Rant. Factory exide battery dead just after 3 years

[UG_Passat]

2016 VW Tiguan. Build around late 2015

Drove home from work. Took 1 hour nap before going to the gym. Dead battery. Had it jumped and went to Autozone to get it tested, just in case.

Said needs new battery. Got the hecho en mexico Duralast gold.

Stock battery is stamped "Exide"

Normally I expect a Varta battery (made by Johnson controls)

 

[MParr]

Nothing unusual. I've been through 2 Walmart Everstart Maxx batteries in 4 years. Both were JCI made in Mexico.I am on battery number 4 since the car was purchased new on Labor Day 2012.

 

[Kjmack]

Means mine isn't far behind . Is it garage kept ? Parts unknown ? Do you have hot and cold seasons ?

 

[Wolf359]

I believe Duralast is a Johnson control battery so you may have better luck. I think Exide on here is considered the bottom of the barrel compared to Johnson Controls or East Penn.

Either you're in a hot climate or you don't drive it enough to fully charge the battery. If you're close to home, I'd throw a battery charger on the battery every few months to keep it fully charged.

 

[pm88]

2017 GMC Acadia's original battery died at 12 months and 1 week and was replaced under warranty. Replacement battery lasted 13 months and the electrical system checked out ok. Dealer replaced it again under warranty and said sometimes you get a bad battery plus the vehicle has a lot of electronics on it. I do give the battery a charge monthly with a Noco Genius charger but I'll be sure to test the battery just before the GM warranty runs out.

 

[UG_Passat]

Was in NJ, so it saw all 4 seasons. Now SoCal, by the coast, so nothing extreme like desert heat, which is a battery killer.

My old Passat had a Varta battery (Johnson Controls), which I replaced after 5 years, as a safe measure with an Interstate that my mechanic sells.


And I drive it more than enough daily, with a 30 mile one-way commute.

 

[Chris142]

Seems like batteries are getting worse.

 

[BigD1]

I have had bad luck with Advance Auto Silver batteries over the last four years or so on two different cars. One was replaced twice during the two year free replacement, and the other was replaced once during the two year warranty. I quit buying them.

Just replaced the alternator on my neighbors 2006 Mazda Tribute. It has an Advance Auto Silver battery, and it is 5.5 years old, and still going. It set for two days, and the voltage tested at 12.6 volts.

Luck of the draw I guess.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Was in NJ, so it saw all 4 seasons. Now SoCal, by the coast, so nothing extreme like desert heat, which is a battery killer.

My old Passat had a Varta battery (Johnson Controls), which I replaced after 5 years, as a safe measure with an Interstate that my mechanic sells.


And I drive it more than enough daily, with a 30 mile one-way commute.


I don't want to call it a conspiracy theory, but the cynical would say it's just VW up to more tricks. One other way to game the CAFE numbers is to not charge the battery as much during the drive cycle. So instead of software to detect if it's in the drive cycle, just make it automatic so that it assumes it's in the drive cycle and either not charge the battery or use more battery power til it drops below a certain state and then charge it. But then it doesn't charge it enough to keep it fully charged and hence they die earlier. Too bad you can't see the source code to see what they're really doing.

Or it's just a bad Exide battery as they did declare bankruptcy at one point.

 

[WankelRotorHead]

Years ago in my early 20's I worked for a Kmart auto center changing oil, mounting tires, and replacing batteries. We sold a lot of Exide batteries and we consequently replaced a lot of Exide batteries. They were total crap and we knew it. We also sold AC Delco batteries that on average cost about $15 more (batteries were pretty cheap back then in the early to mid 90's) and they never came back.

It's been a couple decades, but I still will never purchase an Exide made battery after that experience.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by UG_Passat
Was in NJ, so it saw all 4 seasons. Now SoCal, by the coast, so nothing extreme like desert heat, which is a battery killer.

My old Passat had a Varta battery (Johnson Controls), which I replaced after 5 years, as a safe measure with an Interstate that my mechanic sells.


And I drive it more than enough daily, with a 30 mile one-way commute.


I don't want to call it a conspiracy theory, but the cynical would say it's just VW up to more tricks. One other way to game the CAFE numbers is to not charge the battery as much during the drive cycle. So instead of software to detect if it's in the drive cycle, just make it automatic so that it assumes it's in the drive cycle and either not charge the battery or use more battery power til it drops below a certain state and then charge it. But then it doesn't charge it enough to keep it fully charged and hence they die earlier. Too bad you can't see the source code to see what they're really doing.

Or it's just a bad Exide battery as they did declare bankruptcy at one point.


This car doesn't have the battery code you enter into the ECU, like some of the newer cars. If an AGM was installed, on a car that was coded for the flooded lead-acid, then it would not charge properly as the charging profile for AGM is different.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJAScg6JrYI

I suspect it's a bad Exide battery.

The replacement battery, 000915105DE (61 Ah) can either be a Exide or Varta battery.

The stock battery, 5K0 915 105D (60 Ah) can also be either an Exide or Varta battery

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Wolf359
I don't want to call it a conspiracy theory, but the cynical would say it's just VW up to more tricks..........Or it's just a bad Exide battery as they did declare bankruptcy at one point.
Go on.

 

[CharBaby]

I'm not saying that the OPs battery is/isn't bad but, here's a RANT for ya!
AutoZone's load test equipment always says that the battery needs replacement...Every time I go there!

Here's one instance:

I went to Advance Auto Parts(AAP) and got a load test on a battery. AAPs load tester prints out a ticker tape of the condition of the battery. In my case, it showed GOOD with the battery condition and ca/cca, date, time etc.

Then because of previous experiences, I drove "right across the street" over to AutoZone(AZ) and had them do a load test on the same battery. I did this for my own satisfaction. Well guess what?
Again, their test said...Replace Battery with no print out or any information of the condition of my battery. JUST, REPLACE!

This is coming from the same AZ staff members that are told in their training that(and tell customers) that you can't mix oils nor switch back & forth between conventional & synthetic oils. Then on a particularly slow day at AZ, I showed the staff on their own website, an AZ Rep saying just the opposite.

When I showed the staff members including the Manager this video on their own store computer, they were floored. Their jaws dropped!

As the matter of fact, some members even quit and went to AAP for a job. Here's the video. It's about 5+ minutes long and the statement by the AZ Rep is at ~ 4:00. See here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrTG_uxa8y4

See Ya!

 

[The Critic]

Have you been testing your battery with each 10K service?

Ever since I started testing batteries at each maintenance visit, I have never experienced a "surprise" battery failure in-between services.

 

[Black_Thunder]

not a fan of Exide batteries myself.


I use either JC batteries or East Penn and have been able to get decent longevity from them.


I charge them occasionally, either at an oil change or when I'm putzing with something under the hood i throw the charger on it while i'm working on it.


I think its good practice and helps keep the battery from running low or sitting low for periods of time

 

[SteveSRT8]

I say that any factory battery is a crapshoot anyway. I've had them go seven years and I've had them die at 2. Be thankful you got as far as you did!

And Advance auto near me always says you need a new one!

 

[4WD]

Exide ? 2 or 3 years in trucks/SUV and boats ...
My longest lasting factory batteries have all been AC Delco - not Ford ...
Actually put an AC Delco in the Cruze after the Exide failed in 2 years ...

 

[bullwinkle]

Exide, Motorcraft, and AC Delco always seem to fail early for me, JC ones are OK if they don't leak all over the place-but the East Penn ones seem to be the best all the way around!

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by UG_Passat
2016 VW Tiguan. Build around late 2015

Drove home from work. Took 1 hour nap before going to the gym. Dead battery. Had it jumped and went to Autozone to get it tested, just in case.

Said needs new battery. Got the hecho en mexico Duralast gold.

Stock battery is stamped "Exide"

Normally I expect a Varta battery (made by Johnson controls)


Your expectations are too high for an Exide battery. You are lucky it lasted this long.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by BikeWhisperer
Years ago in my early 20's I worked for a Kmart auto center changing oil, mounting tires, and replacing batteries. We sold a lot of Exide batteries and we consequently replaced a lot of Exide batteries. They were total crap and we knew it. We also sold AC Delco batteries that on average cost about $15 more (batteries were pretty cheap back then in the early to mid 90's) and they never came back.

It's been a couple decades, but I still will never purchase an Exide made battery after that experience.

Same think when I worked at kragen auto parts. For a while we sold the ones with foam balls floating in the acid. Those were real bad.