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When Anil purchased an electric SUV for ₹15 lakh, the company highlighted one feature repeatedly:
When Anil purchased an electric SUV for ₹15 lakh, the company highlighted one feature repeatedly:
“Battery warranty: 8 years or 1.6 lakh kilometers.”
The promise gave him confidence that the most expensive component of the vehicle was protected for years.
However, after just 22 months of usage, Anil noticed a sharp decline in driving range. A vehicle that once delivered nearly 380 km on a full charge was now struggling to cross 250 km.
Concerned, he visited the authorized service centre.
The Service Centre’s Explanation
“The battery is functioning within acceptable limits. This is normal degradation, so warranty replacement is not applicable.”
Anil was shocked. Losing more than 30% of the range in less than two years did not seem normal.
When he asked for a detailed battery health report, the service centre provided only a brief summary without the full diagnostic data.
As electric vehicle adoption grows in India, more consumers are reporting disputes involving:
Warranty claims rejected as “normal wear”
Because EV batteries are extremely expensive, manufacturers often examine whether the issue falls under warranty coverage or ordinary degradation.
Instead of accepting the verbal explanation, Anil requested:
State of Health (SoH) percentage
The specific warranty clause used to deny replacement
He also downloaded charging and range data from the vehicle’s mobile app, which showed a consistent decline over several months.
Anil then consulted an EV technical expert who reviewed the available data. The expert observed that the battery health appeared significantly lower than expected for the vehicle’s age and mileage.
This gave Anil a technical basis to challenge the service centre’s conclusion.
Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a manufacturer cannot reject a warranty claim arbitrarily.
If a defect is alleged to be outside warranty coverage, the company should provide a reasonable technical explanation and supporting evidence.
Anil emailed the manufacturer’s regional customer grievance office with:
He also mentioned that if the claim was denied without adequate technical evidence, he would approach the National Consumer Helpline (1915) and the consumer dispute mechanism.
The detailed diagnostic report revealed that several battery modules had degraded abnormally compared to expected performance benchmarks.
The company approved a partial battery module replacement under warranty.
The repair cost, which would have exceeded ₹3 lakh, was covered by the manufacturer.
Ask for the full battery health report.
Request the State of Health (SoH) percentage.
Collect charging and range data from the app.
Obtain the written reason for rejection.
Escalate to the manufacturer’s grievance office.
Many owners rely only on verbal assurances such as “The battery is fine” without asking for the actual diagnostic data.
Without written reports, it becomes difficult to challenge the manufacturer’s assessment later.
“An EV battery warranty is one of the most important promises made at the time of sale. If a manufacturer denies replacement on grounds of ‘normal degradation,’ consumers should ask for detailed battery health data and the specific warranty clause supporting that decision.”
If your EV’s range drops sharply:
Request the full battery health report.
Ask for the SoH percentage.
Collect charging and range records.
Get the rejection reason in writing.
Escalate the matter formally if the explanation is inadequate.
A detailed technical review can sometimes save consumers several lakh rupees in battery replacement costs.