Q &A Dead or dormant? with Sharon Peters Q: We just came back from three weeks in Europe, and when we at tempted to start our car it was dead; it made a growling sound and then would n't turn over. This was just a 1-year-old battery (though a fairly cheap one). My husband, who isn't at all mechanical and even less patient, immediately stormed off with a friend and bought a replacement battery. I'm annoyed. I think we should have taken that dead battery back and demanded a new one. Shouldn't it have lasted longer than a year? A:It's not uncommon for a battery to lose its kick after it has lain about with out activity for three weeks. Having someone go to your house to start it up and drive it around for a little while a couple of times while you were out of town probably would have prevented the problem. I think the wisest course, once it ap peared dead, would have been this: Get a jump-start and then drive it for at least 30 minutes or so to allow the battery to recharge itself. I'm betting it would have been just fine after that. And if you had felt any concern at all once it was doing its recharging thing again, you could have taken it to a shop so they could test the battery. They can tell you if a battery is reaching the end of its life span (and I'm doubtful that was the case, given its age). © CTW Features What's your question? Sharon Peters would like to hear about what's on your mind when it comes to caring for, driv ing and repairing your vehicle. E-mail Sharon@ctwfeatures. com.