does it really matter when a battery was made?

[CarLuver]

i was at a walmart tire place looking at car batteries . i was surprised at some of the date stickers on them . saw a few 9 months old and the average seemed about 4 months old. even the common ones like 51r and 35 were a few months old.

i asked them about it and they its don't matter . the warranty starts on the day of purchase. So does the sticker date really mean anything other than the date of production when it comes to longevity?

 

[SC Maintenance]

For warranty no. For useful life yes. Batteries have a shelf life.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Given the choice between produce you watched come in off the cart vs the stuff you eyeballed on the shelf for the past week, which would you pick?

Fresher is always better IMO, especially since battery “warranties” these days are so aggressively prorated they’re essentially worthless unless you get a failure during the first month.

Regardless of when it was made, having and periodically using a “proper” battery maintainer is likely more key to battery life than age. I’ve got a SuperStreet battery manufactured 6/2016 that has been so dead at least 3 different times that it wouldn’t even illuminate the odometer (always lit in Subarus), and the Pro-Logic charger/maintainer has brought it back every time.

I know it won’t last forever, but considering the AZ battery tester said it needed to be replaced in 2019 and it’s still working fine… I use a NOCO 2D when it’s sitting in the winter, and about once per quarter stick it on the Pro-Logic for at least 48 hours. Gonna use it til even Pro-Logic can’t bring it back

 

[slacktide_bitog]

If you're really lucky, you can find one that was made in the future

 

[oldhp]

Always buy the newest dated battery. Yes warranty starts when you buy it but, why push a dead battery down the road when you least need it to die. Most batteries lose 3-4% a month while sitting there, more if installed with parasitic draw. I worked at a small town NAPA, the weird use batteries we didn't stock.

 

[Lubener]

Fresher fully charged ones generally last longer than older lesser charged ones. I always buy where there is a fast turn over on batteries such as WM. Auto stores tend to have a much slower turnover.

 

[nickaluch]

I just bought a 4 month old battery from Costco put it on a 1 amp trickle charger showed fully charged as soon as I plugged it in

 

[eljefino]

It's not as bad as if it was used daily for that time but worse than if it just came from the factory.

 

[Saxon1285]

Battery bought in December, made in November.
The first test, just after exiting the supermarket, showed 598A CCA instead of 540A marked on the label (and this was the most powerful model for my size available in supermarkets, with their fast turnover, most models labeled 450 or 470A). 100% SOH and SOA.
Surely the CCA will drop with use, especially in hot weather, but the drop begins at a higher level so it might last longer if properly cared of.
(BTW I reason like that for oil viscosity, thicker lasts longer IMHO, but I might be wrong)

 

[billt460]

The longer they sit, generally speaking, the worse they get. And the lower percent of a charge they have. In any event the battery you purchase should be charged to 100% capacity before you install it. This regardless of when it was manufactured.

Giving it a full 100% charge before installation lessens the load on your vehicle's charging system, and helps by taking the battery to 100% before it starts it's life under your hood. This in turn helps assure a longer life for the battery.

This all becomes even more important if your driving mostly consists of short trips in cold weather. If that's the case your battery is rarely, if ever going to see a 100% charge.... Unless you keep it on a maintainer.

 

[Kira]

DATE STICKER NEWS:
I noticed the familiar, round date sticker atop batteries at the AutoZone were gone!
Naturally I concluded AZ got wise to savvy shoppers like us and removed / discontinued them.

The counterman told me they're on the side now. A white, machine printed production label with more info than just "month+year".