My 3 year old 'Interstate' battery bit the dust today

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pbm

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I replaced the 7 year old OE Motorcraft battery with an Interstate from Costco in mid 2022 and it bit the dust today.
I'll probably replace it with an Everstart from Walmart because I can't see it doing much worse than the 'Interstate'.
I have an Everstart in my Focus and it seems to be a better battery than the Interstate*.

*I routinely put my trickle charger on my batteries and the Interstate always took much longer to turn green (be fully charged). Both my Escape and Focus take the same 96R battery which might be the cause (Ford should have put a stronger battery in the Escape since so many lights come on (and stay on) whenever a door or the hatch is opened.) Why do my front and rear bumper lights have to come on when I open a door? I wish there was a way to disable that feature as I'm sure it contributes to battery demise.
 
My Pilot has a Costco Interstate, probably on borrowed time, it will be 4 years in February.

The Costco Interstate in my sons Forte went just over 3 years, new Walmart Everstart replaced it, a bit cheaper but also Costco didn't have a new Interstate in stock on Thanksgiving weekend.

Costco Interstate in daughters CRV tested bad after 2 years, warranty replacement from Costco (under old replacement plan) so new one went in hers 2 days later.

Father-in-laws Renegade Costco Interstate died 5 days before warranty ended in August. Also under old warranty plan so replaced with same.
 
I've been very happy with rural king batteries. The ones in indiana were excide technologies. I put a high month warranty group 24 -72 in both my camry and rav4. Battery used to only cost $69 plus core and tax!

My rav4 battery lasted 4 years. Got close to 0 degrees and I imagine the alternator could not charge it. Not sure, I wasn't home and it was close to 0 degreesF. Car didn't want to start the first time my wife said, the second time it started, the engine was apparently shaking and all kinds of things with the engine not running right etc.

I picked up another group 24 from rural king for $89 if I recall in December of '23.

I believe with those of us that face cold winter temperatures, it's best to swap out batteries every 5 years to avoid any related risk.

I just load tested both of the batteries in our two daily drivers with a programable tester from work and they both tested good! I always wire brush both sides of the battery connections and coat in die electric grease. I've been impressed how long connections stay clean this way!

Edit, I went with the group 24 - 72 battery because it "appeared" to be a better quality battery than the group 35, plus a longer warranty and more CCA. It was like $49 vs $69 back in 2019.
 
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That’s all I buy is Interstate batteries but haven’t had to buy one in awhile so they might not be as good now. We had one in our van last from 2007-21 that’s the day I said I’d never buy anything except Interstate batteries. The Camry has had one since 2023, my truck since 2022 has had one and soon will be one in the Buick too as it needs a new battery.
 
I'm huge on buying things at Costco, but have heard/ read a lot of issues with interstate batteries in the last few years. The price on batteries climbed pretty fast at Costco as well. Rural king took forever for their prices to change. Unfortunately I don't live in indiana anymore, so would likely buy a battery at blaine's instead.

Lastly I'm a firm believer in charging a battery with a low amp maintainer every few months like when you change the oil. It helps to break down buildup on the battery plates, and keep batteries in good shape if you are able to. I worked for a corporate truck leasing company, every PM (inspection/ with or w/o oil change) there was a step in there to connect a battery charger. We used associated battery chargers. Definitely appeared to help! Many of the trucks we brought in had 12.4 volts or less with the key on, checking the lights, running the lift gates etc and the voltage would continue to drop more. Technically, anything under 12.4 volt/ ocv on a battery is "dead" as well. The charger seemed to bring most trucks batteries up to 12.6 and they would take longer to run the voltage back down.
 
I wonder how long the Interstate battery sat around at Costgo? That could explain its early demise.
 
I had two Interstate 34/78 dual posts in the Tempest. Bought them from local distributor couple blocks from my house so I know they were fresh. Got 5 years out of each one. The AC Delco bought from a Chevy dealer before them lasted 9 years. Spring and summer driving only, battery maintainer rest of the year. Got 9 years from an AC Delco warranty replacement in the Saturn. Replaced with an Interstate. It was a 6 year battery. At 6 years negative post was leaking and I decided not to wait for it to fail in the middle of winter. Got an East Penn from Farm & Fleet. Tempest has a Deka I got from a local shop.
 
Interstate batteries are nothing exceptional.
I have had three in my life.
The first one was in a used Chrysler convertible I bought years ago. It was a green top.
It did what was required until it woofed. That one was probably the best of the group.
The others I have had came from Costco. Nothing but a name and a label.
The first one I put in the Mustang lasted a year. Took it back, got a refund and repurchased it out of convenience.
That one has been fine since, although it has a NOCO 2 on it while it is stored.
I put a second one in the pickup, and was not exceptionally happy with it.
It didn't hold a charge for very long, and got progressively worse.
It barely made it out of warranty until it went totally down.
Put a Walmart 2 year in it, and it has been fine.
If I am in Costco and need a battery and the price is right, I may buy it out of convenience.
But that's it. The last time I put a battery in the Accord, I went in Costco.
For a 35, they were selling Exide's with a Interstate sticker.
If I wanted that, I'd go to Rural King for a better price and warranty.
So for now, I usually buy NAPA or Walmart, until a better deal comes along.
 
Finding both the Merc and Beemer OEM AGM batteries are stressing with this year's cold Michigan winter. Constantly using the NOCO 2 to top them up....at least once a week, but admittedly all short journeys to local stores. Beemer is now 10 years old with a Varta battery so thinking it may be time to replace. In the same dilemma...Costco Interstate AGM 49/H8 or Walmart Platinum AGM? Looks like both are same price but the Platinum has a four-year warranty. With a 30% sale at Harbor Freight this weekend will stop by to buy a jump pack for added piece of mind. Never fun getting stranded in the cold.
 
f355spider said:
What brand/model of charger are you using?
Click to expand...
I have a few trickle chargers that I use....a 'Battery Tender'....a Shumacher...and a Craftsman. All are 1.5 amp charger/maintainers IIRC (I'm away from home at the moment). I also have an older, bigger Schumacher that has 2/10/start but I almost never use it.
 
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pbm said:
I have a few trickle chargers that I use....a 'Battery Tender'....a Shumacher...and a Craftsman. All are 1.5 amp charger/maintainers IIRC (I'm away from home at the moment). I also have a older, bigger Schumacher that has 2/10/start but I almost never use it.
Click to expand...
Okay. Most of those makes are decent enough and would not contribute to your battery's early demise.
 
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slacktide_bitog said:
Will a bigger battery fit? :unsure:

Interstate batteries gotten worse since JCI Became Clarios :sneaky:

If the Walmart battery is made by East Penn/Deka, it will be better than the Interstate.
Click to expand...
I bought a Walmart ‘Plus’ battery today (2 year warranty) and it’s made by JC (Johnson Controls). I considered a Group 47/ H5 because it was similarly sized to the 96R but they only had that size with similar CCA (590) and CA (725) so I figured I’d stick to the OE size rather than making adjustments to make it fit.

I’m currently ‘snow birding’ in South Carolina so I don’t have access to my trickle chargers, tools etc…so sticking with OE seemed the smart thing to do. I’ll consider an AGM next time since I consider the 96R underpowered in my application….Having said that…I wasn’t impressed with the Costco $179 ‘Interstate’ and figured the $109 WM Everstart will do for now.
 
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I’ve always had predictable service from JCI batteries when bought reasonably fresh. (The one JCI that failed within warranty was 6 mo old when I bought it). I’ve never purchased an interstate based on BITOG info dating back into the late 90s.

Deka/east penn have been my go-to for the last 5-6 years with zero issues. The best batteries I’ve ever owned were:
- an old flooded Trojan deep cycle. Hands down the best I’ve owned. It lasted a very long time and was thoroughly mistreated
- recent X2Power batteries through BatteriesPlus.

Given the ability to do so, the next batteries here will be X2, but we should be a few years out on needing another.
 
What car? Is there a battery reset procedure for your car when installing a new battery? Our Ford Transit Connect has one that is performed from behind the wheel with high beam lever and brake pedal. If you don’t do it, it could shorten battery life.
 
Interstate is just brand. They source from multiple manufacturers but mainly from Clarios though.

OP your Walmart battery should be an East Penn if you are in NY. Does the serial number start with EP?

OP mentioned "trickle charger". Is it a trickle charger or really a float charger or battery maintainer?
 
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