Car batteries, how long does your last?

I have a 2012 Ford escape. It was first sold in March 2012.
I bought it used in July 2015.

I'm almost certain it still has the original Motorcraft battery, because there's not a single scratch on any of the terminals, etc.

So the battery is over 7 years old. If I lived in a warm weather climate, I'd probably keep it another year, but I live in Minnesota, & I don't like the idea of it dying when it's 20° below zero.

So I plan to buy a new one this fall.
Someone once told me, that regardless of which brand of replacement battery you buy, it will never be as good as the one from the factory.

Has anyone else heard this ?
 
Almost 7 years on my last new cars.
I replace with " Blemished" (slightly used) batteries from the battery warehouse place as I will be selling at around the 10 year mark so only need 4 years on the replacement.
 
2-3 years in FLA with lots of short trips.
 
CardsFan said:
As others have said, 3-5 years, on average.

My experience has been that the batteries of today (versus 20-30 years ago) usually give no advanced warning of pending failure. They work perfectly, up until the day they don't.

"Back in the old days" I would notice a loss of power, longer cranking time. This usually meant you had a few days or weeks to replace it before it failed completely, but it was going to fail.
Click to expand...


"Often" they still work that way. Maybe not as pronounced as 20 to 30 years ago, but the last two batteries I replaced early because I started to notice weaker cranking.
 
I had a 2005 Volvo XC-70 where the battery lasted 10 years through VT and MA winters. I finally replaced it in the fall (as it was about to head into its 11th year) because I didn't want it to die during the upcoming winter and I knew I had gotten more years out of it than I ever deserved to. Fast forward to my current 2015 XC-70 that I bought used in 2017 (with very low mileage). It just died this week after 4 years. So, on average, I'm still ahead of the game.

BTW, Volvo dealer wanted $375 to replace. I had them jump it for me and drove elsewhere and got an Interstate installed for < $200.
 
I bought my car used back around 2015. It's a 2012 model car. Not sure if original battery or not. I have a tester that shows me the battery health and that usually shows around 80% health.

I always thought that around 3 years old is a bit dicey whether a battery may suddenly go out on you or not. At 5, isn't that really pushing things?

I do have a battery jump box in the car all the time in case a self-jump is required.
 
Car-Guy said:
"Often" they still work that way. Maybe not as pronounced as 20 to 30 years ago, but the last two batteries I replaced early because I started to notice weaker cranking.
Click to expand...

Bold by me. Good point. Back then you had a noticeable cranking time, even with a new battery, that then got longer. Now, with a newer car and new battery, the crank time is so short, even when the battery is starting to fail, maybe I just did not notice the difference.
 
I replace the DWs car batt every 4 years whether it needs it or not, hasn't failed prematurely yet. I replace mine when it dies or after about 6 years if it makes it. If I'm stranded it's a nuisance, if DW is stranded it's a catastrophe...
 
DW's Toyota went 5 1/2 years before the battery went. It was purchase used, I cannot remember of the dealer had put in a new battery - likely not, since it only had 13K miles. If so the battery lasted about 8 years.


My Toyota, also bought used almost 6 years ago, still has the same battery, likely the original since it also had low mileage. So it is 6-8 years old. I just looked, it is a Toyota "60 month" battery, so it may be going any day now - we'll see. :)
 
Our minivan kills batteries...3 years & they're toast.

OTOH, I once got 9 years out of the cheapest Walmart battery in my old Honda Accord...for only $18 (previous battery still had part of a pro-rated warranty left)
 
Driving 2 days a week on average, out OEM Toyota battery has lasted 6.5 years so far. Usually, I buy COSTCO batteries, and they only seem to last 3-4 years. I've always had better luck with the OEM batteries.
 
I bought my current car in 2004. Changed the battery in 2011 and 2017 so 6-7 years. Before that I didn't own any of my previous 4 cars long enough to have to change the battery.
 
Generally 3 to 5 years, but an outlier was an OEM battery in the '85 Chevy pickup that lasted 9 years. WV has an annual inspection, I ask the tech to run a load test on the battery if it is more than two years old at that time.

Yes, I know I could get a tester and do it myself, but I'm not confident that I'd remember to use it yearly. My main concern is that DW doesn't get stuck someplace with a dead battery that is so easily preventable.
 
Walt34 said:
Generally 3 to 5 years, but an outlier was an OEM battery in the '85 Chevy pickup that lasted 9 years. WV has an annual inspection, I ask the tech to run a load test on the battery if it is more than two years old at that time.

Yes, I know I could get a tester and do it myself, but I'm not confident that I'd remember to use it yearly. My main concern is that DW doesn't get stuck someplace with a dead battery that is so easily preventable.
Click to expand...

Bold by me. Bingo! Last time DW got stuck with a bad battery was in the garage. Called AAA, I figured it was the battery, but just in case (what the heck, that's what we pay for).

AAA service came out, checked the battery. It was bad. Offered a new one on the spot. Price was quite reasonable, so we had them replace it.

Very happy with the response and price.
 
I use a voltmeter for a simple cranking test. If the voltage drops below 9 while cranking its done. A snapshot today shows the Lexus battery at 8 years, Chevy Equinox at 4 years and the pontoon boat at 9 years all still working. Now I've jinked it.
 
ownyourfuture said:
Someone once told me, that regardless of which brand of replacement battery you buy, it will never be as good as the one from the factory.

Has anyone else heard this ?
Click to expand...


Not sure about that. A lot of guys around here like Interstate batteries. They are on the pricey side, but supposedly they last a long time. I have not owned one myself, so can't vouch for that.
 
In MN, if you do not want to be stranded in -30 degree temperatures, you better have a solid battery.

5 years is a long time.
 
4 or 5 years. My current vehicle has heated seats and steering wheel so rather than worry about draining the battery from overuse of those features I connect it to a battery tender nightly throughout the winter. Peace of mind for $40.
 
I found that heat kills. A few posters above from AZ and FL confirm my experience. When I lived in FL, it was 2-3 years. Here in NC, 5+.

Extreme cold can put a stress during cranking which might shorten life. But the constant heat of the extreme south is murder.
 
Walked out of the office Monday evening to a dead battery. It was 4 years old. Call to AAA and was on my way in less than an hour.
 
Heat DOES kill faster than cold.

I had a GM car for ~10 years with the original battery here in Northern Illinois. That is when the terminal corroded off. That was extraordinary. Usually get 6-8 years.

Something I learned not so many years ago, major mfgr batteries are made for specific climates. There are batteries optimized and sold for Northern climates (cold cranking) and presumably the others optimized for Southern climates (longer heat protection). Both carry the same names, but have different performance. I wonder if the OEM car mfgrs install batteries based on their dealer's location or just find one happy middle ground, optimized for neither?

This would suggest that if I replace a battery in one locale and then move to a different climate, I may have less than optimal life. Furthermore, it is possible that an area specific replacement battery might outlast the OEM, one design for all, battery.
 
I just replaced mine last week, it was the original battery and was 5 years old. Car still started but not as easily as it used to. Apparently it had a bad cell, whatever that is.
 
I think they last on average 5 years. For me, it’s one of those things where at the very first sign of a problem, I get a new battery. I guess I could be proactive and do it based on a time interval (every five years), but the variation in how long they can last is too great. It may last ten years.
 
I don't recall if this was mentioned, but battery maintenance is an actual thing. Periodically checking cell water level is smart as well as making sure there isn't any corrosion on the battery posts. Petroleum jelly works well to keep corrosion at bay.
 
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