Factory AGM battery for 2020 Honda Pilot

[RitcheyRch]

Was surprised the factory AGM battery in my wifes 2020 Pilot died 1 month before the 3 year/36K mile warranty expired. I would expect more out of an AGM battery. We were seeing no symptoms of a weak battery. Pilot started up fine in the morning and after going shopping. Stopped at a local restaurant and when we came out it wouldn't start. Could hear the typical starter clicking and the dash light flickering when trying to start it. Called AAA and they came out and tested the battery which showed 10.5 volts and 0 CA.

The next morning it started up perfectly fine and off to the dealer it went. They tested it and confirmed battery was bad and replaced it with another AGM battery under the factory warranty.

 

[blufeb95]

You live in Southern California so the heat can kill any battery pretty quick there particularly if you frequently park the car in the sun and sit in traffic a lot.

 

[RitcheyRch]

You live in Southern California so the heat can kill any battery pretty quick there particularly if you frequently park the car in the sun and sit in traffic a lot.

We also always turn off the idle stop function which is hard on batteries.

 

[blufeb95]

We also always turn off the idle stop function which is hard on batteries.

I just mean the heat soaking that occurs in the engine bay when you're relying on only the fan without the assistance of the air being forced into the grill while driving. Southern cars can get extremely hot from the intense solar gain and plus the heatsoaking in traffic, I watched a video of a guy who bought a Caprice PPV that came from Florida and a number of the gaskets on the car had gotten a little melted at some point because of all the time spent sitting idling in the intense heat.

 

[RitcheyRch]

I just mean the heat soaking that occurs in the engine bay when you're relying on only the fan without the assistance of the air being forced into the grill while driving. Southern cars can get extremely hot from the intense solar gain and plus the heatsoaking in traffic, I watched a video of a guy who bought a Caprice PPV that came from Florida and a number of the gaskets on the car had gotten a little melted at some point because of all the time spent sitting idling in the intense heat.

Completely agree, my wife does do short trips in the Pilot which also sucks the life out of a battery.

 

[I<3oil]

Welcome to newer Honda vehicles. The Odysseys can chew through batts in no time as well. Our '19 Odyssey is on it's 3rd battery.

 

[meep]

I’ve got an agm in our ‘15 crv. It’s on its second. It’s also been fairly hard on them, as has my ‘14 Lexus GS, which doesn’t have auto S/S.

 

[andrew_j]

My modern Honda/Acura vehicles 3 years is normal battery life.

 

[Escape08]

Majority of modern cars' electrical components and equipment are hungry of power coming from the battery. Even if the engine is turned off, some of it stays on all the time. For a car with good battery if not used for 2 weeks, you need to attach it in a battery maintainer

 

[f355spider]

Majority of modern cars' electrical components and equipment are hungry of power coming from the battery. Even if the engine is turned off, some of it stays on all the time. For a car with good battery if not used for 2 weeks, you need to attach it in a battery maintainer

Agreed. I have two "fun" cars that get driven only once every two to four weeks. They have AGM batteries and are on battery tenders whenever parked in the garage. I have tested the batteries at three to four weeks out, and without a tender they are significantly degraded. My daily driven car and truck are fine without use of battery tenders.

Its such a problem, car manufacturers include battery tenders with cars known to not be driven much. Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini all include them standard, and many luxury brands offer them as optional, such as Porsche, BMW, Land Rover, Mercedes...

 

[Propflux01]

...

 

[ARB1977]

We got 4 years out of the OG battery in the Pilot. I replaced it with duralast platinum AGM.

 

[vtec260]

Wife's 2nd and 3rd gen MDX go through batteries every 5 years whether it's lead-acid or AGM right around Christmas time. My '12 TL chews through batteries every 2.5 years, probably because I run my dashcam in parking mode while at work. My son's '08 Focus Napa battery still going strong after 7 years.

 

[Bud_One]

I just replaced our 2020 Pilot's OEM battery last month , it was a flood acid type, replaced it with an AGM from Walmart (4 yr warranty).
It lasted only 3.5 yrs .. it died and wouldn't hold a charge.
Lots of short trips and record heat temps in our area attributed to it's demise.