My personal "battery longevity" record!

[edyvw]

I took BMW yesterday to the dealership for a VANOS adjustment bolts recall. The recall is from last year, but upgraded parts just became available.
I told them to check battery as it seems it kind of slowed down this past winter. If I left the car in the garage and did not start it few days, it would crank slower at temperatures below 30f.
Anyway, I got this car in December 2019 and I assumed the battery was changed at one point, as the car was built 04/in 2010.
Nope, still the original battery in! It is running two aftermarket amplifiers too, last 4 1/2 yrs.
They did say I might want to change the battery before winter, which I will, with the BMW OE one, of course!

 

[paulri]

Got me beat. With my ICE cars, I get 36 months, give or take a few months, for years and years now. I live in SoCal desert and we get a lot of cold & hot cycles--I suppose that is it? I get a bit longer on the 12V in my hybrid.

 

[midnightlaundry]

I bought a used Battery from the boneyard for $25 bux.. It's already 5 years old and mint..
A Wet Cell Battery that's accessible can be maintained for a long time. Battery Charger Companies say to Charge and Equalize once a month. Add water as needed..

 

[MRC01]

4.5 years is OK but doesn't seem unusual or exciting. The OEM battery in my Mazda3 lasted 6 years before it finally got weak and I replaced it. My wife's Subaru is still on the OEM battery at 6 years, and she's left lights on and deep cycled it to zero a couple of times. I typically get 5-10 years out of them.

 

[edyvw]

Got me beat. With my ICE cars, I get 36 months, give or take a few months, for years and years now. I live in SoCal desert and we get a lot of cold & hot cycles--I suppose that is it? I get a bit longer on the 12V in my hybrid.

On my Japanese cars, OE or not, they would die fast. On European, the last looong. Last record was 9yrs on wife’s Tiguan, but 14? Plus, this cars see track conditions in summer with temperatures up to 105f, and A LOT of skiing and temperatures as low as -37 (so far).

 

[edyvw]

4.5 years is OK but doesn't seem unusual or exciting. The OEM battery in my Mazda3 lasted 6 years before it finally got weak and I replaced it. My wife's Subaru is still on the OEM battery at 6 years, and she's left lights on and deep cycled it to zero a couple of times. I typically get 5-10 years out of them.

The battery is 14yrs old! It is running two amplifiers last 4 1/2 yrs.

 

[edyvw]

Replacement BMW battery is $291. Duralast Platinum is $259. That is not big difference in price.

 

[MRC01]

The battery is 14yrs old! It is running two amplifiers last 4 1/2 yrs.

OK that is impressive
I saw 2019 and thought the car was 5 years old... missed the 2010 part.

 

[JavierH19]

That's really good. The longest I ever got out of any battery was 16 years out of the oem Japanese one that came with my 1993 mitsu L200. Was amazed a battery could last that long.

 

[DemoFly]

Got me beat by 9 months, but mine is still going. Mine is less impressive, anyway. It's in a base model toyota echo that doesn't even have a clock to drain battery. It's draw is like 1mA.

 

[edyvw]

Got me beat by 9 months, but mine is still going. Mine is less impressive, anyway. It's in a base model toyota echo that doesn't even have a clock to drain battery. It's draw is like 1mA.

Oh, this one is still going. But yes, BMW has A LOT of electronics, electric water pump etc. etc.
I will replace it before winter, though. I want to chance no start while skiing.

 

[Dave Hess]

7 years for me with a 1998 Civic.

Panasonic made battery.

 

[Shel_B]

The Camry's original, from-the-factory, battery lasted a bit more than 11.5 years. From reading this thread I've discovered that such longevity is not that unusual.

The battery was replaced with a Deka unit of, IIRC, 650CCA which has been in the car now for 25 uneventful months. One of the shops that was doing my repair work at the time provided the battery and did the installation. It cost little more than Costco or the other local auto parts places, but the unit was in stock, and I didn't have to mess with changing the batteries or returning the old one for the core charge (which I think I'd have had to do with other places), so it was a convenient, no-hassle transaction.

 

[Propflux01]

Bet your alternator is taking a nice giant "sigh"* !!

 

[joekingcorvette]

I got 7 years out of a 1999 Ford Expedition battery. I keep my Corvette and my F-150 on battery tenders all the time when they are parked in the garage. I don't drive these vehicles very often and both are AGM batteries. I hope to get 7 years out of them. You did good on the BMW though especially with those high powered AMPs.

 

[demarpaint]

IIRC I got over 13 years from a Diehard battery in my 88 E-150. It probably could have gone longer, I changed it in the late fall in anticipation of it failing over the winter.

 

[edyvw]

Bet your alternator is taking a nice giant "sigh"* !!

Not sure, battery still works like a clock. Didn’t change it.
BMW has IBS (intelligent battery system) where ECU adjusts charging to preserve components as battery ages. That is why when changing battery, you have to “register “ it with car. Basically, tell car that you put new battery so that IBS gets adjusted.

 

[mitsuman47]

Is the battery located outside of the engine bay? Many BMWs have the battery in the trunk/rear of the vehicle. I get much longer life out of them than my vehicles that have the battery in engine bay.

 

[Chris142]

Got me beat. With my ICE cars, I get 36 months, give or take a few months, for years and years now. I live in SoCal desert and we get a lot of cold & hot cycles--I suppose that is it? I get a bit longer on the 12V in my hybrid.

Where ya at? Im in apple valley.

The deka battery in my Jeep is still going and was built Jan 2021

 

[JTK]

Temperature extremes used to be what what did them in early. Especially heat. I changed the factory battery out of my 2015 Nissan Versa in 2022. It still worked OK, it tested on the lower end of a load and crank test with my digital tester. My inlaws had a late 1990s Nissan Maxima factory battery last 8yrs.

You see more and more very early battery failures on the GM and Nissan boards I frequent. Typically AGM batteries on vehicles with auto stop/start, etc.