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Woman Goes To Valvoline For Battery Replacement. She Says It Put Her In Harm's Way: 'SENDING ME INTO TRAFFIC'

"Some cars need the computer to be programmed."

Woman goes to Valvoline. Then she has a near-death

Photo by: AdobeStock

Alexandra Samuels

By: Alexandra Samuels

Oct 21, at 10:00pm ET

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A woman says a routine battery replacement turned terrifying when her car suddenly lost power as she pulled into a busy intersection—leaving her unable to steer as cars came toward her.

Lauren (@ellebeeco) says she had a “near-death experience” after getting her car battery replaced at Valvoline. She claims a mistake during the service resulted in her being stranded in traffic moments after she drove away.

Lauren says she initially went to another auto shop for an oil change, where she was told she also needed a new battery. She agreed to the replacement, but just a week later, she says she got into her car and found the battery dead.

So she went to Valvoline, trusting they could fix the issue. Lauren says employees changed her battery, but even after the replacement, her car still wouldn’t start.

Eventually, she says she started the car three times in a row and pulled out of the shop. She turned left out of the Valvoline lot onto what she described as an “incredibly busy intersection.”

Then, she says, her car died again.

“I can’t do anything,” Lauren says. “And there were cars coming at me.”

Lauren says she “would have died” had another car hit her. She says she managed to turn on her hazards, which still worked, and says she started “muscling, trying to turn left, so I can roll back into the Valvoline parking lot.”

“By the grace of God,” Lauren says, she wasn’t hit and managed to get the car back into the Valvoline lot.

Once there, she says she realized her emergency brake wasn’t working, either. Afraid the car would roll backward, Lauren says she was initially scared to take her foot off the brake. Eventually, she says she got out and told a Valvoline employee what had happened.

“They were very concerned; I will give them that,” Lauren says, noting she was “shaking.”

According to Lauren, they soon figured out what had gone wrong: The corrosion on her car’s battery connectors hadn’t been cleaned off.

“That’s what was wrong,” Lauren says. “The individual admitted that they had made a mistake.”

Lauren says the employees apologized for what happened. But she says the mistake could have had far more serious consequences. As of Monday, her video had just under 600 views.

Valvoline told Motor1 in a statement, "We continue to be in discussions with the customer."

Can Corroded Battery Terminals Cause A Car To Stall?

Corrosion around a car battery’s terminals can weaken the electrical connection between the battery and the rest of the vehicle, causing starting problems, electrical failures, and, in some cases, stalling.

AAA says battery corrosion can inhibit electricity flow from the battery. Common signs include slow cranking, dim headlights, or a car that won’t start. Corrosion can also prevent the alternator from recharging the battery properly, suggesting that replacing the battery may not fix the underlying problem if the connections remain compromised.

NAPA Auto Parts similarly says corrosion “weakens the electrical connection between the battery posts and the battery cables.” The company notes that keeping those connection points clean can help prevent a vehicle from stalling and says corroded battery terminals can also cause greater electrical power loss.

That makes the condition of the terminals and cables an important part of diagnosing battery trouble. AAA recommends checking battery terminals for corrosion and cleaning corrosion from the connection points when it’s present.

Of course, corrosion is not the only thing that can cause a car to lose power or repeatedly fail to start. A dying battery, failing alternator, or faulty ground cable, among many other things, can produce similar symptoms. AAA notes that alternator problems can drain a battery and cause electrical issues, while corrosion or a loose ground cable connection could also disrupt electrical flow.

So while the problem Lauren described is consistent with symptoms of corroded battery connections, her account alone doesn’t definitively establish that corrosion caused the car to lose power at the intersection.

What Went Wrong?

Lauren’s experience prompted commenters to weigh in on what might have gone wrong during the battery replacement—and on the service itself.

One viewer suggested another factor could have been involved in the battery swap.

“Some cars need the computer to be programmed when you replace the battery. Just another way they try to get more money from you,” they wrote.

Lauren, however, says Valvoline employees ultimately traced the problem back to the corrosion on her battery connectors, rather than an issue with programming.

Another commenter focused less on the mechanics of the failure and more on the mistake Lauren says was made in the first place.

“Unfortunately, sloppiness doing your job is rampant in this country. They never have time to do it right the first time but can do it again,” the viewer said.

Lauren appeared to share the frustration. Responding in the comments, she emphasized that employees didn’t identify the problem until after she said she had already driven out of the shop.

What do you think?

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Comments

“Yeah, only after SENDING ME INTO TRAFFIC. The blue is when my battery flunked,” she replied.

Motor1 has reached out to Lauren via TikTok direct message.

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