Battery Longevity

[Donald]

Probably time.

Hi folks,

Time for a battery replacement and would like to know how long does a car battery usually last? I'm sure there's factors like climate, Short trips and other issues that can shorten a batteries life.

My Acura MDX has been sitting and I haven't started the SUV in a few months and notice there's no crank, Start or power. the battery that was installed was a genuine Acura battery and the date of the battery was September 2019 so that's a seven year old battery, Looks like I need to replace the battery.

What you guys think?

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Probably time. But I would still fully charge with plug-in charger and then test it.

You could have left a light on or have a parasitic current draw.

 

[Donald]

I’ve got jump packs in all 3 of my cars, so I’m going to see how long I can ride these out with the charging theory applied. I do test them once a month, so barring a straight up failure, I should have a good idea when it’s time.

Test them how?

 

[50yr Street Mech]

I replace every 4-5 years, often in the fall. Winter starts below zero will reveal any weakness in your battery and it's the worst time to have a no-start situation. If I lived in a hotter climate I bet battery life would be shortened by the constant heat. I've experienced many battery failures around the 4-5 year mark. Better to replace early than to be stranded somewhere. Think of it as a regular maintenance item.

I'm also in NY. Never had much luck with batteries nearing the 5yr mark, even with maintainers & topping off. I'm blaming it on the insane temp swings here. You can have 0 degrees weeks with wind chills in the negatives, then go to 100 degree days for weeks. Too much stress on a battery IMO.

 

[D1dad]

Test them how?

I’ve got a load tester but don’t use it unless I have to. Outside of that I have an ancel that’s very accurate as well as a few other options.

 

[dfarr67]

270k km, 2019 silverado oe battery. In my experiance tough to beat oem- too bad they are so $$

 

[mrvmax]

Heat seems to kill them in South Texas, I get 3 years on average. The factory battery in my wife’s 2019 4Runner lasted 6 years and that was a record for me.

 

[ATex7239]

I replace batteries every 3-5 years depending on type and use because 1) it’s really not that expensive or hard for most vehicles and 2) I hate being stuck when I have somewhere to be. If I’m getting in the vehicle and starting it that means I have somewhere I need to be. Dead batteries and flat tires always happen at the worst possible time.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I’ve got jump packs in all 3 of my cars, so I’m going to see how long I can ride these out with the charging theory applied. I do test them once a month, so barring a straight up failure, I should have a good idea when it’s time.

I love jump packs. Don't think I've used one on my cars, but I have jumped a bunch of other stranded cars.
I've carried jumper cables forever, but try using them on a CA freeway... Oops!

 

[Donald]

I'm also in NY. Never had much luck with batteries nearing the 5yr mark, even with maintainers & topping off. I'm blaming it on the insane temp swings here. You can have 0 degrees weeks with wind chills in the negatives, then go to 100 degree days for weeks. Too much stress on a battery IMO.

The stress in NY is from your taxes. Glad I moved a few states south to Delaware.

In NY the batteries from Walmart should be East Penn at least. That's a plus when looking for a normal priced battery (not the $400 AGMs).

 

[Donald]

Heat seems to kill them in South Texas, I get 3 years on average. The factory battery in my wife’s 2019 4Runner lasted 6 years and that was a record for me.

Short battery life in Texas would be reason to move!!

 

[Donald]

I’ve got a load tester but don’t use it unless I have to. Outside of that I have an ancel that’s very accurate as well as a few other options.

A carbon pile load tester is the "gold standard" of battery testing. The Ancel is good. A carbon pile load tester is better. With a carbon pile load tester you can smell your battery being tested.

 

[skyactiv]

Some assume an auto battery with more CCA's is better, but that's usually not the case. The lower CCA battery the auto makers use often live longer than whatever replaces it. The plates on OE batteries are often thicker and fewer while aftermarket high CCA seeking dumb Joe gets more plates that are thinner and more fragile.