YACT - What's the average lifespan of a car battery?

[ShotgunSteven]

Not especially, though there is a local company that makes some that are supposed to do better in these conditions. I had a battery pad, battery blanket, etc. on during the Winter and the thing still sucked. I've had other batteries do much better, NAPA's Legend was the worst I've ever used. They didn't even honor their warranty. They would only give me a partial refund towards a replacement. :|

 

[Saulbadguy]

Buy an Optima.

 

[OutHouse]

sears diehard is your friend.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: lightpants
5-7 years is typical

not on chryslers.
the neon batteries are HORRIBLE.
i had to have mine replaced after the first year.. and many other people too.
i got a better higher CCA battery under warranty, and its still good..
but i do not expect 5 years out of it.. LOL

 

[RayH]

Get an Optima or Odyssey.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: redly1
I used to work in the building where the first sealed lead acid automotive battery was developed

Can I get your autograph?

Me too!

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Best to replace it after 5 years. You might save a little keeping it longer, but your chances of getting stranded increase exponentially as you go past that mark.

 

[NutBucket]

The Honda OEM batteries seem to last for years. I think they're now OEM'd by Delco. At any rate, I've had a cheap Exide in my car for 4 years now and it seems to be fine. I think next time I'll pay Costco a visit. Can't beat <$40 for a 10 year warranty.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Rastus
Batteries are designed to last about as long as the warrenty. I've gotten longer life from them, but not usually.

^^^

buy a new one soon

 

[waggy]

hmm lets see. Spend $30-70 on a new battery or get stranded somplace and pay $75-150 on towing etc.


I think i would replace it myself. 7 years is pretty good.

 

[phreakah]

this reminds me i need to change the battery on my civic... same story as the OP.. 97 civic, but i've drained the battery quite a few times by leaving the headlights on, so sometimes i can tell that the battery isnt as strong as it used to be

 

[Vette73]

Being a Mechanic for 10years I can say AVERAGE is about 4 years. Mind you some can't make it a year and I saw one that was about 10 years old. So average does not mean much if your 2 year old battery will not start your car.

Also there are not that many people that make Batterys. So saying brand A is better then B might be dumb as they could be from teh SAME plant.

Places I like are Autozone, Sams, and Advance. Those seem to have a easy return setup. I would not recommand a Sears battery. Most of them are very hard to get your warrenty through, and most of the time they want to charge you to test your charging system before they will even look at the battery, etc...

The main causes fro a battery to not last long is it not being tied down correct. When a battery moves around it can cause the plates to come free. Also keep a eye on the fluid level if not maintaince free. And lastly keep it charged and don't drain it, so don't leave a light on or run soemthing with the car not running.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Saulbadguy

Originally posted by: amdskip
Make sure the water is full in it. Only use distilled water to refill it.

Just about all batteries are maintenance free now.

true that

 

[gw186]

Johnson Controls makes most of them, I worked there for a week.