When do YOU replace your car battery?

[SevenBizzos]

Our OEM Hyundai battery made it 6 1/2 years. It just stopped working without much warning.

My OEM Ford battery went 8 1/2 years. I knew it was going and I probably got another 8 months out of it by occasionally using a trickle charger.

It's amazing how much better an engine turns over at -10F with a relatively new battery.

 

[Eddie]

Trying to get the last months out of a battery is tough on alternators. I go with Quest here, first indication that battery is cranking slower is time to get a load test. I also thin 5 years is a good replacement interval, if you have only one vehicle or wife with kids are using the car frequently.

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

I usually wait for symptoms but recently I replaced mine because I realized it was five years old. Mine often don't last longer than that. A couple of weeks ago I rescued a woman who needed a jump start on her Volvo. She thanked me profusely and said "I bet if this was your car you would get it replaced". I told her that if it was my car I would drive directly somewhere and get it replaced. It wasn't the first time she had had to get it jump started.

 

[Papa Bear]

In the summertime of it's 6th year.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: SevenBizzos
Our OEM Hyundai battery made it 6 1/2 years. It just stopped working without much warning.

My OEM Ford battery went 8 1/2 years. I knew it was going and I probably got another 8 months out of it by occasionally using a trickle charger.

It's amazing how much better an engine turns over at -10F with a relatively new battery.


My Ford OEM batteries go to around 9 years usually. I replace them usually in the dead of winter when overnight cold starting shows signs of weakness. If it was any season other than winter I could get more life out of the battery. But I don't relish getting stuck in frigid temps. After 9 years the battery doesn't owe me anything.

Whimsey

 

[DC44]

I got a free replacement but it's still under the oringinal 18 month free replacement time.

My Napa alternator only lasted 2 years also and it wasn't the cheapest one. Got that replaced under warranty also. It was originally a liftime warranty now it's a 3 year warranty. Napa seems to be a hit and miss with me.

 

[bigmike]

Most of my batteries went sudden with no warning. My last Ac Delco slowly went and I still waited until it wouldn't start before replacing.

I'm wondering if some of you guys replace batteries as routine maintenance items in your TV remotes too?

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
Most of my batteries went sudden with no warning. My last Ac Delco slowly went and I still waited until it wouldn't start before replacing.

I'm wondering if some of you guys replace batteries as routine maintenance items in your TV remotes too?


Generally the "all of a sudden" failures are all cell shorts due to sulfation. These instances can be reduced by making sure that the battery is always charged above 80% and using a desulfating battery tender overnight every couple of weeks.

When things fail suddenly it's hard to predict and replace without being stranded. "Starting to crank slow" is usually genuine old age and is a lot easier to predict and respond to.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
I'm wondering if some of you guys replace batteries as routine maintenance items in your TV remotes too?


That's the wife's responsibility. Nothing worse than ME having to get off the couch after a nice dinner to replace batteries. She's not happy either if neglected battery maintenance interrupts her other work.....dishes, vacuuming, poopy diapers,snow shoveling, car waxing, etc..

 

[Samilcar]

Originally Posted By: bigmike

I'm wondering if some of you guys replace batteries as routine maintenance items in your TV remotes too?


A bad battery in the remote control rarely leaves me stranded in a sparsely populated area at -10°F, so no, I don't replace that particular battery until it fails completely.

 

[FZ1]

I get my oil changed by the Honda dealer. They have an express oil change building with 5 drive thru bays. They check the battery,etc. each time I change my oil. Ntb battery was low after about 2 years. Let the dealer installed a 3/8 warranteed Honda battery. Took the ntb battery back to ntb and got a full refund. Interestingly, the NTB had like 675 cca and the new Honda battery has only 550,or so,but with a 3 year full replacement/8 year pro rated warranty by Honda,what could I do? More convenient to deal with fewer vendors. The Honda battery was $113.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Originally Posted By: bigmike
I'm wondering if some of you guys replace batteries as routine maintenance items in your TV remotes too?


That's the wife's responsibility. Nothing worse than ME having to get off the couch after a nice dinner to replace batteries. She's not happy either if neglected battery maintenance interrupts her other work.....dishes, vacuuming, poopy diapers,snow shoveling, car waxing, etc..

Good stuff!