Consumer Reports Battery Ratings?

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

In the old days I was a 100% DieHard guy. Now I would consider a Walmart battery as I think the advantage of Walmart is the good warranty and if ya travel you can find a Walmart almost anywhere so easier to replace on a warranty claim if needed which could be convenient for battery and tires. I use Discount Tire for tires but I would try Walmart on a battery due to the points above and if I traveled I'd probably do my battery and tires at Walmart.

Good points about Walmart and travelling. Using Walmart for tires I have done for years for the exact reasons you mentioned. I am leaning that way the next time I need a battery as well. The last one I bought was a NAPA "GOLD" and almost fainted when they rang it up $208 after tax and only a 24mo warranty I found out later. I will not be back at NAPA since that battery lasted exactly 25mo and no credit offered towards any new ones. I know AutoZone has a good warranty program and gives new ones with no problem in the warranty window. Not sure how or what kind of warranty Walmart offers?

 

[Jay73]

Good points about Walmart and travelling. Using Walmart for tires I have done for years for the exact reasons you mentioned. I am leaning that way the next time I need a battery as well. The last one I bought was a NAPA "GOLD" and almost fainted when they rang it up $208 after tax and only a 24mo warranty I found out later. I will not be back at NAPA since that battery lasted exactly 25mo and no credit offered towards any new ones. I know AutoZone has a good warranty program and gives new ones with no problem in the warranty window. Not sure how or what kind of warranty Walmart offers?

EverStart Value 1 Year
EverStart Plus 2 Years
EverStart Maxx 3 Years
EverStart Platinum 4 Years

My current battery is stock so a little over 4 1/2 years old and when she goes I'm gonna try one of these...

EverStart Maxx 3 Years
EverStart Platinum 4 Years

 

[TacoFergie]

I’ve never been a fan of CR. Their ratings rarely line-up with the long term use of most products.

For batteries, it’s been a crap shoot for the last 5 years or so to know if you’re getting a good battery since suppliers and country of origin has flip flopped so much.

2 batteries that have been consistently good over the last 10yrs or so is X2 by Batteries Plus and Odyssey. Both are made by Enersys and have always been very high quality.

The X2 I had in my 2015 Tacoma lasted 8yrs before trading the truck off. It survived multiple deep discharges (below 6v) while on deployments. Always recovered well and never had issues after recovery. Truck was always outside from -20F to 100F plus. However, that truck was very basic and didn’t have much phantom draw when off, zero OTA updates and had no app connection. So it was somewhat easy on batteries. Newer cars with all that stuff, who knows how long a battery will last and it’ll be vastly different for every owner.

 

[The Critic]

I’ve never been a fan of CR. Their ratings rarely line-up with the long term use of most products.

For batteries, it’s been a crap shoot for the last 5 years or so to know if you’re getting a good battery since suppliers and country of origin has flip flopped so much.

2 batteries that have been consistently good over the last 10yrs or so is X2 by Batteries Plus and Odyssey. Both are made by Enersys and have always been very high quality.

The X2 I had in my 2015 Tacoma lasted 8yrs before trading the truck off. It survived multiple deep discharges (below 6v) while on deployments. Always recovered well and never had issues after recovery. Truck was always outside from -20F to 100F plus. However, that truck was very basic and didn’t have much phantom draw when off, zero OTA updates and had no app connection. So it was somewhat easy on batteries. Newer cars with all that stuff, who knows how long a battery will last and it’ll be vastly different for every owner.

Your biggest issue with the newer cars is the charging algorithm -- a lot of them will not keep a battery sufficiently charged, which tends to drastically reduce its lifespan. AGM's are especially prone to being damaged from this behavior.

 

[TacoFergie]

Your biggest issue with the newer cars is the charging algorithm -- a lot of them will not keep a battery sufficiently charged, which tends to drastically reduce its lifespan. AGM's are especially prone to being damaged from this behavior.

I agree with that as well. I’m really curious as to exactly how much fuel is saved by said algorithmic charging and BMS systems? I’m sure there’s other reasons for BMS systems, but I wished the charging system was more simple as it seemed more reliable and stable.

 

[Wheel366]

I agree with that as well. I’m really curious as to exactly how much fuel is saved by said algorithmic charging and BMS systems? I’m sure there’s other reasons for BMS systems, but I wished the charging system was more simple as it seemed more reliable and stable.

Meant to ask, are you gonna get a charger for it? I bought the 15 amp Odyssey charger for mine. I try to put them on a charger once a week just because. I also put my wife's CR-V on a CTEK charger. Been using the 7002 US on the Cold (AGM) setting since it has been so could out and I need her battery to last but use the MXS 5.0 when it is warmer. She has the small 51r. Try starting your car with that battery! Most of the time, the 7002 US is on my Audi which just sits in the garage and only gets started once every few months when I need to move it to change the oil in one of my cars or to get the ACs out to install.

 

[TacoFergie]

Meant to ask, are you gonna get a charger for it? I bought the 15 amp Odyssey charger for mine. I try to put them on a charger once a week just because. I also put my wife's CR-V on a CTEK charger. Been using the 7002 US on the Cold (AGM) setting since it has been so could out and I need her battery to last but use the MXS 5.0 when it is warmer. She has the small 51r. Try starting your car with that battery! Most of the time, the 7002 US is on my Audi which just sits in the garage and only gets started once every few months when I need to move it to change the oil in one of my cars or to get the ACs out to install.

I don’t plan on getting a specific charger for it. I drive it daily, when I’m on deployments my wife drives it a couple times a week.

I have this Viking charger from Harbor Freight that will maintain, recover/desulfate and traditionally charge any battery I’ll have. It’s what I used to recover my X2 in my Tacoma that lasted 8yrs when it’s gone below 6v multiple times and it recovered fine. Probably not as good as other chargers, but it’s proven it’s worth to me. I’m sure Odyssey’s charger or others would’ve better, but I don’t know if it would life changing.

I do have a few maintainers as well. A Schumacher 2A for my MR2 an interstate AGM, 2A Duracell that I dot really use much anymore and a 1A Battery Tender brand for my motorcycle. The Duracell I got on clearance, but I noticed it was spiking to 15.4v which I didn’t like. So it’s just there as a backup tender if I need it.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I’ve never been a fan of CR. Their ratings rarely line-up with the long term use of most products.

For batteries, it’s been a crap shoot for the last 5 years or so to know if you’re getting a good battery since suppliers and country of origin has flip flopped so much.

2 batteries that have been consistently good over the last 10yrs or so is X2 by Batteries Plus and Odyssey. Both are made by Enersys and have always been very high quality.

The X2 I had in my 2015 Tacoma lasted 8yrs before trading the truck off. It survived multiple deep discharges (below 6v) while on deployments. Always recovered well and never had issues after recovery. Truck was always outside from -20F to 100F plus. However, that truck was very basic and didn’t have much phantom draw when off, zero OTA updates and had no app connection. So it was somewhat easy on batteries. Newer cars with all that stuff, who knows how long a battery will last and it’ll be vastly different for every owner.

It is not just CR that one has to use caution with. Even the long time appraisal company JD Powers (once very respected) that so many put their faith in around the "buying the new car" times is one to watch also. They have been exposed for taking lots of money from ..... guess who? The late great Big Three several times.

 

[TacoFergie]

It is not just CR that one has to use caution with. Even the long time appraisal company JD Powers (once very respected) that so many put their faith in around the "buying the new car" times is one to watch also. They have been exposed for taking lots of money from ..... guess who? The late great Big Three several times.

Yeah, I discovered JD Powers BS when I started as an auto technician in the early 2000’s. I read all the magazines, new car specs and everything back in the day. Once I started working on cars professionally, I found out JD Powers “long term reliability” awards were way out of line compared to reality. Besides, how can you tell if a car is going to hold up when it hasn’t Ben been out 3 months??? lol

 

[D1dad]

My 10 yr old Maytag dryer was rated one of the worst and if you read the Lowe’s reviews then you’d believe it. Unfortunately when my dryer went out, it was one of the only ones they had in stock. Best dryer I’ve ever had. The better part of those 10 years was with a family of 5, 2 boys that played sports and a daughter who changed clothes 4 times a day. CR is a joke and I wouldn’t buy a soccer ball based off their recommendation.

This is why you don’t curse yourself. The thermal fuse blew the day I bragged. Easy $6 fix, but still

 

[mrsilv04]

I buy the cheapest battery that I can easily source locally (Rural King Classic or Wal-Mart Value) and then replace it every 5 years.

This way, I can plan when a battery gets replaced, and have zero unexpected downtime. After 5 years, a cheap battery owes me nothing.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I buy the cheapest battery that I can easily source locally (Rural King Classic or Wal-Mart Value) and then replace it every 5 years.

This way, I can plan when a battery gets replaced, and have zero unexpected downtime. After 5 years, a cheap battery owes me nothing.

Great plan that I too once followed. My trouble is that all my batteries started to fail well before the old 5 yr lives.
I noticed this several years back. As of this time , the longest lasting I have had came from AutoZone but I would bet
those Walmart batteries last pretty good too. I used those in my boats for many years with no complaints. Probably
will be where my next one comes from. NAPA really let me down with the last two from them. Twenty four months
and then found DEAD in garage. We pulled them out and right underneath it said 24mo / full replacement. Went to
NAPA and it was something like 30 months. They refused to offer any credit what so ever. Even the last two batteries
I purchased at the local Honda dealership lasted only 24 months. For years I used only dealership batteries because
they lasted very long with no issues. That is not the case these days. Seems like everything being made today is going
for cheapest quality since they know they can do it.