New Battery: Costco or Wal-Mart?

[tripleM]

Originally Posted By: y_p_w
Originally Posted By: tripleM
So what is the best value consumer battery brand for a daily driver?
I haven't heard Sears mentioned here?

I'd say Kirkland Signature sold at Costco warehouses. I just paid $54.99 for a Group 35 battery with a 36 month full replacement warranty and a 100 month prorated warranty. You have to keep the receipt though if you want to take advantage of the warranty.

Sears isn't bad. They switched over to 100% supplied by Johnson Controls in 1999. Their prices are typically high, but I believe they include installation. It does a bit confusion with their different levels (North, South, Platinum, Gold, but some of the selections are based on the individual location. I guess there are the "Plus Start" line sold at Sears, but any kind of bargain line worries me. I have noticed that the "Gold North" line is (for each type) heavier than the "North" line. I'd think the difference would be with heavier plates that mean more power and time before the electrodes give out.


Thanks for the insights. $55 is nice for a Costco JCI w/ warranty.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Removable vent caps remove their profitability!

I've heard some people write that JCI batteries had removable vent caps. It didn't seem correct because I sort of assumed they were "maintenance-free" with glued on caps. Now that I think of it, they're not labelled or advertised as such. Maybe some of the brands they produce for request actual maintenance-free?

However - I've never previously tried removing the vent caps on a JCI-made battery, although I've bought a few in my day. So today I just took a look at a couple, including the new Costco Group 35 I just got for my WRX. Just put on the rubber gloves and had a look. The caps sit visibly over the top of the battery, so it was pretty easy to pry off each one covering three holes. Came right off with a flat-head screwdriver. It was new (less than a month old) and the battery acid level looked fine. I could also see the plates. So far so good.

Then I turned my attention to a Costco Group 51 in a 2002 Civic. That's a bit different. The two caps go into a two recessed areas such that the top of each cap is flush with the top of the battery. However - it wasn't that hard to get them off by prying from the side. The level seemed a bit low in a few cells, so I topped off the low cells with distilled water. I couldn't see the plates since they were shielded from view by plastic. The water level was visible though.

Of course these things didn't seem to have anything like seals or other stuff I thought there might be. It was just sort of plastic on plastic, although I didn't see any leaking around the older battery. I've read some accounts that some lead-acid batteries started spilling out their caps or vents during rollovers. I also didn't have any reference to fill up to, since the battery was black and there was no water level lines.

In my previous experience with Japanese makes, I've seen Japanese-made batteries from Yuasa (1989 Acura Integra), Panasonic (1995 Integra), and Shin-Kobe Electric (2004 Subaru WRX). I'd never heard of the last company one before. These were all sort of a semi-translucent white with lines on the outside indicating min and max acid level. The previous two had caps on each hole with a screwdriver slot for removal. They also had some sort of seal on the cap. The last one (it just died on me) had vent caps with knobs. I remember cars from the 70s and early 80s, and this kind of battery cap seemed to be common then, before they started moving to maintenance-free and low maintenance batteries where each cap covered 3 holes.

I'm also trying to figure out what the deal is with these with respect to voltage. The older one I've been using a 1 amp trickle charger for maybe 12-14 hours at a time to try to get fully charged (or at least more than it is now). It's used a lot for short trips, and I'm a bit worried that it might not be fully charged. So I tested the voltage (still connected) and got over 13V. I tried the new battery in the Subaru, and I got 12.52 V, which seemed odd. I thought a new battery which had been charged up would have a higher voltage, although it has been used primarily for short trips since I got it. I'm thinking a really long trip might help and I might hook up the trickle charger overnight at least once. The dying battery (I drove 35 miles and still could barely start a warm engine) measured maybe 9 V. I'm thinking that thing is very much dead now and I should probably just get my $9 deposit back (for returning the old core).

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: y_p_w
I tried the new battery in the Subaru, and I got 12.52 V, which seemed odd. I thought a new battery which had been charged up would have a higher voltage, although it has been used primarily for short trips since I got it. I'm thinking a really long trip might help and I might hook up the trickle charger overnight at least once.


12.52V is a normal reading for a battery in a car that has not been driven for a while. You will read a higher voltage shortly after you shut down the engine, but that is just the "surface charge" and will go away if the battery is left to sit.

Short-trip driving may not fully charge the battery due to the length of time it takes to get the last 10-20% of charge into the battery.

 

[Colt45ws]

12.6V is normal battery voltage. If its higher than this its due to a surface charge. You can let it sit for several hours or turn on the headlights for 15-20 seconds to drain off that little bit of overcharge.
If you old battery only has 9V, it probably has a bad cell.
Definitely stop driving with it, such a condition stresses the charging system.

 

[Donald]

Get a float charger and forget about using a trickle charger. You could literally leave on a float charger for years. People with boats tend to use float chargers and just let the charger stay on all winter. Battery Minder is the best.

 

[Donald]

Get a float charger and forget about using a trickle charger. You could literally leave on a float charger for years. People with boats tend to use float chargers and just let the charger stay on all winter. Battery Minder is the best.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
12.6V is normal battery voltage. If its higher than this its due to a surface charge. You can let it sit for several hours or turn on the headlights for 15-20 seconds to drain off that little bit of overcharge.
If you old battery only has 9V, it probably has a bad cell.
Definitely stop driving with it, such a condition stresses the charging system.

Well - it is sitting on the floor of my garage waiting for a trip to Costco.

I was just curious is if might not have been as bad as I thought. It's obviously not keeping a full charge, and I'm pretty conviced (by everyone posting here) that at least one cell is completely shot.

 

[Ace_Protege]

Originally Posted By: Solo2driver
If it's within a buck or two, then go with whichever one you feel has the better warranty. If the car dies when you're 1,000 miles from home, chances are there is a Wal-Mart in the next hick town, and you can get another battery. Wal-Mart is also less likely to argue a warranty claim because of their hugeness, they'll just warranty it out (or straight to the store manager).

actually I personally had a [censored] of a time getting them to warranty my battery(walmart that is). They claimed my battery was abused or something cause only 1 cell was still alive. The battery had been sitting in a car that doesn't get driven.

 

[RMBC73]

I might be late responding but all 3 of my cars are using Costco batteries and they have all been great, no problems at all. I ran one for 5.5 years in a Camry and decided to change it before the winter set in...replaced it with another Kirkland. My 2000 Camry and 2001 Maxima also have Kirkland. My son's 99 Saab (if they have one that fits) will also soon have one.

Buy with confidence!

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: RMBC73
I might be late responding but all 3 of my cars are using Costco batteries and they have all been great, no problems at all. I ran one for 5.5 years in a Camry and decided to change it before the winter set in...replaced it with another Kirkland. My 2000 Camry and 2001 Maxima also have Kirkland. My son's 99 Saab (if they have one that fits) will also soon have one.

Buy with confidence!

The only problem I see is limited sizes. I thought of getting one for a Camry, but my closest Costco only carried group 35 (I heard it sort of works with the right hardware) instead of the correct 24F. I think I mentioned that they didn't carry Group 51R.

If they've got the right one for your car, I can't think of a better value.

 

[rshunter]

After seeing all the posts about the limited number of battery groups available at various BITOGer's Costco locations, I thought I'd take a look at what was available at mine. I was rather pleasantly surprised, to say the least. Here's what I can get my hands on...

Groups: 24DC, 25, 27DC, 34, D34M, 35, 51R, 58, 65, 75, and 78

It's like I've hit the battery jackpot!

 

[brianl703]

That's what they all have around here. You'll pretty much find a battery if you drive a Honda, Toyota, Chrysler, GM or Ford (but not the newer Fords that take a 40R battery they no longer sell).

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
They're both made by Johnson's Control. With Costco you have better warranty and it costs less. But you must be a member of Costco at the time you need replacement to get any services.


I hate Costco for this. I would never buy tires from Costco because the moment you're not a member, all warranty is void.

 

[paulo57509]

Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
They're both made by Johnson's Control. With Costco you have better warranty and it costs less. But you must be a member of Costco at the time you need replacement to get any services.


I hate Costco for this. I would never buy tires from Costco because the moment you're not a member, all warranty is void.

I won't buy tires at Costco anymore for two reasons.

1. Their prices aren't really competitive with the other tire places.

2. They will not sell me tires I can afford. They claim that my car came with "V" rated tires as OEM and they will not sell me any tires other than expensive "V" rated tires. I don't drive 149MPH nor is my car even capable of approaching this speed.

 

[M1Accord]

Originally Posted By: paulo57509
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
They're both made by Johnson's Control. With Costco you have better warranty and it costs less. But you must be a member of Costco at the time you need replacement to get any services.


I hate Costco for this. I would never buy tires from Costco because the moment you're not a member, all warranty is void.

I won't buy tires at Costco anymore for two reasons.

1. Their prices aren't really competitive with the other tire places.

2. They will not sell me tires I can afford. They claim that my car came with "V" rated tires as OEM and they will not sell me any tires other than expensive "V" rated tires. I don't drive 149MPH nor is my car even capable of approaching this speed.


Technically, many places won't sell tire underrated for the vehicles the customers bring in. It is liability reason which makes some sense. I never take my car over 90 mph but I have to purchase tires rated 149 mph, which is the speed my car is actually not capable of achieving unless I am traveling across the Midwest or through Florida but with nice fancy pave road of VA and Maryland and there is no one around for me to get to that speed after hauling butt for 20 miles. The official top speed of the vehicle is only 130 mph. If a tire store sells me or you tires rated only for 90 mph and someone use our cars for a little joy ride and get hurt, the tire store is held liable even though laws were broken while speeding. It is like a robber can sue the store or home owners out of existence if they have security measure too effective in stopping intrusion.