When do you normally replace your battery?

[dud]

I own a 2004 Nissan pickup and the battery in it is stock. It is almost 3.5 years old. Here in Florida the heat causes batteries to age prematurely. I was wondering when you replace your battery ... if you do it becuse you have to (it dies) ... or do you replace at a pre-determined time/mileage, like 4 years or 40,000 miles?

I think that I am going to be proactive and just replace it before it goes bad.

 

[programmer]

When I have to get the car jumped 2x in a row, time to replace. The battery in my mazda lasted a little more than 7 years, and I never touched it (maint. free).

 

[jjanders]

I've had my 2002 Mazda Protege for 5 years now and the battery is still going strong after 5 brutal Syracuse winters. I probably won't touch it until it starts to give me issues.

 

[HannibalX]

I lived in FL for 14 years and never had a battery die, but I replaced the battery in my vehicles every three years. Batteries are so cheap these days it doesn't make sense to run them until death and possibly damage electrical parts on the car.

 

[jjanders]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
I lived in FL for 14 years and never had a battery die, but I replaced the battery in my vehicles every three years. Batteries are so cheap these days it doesn't make sense to run them until death and possibly damage electrical parts on the car.

Yeah I was thinking I might replace mine soon before winter gets here. What is the deal with batteries? Does any old one do, or are certain brands/whatever better?

 

[HannibalX]

Johnson Controls make most consumer level car batteries. Different retailers like Die Hard or Eveready just put their brand on them.

As far as which battery is best? I recommend replacing your battery with a unit like or similar to the unit the manufacture installed.

 

[jagec]

When it dies.

 

[Gillbot]

When it dies.

 

[exdeath]

Mine didn't die, but one of the terminals was corroded and when I cleaned it I noticed the case was cracked around the post.

Perfect excuse to ditch a working battery and get another Optima red top. The one in my Camry is 5 years old.

 

[jdoggg12]

I usually go through them every 3 years.... 2500watt stereos are not battery friendly

 

[SparkyJJO]

When it dies.

AFAIK the battery in my 98 Camaro is original. Sure looks like it, I suppose that the previous owner could have just gotten another AC Delco battery but most people don't do that.

 

[prontospyder]

Had the original battery in my '03 Altima up to several weeks ago. While getting new tires installed, I had the shop check the battery and they said it failed the test. Had it replaced. The old battery lasted 85K miles - not too bad.

 

[thecritic]

I usually replace mine every four to five years. Most batteries will last that amount of time if installed properly and topped-up periodically.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
I lived in FL for 14 years and never had a battery die, but I replaced the battery in my vehicles every three years. Batteries are so cheap these days it doesn't make sense to run them until death and possibly damage electrical parts on the car.

It's funy how opinions vary. I was going to post that I wait until they die because they're so expensive. Really I was.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
I lived in FL for 14 years and never had a battery die, but I replaced the battery in my vehicles every three years. Batteries are so cheap these days it doesn't make sense to run them until death and possibly damage electrical parts on the car.

It's funy how opinions vary. I was going to post that I wait until they die because they're so expensive. Really I was.

Yeah, throwing down $100 or so every three years for no good reason seems silly...sort of like always changing your oil at 2k.

I'd like to know how a battery dying is going to "damage electrical parts on the car", though.

 

[JDMnAR1]

I have 5+ years and 105K+ miles on my original battery and no problems yet. My wife, on the other hand, has 2 years and 60K miles on hers and seems to be having some issues with her battery.

 

[AMCRambler]

You'll be able to tell if it starts going. You go to crank the car over on a cold morning and it turns over real slow. That was the first symptom I had. Went out and got a new one in a couple weeks time. Didn't want to get stuck somewhere with a dead battery.