I bought an O'Reilly 84 month battery for our 01 Escape in 2011. Third car, now with 225k but driven daily. It went dead in January of 2014 so I got a new one free. This morning it was dead. O'Reilly condemned it but the prorate was $96 since the 2011 prcchase date was used. The Motorcraft batteries in my Mustang have been great, as well as the Acadia batteries. The car does get a lot of short trips. Would an occasional charge improve battery life?
O'Reilly Batteries
- Thread starter Old Mustang Guy
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Texas is killing your batteries, or your car is. I don't know who makes O'Reilly batteries but every 2-3 years sounds like a vehicle or heat issue.
Unless they changed, they used to get them from Johnson Controls
I run O'Reillys batteries in our work trucks. Never a problem with them. One of the trucks only runs a mile at a time running between shops.
I suspect heat is a problem. The mustang has an insulation pad around it. The Acadia battery is under the second row floorboard.
There are only 3 nationally distributed manufacturers in the USA. East Penn (DEKA), Johnson Controls (Interstate) and Exide (??). Exide moved to Mexico a few years back, and it was bad news before that. The top of the line batteries for cars, SLI (Starting. Lights, Ignition) will normally be warranted by the seller for up to 3 years. Virtually all of the car batteries you buy come from one of those three. I've been on the factory tour at East Penn; they had a store room full of the labels for their customer's name brands.
The truth is that the proliferation of computers are requiring more key off drain energy from a battery. In 2005, a suspect key-off drain was .60amps. Today it's .80 for most vehicles before it's considered a problem.
The other issue is under-hood heat. Summer temps and A/C can cause the electrolyte (at least the water part of it, 65%) to boil. As the water boils, it stirs the sulfuric acid and when the pressure in the battery is too high, the vents allow the steam/acid mixture to leave the battery. Ever notice how an old battery might look like it had a soft drink poured on the surface? That's where the heavier sulfuric acid settled. Pour a baking soda+water solution on it and it will fizz; neutralizing the acid. That battery is "bleeding" to death. The plates expand and shed reactive material in the heat too.
The truth is that the proliferation of computers are requiring more key off drain energy from a battery. In 2005, a suspect key-off drain was .60amps. Today it's .80 for most vehicles before it's considered a problem.
The other issue is under-hood heat. Summer temps and A/C can cause the electrolyte (at least the water part of it, 65%) to boil. As the water boils, it stirs the sulfuric acid and when the pressure in the battery is too high, the vents allow the steam/acid mixture to leave the battery. Ever notice how an old battery might look like it had a soft drink poured on the surface? That's where the heavier sulfuric acid settled. Pour a baking soda+water solution on it and it will fizz; neutralizing the acid. That battery is "bleeding" to death. The plates expand and shed reactive material in the heat too.
Originally Posted By: Old Mustang Guy
I bought an O'Reilly 84 month battery for our 01 Escape in 2011. Third car, now with 225k but driven daily. It went dead in January of 2014 so I got a new one free. This morning it was dead. O'Reilly condemned it but the prorate was $96 since the 2011 prcchase date was used. The Motorcraft batteries in my Mustang have been great, as well as the Acadia batteries. The car does get a lot of short trips. Would an occasional charge improve battery life?
The 84 months warranty is prorated, you already got 1 for free because it was less than 3 yrs.
That was shortly before they change the warranty.
Nowadays, it is like 3 years replacement then 2 years more for prorating (total of 60 months).
I am in your area, mine has been lasting mostly 3 years and more when the car is hardly driven.
It is also the quality has been going down.
Most of the OR battery in this area comes from East Penn, so it is better than the one from JC. Way better than Exide.
I agree with everybody, heat kills battery.
I bought an O'Reilly 84 month battery for our 01 Escape in 2011. Third car, now with 225k but driven daily. It went dead in January of 2014 so I got a new one free. This morning it was dead. O'Reilly condemned it but the prorate was $96 since the 2011 prcchase date was used. The Motorcraft batteries in my Mustang have been great, as well as the Acadia batteries. The car does get a lot of short trips. Would an occasional charge improve battery life?
The 84 months warranty is prorated, you already got 1 for free because it was less than 3 yrs.
That was shortly before they change the warranty.
Nowadays, it is like 3 years replacement then 2 years more for prorating (total of 60 months).
I am in your area, mine has been lasting mostly 3 years and more when the car is hardly driven.
It is also the quality has been going down.
Most of the OR battery in this area comes from East Penn, so it is better than the one from JC. Way better than Exide.
I agree with everybody, heat kills battery.
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The Oreilly batteries are made by East Penn.
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Get agm batteries.they seem to last much longer in the heat.im in the desert and my battery is 7 yes old.the one it replaced lasted 9 yrs
Chris142 said:
Originally Posted By: Old Mustang Guy
I suspect heat is a problem. The mustang has an insulation pad around it. The Acadia battery is under the second row floorboard.
You can make an insulation with this reflectix from Home Depot or Lowes. One roll can make many insulation for batteries.
I suspect heat is a problem. The mustang has an insulation pad around it. The Acadia battery is under the second row floorboard.
You can make an insulation with this reflectix from Home Depot or Lowes. One roll can make many insulation for batteries.
I use that reflective insulation for a lot of different applications. For batteries, it would be a good choice.
Yeah, Deka/East Penn makes the O'Reilly batteries. I have hauled a lot of them commercially.
Yeah, Deka/East Penn makes the O'Reilly batteries. I have hauled a lot of them commercially.
I got out my battery charger and charged the batteries in the two other cars. Both have batteries about two years old with no issues so far. Both charged for over an hour on fast charge before they showed full charge. Will charging possibly increase battery life? I'm going to make an insulation pad for the Escape.
If your battery is getting heat from some vehicle part like the exhaust then some kind of insulation might make some difference. But if the heat is from the ambient air it probably will not make any difference because no insulation is going to prevent the battery from getting to ambient temperature after many hours.
Yes, the Escape seems to get really hot under the hood. I wish all cars had vented hoods like the new Mustangs. I had a modified 95 Mustang with a cowl hood vented in back. On hot days I could see heat waves coming from the vent.
Originally Posted By: Old Mustang Guy
I got out my battery charger and charged the batteries in the two other cars. Both have batteries about two years old with no issues so far. Both charged for over an hour on fast charge before they showed full charge. Will charging possibly increase battery life? I'm going to make an insulation pad for the Escape.
Cost of charging a battery every month for 1-2 hours is less than a nickel(assume your electricity cost about 15-20cents/KWh), it may/may not extend battery life by much but other than inconvenience of hook up charger once a month you have very little to loose.
I got out my battery charger and charged the batteries in the two other cars. Both have batteries about two years old with no issues so far. Both charged for over an hour on fast charge before they showed full charge. Will charging possibly increase battery life? I'm going to make an insulation pad for the Escape.
Cost of charging a battery every month for 1-2 hours is less than a nickel(assume your electricity cost about 15-20cents/KWh), it may/may not extend battery life by much but other than inconvenience of hook up charger once a month you have very little to loose.
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