Car battery

[WarEagle]

AutoZone has historically sourced their Duralast labeled batteries from Clarios (formerly Johnson Control Industries/Union Carbide). However, since Covid, the Duralast batteries are being supplied by multiple manufacturers depending on Group size and location. For example, the Group 24 battery shown below is a Clarios battery, while the 24F battery is a East Penn unit. Clarios batteries have the removable rectangular caps w/ patented clipped corners while East Penn batteries (mostly) have smooth maintenance free tops with vents on the left & right edges. At WalMart, the EverStart batteries made by Clarios will have a serial number starting with "JCI" under the barcode while the East Penn manufactured batteries will start with "EP".

The South Korean made EverStart serial numbers are all over the place, but they usually have integrated fold down handles..

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Just checked wife’s duralast platinum and it’s made in Mexico which google says its clarios. Actually have a ac delco gold in my truck not an everstart which appears to be clarios as well. Not that it matters now, but what’s the rep of clarios?

 

[Nukeman7]

Just checked wife’s duralast platinum and it’s made in Mexico which google says its clarios. Actually have a ac delco gold in my truck not an everstart which appears to be clarios as well. Not that it matters now, but what’s the rep of clarios?

Clarios batteries have a decent historical record, especially when they were 100% made in the U.S. under the JCI organization. They appear to be the largest supplier of batteries in the U.S. including major brands such as Die Hard, Interstate, Delco, Toyota, Honda, Nissan. The biggest knock against the older Clarios/JCI batteries was that they would eventually leak acid at the base of the lead (+/-) terminals after a few years. I believe they have now redesigned the terminal seal to alleviate that problem. Most opinions place Clarios behind East Penn in flooded lead acid battery quality.

 

[blufeb95]

The problem with his testing is that all those WalMart Everstart batteries were purchased in his home state of Missouri.
WalMart uses at least 3 suppliers of their EverStart batteries depending on WestCoast, East Coast, or Midwest America. On the East Coast, the EverStart batteries are typically manufactured by East Penn/Deka which also manufactures the SuperStart batteries for O'Reilly. My testing and personal experience shows the East Penn made batteries are identical in performance and construction within each tier level, regardless of label. Also, note that the SuperStart batteries in the PF test were 30-50% higher in cost than the EverStart batteries.

The only legitimate takeaway is that those South Korean batteries were generally inferior to the East Penn made batteries.

Superstart batteries can be whatever too, unless it was just a COVID anomaly because when my neighbor in 2022 or 2023 bought a Superstart battery from O Reilly for his little Buick roller skate it was a made in SK.

 

[Nukeman7]

Superstart batteries can be whatever too, unless it was just a COVID anomaly because when my neighbor in 2022 or 2023 bought a Superstart battery from O Reilly for his little Buick roller skate it was a made in SK.

Virtually every battery label will have a "one off" supplier (for a few unique Group sizes) due to the nature of the supply chain changes since Covid (see WalMart's EverStart). Some uncommon sizes are not cost effective for every manufacturer to produce on a regular basis due to limited demand.

 

[PandaBear]

These days either Walmart or Costco. I gave up on AAA now that they try to weasel their way out of a warranty like "your car is idle for a week" nonsense.

If you have a hybrid, Toyota's TrueStart 12V battery has 7 year warranty. A bit more expensive but my Prius is still using the one came from the factory and it is still fine at year 12.

 

[blufeb95]

These days either Walmart or Costco. I gave up on AAA now that they try to weasel their way out of a warranty like "your car is idle for a week" nonsense.

If you have a hybrid, Toyota's TrueStart 12V battery has 7 year warranty. A bit more expensive but my Prius is still using the one came from the factory and it is still fine at year 12.

It has a 2 year replacement, beyond that it's prorata, I think I'd rather have a 3 or 4 year replacement warranty.

 

[eddielasvegas]

If you need lots of CCAs or a deep cycle battery, this is an excellent option. 5 year full replacement at any Batteries+.

It's ain't cheap, but can be had for cheaper when on sale. Link HERE.

This battery is made by NorthStar. It's all I run in my T4R since I live in Phoenix (and the heat eats car batteries) and am often up north in single digit weather in winter for days at a time.

My last X2 lasted 5 years and had no problems, but I replaced it with a new X2 a couple years ago due to the above.

Amortized over 5 years, it's not even $2/week for about as a good a battery as one can get.

Good luck,


Eddie


P.S. This was just posted a few hours ago. If you value PF's reviews, you may want to watch his video HERE before you buy.