Consumer Reports battery tests

[Donald]

This months magazine (focus on kitchens) has a page on car batteries. On almost all groups a DIEHARD was the best. They only list the top batteries per group size. So not complete. But the text says some battery brands are top in one group and bottom in another.

I wonder if the same brand battery is made by one company for one group and another for another group. I would not think that is too likely. Or did they buy some group batteries in one area and another group in another area and they just happen to be made by different companies.

I find it hard to believe that a big battery company (JCI) could not make a high quality battery for every single group.

In a few situations, the battery case cracked.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My last Die Hard Gold lasted around 8 years.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: Donald

I wonder if the same brand battery is made by one company for one group and another for another group. I would not think that is too likely. Or did they buy some group batteries in one area and another group in another area and they just happen to be made by different companies.



From what I've seen at other auto parts stores, they absolutely do use different vendors for different sizes. The German cars use some really big batteries and some aren't even available in DieHard Platinum, for example.

 

[renegade_987]

Ive always been happy with an EverStart JCI from walmart. Recently I put in a Champion, also made by JCI. Ive never had a problem with any of their products

 

[zloveraz]

Since Johnson Controls manufacture the DieHard line that's no surprise.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Donald
This months magazine (focus on kitchens) has a page on car batteries. On almost all groups a DIEHARD was the best. They only list the top batteries per group size. So not complete. But the text says some battery brands are top in one group and bottom in another.

I wonder if the same brand battery is made by one company for one group and another for another group. I would not think that is too likely. Or did they buy some group batteries in one area and another group in another area and they just happen to be made by different companies.

I find it hard to believe that a big battery company (JCI) could not make a high quality battery for every single group.

In a few situations, the battery case cracked.


Can't say that all group sizes are made by the same company, but the Diehard Platinum is made by Enersys, whereas the others are made by JCI. I used to be very pro-JCI, but after experiencing firsthand how they totally trashed Optima battery quality and lifespan after buying that company out as well as after having a couple of very short-lived Interstates, I'm no longer an unconditional JCI buyer. In fact right now I go out of my way to avoid JCI. They're gonna have to re-win my trust.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: Donald
This months magazine (focus on kitchens) has a page on car batteries. On almost all groups a DIEHARD was the best. They only list the top batteries per group size. So not complete. But the text says some battery brands are top in one group and bottom in another.

I wonder if the same brand battery is made by one company for one group and another for another group. I would not think that is too likely. Or did they buy some group batteries in one area and another group in another area and they just happen to be made by different companies.

I find it hard to believe that a big battery company (JCI) could not make a high quality battery for every single group.

In a few situations, the battery case cracked.


Can't say that all group sizes are made by the same company, but the Diehard Platinum is made by Enersys, whereas the others are made by JCI. My current belief (right or wrong) is that almost all liquid electrolyte batteries have gone to junk in recent years, and the only way to get any semblance of long life in a hot climate is to go with an Enersys or DEKA AGM battery. That said, the OEM liquid electrolyte battery in my Challenger is in the trunk (spare tire well) and effectively inside a climate-controlled space, so it should do a heck of a lot better than any under-hood battery could possibly do.


What about your vehicle just sitting in the baking Texas sun all day, won't it get hot no matter where it is inside?

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: renegade_987
Ive always been happy with an EverStart JCI from walmart. Recently I put in a Champion, also made by JCI. Ive never had a problem with any of their products


But you need to look and not assume. I bought a MAXX battery at Walmart for my Jeep, made by Exide. It failed within 2 years and at another Walmart 25 miles away, the warranty replacement MAXX was now a JCI battery. But if Walmart gets a better price from Exide next year, it will be back to Exide.

 

[440Magnum]

Originally Posted By: Donald



What about your vehicle just sitting in the baking Texas sun all day, won't it get hot no matter where it is inside?


The trunk might see 140-150F on the hottest summer days, and that temp will go DOWN after I start the car and the AC pushes the hot air out of the cabin and trunk... but under the hood on the same day is going to be well over 200F sitting in traffic. Big, big difference.

PS- While Donald was writing the above, I was editing the post he quoted and the comment he referenced got deleted because I wanted to re-word some other stuff. I mentioned that I don't have much trust in most liquid-electrolyte batteries holding up in heat these days, except that the one in LX/LC platform vehicles (my Challenger) is mounted in the trunk and isn't going to see the same high temps as one mounted under the hood.

The text is preserved in Donald's quote, but not in my original post... I've never had that happen before

 

[vfrkent]

I thought it was Exide battery that bought Optima battery group.

Regards,
Kent

 

[motts]

Most Diehards are now made by East Penn... (Deka).

 

[danthaman1980]

I haven't bought a Diehard battery in the past decade, so I can't say how reliable they might be - but I saw several DieHards (gold) at Sears recently that looked like JCI, and I saw several DieHards (gold) at Kmart recently that didn't look like JCI.

I had the exact same experience as 440Magnum on an Interstate battery that went bad after 18 months when I lived in Dallas. I bought another JCI battery to replace it (this time a Duralast Gold from AZ) and it is nearly 3.5 years old now - but it is getting weak and will have to be replaced this winter, before it turns 4.

I hate supporting AZ, but I've never had a Duralast Gold that didn't make it past 3 years.

I am kind of annoyed at JCI for running Optima into the ground and making some questionable Interstate batteries - but until someone finds me a more cost effective replacement than Duralast Gold, I'll have to stick with them.

 

[jrustles]

Battery manufacturers like JCI build house brands to different specs, so not all Johnson Controls produced batteries will be the same internally. Just something to bear in mind.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: motts
Most Diehards are now made by East Penn... (Deka).

Right, at least in my area.

Although I've seen a few that had the tell tale JCI vent caps, ugh.. Buyer beware.

 

[BISCUT]

Have a while to go to say I'm happy with my Interstate Mega-Tron batteries but so far I like them. 2 years in the F150 and 1.5 in the Camry. I expect a lot more. If they dies or went south on me I wouldn't be happy.

 

[PandaBear]

I have no problem with DieHard battery itself, it is Sears that I have problem with (long wait, trying to deter you from replacing a battery by all means). If I am going to get this level of treatment might as well buy from Walmart.

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: Donald
On almost all groups a DIEHARD was the best.

Sounds like a repeat of their November 2011 review.

Group 65 = DieHard, DieHard, Duralast
Group 34/78 & 78 = DieHard, DieHard, EverStart
Group 24/24F = Interstate, DieHard, EverStart
Group 35 = Bosch, EverStart, Duralast
Group 75 = DieHard, Bosch, EverStart
Group 48 = DieHard, DieHard

However, if you stayed in the top 6 or 7 of the lists, there was generally very little difference in the ratings and you started to add Kirkland Signature (Costco), NAPA, and Autocraft (AAP) to the mix of good choices.

I've had nothing but good experience with all the JCI-manufactured Kirkland Signature batteries that I've bought for vehicles over the years. And in the vehicles where a Kirkland Signature wasn't available, I've used Autocraft.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: 440Magnum


The trunk might see 140-150F on the hottest summer days, and that temp will go DOWN after I start the car and the AC pushes the hot air out of the cabin and trunk... but under the hood on the same day is going to be well over 200F sitting in traffic. Big, big difference.




Actually, all it takes is 8 Celsius to cut the battery's life by half. Longest life is at roughly 25C, each 8C over that, bad story...

 

[stephen9666]

Originally Posted By: jrustles
Battery manufacturers like JCI build house brands to different specs, so not all Johnson Controls produced batteries will be the same internally. Just something to bear in mind.


+1

Just like any other manufacturer. If a company makes private label products for various companies, the products they make won't necessarily be identical.

I'm a CR subscriber and I've read this review. I'm surprised they didn't test the batteries from Advance. Many of the Advance batteries are made by Johnson Controls.

I've have good luck with JCI batteries in the past, and they're by far the cheapest when you buy with Advance's ridiculous discount codes. I currently have an Advance battery in the Hyundai and the VW. They Hyundai battery was clearly made by JCI, but the VW batter appears to have a different OEM. The VW's battery is made in Spain.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Nowadays we simply buy the one with the longest non pro rated warranty. They are all very similar and they all last around 5-7 years in Florida heat in our fleet trucks.

So don't agonize over it, minimal ROI if your time is valuable to you!