still got the original battery in my silverado. i know it's running on borrowed time.
Average car battery life?
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I'm around 7 years into a battery for my 93 190 Mercedes. I got the battery at the dealer back then, because I wanted it to say Mercedes Benz. It says "made in Spain" on the side of the battery. Good battery, but I'll probably replace it soon....ALL of my battery failures, in my life, have been "here today, gone tomorrow"...no warning!
Just changed my '03 Windstar's battery earlier this month. It was the original battery. The deciding point for me was when I went in to the store for 5 minutes. My wife had the radio on, and it had trouble starting. I said it's time, went down to Wal-Mart, and $75.00 later have a new Everstart MAXX made by Johnson Controls, and some piece of mind that my wife won't get stuck this winter.
Originally Posted By: Kestas
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
The batteries haven't changed. What they are being put in has. I had a Chrysler OEM battery that was 10 years old before an alternator failure sent it to its grave.
The worst enemies of batteries are dome lights, glove box lights, hood lights, trunk lights, brake lights, and people who use "IGNITION" to listen to the radio. The brand really doesn't matter. Discharge the battery once and almost half it's life is gone. Discharge it again and it is toast.
Computer managed light circuitry has eliminated most battery failure from lights leaving only the more rare occurrences to destroy them so on average batteries last longer in newer cars.
In the rare cases that I have been able to avoid the hazards and run a battery to the end of its natural life the old battery tends to work fine all summer and fails when the first cold wave hits. There is usually enough warning from the slow cranking to get it replaced before it causes unplanned down time.
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
The batteries haven't changed. What they are being put in has. I had a Chrysler OEM battery that was 10 years old before an alternator failure sent it to its grave.
The worst enemies of batteries are dome lights, glove box lights, hood lights, trunk lights, brake lights, and people who use "IGNITION" to listen to the radio. The brand really doesn't matter. Discharge the battery once and almost half it's life is gone. Discharge it again and it is toast.
Computer managed light circuitry has eliminated most battery failure from lights leaving only the more rare occurrences to destroy them so on average batteries last longer in newer cars.
In the rare cases that I have been able to avoid the hazards and run a battery to the end of its natural life the old battery tends to work fine all summer and fails when the first cold wave hits. There is usually enough warning from the slow cranking to get it replaced before it causes unplanned down time.
I've found batteries that are located in the trunk of cars tend to last longer since they aren't exposed to the engine heat. Not to mention the better weight distribution. Our old BMW with such a battery still had the OEM battery after 8 years when we sold it..
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Originally Posted By: Kestas
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
20 years ago, my mother had an '85 Maxima that at most got 18 months out of a battery.
Florida heat plus a cramped engine bay was deadly to batteries.
Earlier than that, my dad had a 1979 Toyota Corolla, and the factory battery was good for 6 years. Somehow that was in the heat of Florida and in Texas.
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
20 years ago, my mother had an '85 Maxima that at most got 18 months out of a battery.
Florida heat plus a cramped engine bay was deadly to batteries.
Earlier than that, my dad had a 1979 Toyota Corolla, and the factory battery was good for 6 years. Somehow that was in the heat of Florida and in Texas.
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: Kestas
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
20 years ago, my mother had an '85 Maxima that at most got 18 months out of a battery.
Florida heat plus a cramped engine bay was deadly to batteries.
Earlier than that, my dad had a 1979 Toyota Corolla, and the factory battery was good for 6 years. Somehow that was in the heat of Florida and in Texas.
18 months?? I`d say their was something else going on their!
Originally Posted By: Kestas
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
20 years ago, my mother had an '85 Maxima that at most got 18 months out of a battery.
Florida heat plus a cramped engine bay was deadly to batteries.
Earlier than that, my dad had a 1979 Toyota Corolla, and the factory battery was good for 6 years. Somehow that was in the heat of Florida and in Texas.
18 months?? I`d say their was something else going on their!
The most important criterias that affect battery life are:
1. maintenance (electrolyte level)
2. climate (hot areas like Vegas will kill your battery fast)
3. deep discharges like leaving your lights on or infrequently driving your car.
When lead-acid batteries die, they die suddenly. Their capacity declines gradually, the problem is you won't know this unless you test your battery regularly. Then one day the capacity falls below the minimum threshold (about 11.5 volts) then viola, your battery is considered dead.
#3 is a major culprit. A lot of drivers will say, my battery sucks it only last 2 years, when in fact they abused it by discharging it too heavily.
1. maintenance (electrolyte level)
2. climate (hot areas like Vegas will kill your battery fast)
3. deep discharges like leaving your lights on or infrequently driving your car.
When lead-acid batteries die, they die suddenly. Their capacity declines gradually, the problem is you won't know this unless you test your battery regularly. Then one day the capacity falls below the minimum threshold (about 11.5 volts) then viola, your battery is considered dead.
#3 is a major culprit. A lot of drivers will say, my battery sucks it only last 2 years, when in fact they abused it by discharging it too heavily.
I think it depends how you drive. I had two vehicles one with a battery almost 10 years old and still going strong, the other 7 years old and still going. The one common thing with both vehicles was both were driven on a pretty good commute each day with very little short trip driving. When I lived in the city with a short commute to work, I was lucky to get 3-5 years of life, though the better battery did extend me to the 5-6 year range, cheaper lucky to get more than 3. Just replaced a dead three year old AutoValue battery with a JC Duralast Gold.
my battery (AutoZone brand) in the Tbird is on its 8th yr, still going strong...i guess I should start watching it now....
In Miami I never got more then 4 years out of a battery....Most go after 3 years.
I hit 3 years on my OEM battery last month and it now takes 4 "cranks/revolutions" to turn over instead of 3.
I will be replacing in the next couple of months.
I will be replacing in the next couple of months.
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I checked the Geo Prizm on Sunday as it was slow starting after sitting in the garage.
I'm just short of 5 years on an Advance Auto Parts battery. Of course this car has so few electronics, I'm not too worried yet.
I pulled and cleaned the cables and it's not been slow starting since.
I may leave it outside tonight just to see how it acts. It's supposed to be in the 30's tonight.
I'm just short of 5 years on an Advance Auto Parts battery. Of course this car has so few electronics, I'm not too worried yet.
I pulled and cleaned the cables and it's not been slow starting since.
I may leave it outside tonight just to see how it acts. It's supposed to be in the 30's tonight.
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: Kestas
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
20 years ago, my mother had an '85 Maxima that at most got 18 months out of a battery.
Florida heat plus a cramped engine bay was deadly to batteries.
Earlier than that, my dad had a 1979 Toyota Corolla, and the factory battery was good for 6 years. Somehow that was in the heat of Florida and in Texas.
18 months?? I`d say their was something else going on their!
My mom had friends with '86, '87, and '88 Maximas, and they all did the same thing.
The 1985-1988 Maxima was just a car built in a hurry and was full of design bugs.
However, it amazes me how few of those cars had problems with check engine lights or smog tests.
A great engine bolted to a pile of junk!
Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: Kestas
20 years ago it seems that batteries on average lasted 4-5 years. Now it seems that they last 6-8 years.
20 years ago, my mother had an '85 Maxima that at most got 18 months out of a battery.
Florida heat plus a cramped engine bay was deadly to batteries.
Earlier than that, my dad had a 1979 Toyota Corolla, and the factory battery was good for 6 years. Somehow that was in the heat of Florida and in Texas.
18 months?? I`d say their was something else going on their!
My mom had friends with '86, '87, and '88 Maximas, and they all did the same thing.
The 1985-1988 Maxima was just a car built in a hurry and was full of design bugs.
However, it amazes me how few of those cars had problems with check engine lights or smog tests.
A great engine bolted to a pile of junk!
Originally Posted By: javacontour
I checked the Geo Prizm on Sunday as it was slow starting after sitting in the garage.
I'm just short of 5 years on an Advance Auto Parts battery. Of course this car has so few electronics, I'm not too worried yet.
I pulled and cleaned the cables and it's not been slow starting since.
I may leave it outside tonight just to see how it acts. It's supposed to be in the 30's tonight.
Results!
Frost on the car this AM, so it was pretty cold. The car started with no drama.
So coming up on 5 years and still working well.
Yes I know, anecdotal, but it's my experience.
I checked the Geo Prizm on Sunday as it was slow starting after sitting in the garage.
I'm just short of 5 years on an Advance Auto Parts battery. Of course this car has so few electronics, I'm not too worried yet.
I pulled and cleaned the cables and it's not been slow starting since.
I may leave it outside tonight just to see how it acts. It's supposed to be in the 30's tonight.
Results!
Frost on the car this AM, so it was pretty cold. The car started with no drama.
So coming up on 5 years and still working well.
Yes I know, anecdotal, but it's my experience.
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