Battery life

[Spazdog]

I stopped maintaining my batteries years ago. I just keep the terminals clean.

They still failed prematurely when I carefully kept them topped off with distilled water and periodically ran a low charge on them overnight. They just failed after the free replacement period. I had to pay.

The OEM battery failed in my car 2 years after I purchased it. I actually don't know if the dealer replaced the battery or if it was original equipment. My car was one year old when I bought it.

In July 2008 it was replaced with a Duralast 40R-DL. July 31st, 2010 it failed...had to pay the pro-rate by just a couple of weeks.

Friday, April 8th, 2011 that battery failed. Kudos to the manager at Uh-OhZone for not making me jump through hoops to replace their shoddy battery that is unfit for the climate it operates in.

I won't pay another pro-rate at Uh-OhZone. I will just search for a better 40R battery. I haven't found anybody that stocks one yet.

 

[brianl703]

Did your OE 40R battery come with an insulator wrapping (which is designed to protect the battery from heat), and if so, was it re-installed on the replacement battery?

Usually I find that those battery insulators are left on the old battery and not re-installed on the new one.

 

[Spazdog]

I still have the insulator wrap (corrugated plastic).

It's just the combination of the cheapest grade battery (no yellowtop "Gold" 40R in stock), southwest heat, and vibration.

I'm sure that I will get a longer service life out of a premium quality battery. (which I will next time I have to pay a pro-rated price)

 

[brianl703]

Costco did at one time stock the 40R battery. I haven't seen them here in a long time, but if you have a Costco that stocks the 40R battery, it's a 3-year free replacement warranty.

 

[bigmike]

My OEM battery lasted 5.5 years in my Silverado. I knew it was dying and probably could have managed another few months out of it, but didn't want to try. It was a 6YR maintenance free AC Delco - not sure who made it back then - maybe Delphi?

I have a Penn Deka now and couldn't be happier.

 

[daves87rs]

The Delco in my Cavalier is still going at 7 years. It does sit for a bit, but it has also gone for long drives too. At times I've noticed a slower crank, so even if it is not dead by the end of the summer, I'll grab a new battery.


Also (just a bit off topic here), I have a foam cushion around m battery. I haven't tried to take it off, but wondering if I could still put it on the new one?

 

[bigmike]

I had a foam cushion on mine as well and I reused it.

 

[Jim 5]

I trickle charge all of my batteries whenever I bring the vehicle in the garage for service or otherwise. I probably do it to each vehicle 5 - 8 times a year.

Short trips and stop/go traffic often only give a battery a top-charge, and they remain not fully charged for long periods of time.

Trickle charging routinely can extend the life of a battery or so I have read.

 

[McKittrick]

My GM original battery lasted just over three years. About the same time the front wheel bearings went out, and the engine light came on. They did a good job to get the car out of warranty

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: McKittrick
My GM original battery lasted just over three years. About the same time the front wheel bearings went out, and the engine light came on. They did a good job to get the car out of warranty

Just curious, what model was it?

 

[demarpaint]

Every time one of these threads comes up that I post in I hope I don't jinx myself. My E-150 still has a battery from 10/00 in it. Since I've working close to home I keep putting off replacing it It still cranks strong even during the worst days of this past winter, no issues starting at all. The summer is usually hard on batteries too, I'll see what happens. No jumps or charges since I installed it.

 

[steve20]

Next time you are at Wallys check out the prices on the EverStart MAXX series = 800 CCAs for just 88 bucks-3 year free replacement
Can't beat that deal unless you can get your hands on an Interstate, which will last longer than some of us


Steve

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

I do not know of a single person in Miami that got more then 4 years on a battery..Does not matter if they do highway or gridlock driving..When I lived in NYC I sometimes got up to 7 years on a battery.

Most people I know down here just buy the Interstate battery from AAA when they come out to their stranded vechicles..They generallly charge 130 bucks for their battery..The generally get it from AAA since the battery usually goes out at a really bad time.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Every time one of these threads comes up that I post in I hope I don't jinx myself. My E-150 still has a battery from 10/00 in it. Since I've working close to home I keep putting off replacing it It still cranks strong even during the worst days of this past winter, no issues starting at all. The summer is usually hard on batteries too, I'll see what happens. No jumps or charges since I installed it.

And here I thought I was doing well with what I believe is the original battery in my 2004 Mercury. The car was built in 01/2004. So that is just over 7 years.
It's still holding a charge, but I moved it into the Aerostar and bought a new battery for the Mercury. The Aerostar doesn't get driven that many miles a year and like you said I stay fairly close to home with it.

 

[Paulson]

I got 8 years out of my suburban battery.

I've got interstate batteries in everything except my Mazda (put a walmart battery in it.)

 

[Jim 5]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
About every GM car I've owned the Delco battery lasted at least 5 years. Some people's battery last a little longer and some less. One nice thing is for awhile now GM has used an electrical monitor that shuts off any battery drains that were left on. My brother killed the dinky battery in his '09 Accord by leaving an interior light on.


Same thing on our '09 Odyssey. Didn't even last a year. Honda is now using American made batteries. Our 03 Acura 3.2TL was supplied with a Japanese made Panasonic battery that lasted through the 7 years we owned and never had a failure in those seven years of ownership. Same exact climate, same exact commute.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
I do not know of a single person in Miami that got more then 4 years on a battery..Does not matter if they do highway or gridlock driving..When I lived in NYC I sometimes got up to 7 years on a battery.

Most people I know down here just buy the Interstate battery from AAA when they come out to their stranded vechicles..They generallly charge 130 bucks for their battery..The generally get it from AAA since the battery usually goes out at a really bad time.


Thanks for the info.

I was wondering whose battery was under the AAA stickers on those, as my neighbor just got one installed off of the AAA service truck.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
So a GM's car alternator is not capable of fully charging a car's battery?

I can see this being a problem if the vehicle isn't driven for extended periods of time - then you do want to make sure the battery is stored with full charge, and that's when battery tenders come in handy. I use one on my motorcycle battery during winter. But if a vehicle is driven regularly, what purpose does this serve?


The charger takes the cell voltage a bit higher than float, thereby performing an "equalization" charge. This helps prevent the weakest cell from bringing capacity too low.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
I do not know of a single person in Miami that got more then 4 years on a battery..Does not matter if they do highway or gridlock driving..When I lived in NYC I sometimes got up to 7 years on a battery.

Most people I know down here just buy the Interstate battery from AAA when they come out to their stranded vechicles..They generallly charge 130 bucks for their battery..The generally get it from AAA since the battery usually goes out at a really bad time.


That's good to know...

 

[Nick R]

Like I've said in the past, we got a good 7 years out of the original battery in the Expedition. I'll have to call my grandfather and ask him what he got out of the original battery on the cavalier and the 99' silverado he had.