How long do your car batteries last?

UncleHoney

UncleHoney

Full time employment: Posting here.
Joined
Aug 1, 2006
Messages
769
Location
Columbus
I finally had to replace the factory battery in my 98 F150. It was still working but getting a little puny on cold mornings. The original was made in Sept. of 97. The replacement battery is a NAPA Select rated a best value by Consumer Reports. Let's hope they do batteries better than they do investments. ;)

DW's 92 ghetto glider is only on its second battery after almost 17 years. I think hers is a Diehard.

I didn't do anything special with either battery, just kept 'em clean.
 
Cripe, I just had to put a new battery into my 2002 Jetta. And it isn't like I abuse the battery, unless starting the car at 30 below is abuse.
 
Just replaced the battery in my Solara ,last time I replaced it was 2001 .Batteries do not seem to last long in Florida .
 
Extreme heat and extreme cold shorten battery lives, as do cars with lots of electronics in them or that are run with a lot of stuff turned on all the time. Bad charging systems that under and overcharge a battery are also life shorteners.

Under normal temperate conditions and reasonable accessory use, a decent battery should go 8-10 years.

Here where it hits 110 plus in the summer, you might get 4-5 years from a battery.
 
He in the DC area (mid-Atlantic) I usually get about 7 years from car batts.

Mike D.
 
MikeD said:
He in the DC area (mid-Atlantic) I usually get about 7 years from car batts.

Mike D.
Click to expand...
Shoot, you guys are doing great. I would average 4 years in very hot Texas. Not only was the heat a killer, but it would get so dry that the scorpions would suck the water (acid and all) right out of the battery.:eek:

Now that is THRIST.

OTOH, I do have a set of tires for the Vette that are 37 years old and still have ~80% tread on them.
Needless to day, they are only special occasion.:D
 
Many cars come with an insulating blanket around the battery. This is to keep the battery from getting over heated by the engine heat, so if you replace the battery, keep this insulator intact. As Bunny sez, heat is a killer for batteries.
 
I tend to get 5 years from batteries in my cars. It only gets down to freezing a few times a year, but gets in the 100s a LOT in the summer.
 
I recently replaced the original battery in my 12 year old Honda. I frequently need to start the car in -30 temperatures. When it's colder than -20 (Centigrade) I plug the car in.
 
As I tend to keep my vehicles at least 10 years, I usually get a replacement battery that has a 48 or 60 month warranty. Not really sure if the extra cost is worth it, but I do not recall purchasing a new auto battery in a long time.
 
If my battery lasts 48 months I replace it with a new one.
My last one only lasted 36 months, had to call AAA for a jump.

Jim
 
I'm up in the 8-10 year group now. I seem to recall replacing them much more frequently 20 years ago, so wonder if the technology is improving.
 
Meadbh said:
I recently replaced the original battery in my 12 year old Honda. I frequently need to start the car in -30 temperatures. When it's colder than -20 (Centigrade) I plug the car in.
Click to expand...


I usually do not plug in unless it is about 10 below Fahrenheit, so it is about the same temp as when you plug in. I am impressed with your battery life.
 
We bought two new vehicles in 2003, the Buick already needed a battery, but the car sat on a dealer's lot for a while and when the battery gets run down from the car being shuffled around that's bad for battery life. The GMC pickup truck I ordered and it was delivered a day or two after arriving at the dealer so I expect that one to last 8-10 years.

The lowest temps we get are usually maybe 5 F, high 100 in the summer. The cold doesn't hurt the battery, that just makes them inefficient. Heat is the killer.
 
Anyplace where I need to plug in my car to keep it warm is too damn cold for me :eek:
 
Heat and cold both shorten life, and letting the battery get below ~ 10 volts is very bad. Those power inverters normally shut off at <10.2 volts to avoid that. When the kids were too small to always get the doors slammed, and the dome lights would be on all night sometimes, I was going through batteries in 3 years.

Northern IL, some warm some cold, not as extreme as some places - 5 years is a good lifetime, I get nervous going 6 years. The oil change place I go to does a load test on the battery - that seems a pretty good predictor. I was going into the 7th winter, noticed it turned a bit slow, and their load test showed it to be pretty weak. They were out of stock, managed to get one at Walmart at a good price.

-ERD50
 
Yeah, leaving those lights on really takes its toll. My 4 year old battery needed replacement after leaving them on overnight recently.
 
The battery that came as original equipment with my new 2000 Camry Solara died after 2.5 years. :eek: So, I got my car jump started, drove straight to Autozone, and they confirmed its demise and sold me a new one.

That second battery is 4+ years old by now. A month or two ago I went back to Autozone to have it checked, and it is still doing fine.
 
Want2retire said:
The battery that came as original equipment with my new 2000 Camry Solara died after 2.5 years. :eek: So, I got my car jump started, drove straight to Autozone, and they confirmed its demise and sold me a new one.

That second battery is 4+ years old by now. A month or two ago I went back to Autozone to have it checked, and it is still doing fine.
Click to expand...


My Solara battery also went at 2.5 years but they gave me a new one as they said it was under warranty !
 
I just put the third battery in my 1995 Toyota Corolla. I think the original battery lasted about 4 years, and then I put in an 80 month Costco battery, so it was about time for it to go.

2Cor521
 
2-3 years in Phoenix. The 120 heat translates to even more under the hood.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Keep your car battery charged!
2
Replies
33
Views
3K
ERD50
E
L
Car batteries, how long does your last?
3 4 5
Replies
110
Views
9K
HI Bill
HI Bill
Major Tom
Right Knee Replacement on 5/24
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
Major Tom
Major Tom
D
Auto shop oil change and recommended repairs for starter issue
2
Replies
25
Views
4K
jazz4cash
J
M Paquette
For all the retired submariners out there...
Replies
2
Views
2K
Gumby
Gumby

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom