WWYD? Battery Choice - 2015 Canyon

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Hey all,

Will be driving the 2015 Canyon from Dallas to Galveston for a week-long vacation in September, and started remembering back to all the batteries I've replaced over the years. I recall that the most I've ever gotten out of an OEM battery is 6.5 years, and that was in a garage queen that only accumulated 34,000 miles in those years. The daily drivers (Explorer, aftermarket battery, Sport Trac, OEM battery) topped out at ~5 years per battery, and when they died, they left someone stranded every time. Only once was I given a clue by a "weird sounding" startup, where I was able to predict that a problem was coming, and sure enough, I found myself stranded in the Target parking lot later that morning.

Due to this, and the nature of the vacation spot (very remote beach house, 25 miles from civilization), I'm considering replacing the battery before I leave. Which of these would you choose if you were in this position? All opinions & experiences welcome.

ACDelco Gold - 42 month replacement - $173
ACDelco Silver - 30 month replacement - $145
EverStart Maxx 3 year replacement - $119
Duralast Gold 3 year replacement, 2 year additional pro-rated $159
SuperStart Extreme 3-yr replacement $159
 
I have had the best luck longevity wise with batteries mfg by Johnson Controls, at least in last 20 yrs or so. Worst with Exide. YMMV.
 
I tend to carry a fully charged jump box (my Clore JNC-660) in this situation. My battery vote is East Penn after a $135 JCI/AAP Gold leaked & tried to corrode the front of my xB off...
 
Im a fan of AGM batteries vs traditional batteries. They tend to hold up better in TX. The Last battery I had was a Die Hard AGM and it lasted 7 years, including 4 years of running in Mexico where the crappy road really beat the snot of of cars. If you are really worried about getting stranded maybe an AGM battery is the way to go. While you're at it make sure you battery cables are clean and corrosion free. A jump pack may also be handy just in case.
 
Do a little digging and find out who makes the battery. Buy ONLY if it's made by 1) Northstar, 2) Enersys (Odyssey) or 3) East Penn (Deka). Those guarantee you a US made battery, and all have great reputations. I used to trust Johnson Controls, but their quality has tanked and they completely ruined the Optima brand when they bought it and moved production to Mexico.

If you can't find out specifically who makes the batteries for a retailer, you can get a pretty good idea by comparing it to a Northstar, Odyssey, or Deka for the same application. Usually the case molds are identical and they just change the case color and labels for a retailer like Autozone, OReilly, or whoever.

I've also switched to AGM batteries, and between that and making sure I'm getting one of those three brands, my batteries are now tending to last 10 years, even in Austin heat. In fact I just replaced an 11 year old Enersys for my daughter with an O'Reilly branded Deka, because I happened to be visiting and new that I wouldn't be back for close to a year. It still worked fine, but hey, that's my only kid!
 
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One other thing... since I've been keeping batteries so much longer, I invested in one of these pulse-type cranking amp capacity testers. There are better ones that test/estimate both CA and amp-hour capacity, but they cost a few hundred this one seems to give results that correlate really well with battery age, and a low reading from it was another reason I replaced my daughter's battery even though it still cranked ok (by ear, anyway).

Mine is a BA-7, looks like the BA-9 has superseded it:

https://cloreautomotive.com/product-category/battery-testers/solar-digital-testers/
 
Id get the Everstart maxx. Walmarts are everywhere and price is right. Do they all provide the same amp output? Maybe find the biggest Everstart that can fit and go with that.
 
Whatever you buy, put it on a charger. They never come fully charged in my experience. No matter what the shop tells you about their stock maintenance practice.
 
Originally Posted by Y_K
Whatever you buy, put it on a charger. They never come fully charged in my experience. No matter what the shop tells you about their stock maintenance practice.



Great point here ^^^^^
 
Originally Posted by 440Magnum
One other thing... since I've been keeping batteries so much longer, I invested in one of these pulse-type cranking amp capacity testers. There are better ones that test/estimate both CA and amp-hour capacity, but they cost a few hundred this one seems to give results that correlate really well with battery age, and a low reading from it was another reason I replaced my daughter's battery even though it still cranked ok (by ear, anyway).

Mine is a BA-7, looks like the BA-9 has superseded it:

https://cloreautomotive.com/product-category/battery-testers/solar-digital-testers/



Very good to hear your experience with that testing device. Thank you for the link too.
 
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Thanks for all the great replies. It will definitely go on a charger before it's installed. Will do the homework suggested above and make a decision this weekend.
 
Originally Posted by WylieCoyote
Hey all,

Will be driving the 2015 Canyon from Dallas to Galveston for a week-long vacation in September, and started remembering back to all the batteries I've replaced over the years. I recall that the most I've ever gotten out of an OEM battery is 6.5 years, and that was in a garage queen that only accumulated 34,000 miles in those years. The daily drivers (Explorer, aftermarket battery, Sport Trac, OEM battery) topped out at ~5 years per battery, and when they died, they left someone stranded every time. Only once was I given a clue by a "weird sounding" startup, where I was able to predict that a problem was coming, and sure enough, I found myself stranded in the Target parking lot later that morning.

Due to this, and the nature of the vacation spot (very remote beach house, 25 miles from civilization), I'm considering replacing the battery before I leave. Which of these would you choose if you were in this position? All opinions & experiences welcome.

ACDelco Gold - 42 month replacement - $173
ACDelco Silver - 30 month replacement - $145
EverStart Maxx 3 year replacement - $119
Duralast Gold 3 year replacement, 2 year additional pro-rated $159
SuperStart Extreme 3-yr replacement $159


I've always had good luck with the ACDelco batteries, which are what the local parts store sells, and the climate around here is nightmarish for batteries. Never really seen a reason to overthink it, the batteries crank fine even when it's well below zero and I've never been stranded.
 
Defects aside, the best lead acid battery kept chronically underechargd will not last as long as the worst battery kept up near fully charged.

Dont expect your vehicle to even try to get its battery fully charged.

The closer to full charge it is, the slower it charges.

80% charged to 100% charged cannot be accomplished i less than 3.5 hours.

Those 3.5 hours assume a healthy battery and mid 14 volts is held at the battery terminals. Unhealthy batteries take much longer. Lower voltages take much longer.
Higher voltages, more than 14.8v, do not reduce the time.

Without knowing the average state of charge of a battery through its life
Or its average temperature, any reports of battery longevity, good or bad, are entirely meaningless.

The sticker on the battery, or the manufacturer of the battery is not going to impart magical resistance to living in a chronicically well undercharged state.

Proper battery charging is about voltage control. Hold high enough voltages until battery is full. Then lower voltages to keep it full.

Most charging sources, vehicles err well on the side of undercharging,as overcharging can lead to greedy lawyers getting involved.

Agms.are not more.tolerant of chronic undercharging, but they will have more cca remaining at the same state of health and state of charge as a similarly degraded flooded wet/battery.

In deep cycle duty agms are less tolerant of chronic undercharging than their flooded brethern. Their higher price does not impart them with the ability to defy physics/sulfation.
If searching for the best possible battery within a certain size grohp, the heavier battery will likely be built better, and last longer i the same exact usage, even if it has lower cca and reserve capacity.
 
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