Prophylactic battery replacement

Joined
Apr 17, 2012
Messages
3,700
Location
West Michigan
Who here replaces their vehicle battery on a schedule vs wait until there is an issue? Wife’s 2018 is on the factory AGM still, which does seem to be in overall good condition. On my vehicles I’ll usually wait for an issue but not sure how these AGM all age compared to regular SLA.
 
I wait until slow crank and carry a jump pack in the vehicle with the oldest battery. Normally wintertime takes out the battery, so no worries about carrying a jump pack in a hot car.

4.5 years out of my OEM Mazda6 battery, 8 out of my Jeep. Going on 9 years on the 1997 F-100, and our 2022 Yukon XL just had its battery replaced. If I was going to go on a time schedule, it would be a complete crapshoot.
 
JC Whitney used to sell the only battery

Prophylactic that I’m aware of in the form of edta, I got many extra years from overpriced deepcycle batteries adding a little when they sulphated.​


Otherwise I don’t think we need to prevent batteries from procreating
 
Last edited:
Not really. A time or two, I've swapped batteries between cars so the wife or daughter has a fresher one. I've got a specific gravity tester, load pile testers, jumper cables and a lithium battery pack so I'm not afraid of using up a battery.
 
Not really. A time or two, I've swapped batteries between cars so the wife or daughter has a fresher one. I've got a specific gravity tester, load pile testers, jumper cables and a lithium battery pack so I'm not afraid of using up a battery.
I do that with wiper blades, my old cars main wiper fit the passenger side truck

Was trying to figure out a rotation on the current cars and am very tempted to undersize the drivers blade so I can use it on the passenger side.

Something disturbing I’ve found is that the wipers I have are all up to an inch smaller than the package states so I can actually use a size up.

Wiper shrink flation
 
I have recently replaced three batteries. Two of them lasted a long time, one failed early but was covered by Costco's (older full-replacement) warranty. I have never replaced a battery before it fails, but my perception is that batteries often last longer than they used to, and at least in a newer car, fail suddenly and without warning.... so I am all ears on this thread. I am responsible for an eight-year-old car that is still on it's original battery... replacing that is probably a no-brainer.
 
I replace my batteries after 6 years even if they appear fine because I don't want to have to hunt for the correct battery while on a road trip. Batteries may fail fail at the most inopportune moment.
 
Last edited:
Who here replaces their vehicle battery on a schedule vs wait until there is an issue? Wife’s 2018 is on the factory AGM still, which does seem to be in overall good condition. On my vehicles I’ll usually wait for an issue but not sure how these AGM all age compared to regular SLA.
Six years is impressive. I, personally, would replace it now while it's convenient rather then when it suddenly fails and at an inconvenient time.
 
On the DD's, every 5-6 years, never longer. On the fun fleet, when I have any hint of reduced performance. The costs and inconvenience of an unexpected issue outweigh the value of old but possible functional batteries that I dispose of.
 
I did for the first time last month. Our Honda that sits most of the time in SoFlo, got a new replacement battery at the five year mark as a preventative measure. Further, there was no maintenance in those 5 years, just a disconnect each time. Storage was anywhere from 3 to 18 months.

Out: Kirkland
In: WM Value
 
I’ve recently replaced the OE batteries in our VW Tiguan and F-150. The Tiguan battery was 5.5 years old. It wasn’t showing any symptoms of going bad. I just didn’t want my wife stranded somewhere.
I replaced the battery in the F-150 this past Thursday. It would have been 5 years old in November. It was showing signs of coming failure. The Sync 3 started acting funny. The battery was showing only 12.2 volts after sitting overnight.
Both vehicles use H6/ Group 48 AGM batteries. I bought a NAPA Legend AGM for the VW and got it at a good price. I bought a Motorcraft Tested Tough Max AGM for the F-150. It was a little cheaper than the NAPA Legend. I should have bought both at my Ford dealer.
4-5 years is about all I expect out of a battery.
 
No schedule. Usually wait until it's dead, or at least signaling. Have been getting better about it on the wife's (and kid's) rides. 7 years is the longest I usually see (although the Panasonic went 10 in my truck). So I probably should start aiming for 6.

For a little while I had 3 vehicles with the same battery size. That was a nice perk, "just in case", I could swap between vehicles if necessary. I suspect all 3 are different sizes and there's no swapping now.
 
My experience has been that batteries last a long time, (7+ years) but when they fail completely there is little warning. Both my current cars (AGM) have Stop/Start. Easy to tell when the battery gets low as they don't Stop/Start as frequently at stop signs/lights. Then see how long before they regain Stop/Start activity. Current Beemer battery is 8 years old so anticipate may not get through the coming winter. Carry jumper cables and a battery tester just purchased from Harbor Freight ($35). Remain a bit nervous to test as don't want to f* up the Beemer electronics. Assume will test at the terminals in the engine bay, NOT directly at the battery located in the trunk. Advice appreciated on this - anyone?
 
Usually ahead of time, or when they show some sign of failure. I can't remember many batteries just flat out being completely dead. I can usually hear a sign of weakness of slower starting ahead of time.

I replaced a leaking battery on my Jeep 2 years ago, still started it just fine. But I take it out to the middle of the desert off-roading and don't want a failure. A few months ago the Genesis still started but sometimes had a little hesitation to start, had it tested and it was at like 1/2 the CCA. That one is an ouch, $250 battery.
 
I would recommend a certain time period and quality of battery you can bet on. Let’s say 4 years with a Walmart Everstart Max. Then every 4 years you would buy a new battery. Now take your present age and subtract it from 100. Not many people drive after 100.

So, if you are 50, 100 - 50 = 50. 50/4 = 12.5, so 13 batteries.

What’s the alternative? You drive until the battery will not start the car, say on a morning you were supposed to drive to the airport to catch an early flight. Let’s say driving until it quits result in an average of 6 years of life.
50/6 = 8.33 or 9 batteries. So it’s 9 batteries vs 13 or 4 batteries. Say the battery costs $200. 4 x $200 = $800 in today’s dollars.

Another issue is old age. You want to be a 80 year old guy stuck at a resturant parking lot at night with a bad battery? You might be meeting a whole new set of friends.

You can decide. Just my two cents. ;)
 
Back
Top Bottom