vognell's dashboard

I just started experiencing the same issue, less than a month after this apparent one year warranty ran up! My battery from my Dell Inspiron 1520 fell to 0%, and it now will not charge. I even purchased the extended 3-year warranty, assuming all parts would be included (common sense to me). I rarely EVER use the battery for my 1520. I have only used the battery for about 4-5 car trips and occasionally at home when the charger becomes accidentally unplugged (which I then plug back in when I realize). I cannot even recall the last time the life went down to 0%, and now this time, one of the only occurrences where the battery has gone this low- it won't charge at all now? If the one year warranty is true, this is, to me, unacceptable. I have had this laptop for about 13 and a half months, and the battery, which I have rarely used, now appears completely dead. While a battery may be considered a consumable product, perhaps the product should do it's job more than a handful of times before malfunctioning!

I am having the exact same issue. I purchased my insp 1520 in Sept 2007 and just received the same battery replace error. Coincidence or defective manufacturing? I was told the same crap about the battery only being warrantied for one year, which would have been less that a week ago. I was not told this when I purchased the extended warranty either.

In fact, if the warranty started from the time I received the system and began using it, instead of the invoice date.... It would still be covered, as there were MAJOR delays in getting my system shipped last year. Not to mention, I very rarely use my laptop on battery power, it should not be worn out all ready. I'm highly dissappointing in DELL, their service and their products.

I had issue with the battery in my 1505 too. It was just over a year old when I had the GPU burn through the motherboard and fry the motherboard. Prior to that I'd never had any indications of the battery being bad. Less than two weeks after the motherboard went out, I noticed the battery was messed up. It shows it holds a full charge at 100%. All of the lights come on on the battery itself but it only lasts 10-15 minutes.

I like some of you found out the batteries are only covered one year. So mine was 48 days out of warranty when I chatted with Dell about the issue.

I know one thing, when I have a new laptop in the future.. 350 days into that first year, I'm going to really analyze that battery.

I am just experiencing the same problem with the E1505. My battery is 15 months old and I have been told that my 3 year hardware warranty does not cover this. Everytime I have called dell I have been told my 3 year extended covers everything but the thing I'm calling about warranty doesn't cover it. I was told by the sales rep that gladly took my money that this covered EVERYTHING for 3 years. I will never buy another Dell and after all the trouble and customer no-service my next letter will be to the attorney general for the state that I live in.

I've had this same problem too and it's very frustrating. I woudl like Dell to (1) improve its battery life (2) lengthen its battery warranty to 2 years, and (3) reduce the cost of replacement. This will improve customer satisfaction. For now, I am very disappointed.

cannon,

If you want to email me your service tag and shipping address, I will look at your case and see if I can help. [private contact details removed]

My problem is similar. I have an E1505 as well and noticed recently that the ac adapter had frayed despite barely leaving my desk since I bought the laptop (from online research it looks like the Dell adapters are really cheap and often fall apart) and then the battery died right away. Dell said they'd replace the adapter and motherboard but not the battery because I had the system for 13 months. So they admit that the adapter went bad and could have damaged the motherboard but pretend that the sudden death of the battery was just a coincidence and not their problem because of the warranty. Their was a related problem with the touchpad but that is not relevant to the battery issue.

I have to say that I've bought three dell computers for myself, dozens for friends, family, and work (I'm the person they go to whenever a computer product needs to be purchased), and have recommended Dell to everyone I know that is in the market for a new computer but after this incident I'll no longer purchase any Dell product and will make sure that this change is known to those that come to me for advice and to make purchases of new equipment.

On a related note, their tech support and claims resolution is not helpful, some of them didn't seem to have a good grasp of English, and overall they seem entirely ignorant of problems that hundreds of people have reported to them online as can be plainly seen on the dell community forum and in reviews of the adapter on their website. Easily the worst tech support I've ever dealt with and reason enough to stop purchasing their products.

I *meant* to let you know that the replacement battery resolved the issue completely - but apparently, I flaked out.
*sigh*
Still a Dell fan - but get the battery folks to get on board! :) – GeekMommy, on July 24, 2008 06:10

I got an OEM replacement off of eBay and have had no issues since. Dell really needs to get their battery supplier to get a clue. :\ But I'm still a fan of the laptop itself! :) – GeekMommy, on July 24, 2008 06:09

Their warranty should be more explicit on the point.... your are not the only person who was under the impression the battery was covered under the extended contract. They should have the salepeople/website make it a point to clarify this issue for the customers. Setting expectations prevents these customer service fiascos down the line.

My big issue is not having to replace the battery out-of-pocket, but rather the high-cost and short life expectancy of the batteries. My girlfriends Inspiron 6000 had a 9-cell battery that lasted nearly two years, and was still powering the computer for nearly an hour... now Dell is stating a 1 year average life expectancy... What gives?

My 1505 was received by me on 3/21/06. I run the laptop on AC approximately 98% of the time. I am not arguing that the battery should be covered. My complaint is that, as far as I can determine, the extended warranty does not state that the battery is NOT covered. Since the battery is an integral part of a laptop and the extended warranty covers parts and services, it seems that a reasonable person would assume that the battery is covered. If the battery is not covered, then the contract (i.e, the extended warranty) should state this.

Dell-Bill_B:

System shipped on 3/27/07. Battery time had dropped to about 20 minutes by april. I mostly work on AC power, so it hasn't been a major issue....though I will, at some point, need to rely on my battery.

By the way, how far past one year is your 1505?

Hi, Vognell.

I can agree with a lot of your points on pricing for spare parts in general, but the battery price question is a little more involved. I am not sure about the quality or supply deals Laptop Battery Depot has, but since the big fire last year at LG Chem in Korea, prices of some batteries have gone up. It is possible we were able to cover 6 cell demand from other manufacturers more effectively than 9 cells.
http://news.cnet.com/Dell,-HP-confron...

Extended warranties on batteries might be a good bet for the consumer. Customers would, in effect, be "pre-purchasing" extra batteries, and not taking shipment until they need them.

The price would probably be pretty steep, because the replacement rate during a 3 or 4 year period would be somewhere around 2 for every customer on average. The price would probably be somewhere around 2 X current battery cost. I am just speculating there, but I would not be surprised if I guessed right.

Hey Bill B...

I'm cool with the battery being a "consumable" item. They will wear out over time, and covering them under extended warranty would just guarantee Dell would have to replace the battery 2-3 times under a 4 year warranty. I am willing to pay a REASONABLE price for replacing my battery.

My issue is the $300 that dell is charging for the 9-cell replacement. That is seriously insane and abusive of the cusomers. Yes.. the 6 cell is only $134.99, but if you ask any notebook user, long battery time is vital. The customer's only choice is to pay WAY too much for the 9 cell, or pay less for an unsatisfactory 6 cell... neither of which are likely to last for more than a year under any circumstance.

Laptop Battery Depot Cells a 9-Cell 1505 replacement for $77 WITH a 2-year warranty... you can talk about the "superiority" of Dell products, but for the average consumer, having to pay only 25.7% of Dell's asking price for essentially the same product with twice the warranty talks a lot louder.

If Dell wants to keep their customers buying replacement parts and peripherals (and there is good money in this), they will need to be more competitive. Saying "we're brand name... so we can charge what we like" does not fly with the average consumer.

I am a loyal dell customer. Got the 1505 notebook and XPS420 desktop and love'em both. But the abbreviated lifespan of the 9-cell battery combined with the preposterous replacement price has got me SERIOUSLY cheesed off.

Pass this along to your superiors, if you please.

Vognell

Geekmommy...

Got the same problem. Just got off chat with dell technical support. The batteries are not expected to last much past one year, even under light usage. I'm a huge dell fan too... but they're off their nut on the replacement price for the 9-cell battery.

I'm iffy about aftermarket, but for $77,

http://www.laptopbatterydepot.com/sho...

They are offering a 2-year warranty on their battery.