Honda's 100-month Battery Program

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: 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.


But does the battery say MAZDA or Interstate? It would be reasonable to get batteries from Interstate like any other car shop can. Walmart is obviously large enough to go to JCI and get their MAXX batteries directly.

 

[MrOctober44]

10 years !! you need to come here to the DEEP SOUTH Heat kill a battery here !!!
3 year maybe 4 Any Brand!! Honda 110 month are SORRY!

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: Donald
But does the battery say MAZDA or Interstate? It would be reasonable to get batteries from Interstate like any other car shop can. Walmart is obviously large enough to go to JCI and get their MAXX batteries directly.


They are Mazda with a 36/60 warranty. Mazda uses Interstate for their battery distributing like they use Excelda for their chemical distributing since they don't use FAD's like GM and Ford and don't have a dedicated delivery service to dealers.

 

[cptbarkey]

lots of mis-information in this thread. never heard of HEAT killing a battery. its COLD that kills a battery.

advance auto or walmart have the cheapest batteries at the moment.

 

[Chris142]

New tests show that heat kills them faster than cold

 

[SZR48207]

Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
lots of mis-information in this thread. never heard of HEAT killing a battery. its COLD that kills a battery.

advance auto or walmart have the cheapest batteries at the moment.



Cold can make a battery less effective (hence the need for electric battery warmers in northern climates), but heat accelerates the rate of deterioration that occurs within the battery.

After that, I would say vibration that eventually leads to broken internal straps is the next biggest cause.

 

[skyship]

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.


When they built good quality cars 10 years ago they often used marine grade batteries. They cost nearly twice as much, but last twice as long.
The battery in my 10 year old 200K km Volvo lasted 10 years before it started to struggle this winter and that is a common figure for such batteries. Modern batteries are slightly smaller per Ah and most are fully sealed BUT they only last around 5 years on average.

 

[GC4lunch]

Originally Posted By: Phishin
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.

I'd go with an East Penn battery.

We have had success with Dekas, also; they are our first choice. The Carquest house brand is a rebadged Deka.

 

[MrOctober44]

lots of mis-information in this thread. never heard of HEAT killing a battery. its COLD that kills a battery.

From hot to cold to cold to hot, kill a battery and that not mis information,Ask the people in El paso tx!!!!!!

 

[antiqueshell]

AHM like any other major car manufacturer went straight to Johnson Controls Inc for their battery contract. THEY DID NOT CONTRACT WITH A
MIDDLE MAN INTERSTATE, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

There seem to be a lot of viral marketing folks who post in forums like this that like to "name drop" for Interstate.

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
AHM like any other major car manufacturer went straight to Johnson Controls Inc for their battery contract. THEY DID NOT CONTRACT WITH A
MIDDLE MAN INTERSTATE, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

There seem to be a lot of viral marketing folks who post in forums like this that like to "name drop" for Interstate.



So you think I'm a viral marketing folk name dropping for interstate? That is the accusation?

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
AHM like any other major car manufacturer went straight to Johnson Controls Inc for their battery contract. THEY DID NOT CONTRACT WITH A
MIDDLE MAN INTERSTATE, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

There seem to be a lot of viral marketing folks who post in forums like this that like to "name drop" for Interstate.



All I know is that my dealer is also Mazda and our Mazda batteries are delivered by Interstate. I understand that they are distributed by Interstate for Mazda, which makes it a lot easier on them to not have to deal with it.

 

[antiqueshell]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal


All I know is that my dealer is also Mazda and our Mazda batteries are delivered by Interstate. I understand that they are distributed by Interstate for Mazda, which makes it a lot easier on them to not have to deal with it.


It may be that JCI has an agreement with Interstate as a transport /delivery company for the batteries now that makes some sense.

They are NOT branded Interstate anywhere obvious on the battery itself though right?

 

[DuckRyder]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
...
They are NOT branded Interstate anywhere obvious on the battery itself though right?


The Honda / Acura ones are not, I don't think anyone suggested they were...

 

[The_Eric]

To the best of my knowledge, Interstate is just a name on a door. Johnson Controls Inc owns Interstate. JCI supplies batteries to Interstate (just like east Penn owns and supplies for the Deka name) and likely uses them for distribution.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal


All I know is that my dealer is also Mazda and our Mazda batteries are delivered by Interstate. I understand that they are distributed by Interstate for Mazda, which makes it a lot easier on them to not have to deal with it.


It may be that JCI has an agreement with Interstate as a transport /delivery company for the batteries now that makes some sense.

They are NOT branded Interstate anywhere obvious on the battery itself though right?


Nope, they are Mazda batteries, just get delivered on an Interstate truck.

Think about it, you are a auto manufacturer that isn't very big. You don't have the dedicated delivery service of Ford or GM, and don't have distributors nationwide to handle your battery deliveries in small quantities. You can't really ship liquid batteries through UPS, so it makes sense to use a company like that to handle all your dealer orders.

 

[DuckRyder]

 

[mattd]

i have NEVER seen ANY car batter last 10 years. The longest was 9 years on an 04 corolla, and it was stone dead at time of replacement. Not sure where the person who made that comment came up with that one..

AVERAGE battery life is 5 years. Many to not last that long, due to the growing complexity and demand of todays automotive electrical systems. I usually start load testing batteries at work once the car is 3-4 years old. Many do not pass.

Hondas are one manufacturer that is particular hard on batteries, mostly due to the design and logic of its charging system.

 

[The Critic]

When I dropped off the core at the dealer, the Interstate battery truck was there and the guy was standing next to the battery shelf in the back room. So, I presume that the Interstate guy was stocking the batteries.

 

[brianl703]

What I understand to be the case with batteries distributed by Interstate is that the ones for Mazda/Saab/etc. dealers just get a different sticker put on the battery by the Interstate distributor. Aside from the Interstate batteries with the green top, there is nothing that's going to distinguish an Interstate battery other than the sticker/label.