Replace battery every five years?

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The Critic

The Critic

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From what I've been taught, the majority of auto batteries last three to five years before failure. Sometimes they last longer than five years.

However, if money wasn't tight, would it be suggested to replace one's auto battery every five years to prevent the inconvenience of a battery failure? Or is it a complete waste of money?
 
How much is a new battery? $50? They probably depreciate faster than a new car, so after five years it's only worth $10 or so. A new battery will also give you longer run time in case your alternator dies.
 
I hear people all around me stating that you need to change them every 3.

I usually get 5 plus years out of them. First sign of trouble, add a bottle of battery booster, and schedule replacement in the next few months.
 
Quote:

How much is a new battery? $50? They probably depreciate faster than a new car, so after five years it's only worth $10 or so. A new battery will also give you longer run time in case your alternator dies.

Click to expand...

The price of car batteries vary significantly depending on the line you buy and the warranty. Generally, $80 will buy you a decent quality battery these days. Sometimes less, sometimes more, but $80 is a good number.
 
LOL! Why don't you change it out every year??? or 1/2 year??

IMHO you are wasting valuable resource by casually discounting the usefulness of a lead-acid battery, for they typically bears a service life of 5+ yrs if taken care of carefully.

I would just use it until it shows it's first sign of failure/partial failure before it gets replaced, and that would typically calls for service life of 6 yrs avg. Changing it out sooner than needed is a waste.

Again, proper diagnosis and understanding of automotive charging systems will help you in determining the life of your battery quickly and accurately. To do so is to get a carbon pile tester and test it twice a year: once in late spring and once in mid fall before winter comes along. Load-testing a battery and then check your alternator charing are 2 best things you can do to keep your car going...

Q.
 
$80 isn't that important to me every few years if it will prevent me from being stranded one night or being late to class/work. I would rather pay a bit more and replace it ahead of time if it'll save me an inconvenience; I'd just like to know a good time.

Hate to say it, but my last two batteries have just gone poop on me. It works great one day, and doesn't work the next. I understand the theoretical usefulness of testing, but rarely do you catch it.
 
Critic,
I've only ever had one battery drop a cell and leave me stuck (two colleagues have had them die in the last week, however).

IMO, as long as you look after them (never let them get flat), you will probably get a fair warning of doom, (and it will usually be in autumn in my experience).
 
Just be sure to replace any sort of plastic wrapper or heat shield that came on the OEM battery.

I'm seeing lots of batteries left for recycling that still have these on them..if it wasn't needed it wouldn't be on the OEM battery.

My Saab 93 actually has an air duct in front of the radiator to provide ventilation to the battery box to keep the battery cool. Heat kills batteries.
 
my Screw has the OEM battery....7 years old.

I read in an old consumer reports that walmart batteries are fine...anyone with new info?
 
Quote:

LOL! Why don't you change it out every year??? or 1/2 year??

IMHO you are wasting valuable resource by casually discounting the usefulness of a lead-acid battery, for they typically bears a service life of 5+ yrs if taken care of carefully.

I would just use it until it shows it's first sign of failure/partial failure before it gets replaced, and that would typically calls for service life of 6 yrs avg. Changing it out sooner than needed is a waste.

Again, proper diagnosis and understanding of automotive charging systems will help you in determining the life of your battery quickly and accurately. To do so is to get a carbon pile tester and test it twice a year: once in late spring and once in mid fall before winter comes along. Load-testing a battery and then check your alternator charing are 2 best things you can do to keep your car going...

Q.

Click to expand...


Not everybody has that luxury and may have drivers like wives & teenage daughters or elderly drivers who could get into a dangerous situation if faced with a dead battery. Driving habits combined with heavy electrical option loaded vehicles make 6 years a pipe dream to my reality. The last thing I want to happen is have my 80 year old Father have his battery die in a NE Ohio Winter. Up here, batteries last 2-5 years. If you make it 5 years you are lucky.
 
My 1995 e34 BMW has the battery under the back seat and vented. Wonder how much being in a protected environment extends it's life. This OEM battery (this is the second baattery) has been in tthe car for 6 years and over 70,000 miles.

That said, I may replace it this spring. Autozone Duralast battery is the battery of choice for many e34 BMW owners.
 
From what I have read, summer heat is harder on batteries than winter cold. The further north you are, the longer your battery will last.

Heat kills batteries.
 
we get at least 10 years out of our OE batteries... we replaced the OE panasonic in the previa, at 10 years, and the duralast crapped out after two
frown.gif


In my mother's plymouth breeze, the battery is a champ... it is a MY97 car, that we got in Nov. 96, so it is over 10 years and 100k of 4-6 starts and very short (5 blocks to 1 mile) drives daily.

Funny, the lousiest battery weve had was the OE honda battery in our 94 integra, and I recall that the OE battery in our 91 corolla got nasty around the terminals all the time.

JMH
 
Lots of stuff in a modern car depend on the battery being in good condition. I replace at the first sign of a problem and always at about 5 years. I have started using Costco batteries but I think that most batteries with 5 or more years in the warranty are a good bet. One fleet operation here has a deal with Costco for batteries and tire service. The batteries have been at least as good as the Interstate batteries they replaced and the way Costco treats the warranty is beyond belief. They are really good.
 
Quote:

From what I have read, summer heat is harder on batteries than winter cold. The further north you are, the longer your battery will last.

Heat kills batteries.

Click to expand...


I've experienced exactly the opposite. Cold cranking is when my batteries cark it, usually in Autumn.
 
Quote:

From what I have read, summer heat is harder on batteries than winter cold. The further north you are, the longer your battery will last.

Heat kills batteries.

Click to expand...


I worked for a company that made battery cases for automotive applications. The saying there was summer heat kills the battery and winter cold is when it will die. Year after year it proved to be true.
 
Alot of people have it all wrong. Just because a battery cranks over the engine doesn't mean its good.

Get a load test and see if it passes.

When a battery gets older it looses its capacity. The alternator detects this and will cycle on more frequently presuming the battery is "low". So basically if you have a weak battery you will put more stress on the alternators regulator.

My wifes CRV's OE battery is 5yrs old and I just throw them out and put an Interstate battery in even if they pass marginally. I sell them at my shop and come backs are next to none. Interstate uses a similar product like the SnapOn miniVat to test batteries.

If you own a chevrolet I'd highly suggest getting your battery checked every other oil change or at least twice a year. The chev alternators are one of the weakest points on most of those cars.

Low 5+ yr old batteries commonly are the cause of alternator failures.
 
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