I was kind of curious when do you guys replace your battery do you wait for it to absolutely fail and leave you somewhere or do you do it preemptively? The battery in my focus I'm pretty sure is original from 2017 there's no markings on it if a manufacturer which makes me think it's a factory battery. It's state of health is 45% 397 cold cranking amps out of a rated 590. Would you replace it or would you leave it be?
At what state of health do you replace your battery
- Thread starter wheelman
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I would probably replace it at that capacity. It’s usually inconvenient when it fails or cheap to do so as you are at the mercy of what is available. Artic air is coming to parts of the US with windchills in the negative 30s. Maybe stressing the charging system.
During the summer I changed a battery that was working just fine and had never failed to start the car but there was logic in the decision
Would the old OEM Varta battery last for my intended future ownership off the car - almost certainly not, it was already 12 years old.
Would a new Varta last for my intended ownership off the car even if bought before it was needed - almost certainly yes.
Are batteries going to get more expensive - most definitely yes, so buy one now before they go up.
Rather than wait until the old battery failed, buying a new one early was both the safest and the cheapest way forward.
Would the old OEM Varta battery last for my intended future ownership off the car - almost certainly not, it was already 12 years old.
Would a new Varta last for my intended ownership off the car even if bought before it was needed - almost certainly yes.
Are batteries going to get more expensive - most definitely yes, so buy one now before they go up.
Rather than wait until the old battery failed, buying a new one early was both the safest and the cheapest way forward.
The jump pack batteries are pretty cool. I usually try and extend my car batteries with a little NOCO tender. But if the battery is going anyways, just replace it and be done. Especially on wifey's car. And I consider all our cars wifey's cars. One and done, as they say.
I just preemptively replaced mine on the MDX...previous battery had a date sticker for 2017 and in this climate combined with that being my wife's primary vehicle in went a new one, and this time an AGM.
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My tester says to replace below 60%. I have had 2 below this since I bought the tester and when I took them to Walmart they agreed and replaced both in warranty.
However when you test it you should really have it out of the vehicle, charged from a trickle charger, then let sit 24 hours. I think technically that is how your supposed to do it.
Many others here will tell you to go much longer, but I would happily pay the extra 100 bucks to avoid one no start. I have enough problems already.
However when you test it you should really have it out of the vehicle, charged from a trickle charger, then let sit 24 hours. I think technically that is how your supposed to do it.
Many others here will tell you to go much longer, but I would happily pay the extra 100 bucks to avoid one no start. I have enough problems already.
I tested the 12 Volt starter battery in my brothers 2007 hybrid Altima and told him it needed replaced. His wife is a penny pincher and decided to run it untill a no start. About 4 months later it would not start. It is an odd size, took him about a week to get one. When it was put in the engine would crank but not start. Because it is a hybrid he had it towed to a Nissan dealer. Tow truck driver broke the exhaust trying to back it into the dealers lot. It took a week before a hybrid qualified mechanic had enough time to look at it. When the 12 Volt battery died an ignition coil blew out. He paid to have that fixed, and then had to wait a couple more days for the dealer to fix the exhaust that the tow company paid for.
All in all, in the end he was without his car for more than 2 weeks because they decided to not preemptively replace the failing battery.
And it cost him a lot more because of the tow, and dealer service.
All in all, in the end he was without his car for more than 2 weeks because they decided to not preemptively replace the failing battery.
And it cost him a lot more because of the tow, and dealer service.
Replace and not think about it. Been there done that with weak batteries .
My luck with batteries is they work flawlessly and then just die unexpectedly. Every single time not even a jump start or jump pack would get them running.
I recently replaced two batteries at around 65% CCA capacity as shown on my tester, which was seven years age for both the Honda and the Buick batteries. They were still cranking fine in moderate temps, but I don't want to mess around with battery unreliability in -30 deg weather.
I figure there will be many folks around here that find out just how healthy their battery is when the temps get into the single digits Thursday night/ Friday morning. The forecast calls for 4 degrees overnight with a high of 17 Friday.
That may not seem too bad for you guys, but I'm telling you, you guys up north need to keep your weather on a leash.
A couple times I went until it died, and would just get a jump and go to the local Walmart to replace it in the parking lot. Last couple of times I did swap out proactively, slow cranking and age, figured I'd rather do on my own time rather than having to do immediately.
For a little while all my vehicles took the same size battery. So I was a bit less concerned about it, one vehicle goes down... swap parts as necessary.
For a little while all my vehicles took the same size battery. So I was a bit less concerned about it, one vehicle goes down... swap parts as necessary.
Same here. If it starts cranking slower, it gets tested with the battery tester and when the test pretty much confirms what I suspect, it's out of there.
+1 for GMFan
Have you charged and retested?
Is the test repeatable?
Are there any symptoms?
My usual answer is along the lines of GM Fans, but in the face of those test results on a fully charged battery Id be tempted to replace it if it was a daily or particularly if it was Mrs's Daily... Depends on how mission critical it is...
Is the test repeatable?
Are there any symptoms?
My usual answer is along the lines of GM Fans, but in the face of those test results on a fully charged battery Id be tempted to replace it if it was a daily or particularly if it was Mrs's Daily... Depends on how mission critical it is...
CleanSump
Site Donor 2022
What 2010Civic and HemiBenny said.
Run to failure may leave the Domestic Partner stranded.
And age isn't necessarily an indicator. My 2008 Mercedes battery was magnifico for 13 years. Then, not so much, so....
Run to failure may leave the Domestic Partner stranded.
And age isn't necessarily an indicator. My 2008 Mercedes battery was magnifico for 13 years. Then, not so much, so....
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