when to replace a battery

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I had the perfect storm with my 2001 Kia Rio 1.5L I bought new in 2001. Th battery lasted 10 years solid and I replaced it out of raw fear. It started perfectly every time. I wish I could recall the make. It was Asian of course. Not Panasonic but something like that.

Why it lasted?
Perhaps because I did highway driving daily the first 5 years. No power locks or windows. Just 1500cc to crank. A wide open engine bay (cool air flow). Had a thin foam wrap on it from factory. These are all speculation but I do know this ....it never ever cranked slow ....it was eerie man. The tranny went before the battery!
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Isn't this your ex's car? Forgetaboutit!




I was going to ask the same thing.

This can go one of three ways... The answer to your question is which will cause you the least amount of grief?

You can either fix it right now for her, fix it when it dies (can be very sudden and unexpected) or wash your hands of it.

Since we don't really know your personal situation with her, only you can answer. If she can be a major PITA or you worry about a child in her care/ you still care for her- do it now. If you have a bit of an ornery streak- do it when it fails (just be prepared for the fall out from her and the possible inconvenience. Lastly, don't give a flip? Don't do anything.

If you fall under #1 and you have the money to spare, it may be worth it to just do it and be done.
 
Replace it, otherwise she'll probably be stranded with the kids in a parking lot and you'll be the one called out to replace it
 
Originally Posted By: Concours14
I'd rather replace. For every old battery we try to milk another week/month/year out of there's an alternator and voltage regulator struggling to keep up and all your other systems not receiving full draw. For a hundred bucks every three years to have a fresh battery in the car, I don't see how it's even a consideration. But then, I'm the guy cutting the tray of my Hyundai to make room for a battery fit for a Lincoln. Once that puppy is charged up, nothing in the Hyundai is going to ever have that battery breathing hard. When it comes to batteries, I'm all in for overkill. There is no substitute for CCA.


Thats funny, cause I just did a 2 day maintenance charge on a tiny Nissan battery that goes in my 89 Lincoln. It'd sit 3 months and still start right up. 470CCA 88min reserve. Made in Mexico, is that any good?
 
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
For those who have issues with batteries lasting more than 3-4 years, I've got a couple of questions:

1. Is this consistent, meaning battery after battery fails within this time frame?


Jeep Grand Cherokee (had from 08-14) and Jeep Wrangler(got in 04) in sig, both yes, both happened twice.


Originally Posted By: gathermewool

2. Which battery? Do you always buy the cheapest, middle of the road, or the most expensive AGM battery you can find?


Wrangler failures were OEM and Duralast (I think) from Advance Auto; on 3rd battery now. GC had a new NAPA battery put in when I bought it, then I had to replace 3 years later.


Originally Posted By: gathermewool

3. What's your typical engine-off behavior? Do you or your S.O. listen to the radio after you get to your destination and turn the engine off, leave the lights on while you read for a bit, or have any other frequent occasions where you're eating into your battery's reserve capacity?


Nope, nothing like that for either of us.


Originally Posted By: gathermewool

4. Do you drive short-trips often, or have a lot of start-stop cycles with minimal highway driving?

These questions are for the OP, as well as any one else who wants to contribute.


At the time of these failures, both vehicles were driven at least an hour at a time on the highway. The GC would be parked for a few days, then make the return trip. The Wrangler was used to commute several days a week.

GC owner's manual said to disconnect the battery if it was going to sit more than two weeks, so there was some sort of voltage trickle being used. You could count on the Wrangler's battery dying after about 3 1/2 - 4 years, so I've just gotten into replacing it every 3.
 
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All modern cars have parasitic amperage draw. Usually less than 50mA. Still over a month or so it will pull the battery down.

Can it last longer? Does you car start? It may. Usually if the voltage drops below 11V when cranking then the relays for engine control will drop out and the car not start.

Leaving a car-start battery in a discharged state or repeatedly cycling the battery to low voltage will kill it. They are designed to only really sue 20% of capacity in typical starting situations.
 
Originally Posted By: ram_man
The battery in the pt cruiser is about 5yrs old it's a Napa legend battery. When cranking the volts go down to about 9.5v. Under my carbon pile load tester it goes down to about 10v when doing the loas test. Would you leave it be or get a new one ?


ram_man,

If it's 5 years old like you said then I'd replace it right away! My opinion batteries can go bad at anytime regardless of how reliable it starts.

Durango
 
Batteries can fail without warning. Change it, man, before it causes you grief. You'll be glad you did. My battery died suddenly 2 months ago after only 8000 miles. In my 1.5 year old CRV which we bought new . It was a Japan-made Panasonic, which is supposed to be a really good build. The new battery is still OK, that's why I know the charging system was not at fault. Tough luck, I guess.
 
Originally Posted By: berniedd
Batteries can fail without warning. Change it, man, before it causes you grief. You'll be glad you did. My battery died suddenly 2 months ago after only 8000 miles. In my 1.5 year old CRV which we bought new . It was a Japan-made Panasonic, which is supposed to be a really good build. The new battery is still OK, that's why I know the charging system was not at fault. Tough luck, I guess.


Exactly. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to come to the rescue of friends/family members when their batteries died while they were out shopping, running errands or such things.
The OEM battery in the Camry made it about 7 1/2 years or so, and was still starting the car when I replaced it. The engine sounded like it wasn't cranking as fast as it used to and since my two daughters (who are in college) drive it 40 miles from home - I replaced it asap.

My personal opinion is some people are "penny wise and pound foolish" when it comes to this subject.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
All modern cars have parasitic amperage draw. Usually less than 50mA. Still over a month or so it will pull the battery down.

Can it last longer? Does you car start? It may. Usually if the voltage drops below 11V when cranking then the relays for engine control will drop out and the car not start.

Leaving a car-start battery in a discharged state or repeatedly cycling the battery to low voltage will kill it. They are designed to only really sue 20% of capacity in typical starting situations.


if it's sitting around like that it should be on a battery tender
 
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: berniedd
Batteries can fail without warning. Change it, man, before it causes you grief. You'll be glad you did. My battery died suddenly 2 months ago after only 8000 miles. In my 1.5 year old CRV which we bought new . It was a Japan-made Panasonic, which is supposed to be a really good build. The new battery is still OK, that's why I know the charging system was not at fault. Tough luck, I guess.


Exactly. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to come to the rescue of friends/family members when their batteries died while they were out shopping, running errands or such things.
The OEM battery in the Camry made it about 7 1/2 years or so, and was still starting the car when I replaced it. The engine sounded like it wasn't cranking as fast as it used to and since my two daughters (who are in college) drive it 40 miles from home - I replaced it asap.

My personal opinion is some people are "penny wise and pound foolish" when it comes to this subject.


they should be able to get a jumpstart and make it home or to autozone.
 
You should get one of those $4 plug into the lighter outlet voltage read outs. You can tell when the battery or alternator is failing pretty easy then.

Mini LED Display Digital Car Voltmeter 12V/24V Vehicle Voltage Gauge

41bkDYH04wL._SY355_.jpg
 
I have an Optima made in 1999 in my Acura. Starts the car perfectly, and still passes when tested with the carbon-pile unit at 440 amps. It spent the first 14 years in my Nova, driven at best a few times a year, and never put on a tender. I wish they still were made like that. My local battery house is an Optima dealer, and has nothing good to say about them now.
 
14 years on my OEM Nissan but also cooked the alternator so I "saved" battery costs at the expense of an alty ($250 part). This happened TWICE. Next round was 10 years (battery used, taken from another car) and I also roasted the alternator.
 
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: berniedd
Batteries can fail without warning. Change it, man, before it causes you grief. You'll be glad you did. My battery died suddenly 2 months ago after only 8000 miles. In my 1.5 year old CRV which we bought new . It was a Japan-made Panasonic, which is supposed to be a really good build. The new battery is still OK, that's why I know the charging system was not at fault. Tough luck, I guess.


Exactly. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to come to the rescue of friends/family members when their batteries died while they were out shopping, running errands or such things.
The OEM battery in the Camry made it about 7 1/2 years or so, and was still starting the car when I replaced it. The engine sounded like it wasn't cranking as fast as it used to and since my two daughters (who are in college) drive it 40 miles from home - I replaced it asap.

My personal opinion is some people are "penny wise and pound foolish" when it comes to this subject.


they should be able to get a jumpstart and make it home or to autozone.


I've gone to service plenty of vehicles whose batteries were dead to no point of return. Whatever the solution, you're going to stuck until someone comes along to help you, because you chose to operate your vehicle with a defective part.
 
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
they should be able to get a jumpstart and make it home or to autozone.


Really? In my area, it's not that easy to get a jumpstart. Calling a tow truck can be frustrating and time consuming. For most people it's much easier, faster and less stressful to call a friend/family member.

Does Autozone install batteries? I doubt if they do in California, not sure about other states.

I just don't see why anyone would take a chance. We aren't talking about a large amount of money. I often drive across the California and Arizona deserts. There are road side rests that are many miles from the nearest town/city. SOMETIMES the CHP or Arizona State Police patrols there, but often it can be a long time before you ever see one. I helped one guy at a road side rest that said he'd been there for 3 hours and didn't see the police nor could he get anyone to give him a jump.

For me it's simply not worth the risk. To each their own I guess.
 
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
they should be able to get a jumpstart and make it home or to autozone.


Really? In my area, it's not that easy to get a jumpstart. Calling a tow truck can be frustrating and time consuming. For most people it's much easier, faster and less stressful to call a friend/family member.

Does Autozone install batteries? I doubt if they do in California, not sure about other states.

I just don't see why anyone would take a chance. We aren't talking about a large amount of money. I often drive across the California and Arizona deserts. There are road side rests that are many miles from the nearest town/city. SOMETIMES the CHP or Arizona State Police patrols there, but often it can be a long time before you ever see one. I helped one guy at a road side rest that said he'd been there for 3 hours and didn't see the police nor could he get anyone to give him a jump.

For me it's simply not worth the risk. To each their own I guess.


If you need a jump start, this works.
http://www.amazon.com/PowerAll-PBJS12000R-Rosso-Portable-Starter/dp/B00D42AFS8/
 
wow. who could have thought getting a jumpstart would be that scary...LOL THE HORROR

and yes autozone does install a new battery here if you buy one. one time they were busy and just let me use their wrenches
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
when you get the first slower than normal crank sounds.


+1 that is when I get a new one. Just had the kids 2008 Toyota OE battery die. She left the radio on for about 30 minutes. Got an AAP gold top with the $50 off code.
 
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