Another dead Interstate battery

[bbhero]

Too many variables to discuss "an almost 4 year old battery". Doesn't means the manufacturer makes bad batteries........

Not to mention the fact the OP doesn't even own the vehicle that has the battery in it.

Overall I agree with your thought process here.

There are a lot of variables that could be unknown. In this particular case they are known by Walterjay.

I had a AZ AGM battery that lasted 3 years 8 months… I was not impressed. Car driven every single day… And for longer distances… 28 miles on way and back.

And… it spent the vast majority of its life in an old 98 Camry. . NOT exactly bristling with lots of parasitic electronics…


My theory… why batteries are not lasting as long…
1) obviously much much more parasitic draw on car batteries now when not running… and keyless fobs keeping the cars using more power of key is close enough.
2) the whoopty doo fuel saving strategy utilized in vehicles built after the mid 2000s.. Not helping to keep car batteries charged better. 80-85 percent is about all they do for typical starter batteries… Which is the real killer of lead acid and AGM batteries. They live by far longer when truly kept near 100 percent charge after each use.
3) the use of smaller and smaller lighter batteries in all vehicles… the Nissan I had specd a group 35. Yet the same exact motor specd a group 24f just a couple years before. And yes there can be a large weight difference between those batteries. A solid group 24f can weigh 44 pounds and a group 35 can weigh as little as 33 pounds. Mind you a Northstar group 24f weighs nearly 58 pounds… Exact same BCI size. Which gives an indication of how much less lead is being utilized in newer and newer batteries.
4)The percentage of good pure lead in batteries has and continues to driop which affects the actual build quality all those batteries and their shorter longevity .

 

[nate379]

If you have room, toss in a group 31. They are still under $100 and rugged, as it's what most heavy equipment uses.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Wow we have much different luck lol. I’ve never had a Walmart battery last more than 3 years. We had an Interstate last 14 years and another that lasted 8. We only buy that brand now. I will never buy another Walmart battery. I understand there are only a few manufacturers for them no matter the company but each company has their quality standards. Now if you were to say Walmart vs Econo Power which is Interstates low brand I’d say buy the Everstart any day over the Econo Power which I haven’t had good luck with but they are also very cheap so you get what you pay for.

 

[k1xv]

Any battery will last longer if kept on a battery maintainer when the car is idle for days at a time.

 

[CourierDriver]

On my motorcycle , I keep a battery tender on it at all times and never a problem there, but on my truck , batteries seem to last 48 months................not a big deal....I do not use a battery tender on the truck...

 

[dogememe]

Wow we have much different luck lol. I’ve never had a Walmart battery last more than 3 years. We had an Interstate last 14 years and another that lasted 8. We only buy that brand now. I will never buy another Walmart battery. I understand there are only a few manufacturers for them no matter the company but each company has their quality standards. Now if you were to say Walmart vs Econo Power which is Interstates low brand I’d say buy the Everstart any day over the Econo Power which I haven’t had good luck with but they are also very cheap so you get what you pay for.

I'll be the first to say Econo Power sucks BUT my coworker has one that he got USED (and from my understand Econo Power are just used/returned Interstates that tested good) so it was a USED USED battery and it's been rock solid in his Northstar Cadillac. The manufacture date of that battery? 2013 or something crazy like that.

I'm also rocking the original 12V battery in my Volt.

So it's really, really random. Some batteries last, some don't. I think brand is not important at all. Unless it's Exide. Those really are junk.

The short version? Don't worry about the label or sticker on the battery, worry about the price, warranty, and convenience.

 

[Oro_O]

Not quite 4 years old and completely gone. MIL paid a lot of money for Interstate which has really gone south in the last few years. I am getting twice the life out of Walmart batteries. This is the fourth Interstate in the family that gave up the ghost in less than 5 years.
What used to be a good battery no longer is. Cheaper Walmarts have proven to be better.

No info anywhere in the thread (I could find) on WHICH Interstate? They have a value line that is indeed horrible, gets about two to three years IME (had one). Firestone quit carrying it five/six years ago because the warranty claims were unbearable, the store manager told me. But they have the MegaTron (green top) and the MegaTron Plus line above it which still seem A-ok to me.

The Green top ones, (or above), I still get seven years on average from. Just did a diagnostic on the one in my SUV the other day (MTP24) and it is at 75% of original capacity after six years; I will get at least one or two more years out of it.

 

[silversport]

It seems that many of the Everstart Maxx batteries at Walmart are manufactured by East Penn. That's my chosen battery maker, and I recently spent more for its Deka brand.

Think it depends on where you live as the Everstart Maxx batteries bought in ChicagoLand area have been Johnson Controls and then Clarios from what I've seen...as have been the Interstate batteries bought from Costco in my experience since 2017...oldest one that I have experience with and still have in cars I maintain is near 5 years old

Bill

 

[walterjay]

The last two were green tops. Don't recall the others.

 

[MSCH]

I think any battery l more than 3 years old is on borrowed time, so if you get 4 or more, good for you.

 

[RaymondP]

In a Walmart a few days before end on October. AGM H8 Platinum battery had a sticker on it. Roundel with the date - 11/23. Hmmm. Wonder who is performing the time travel magic? Just a heads up for other shoppers. Don't think it was the sell by date???

Must admit Walmart is my first go to, and so far with good results, be it Maxx or more recently Platinum (AGM).

 

[brianl703]

The Econopower I got for my 1984 Chevy Cavalier is still going after close to 2 years. I don't even drive that car much, so it spends a lot of time sitting. I don't think it has much of a parasitic draw, though.