AGM Battery recommendation for 2017 Silverado 5.3

many batteries are similar even though the names are different, a search will show east penn sells batteries with various brand names. i you get a battery fresher is better + fully charging before install if possible is best!! on that note if you dont drive a lot get a smart charger like CTek or others + keep your battery topped up!! in hot areas a flooded battery can be better as unlike sealed ones you can add distilled water if needed, unless the "cap-s" interfere with installation. aunts big autozone flooded battery went 7 years + she drives little, but her 99 cherokee had FEW power draining JUNK!!
 
Walmart and Costco batteries, along with Sam’s Club are always one of the less expensive options, with auto parts stores consistently being most expensive, at least in my neck of the woods.
Right, but those stores don't really carry AGM batteries. I wish I could get an H8 battery in a $50 Walmart special, but that's one of the biggest batteries out there.
 
Right, but those stores don't really carry AGM batteries. I wish I could get an H8 battery in a $50 Walmart special, but that's one of the biggest batteries out there.
Sam's Club and Costco have a handful of sizes, I picked up a group 65 AGM at Sam's in December. When they do have them, they've always been cheaper than the parts stores in my experience.

But true, AGM are much more readily available at the auto parts stores, especially the less common sizes. I had to shell out about $250 for an H9 AGM last month because Diehard (at Advance Auto) was literally the only one I could find within 60 miles.

I wish Walmart would get in the game, I've had great luck with the Everstart line of flooded batteries, which have always been JC / Clarios every time I've bought them. Would be nice to have an inexpensive AGM option, but I suspect most folks shopping batteries at Walmart are unlikely to pony up the money for AGM. Hopefully with more vehicles becoming equipped with AGM from the factory, we'll begin to see wider aftermarket availability.
 
The Everstart Platinum AGM batteries were only ever available from one Walmart in my region, and a quick check now says they're out of stock.

Costco only started to carry a limited range of AGM batteries within the past couple of years, but according to a query at the store not that long ago, no stock.

Say what you will about Pep Boys, but they actually have stock, and regularly receive it. The fact that the my store allows shipments to pile up and block the aisles during business hours doesn't contribute to the shipping experience (and is a different topic), but I have encountered Clarios pallettes next to the rack.
 
Odyssey makes a nice battery; run them in most of my cars (they don't make one to fit the S2K).
 
I just replaced mine in my Suburban with a AC Delco Professional maintenance free battery with a 42 month warranty. The last one lasted 7 years ( but isn’t hot like Texas). I then sold the 7 year old battery to a guy for $25. It was still starting fine but was weak on the tester.
 
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In the end, I did not replace the battery....

I had my battery checked again, and both places said their diagnostic checker advised the battery and alternator were both good.

During the freeze I had to jump start the truck on 3 separate occasions when temps were between 20-30f. One time is when the truck was off but I had the flashers on for about 20 minutes. I had driven in cold weather back at the end of December in another part of the State when it snowed and it had no issues then, but I dont think at that time the temp was going below 30.

Our freeze lasted almost a week, which is super uncommon for South Texas.

But for those who live up North where sub freezing temps are the norm, is it usual for your batteries to have intermittent problems starting, then start normally after it warms up??

So far the truck has had zero issues starting after the freeze ended. Later this month I will have the battery/alternator checked again by AutoZone.

I appreciate everyone sharing their comments, experiences and suggestions.

Thank you BITOG community!
 
In the end, I did not replace the battery....

I had my battery checked again, and both places said their diagnostic checker advised the battery and alternator were both good.

During the freeze I had to jump start the truck on 3 separate occasions when temps were between 20-30f. One time is when the truck was off but I had the flashers on for about 20 minutes. I had driven in cold weather back at the end of December in another part of the State when it snowed and it had no issues then, but I dont think at that time the temp was going below 30.

Our freeze lasted almost a week, which is super uncommon for South Texas.

But for those who live up North where sub freezing temps are the norm, is it usual for your batteries to have intermittent problems starting, then start normally after it warms up??

So far the truck has had zero issues starting after the freeze ended. Later this month I will have the battery/alternator checked again by AutoZone.

I appreciate everyone sharing their comments, experiences and suggestions.

Thank you BITOG community!
Mine did die when it hit about 15-20 degrees. Lately I've been doing short drives and sitting in the car eating while the radio was on. I think that's what probably killed the battery. I was just going to get another one when I realized that none were on sale. I brought it back in and charged it up. It's probably at 80% of what it was good for new as I couldn't get it to charge up higher than 12.4 volts, should be 12.7 when new. I have a voltage gauge in the car and when it wouldn't start, it was at 11.2 volts, normally I don't see it drop any lower than 11.5 volts. After I tossed the battery back in the car, it was at 11.9 and now it doesn't really drop much below 11.7. Been running fine for the last month. I just don't listen to the radio with the car off anymore and shut off the seat warmer. I think I escaped the winter as temperatures are starting to warm up now and maybe I'll just grab a new one in November when they seem to have all the sales.
 
In the end, I did not replace the battery....

I had my battery checked again, and both places said their diagnostic checker advised the battery and alternator were both good.

During the freeze I had to jump start the truck on 3 separate occasions when temps were between 20-30f. One time is when the truck was off but I had the flashers on for about 20 minutes. I had driven in cold weather back at the end of December in another part of the State when it snowed and it had no issues then, but I dont think at that time the temp was going below 30.

Our freeze lasted almost a week, which is super uncommon for South Texas.

But for those who live up North where sub freezing temps are the norm, is it usual for your batteries to have intermittent problems starting, then start normally after it warms up??

So far the truck has had zero issues starting after the freeze ended. Later this month I will have the battery/alternator checked again by AutoZone.

I appreciate everyone sharing their comments, experiences and suggestions.

Thank you BITOG community!
Generally you don't see starting issues in the cold weather unless the battery is on the way out OR you drive mainly short trips and/or very infrequently (car sits for a few days at a time), where the battery is not able to stay fully charged. Battery output declines with very cold temperatures and a vehicle usually requires more power to start when it's cold. This is why these issues tend to pop up in cold weather.

It's not normal, a car should start fine in cold weather and most do. Cold weather is not a death sentence for a battery, it just means the battery needs to be in decent shape and able to be charged long enough (or with increased frequency) for the system to be effective when it's cold out.
 
Do you have the Fullriver AGM's over there? They are really popular in Australia. They are Chinese made but well priced and I have never heard of any issues. I run one in a 4.0L 6 cyl with no issues at all.
 
I'm late to the part, however I'll state this for the record. As for Walmart AGM batteries. It wouldn't come up in the search on their site. I then took to Google to search for a Walmart link with the AGM battery and then did a search for the battery and found one available about 30 minutes away. I went with that because it has a 4 year warranty as opposed to 3 years for everyone else.
 
Generally you don't see starting issues in the cold weather unless the battery is on the way out OR you drive mainly short trips and/or very infrequently (car sits for a few days at a time), where the battery is not able to stay fully charged. Battery output declines with very cold temperatures and a vehicle usually requires more power to start when it's cold. This is why these issues tend to pop up in cold weather.

It's not normal, a car should start fine in cold weather and most do. Cold weather is not a death sentence for a battery, it just means the battery needs to be in decent shape and able to be charged long enough (or with increased frequency) for the system to be effective when it's cold out.


Very good post here ^^^^^^^^^^^
 
@adams355, I have not seen the FullRiver brand of batteries down in my area in South Texas, but it might be available in other parts of the States. You mentioned you have a 4.0 6-cyl. Would that be in a HiLux? Your market has a lot of excellent vehicles that are not sold here in the US.



@92saturnsl2 , thanks for the advice!
 
@adams355, I have not seen the FullRiver brand of batteries down in my area in South Texas, but it might be available in other parts of the States. You mentioned you have a 4.0 6-cyl. Would that be in a HiLux? Your market has a lot of excellent vehicles that are not sold here in the US.
Its in a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo which is a full size family sport sedan in Australia. Battery has been great and only half the size of a standard one.
I was able to fit up a turbo side intake with the extra space.
 
Any Eastern Penn sourced AGM battery. I've purchased hundreds of them over the years for the telecommunications industry. They are top-notch.
 
I forgot to mention:

SuperStart Platinum AGM at O'Reilly's



@slacktide_bitog , yes there are some NAPA's where I live. Problem is they are not as common compared to Walmart, AutoZone, AAP, etc.

I would prefer to get a battery from a large chain, since I use this truck to pull our family's travel trailer out of town. Also, it's very possible I will be having to travel again throughout Texas for work purposes.

NAPA's aren't as prevalent in Texas compared to the stores mentioned above. So where ever I buy from, needs to have a lot of locations here in Texas.

@tyman , same goes for Sam's Club, although we do have a membership there.

Does anyone know if WalMart has stopped selling the AGM's, or maybe their vendor is just super backlogged?
They’re very rare. So I’d avoid AGM if you want Walmart. Lots of stores, but if they don’t have the battery, what difference will it make?
 
Yeah, while I agree Pepboys is on shaky ground, I think of them like Sears. Sears was going under for years but still hasn't gone under yet. Although I suppose at one point it could get bad enough where the whole chain shuts down. Still you'd think that anyone that can survive the pandemic might have better luck lasting a few more years. Only issue with Walmart and Costco is that they don't really have good prices on AGM batteries if they even carry them.
Really??

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Can't tell from your picture if that's an AGM or not, price wise it probably is. However the Walmarts in this area and the Costcos don't carry the AGM batteries even though they might be listed on their website. This varies from location to location it seems. Plus Pepboys is a 48 months warranty, most places it's just 36.
 
I've not had any luck finding AGMs at Walmart. Sam's Club has a couple popular sizes, but it usually takes going to an auto parts chain store (no Costco nearby) to find what you're looking for in AGM, and paying a pretty penny for it.
 
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