How long does your battery last?
 

My battery just died last week 42000 miles.
Changed to Duralast
http://www.autozone.com/batteries-st.../4474_929283_0

What about you guys?

My battery died after approximately 4,500miles. The new one replaced under warranty is now about 2,500miles in, and seems to be stronger, holding its charge longer.

My battery died after 2500 miles, but it was my fault. I left a device on the car that drained it and afterwards it was completely dead. I am using now a Yuasa battery which is based on a more advanced Ca/Ca VRLA (deep cycle) technology. Additionally, it is 30% lighter. A month ago I forgot the car's internal light on and saw it the next day! The battery could crank up the engine without issues and could be recharged full.

Car batteries don't care how many miles are on them. Time, vibration, heat and cycling kill batteries.

-In the north I'd change out batteries regularly that were 6+ years old. Here in FL, 3+ is normal. Heat kills batteries.

-if you have vibrations in your car or drive regularly on a rough road or don't have the battery properly tied down, you'll get less life from your battery. So if you have modified your car and have more NVH, you're reducing the life span of your battery. Catless exhaust, solid engine mounts, hard trnsmission bushings etc all lead to shorter battery life. If you have modified your car and have more NVH, use an AGM battery. They also deal with cycling a lot better.

-cycling is when you run the battery voltage down (like for ex leaving a light on too long) and have to recharge it. If you don't recharge properly- on a dedicated battery charger and disconnected from the car- you'll kill the battery that much faster. If you just run the car and recharge the battery with the alternator not only is it bad for the battery but it's bad for the alternator too. Abuse is the #2 battery killer. Time is #1.

Exactly! A dedicated battery charger is needed in such cases. :thumbsup:

It's been 4 years for the OEM battery in my FR-S, and it still starts the car just fine.


humfrz

You need to start a separate thread :)

My OEM Panasonic battery lasted a little over 3 years. Near the end of the life cycle, the car sounded like it struggled to start (extra second to turn over). It's pretty scary to hear in a push to start car because you can't really force a car to keep cranking like with a key.

I switched to a O'Reilly Super Start Extreme. I was debating against the Duralast Gold, but the Super Start Extreme had a 20 dollar rebate. Though, the next time I need a battery I'll go to Costco and get an Interstate. 42 Month free replacement compared to Duralast Gold or Super Start Extreme with both Max out at 36 months.

Plus, the Interstates at Costco are about 80 bucks each, compared to 140.

Subaru specs an undersized battery in the manual shift cars.

Always fit the automatic transmission version as a replacement, it's bigger.

And yes, cold does not kill batteries, heat cycling kills batteries. Deep discharging is very bad for car batteries because it increases heat stress.

Do you happen to the size groups for both manual and auto cars? If we want to upgrade to AGM batteries, which one is the best choice? Thanks.

Echoing this. Got my car in the first week of December, 2012 - battery still cranking the car nice and strong middle of June 2017 @ 19k miles.

Yea, I was debating too. The guy offered me duralast gold for 5 years warrenty. But I didnt think I needed that haha.

This thread is about battery specs:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5990

Manual transmission, battery lasted until about 37k and about 3 years. Down in a hot climate. Didn't expect much better.

Replaced with a costco interstate brand. Their batteries have always done fine for me. Good price, good specs, with easy 3 year free replacement.

So.. stupid question but I'm a bike guy and never really bothered to get into cars until recently but do they make lithium ion batteries for cars and if so, which manufacturer makes the most reliable product? On my R1 the stock battery is around 5lbs and the lithium I installed was half a pound, felt like a damn toy not to mention it cranks a lot faster.

I bought my car used so as far as I know it still has the factory battery, 3 years and 31,000 miles. Although last time I took my car in the dealership they told me my battery was going out, we will see.

With that, batteries on average will have a life span of 3-5 years but that is with general day to day use. Factors like harsh conditions, extreme cold and hot cycles, abusive usage, and whatever else you can throw at a battery will shorten its life span. Some batteries also last longer then their average life span, so you may have one last 7 years or longer. On the other end you may have a battery that will only a last a year or so, no bueno. The type and grade of battery you buy also plays a roll in its life span.

So you cant really go by what every one else's battery is doing. You just have to take care of it, do whatever maintenance is necessary, and have it tested if you feel it maybe going out.

Braille

Going on 5 years on the original battery. Had a few long cranks this past year, but that's mostly due to sporadic usage during the winter. No problems now that I'm driving the car daily - starts right up.

I'm almost looking forward to this battery dying so I can replace it with something lighter.

Even electric cars have a 2nd lead-acid battery, whose purpose is to power the 12-volt system. So, not the best option to go for a lithium ion battery.

The problem with Li-ion batteries is that they have a bad habit of going boom. Spiral cell AGM batteries are the best if you just want it to crank every time for a long time, but they are very heavy. Once my battery shits the bed I'm getting a tiny Oddesey AGM lightweight battery. Here in FL I'm not worried about CCA, but it has to deal with vibration (catless creates vibration) and heat.

Should of taken that 5 year lol. I don't see anything past 3 years in Autozone or Oreillys.

35k same pos battery. It died on me with full drain three or four times. My fault of course. Few times left doors open, radio on or lights (and my own wiring fogs).

Figured out it needed water. Added it. I want to replace but $$$ tight this summer. I am leaning toward a yellow top Optima.

Original battery lasted ~4 years. Did the same with mine. Kept accidentally hitting the open trunk button in my pocket and after 3 or 4 complete battery drains it would barely start. Replaced it with an Optima yellow top. Even with a 30% Advance Auto coupon and $22. core refund still expensive.

Starting in 2017 forward, Subaru stupidly programmed the car to let the battery discharge during acceleration and stops, doing most of the charging while decelerating only. I discovered this when I parked to listen to the radio for an hour and the car would barely crank. They said it's for "economy" B.S.! This will ruin batteries faster. You can force the car to "normal charge" at 14.2V by turning on the running lights (I drive with them all the time now). Also, if you turn the fan on it will hold at 13.3V. But drive normally and watch the voltage drop from an initial 14.4 at start to around 12.1 in just a few minutes. More on this later as I'm working up a big expose.

I'm an Engineer, I like to measure things.

Stop this. Just stop. Nobody gives a shit. This tread was before the 17s even came out for fuck sake.

Oh, my, he is giving us another chance to peak our anticipation.

:D


humfrz

My car was built in July 2013 and I bought it in Oct 2013. the OEM battery is still going strong. I am pretty happy with it, given that I discharged it once (my fault) and could not start the car next day. But the longest lasting battery for me was the factory Acura one on my MDX and a Bosch one for my Camry. Both last about 8 years. Will see whether this Panasonic one can beat the record.

So far my oem original battery is 6.5 years old and has only done 25000km.
When it eventually fails , i will see if a 650cca one will fit.

Still on the original one. Deciding what type of lightweight one I want to get.

Mine lasted 6.5 years and 62000 miles.

I changed mine out at 112k miles and 4 years. Only drive it on weekends and take it one long trips.

For some reason my batteries always start to have problems at around years 4 and 5.

I looked at the duralast gold and platinum at autozone and the Duracell platinum at samsclub. I ended up getting the gold AutoCraft advancedautoparts battery because of price. 25% coupon on website, stacked with 5% cashback at Rakuten and 5% from using PayPal payment with discover card. Ordered for local pickup. Ended up being about $116 plus tax.

My stock battery almost 7 years old, just died 2 weeks ago, failed to hold charge after a few days. Gotta be happy with that.

My 2017 battery died last month. Every new car I buy batteries last at most 2 years max. I attribute this to I always buy at the end of the model year. I know at least once that car was sitting on the lot with a dead battery. They get replaced with Red Tops that last a lot longer. I am on my 2nd red top in my 05 Colorado. Usually last 7 years or so. I always check the manufacture date and voltage prior to purchasing.

OEM battery lasted me 4 years. Then I purchased a reconditioned battery, lasted me 3 years.

Necro!

Mine is now having a tough time starting the car after being on a charger/maintainer for a week. ~8 years 6 months from the car's DOM. Will probably just pick something up at the auto parts store.

Looks like I have killed my second battery in 8ish years.. During the year of "the COVID" I drove it about 300miles and last year about the same.. was too lazy to remove the battery to trickle charge..

Got round to extraction and trickle charge but discovered that the battery isn't holding a charge..

Now looking for a replacement, came across EFB, sounds like an interesting upgrade from the normal.