avoiding all communication. Meanwhile, I am without my vehicle, which requires EXTENSIVE ELECTRICAL REPAIRS and may be a total loss. If they are selling defective batteries to clients, they are putting the public at risk, doubly so by refusing to take any sort of accountability for their product.

Owner-submitted narrative on file with NHTSA. Complaint narratives are self-reported and have not been verified.