Walmart EverStart batteries?

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Anyone purchased any of the EverStart batteries from Walmart? Tell me your horror stories, or good ones if there are any.

My daughters 2001 Taurus had the OE Motorcraft battery die last night. I'm not impressed, it's less than 4 years old.

Of course she *had* to have it fixed *last night* and the only place open was Wally. $39.95 later we had an Everstart battery. It looks cheaply made, and I notice it's about 1" smaller in the long dimension than what we replaced, even though it had the same rating.

Tell me I won't be doing this again in a year or two...
 
I have had good luck with everstart batteries, using it in numerous older trucks and tractors. But then again, I am in south central Texas where it rarely gets below freezing. The only problem I ever had with a Walmart battery was buying one, and then realizing it would not fit my bracket in my vehicle. Took it back, only to discover the new battery had a plastic "frame/adapter" that comes off, I assume so it fits other vehicles. That was an embarrasing moment for me.
 
They are currently made by Exide along with many other battery companies. I'd say they'll last just as long as any other battery in their price range. The $60 ones are obviously better then the $30 ones. Make sure you have the correct battery and amperage.
 
They've worked fine for me.

Like I've said before though...get the largest battery you can!

Edit - For example, with this car, it seems as if you have two choices (these from AutoZone) from the regular Duralast line:

36R-DL - 650 COLD CRANKING AMPS (810 CRANKING AMPS)
58R-D - 610 COLD CRANKING AMPS (760 CRANKING AMPS)

[ January 31, 2005, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: Jelly ]
 
I have had to return two of the 4 I have purchased over the past couple of years.
Consumer report( last month) rated them below average. AutoZone's batteries rated much higher.
 
Am a big fan of the $40 model over the $30. Swear by them.

My old DT-3 has become the DT-3N which looks slightly cheaper. Hope its guts are still as good.

I think the funky detachable plastic base flips over and covers the top terminals for some GM apps.
 
quote:

Originally posted by T-Keith:
They are currently made by Exide along with many other battery companies. I'd say they'll last just as long as any other battery in their price range. The $60 ones are obviously better then the $30 ones. Make sure you have the correct battery and amperage.

Same amperage rating rating but the physical size was slightly smaller in the long dimension. Same size in the other two dimensions and it fit the funky Ford single hold down bracket just fine.
 
quote:

Originally posted by rshaw125:
I have had to return two of the 4 I have purchased over the past couple of years.
Consumer report( last month) rated them below average. AutoZone's batteries rated much higher.


I've had bad luck with the Duralast batteries from Autozone. The last 2 I purchased lasted 1 year +- 1 month. The one under a year I got a free replacment. The one over a year cost almost $30 to replace. Pretty lame for a $40 battery and only 13 months use...
 
I've had good luck with the $39.95 Walmart EverStart batteries. One lasted 4 years even though it was severely abused. Replaced it with another, still going strong a year later.
 
Funny this subject came up. Just last week I noticed my car was dripping something. Looked at it...not red fluid, not green fluid, not blue fluid and not engine oil. What the #ell is it? Well, after studying under the hood for a while, seemed like it was coming from the positive side of the battery terminal. Took the positive side off, well just wiggled it, and the hole mounting bolt and lead eye socket fell off. Turns out the battery developed a leak on the positive side and battery acid was running down the positive cable on to all the other cables. Glad I caught it in time and gave it a good flushing of water. This was a EverStart battery from Walmart. Stupid me, I didn't have the reciept on the battery, but I know the battery was at least three years old.
Bought a new one, the DT-3N. Keep the receipt, full replacement warranty for 2 years and all for 34.99 That rack looking thing you guys are mentioning, is strictly for shipping. They should have taken it off when you bought the battery.
 
Another thing to consider is the date the battery was made. For example just about every battery has some sort of sticker or tag on it that'll say "D-4" that means it was made in April 2004. (ie A=Jan, B=Feb, C=March etc etc). You don't really want a battery that's been sitting around for a year with no charge.
cheers.gif
 
quote:

Originally posted by eljefino:
Am a big fan of the $40 model over the $30. Swear by them.

My old DT-3 has become the DT-3N which looks slightly cheaper. Hope its guts are still as good.

I think the funky detachable plastic base flips over and covers the top terminals for some GM apps.


The N means that it is meant for Northern states. I believe this was added when they went to Exide. Your old one was probably a Johnson Controls made battery.

I like to avoid the DT3 for my gm cars because of the top terminals. I use the MAXX-75 or 78 if available. I've had bad luck with the 75-5.

-T
 
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/bg/

The WalMart batteries are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Sears Diehards are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Autozone batteries are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Costco batteries are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Optima batteries are a Johnson Controls brand. (see below the below web site for a comprehensive list)

I am used to oem Panasonic batteries going out about the 10 year mark.

I just recently had to get a new battery after my oem AC Delco group 75 gave up the charge at app 4.5 years. It came from Costco-Kirtland Signature- made by Johnson Controls.

http://www.autobatteries.com/brands/index.asp

Directly above is another related Johnson Controls site that helps folks find the correct battery and lists the named brands. "Where can I find a Johnson Controls battery"?

[ January 31, 2005, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: ruking77 ]
 
I put an Everstart "Maxx" (I think that's the name, in a yellow casing) into my minivan two years ago and it's served me well, with no signs of problems. I'm in northern Tennessee - our temperature ranges from a low of 5-10 deg F in the winter to highs of 95-100 deg F in the summer. I decided to try an Everstart when my old battery died on a Sunday, and my only choices were AutoZone's brands, Advance Auto's brands, or WalMart. I figured that these "private label" batteries were likely similar in quality, and WalMart in my town is open 24/7 so at least I could get a replacement easily if I had problems. I'm happy with my decision so far and recommend the "Maxx" to others.
 
quote:


My daughters 2001 Taurus had the OE Motorcraft battery die last night. I'm not impressed, it's less than 4 years old.


When I was working at Ford/L-M parts, I was always amazed at how many batteries we'd replace under warranty. Especially the BXT65-850's.

I only had one option at 9pm...Walmart...for my Saturn. I put a new Maxx battery in 2 years ago. No problems whatsoever. I wasn't sure if the battery would make it past one year! But it is just fine. After this experience, I really can't see paying top dollar for just a battery any longer.
 
heck, i've always had good luck with motorcraft batteries.

The one in my 98 f150 is still OEM until this day, and has a good charge still, and it sees winter every year.

My 96 tbird lasted until 2002, I call that good service also.

Motorcraft and optima get my vote. Heck, I had to put an exide in one of my cars, i needed one on a sunday night, and bought it at sams. In less than one year its already dead.
 
quote:

ruking77:
.... The WalMart batteries are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Sears Diehards are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Autozone batteries are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Costco batteries are oem'd by Johnson Controls. Optima batteries are a Johnson Controls brand. (see below the below web site for a comprehensive list)....

http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/batbrand.htm

Two updates to that page that I know of:

Optima (Gylling Optima Batteries AB, Sweden)was bought out by Johnson Controls.

GNB [formerly Gould National Battery] was bought from Dunlop by Exide.

In the days when batteries were more easily disassembled, many "bad" batteries could be rejuvenated simply by removing the "mud" from the bottom that shorted the plates. After that they'd take a charge and work okay (with a bit less capacity).

Another cause of battery failure, sulphation, can be rectified with pulse charging.


.
 
I've had probably 10 of those batteries.. the one I had in my old '87 Toyota MR2 performed flawlessly for about 5 years or so until I retired the car. my truck on the other hand, killed about 5 batteries in a week, but the 6th one has been going great for 3 years now. the ones that crapped out on me would start the truck, but would be absolutely dead 5 seconds later, it was really weird.

-Bret
 
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