Honda's 100-month Battery Program

[The Critic]

Had to get a new battery while on vacation, for a friend's 2009 Fit. I recommended it due to slow cranking and age (4 years).

With a coupon from the dealer's website, the cost was $85 for the 44B-19L-S style battery. Autogroan wanted $130, and O'Reilly wanted $120. The dealer's battery matched the warranty of the Autogroan Duralast Gold option.

The battery said Made in Mexico but did not give any clues as to who the supplier is.

Does anyone know who supplies batteries to Honda for its service replacement program, and how those batteries compare to other batteries produced by the same supplier?

 

[skyship]

A good car battery should last 10 years, so if it failed after 4 I would not buy the same type again. Bosch sealed batteries seem to be good and have a 4 year warranty, although I don't know how the define a failure, other than the engine won't start.
It's worth paying extra for a good battery if you intend to keep your vehicle.

 

[stephen9666]

10 years is longer than average lifespan, from my experience.

Side note - Advance Auto with coupon codes is the best bargain in batteries that I've found. Both my Hyundai and my girlfriend's VW Beetle have Advance batteries bought with hefty discounts.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: skyship
A good car battery should last 10 years

While I would like to agree with you, many new cars have pretty small batteries and Honda has a reputation for having shotty OEM batteries. (Not long lasting) I am debating replacing mine next season because I would just rather not be stranded.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I know a few people here in upstate NY that are somehow on their original battery on 03 and 04 vehicles. I'm ... not entirely sure how that works.

I replace mine every 4 years, regardless.

 

[Vstrom]

I'm confused about the thread title..."Honda's 100 month battery program"?? Please explain.
Anyway best batteries I've ever had were the OEM Motorcraft batteries in my Ford F350 Powerstroke.
At 9 years I replaced them as I was getting antsy they'd fail without warning. None since have made it over 2-3 years.

 

[bullwinkle]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I know a few people here in upstate NY that are somehow on their original battery on 03 and 04 vehicles. I'm ... not entirely sure how that works.

I replace mine every 4 years, regardless.
Heat seems to kill batteries, along with not keeping them fully charged. If used daily or even regularly, a quality battery could last 9-10 years in a cooler climate.

 

[Colt]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Originally Posted By: skyship
A good car battery should last 10 years

While I would like to agree with you, many new cars have pretty small batteries and Honda has a reputation for having shotty OEM batteries. (Not long lasting) I am debating replacing mine next season because I would just rather not be stranded.


True.
I read of a lot of CR-V batteries going dead.The battery is tiny.I'll change it 3.5-4 years in and see if I can find a more powerful one that will fit.
Even though there are only 2-3 battery manufacturers,I buy Interstate batteries.

 

[DuckRyder]

I just don't get replacing a battery that doesn't test bad, but to each his own I guess...

Originally Posted By: The Critic
...

The battery said Made in Mexico but did not give any clues as to who the supplier is.

...


My friend who is part owner of an Acura dealer told me about 18 months ago that Acura/Honda replacements are supplied by Interstate (Johnson Controls) FWIW.

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: skyship
A good car battery should last 10 years, so if it failed after 4 I would not buy the same type again.


That's like saying a 60,000 mile tire should last 60,000 miles or it isn't a good tire. There are too many variables that come into play to hold onto such a guarantee.

Heat is the biggest enemy of a battery, so a typical group 24 Johnson Controls battery may last 8 to 10 years in the Northeast, but go half that in the Southwest.

The xxx-month warranty on a battery is just that, a warranty, it is NOT an indicator of service life! It can vary between stores and it is part of the price of the battery.

 

[bourne]

You dont have an AAP around ?? With coupon both my mother's and my sister's batteries for their 2007 Altima and 2004 Camry respectively were under $90 USD after tax. Both were the Autocraft Gold versions.

For future use , the codes :

A124
ES123

If you sign up for Ebates, their website has more coupons on there with 6% cash back.

 

[Chris142]

Exide or johnson made it. The easiest way to tell.....If it starts gassing and turning the posts green and white its an exide

 

[Mr Nice]

All our Honda batteries have lasted minimum 7 years.

 

[Phishin]

I buy a lot of batteries for my fishing boat. East Penn makes the best lead/acid batteries. Way better than all others, in my experience.

The East Penn factory makes Deka batteries, as well as Trojans, and many other brands. They now make Duracel auto and rv and deep cycle batteries too. They have identical ratings to their most expensive Trojan battery. East Penn even makes batteries for Bass Pro Shop, and many other re-labelled batteries.

I'd go with an East Penn battery.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I know a few people here in upstate NY that are somehow on their original battery on 03 and 04 vehicles. I'm ... not entirely sure how that works.

I replace mine every 4 years, regardless.
Heat seems to kill batteries, along with not keeping them fully charged. If used daily or even regularly, a quality battery could last 9-10 years in a cooler climate.


I've never known anyone with a fairly recent battery (6 or so years old) to have it actually fail being old. Usually people leave their lights on and it's -30 out, the cells freeze and the battery is no good.

I had a 4 year old battery in my Taurus and left the trunk open for 3 weeks straight in January. Besides having to shovel out my trunk, also was greeted by a dead battery (trunk light left on for 3 weeks tends to drain a battery). I bought a new one and once the old one campe up to temperature it held a charge. I used it for running inverters for a few years until I traded the Taurus and stuck it in.

The "new" battery was put in my Jeep and lasted 2 years in the jeep. The dome light "stuck" on in the jeep and drained it. Rexharged it and put it in. I installed it wrong and the top cracked and it leaked acid and the post broke off.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I just don't get replacing a battery that doesn't test bad, but to each his own I guess...

Originally Posted By: The Critic
...

The battery said Made in Mexico but did not give any clues as to who the supplier is.

...


That does not make sense. Why would Honda/Acura not go directly to JCI?

My friend who is part owner of an Acura dealer told me about 18 months ago that Acura/Honda replacements are supplied by Interstate (Johnson Controls) FWIW.


That does not make sense. Why would Honda/Acura not go directly to JCI?

 

[Donald]

Does it have removable covers for the cells? If so are the corners of the cell covers cut at 45 degrees?

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I just don't get replacing a battery that doesn't test bad, but to each his own I guess...

Originally Posted By: The Critic
...

The battery said Made in Mexico but did not give any clues as to who the supplier is.

...


That does not make sense. Why would Honda/Acura not go directly to JCI?

My friend who is part owner of an Acura dealer told me about 18 months ago that Acura/Honda replacements are supplied by Interstate (Johnson Controls) FWIW.


That does not make sense. Why would Honda/Acura not go directly to JCI?


Don't care if it makes sense or not, it is what he said.

As to why they wouldn't go directly, perhaps they do and it was easier to say interstate than JC? No idea really.

He also said they had recently switched from Exide.

And no, they don't have lime green tops...

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: bourne
You dont have an AAP around ??


There are no AAP's in CA. Check their webpage and did a store locate for the whole state of CA and it sent me to Missouri.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: Donald
That does not make sense. Why would Honda/Acura not go directly to JCI?


Mazda does the same thing. The OE batteries for models made in Japan are Panasonic, the OE batteries for the models that were Ford clones had Motorcraft from the factory. The Mazda Dealer Battery Program uses Interstate as a distributor to the dealers.