Battery Replacement

Might be a regional thing, where your local WM batteries are sourced from.

What do the Sams Duracells cost? I find it hard to believe a group 65 w/850CCA can be much cheaper than what I paid, was about $94 pre-tax. Now $99, but Sams, Costco, and Walmart are usually pretty competitive on the popular battery groups, though I have noted that certain sizes at WM are inexplicably higher priced than they should be for their size. For example a 590CCA group 59 is $120, and not exactly an uncommon battery with a million+ vehicles using t

Might be a regional thing, where your local WM batteries are sourced from.

What do the Sams Duracells cost? My last wm group 65 w/850CCA was $94 pre-tax. Now $99, but Sams, Costco, and Walmart are usually pretty competitive on SOME of the popular battery groups, though I have noted that certain sizes at WM are inexplicably higher priced than they should be for their size. For example a 590CCA group 59 WM Everstart Maxx is $120, and not an uncommon battery size.

Regardless, I've seen no performance issues that make me feel that the WM Johnson Controls batteries aren't up to the job. One I have is pushing 4 years old and had no problem this winter, on a short-trip vehicle no less. It replaced a JC battery that lasted 6 years. Really 7 but in hindsight was cranking slow the last winter of service.
Group 65 Duracell with a three year warranty was right around $100. The Everstart 3 year was like $120.
I've also have had good luck with Everstart batteries and am running one now going on three years. But now that JC sold out there battery division to Clarios and country of origin has changed who knows how they'll hold up moving forward.
 
Must be a local thing. No AGM H8 batteries at my local Walmart. I guess they carry them in one region and not in others.

The case on this AGM H8 at Wally World looks identical to almost all AGM H8's I'm seeing online. AA and AZ and the Diehard all appear to be the exact design externally?
5aa58579-1a1f-42f7-8bc7-a4d5f617236f.ba88553f8e1df721411f4a0d7bb5d60c.jpeg
 
The case on this AGM H8 at Wally World looks identical to almost all AGM H8's I'm seeing online. AA and AZ and the Diehard all appear to be the exact design externally?
That probably means it's a JCI/Clarios battery as that's what AZ and AA have. You could probably compare specs too, same CCA/reserve, weight. Pepboys is also JCI/Clarios.
 
Group 65 Duracell with a three year warranty was right around $100. The Everstart 3 year was like $120.
I've also have had good luck with Everstart batteries and am running one now going on three years. But now that JC sold out there battery division to Clarios and country of origin has changed who knows how they'll hold up moving forward.
This is not making much sense unless there was only a temporary price hike on group 65.

Right now on WM website, they are under $100 before tax. The last couple I bought in recent years were $4 cheaper than the current sub-$100 website price. They are Everstart Maxx group 65, 850CCA, 3 year replacement, 5 year pro-rated warranty. IIRC, Costco has now downgraded their warranty so are no longer "as" competitive with WM.
 
My brother in law is probably going to need a new group 65, he has not driven his truck in weeks and would not start the other day. I need to go over and take a look tomorrow at it and see if it is dead or just needs to be charged.
Well, to just reply to myself, my brother in law did need a new battery.
I checked the voltage on the battery in his truck, it was 7.5 volts!
Apparently his friend borrowed his truck last week, and had to jump it to get it going.
It died on him 3 times while driving it. I really don't know how he got it back.
I am hoping he did not do any damage to the alternator.
I put it on the charger overnight (10 amps). After 12 hours on the charger, it was only reading 11.4 volts, and dropping quickly.

I was just going to go to Walmart and grab an Everstart Maxx, but they only had Group 65N batteries on the shelf.
Higher CCC (850 vs 750) than the standard Group 65 that is normally sold down here, but also has less heat tolerance (southern/standard batteries have fewer, thicker plater and a different specific gravity acid than northern batteries to help combat the heat).
The old battery was an AAP Gold battery installed in August 2016, so got my money out of it.
Not sure if it was a 3 year or 5 year (3 year full/2 year pro-rata) warranty, but figured if pro-rata, the cost would probably be more than a new one from Walmart.
I am hoping he gets rid of this truck soon, so I just said screw it and bought the Everstart Value for it.

The battery in my truck (Everstart Maxx Group 65) is on its way out, and will need replacement soon.
It is about 30 months into it's 3 year warranty, so once I see more regular Everstart Maxx Group 65 in stock, I may go and get a warranty replacement.
 
Last edited:
Can't recommend buying a battery from Walmart after the experience I've had with their EverStart batteries. Needed a new Group 78 for an old GM minivan that I'm going to end up selling. First one I buy ends up totally dead after 2 weeks (had 2.4 volts reading when testing it with my multimeter so I'm assuming major failure) so I take it back. They need to spend 2 hours "testing" it on their special testing machine, so I leave and come back when I get the time. Battery failure, like I already knew and didn't need to spend 2 hours to figure out. So I get another battery and instead of properly doing the warranty exchange, they try to tell me that I have to pay $30. Had to get a CSM to come and override the whole thing because apparently no one in the auto area knows how do a proper battery warranty exchange.

So yesterday I go to start the van again and its totally dead again. Check it with the multimeter and same thing again, 2.4 volts. So another battery failure. I pull it out yet again and take it back to Walmart. After telling the idiot shop manager that it doesn't take 2 hours to test a battery and I'm not waiting around I get a store manager and tell him to give me my money back because I'm not spending the time to do this yet again 2-3 weeks later. Fortunately he didn't argue and gave me the money back along with the $12 for the core charge.

Not sure why Walmart needs 2 hours to test a battery when any auto parts store can do the same thing in a matter of minutes.
Did these batteries have a " made in china" sticker?
 
This is not making much sense unless there was only a temporary price hike on group 65.

Right now on WM website, they are under $100 before tax. The last couple I bought in recent years were $4 cheaper than the current sub-$100 website price. They are Everstart Maxx group 65, 850CCA, 3 year replacement, 5 year pro-rated warranty. IIRC, Costco has now downgraded their warranty so are no longer "as" competitive with WM.
Your right they are a $100 on the group 65 Everstart Max. So same price but, made in China so a no starter for me.
 
none of the Everstart Maxx batteries I saw at Walmart yesterday had a Made in China sticker but did have a Clarios and Wisconsin (old JCI plant) stickers on them...they were recently made according to the date sticker...this was in ChicagoLand...

Bill
 
I'm not all that concerned about made in China. Yes some things made in China are junk, but no bad experiences with last couple I bought (should check the stickers on them when I get a chance), with 3 yr replace 5 year prorated, I'm fine with either 5 years life or prorated discount on the warranty replacement.
 
I'm not all that concerned about made in China. Yes some things made in China are junk, but no bad experiences with last couple I bought (should check the stickers on them when I get a chance), with 3 yr replace 5 year prorated, I'm fine with either 5 years life or prorated discount on the warranty replacement.
For me not a quality issue rather straight up country of origin. Big fan of north american manufacturing.
 
Did these batteries have a " made in china" sticker?

Can't recommend buying a battery from Walmart after the experience I've had with their EverStart batteries. Needed a new Group 78 for an old GM minivan that I'm going to end up selling. First one I buy ends up totally dead after 2 weeks (had 2.4 volts reading when testing it with my multimeter so I'm assuming major failure) so I take it back. They need to spend 2 hours "testing" it on their special testing machine, so I leave and come back when I get the time. Battery failure, like I already knew and didn't need to spend 2 hours to figure out. So I get another battery and instead of properly doing the warranty exchange, they try to tell me that I have to pay $30. Had to get a CSM to come and override the whole thing because apparently no one in the auto area knows how do a proper battery warranty exchange.

So yesterday I go to start the van again and its totally dead again. Check it with the multimeter and same thing again, 2.4 volts. So another battery failure. I pull it out yet again and take it back to Walmart. After telling the idiot shop manager that it doesn't take 2 hours to test a battery and I'm not waiting around I get a store manager and tell him to give me my money back because I'm not spending the time to do this yet again 2-3 weeks later. Fortunately he didn't argue and gave me the money back along with the $12 for the core charge.

Not sure why Walmart needs 2 hours to test a battery when any auto parts store can do the same thing in a matter of minutes.
When a new battery goes dead in a few weeks, the first thing you need to do it check that your charging system is working. Then you make sure you don't have a short that's draining the battery. And when you take the battery back for replacement and it only has 2.4v volts in it, any good mechanic is going to want to charge it up first. You can't test a discharged battery. First you see if it will take a charge, and if it does then you load test it. Only then do you know if you have a bad or defective battery. And after the second new battery lost it's charge the same way, the odds were high that the problem was caused by something else. I'm curious to know if a third battery solved the problem.
 
Back
Top