Interstate Batteries

[silversport]

the two I have bought in the last few years (the last one was October 20, 2020) appear to be Clarios made (Johnson Controls) in appearance as well as specs...these were both Interstates bought at Costco...

When shopping the Exide batteries appeared differently (folding handles on top) and had different specifications than the JCI/Clarios made ones...

just tools for the toolbox...

Bill

 

[JustinH]

I recently read where you can no longer use the discount codes on batteries at AAP. If true, I guess it's because they paid $200M for the rights to the DieHard name and I surmise that they want to more quickly recoup that investment.

You sir are correct! I just needed to get some parts to get my wife's car ready for sale, and I could not use the discount code on most any of the parts I was looking at.

Well my days of shopping at Advance may be coming to an end, as those codes was the only reason I used them.

 

[grimlok]

You sir are correct! I just needed to get some parts to get my wife's car ready for sale, and I could not use the discount code on most any of the parts I was looking at.

Well my days of shopping at Advance may be coming to an end, as those codes was the only reason I used them.

Same here, my Interstate bit the dust last week, no blems at the distributor so I figured I'd use Advance. Only discount applicable on batteries is your own points, whatever they're called. That 20% banner is no good, that code you got in a text isn't either. Calling to see if any blems or EconoPower came in tmw at interstate.

 

[pantygnome]

A little raising of a thread from the dead, but my just over 2 year old Interstate (from Costco) just died. Basically no warning...no slow crank last night or this morning, wife drove it to pick up one of the kids. Waited in parking lot with car off (no headlights, no radio, etc) and bam! no crank.

Jump pack got it up and running but Im going to take it back to Costco. Interesting now the Interstates there have a 36 month replacement warranty (was 42 month on the one I bought). Not sure if they changed who makes them again....maybe just take the cash back from Costco and go buy a different brand?

 

[atikovi]

Interstate is usually junk. It's what many repair shop have in stock because they can get them cheap and make more profit. Cheap price = cheap quality. I've had a few that were scrap at just a few months old.

 

[sky jumper]

Interstate is not Junk. The problem is with how the user maintains the battery. It's the same battery you will pay 50% more for at the auto parts store, except the the parts store doesn't sell nearly as many so they have stale inventory. Here's the 4yr old Costco Interstate in my 1998 Jeep. This battery ran dead on me twice due to parasitic draw in the courtesy lamp circuit. I pulled the fuse, charged the battery, and here it is years later on a vehicle that gets driven 1500 miles a year. how? because I keep it on a maintenance charger when not driven.

 

[atikovi]

Here's the 4yr old Costco Interstate in my 1998 Jeep.

That's fine, and I have a 10 year old A/C Delco that's also on a maintainer. I'm just going by experience with buying hundreds of cars and noticing that the majority having bad batteries are Interstate.

 

[sky jumper]

That's fine, and I have a 10 year old A/C Delco that's also on a maintainer. I'm just going by experience with buying hundreds of cars and noticing that the majority having bad batteries are Interstate.

lol you do know they are made by Johnson Controls/Clarios? So are you saying all JCI batteries are junk? so what brand would you recommend? are you sure its not a JCI?? your experience buying "hundreds" of cars that have been sitting for who knows how long in the insurance auction lots speaks volumes...

 

[atikovi]

lol you do know they are made by Johnson Controls/Clarios? So are you saying all JCI batteries are junk? so what brand would you recommend? are you sure its not a JCI?? your experience buying "hundreds" of cars that have been sitting for who knows how long in the insurance auction lots speaks volumes...

I don't pay attention to or care who they are made by. The best manufacturer could have an employee having a bad day and slacking off on the production line. And a bad manufacturer can't be too bad if they are still in business. Personally I had the best results with AC Delco, Motorcraft, Bosch, Mercedes in no particular order. If I'm buying a new battery I usually go for a $55 Walmart or an OEM if it's not too much more.

 

[silversport]

...and there are different batteries within a group...the 1 year, 2 year, 3 year etc. warrantee batteries are not identical...

of the 5 I have bought for my vehicles or vehicles I take care of for family, I have bought the Costco Interstate, Walmart EverStart Maxx and AC Delco...all have apparently been made by JCI or Clarios...all had the same specs as the top of the line batteries from JCI or Clarios sold under other sellers stickers...

The top of the line Interstate I replaced in my sister's Toyota Corolla did not have the specs or warranty of the Costco Interstate I used to replace it...the lower level Interstate I replaced in my F150 (previous owner had it replaced under warranty at Firestone) was no where near the specs of the Walmart EverStart Maxx I replaced it with...

if you shop warranty and specs...then price...and let that be your guide, I bet you'll do just fine...good luck with your choice

Bill

 

[pantygnome]

The battery that died on me is in a daily driver. It doesnt sit any longer than maybe 12 hours without running. Definitely not a weekend or even just a day.

When its cold out, I throw it on a Battery Tender Jr just because. It's cranked at normal speed throughout this winter, yet all of a sudden nothing. I could probably trickle charge it and it might be good to go, but now I dont trust it.

Not quite sure who makes the Interstate batteries at Costco now, the part number is slightly different, the pictures are different and the warranty is different. My local Costco opens soon, Ill be headed there with the "bad" battery to take advantage of the warranty.

 

[sky jumper]

The battery that died on me is in a daily driver. It doesnt sit any longer than maybe 12 hours without running. Definitely not a weekend or even just a day.

When its cold out, I throw it on a Battery Tender Jr just because. It's cranked at normal speed throughout this winter, yet all of a sudden nothing. I could probably trickle charge it and it might be good to go, but now I dont trust it.

Not quite sure who makes the Interstate batteries at Costco now, the part number is slightly different, the pictures are different and the warranty is different. My local Costco opens soon, Ill be headed there with the "bad" battery to take advantage of the warranty.

that actually could be part of the problem -- unless you're getting the RPMs up for an extended period, say 30mins or more, then you're not acheiving full charge. short daily trips that leave the battery undercharged will have a cumulative effect that slowly sulfates the battery over time and a battery tender will not help at that point. you'd have to occasionally put it on the charger early on to prevent the sulfation process from starting.

if your daily trips do regularly get the vehicle up to speed for an extended time then the battery is faulty. Either way costco will replace it for free so go get a new one. I don't think they will give you a $$ refund, maybe if you complain loud enough. I'd just get the new battery --- but make sure you get a fresh one. Even at Costco there's some old ones on the rack.

also, get one of the $40 battery analyzers on Amazon. they are incredibly useful.

 

[pantygnome]

that actually could be part of the problem -- unless you're getting the RPMs up for an extended period, say 30mins or more, then you're not acheiving full charge. short daily trips that leave the battery undercharged will have a cumulative effect that slowly sulfates the battery over time and a battery tender will not help at that point. you'd have to occasionally put it on the charger early on to prevent the sulfation process from starting.

if your daily trips do regularly get the vehicle up to speed for an extended time then the battery is faulty. Either way costco will replace it for free so go get a new one. I don't think they will give you a $$ refund, maybe if you complain loud enough. I'd just get the new battery --- but make sure you get a fresh one. Even at Costco there's some old ones on the rack.

also, get one of the $40 battery analyzers on Amazon. they are incredibly useful.

Yep, forgot to mention that....my wife drives it, the trips are not short (15+ miles each way, 1 to 3 times a day depending on kids activities). So it definitely gets back to where it started.

Just got back from Costco.....not sure who makes the batteries. The serial number is "melted" into the edge of the case, looks like it starts with FR or FA, cant make it out fully. All the stock they had was marked 2/21 for date, so fairly fresh I guess. I grabbed what was there because free beats trying to haggle for $$$ back and going somewhere else.

I will be buying the analyzer shortly...next time I will sit at the shelf and analyze all the batteries until I find the best one

 

[sky jumper]

here's the one I have it works well. wish I had gotten it years ago. I also have a 500A load tester and those work too, but are not nearly as user friendly. I use the load tester as secondary confirmation the battery can sustain a heavy load.

 

[pantygnome]

here's the one I have it works well. wish I had gotten it years ago. I also have a 500A load tester and those work too, but are not nearly as user friendly. I use the load tester as secondary confirmation the battery can sustain a heavy load.

Thanks! Added to one of my many Amazon shopping lists

 

[AutoMechanic]

I hope they are still made by them. We have an Interstate battery in our van for nearly 12 years. It’s a Mega-Tron II. That’s all we buy when available is Interstate.

 

[silversport]

throw that new battery on your Battery Tender Jr to bring it to full charge...an alternator is a poor device for bringing to full capacity but nearly every battery I have bought (even those with a recent date sticker) needed some charging to get to full capacity and I like to have a solid platform starting point...no issues beyond that...

Bill

 

[pantygnome]

throw that new battery on your Battery Tender Jr to bring it to full charge...an alternator is a poor device for bringing to full capacity but nearly every battery I have bought (even those with a recent date sticker) needed some charging to get to full capacity and I like to have a solid platform starting point...no issues beyond that...

Bill

Yep, did just that. Once it was installed I hooked up to the Tender before even thinking about trying to start the car. It didnt take very long for the light to go from red to green.

Also ordered the battery tester mentioned above....with 3 vehicles (plus OPE) I figure I should have ordered it a long time ago.

 

[silversport]

I'm like you in that...3 cars and two more I take care of...I've been lucky not to have an early death of a car battery since before 1985 but I always replace the battery when I near the "warranty" period...and I tend to buy the best warranty I can afford...

good luck with yours,

Bill

 

[pantygnome]

I'm like you in that...3 cars and two more I take care of...I've been lucky not to have an early death of a car battery since before 1985 but I always replace the battery when I near the "warranty" period...and I tend to buy the best warranty I can afford...

good luck with yours,

Bill

Thanks! That was the plan with this battery, but it barely made it past the halfway point of the warranty, which was surprising.

I bought a few of the Costco auto batteries when they were Kirkland labelled (not sure who made them back then) and those things lasted forever.