@wentwest ; We live just East of the Rocky Mountains and our winters get pretty cold. Summer temps are moderate, seldom over 85F. Our 1994 Nissan Sentra finally wore out its OEM battery after 7 years, proving that Nissan puts good stuff in their cars. That same year I was in Malaysia and needed a new battery for my Proton Waja (a Mitsubishi Lancer clone) after only one year of operation. Those batteries were made by “Century”, a Chinese company and the joke was that they lasted at least 100 days!
The Nissan went on to need two more batteries from Costco (Kirkland brand), one in 2001, and another one in 2007, until we sold it in August of this year, after 18 years of faithful service. That car had at least 4 starts per day all these years.
So, to answer your question, “how long does a battery last?”, the OEM lasted 7 years, and the Costco one lasted 6 years; the last Costco is still going strong when we sold the car. The last Costco was only $58! We installed it ourselves.
We park our cars inside overnight, and use a plug-in engine block heater where possible when away from home. So, battery life is very dependent on where you live and where you park overnight.
However, don’t expect this performance when you buy the cheapest battery from a departmernt store.
There’s no doubt that a marginal battery will start a car if the temperature is 65, the car itself is in good shape and the spark plugs are good, the wiring is solid and tight, the gas is fresh and the accessories are all off. In that situation the car should start on the first couple of rotations. If it’s cold or any of the other facts are not true, the car will be a bit slower to start and the battery will go down fast, and you’ll be cursing. I now I’m just tempting fate with a 10 year old battery, but I have another car and a small fleet of scooters to fall back on.
In newer cars the condition of the battery can alter the readings from the computer and all sorts of trouble codes and poor running can result. It might start the car, but things won’t be right. If you are a fool like me, that likes to mess around with machines and thinks car problems are a puzzle to be solved, then fine, take a chance. If you have to get to work at a set time, and you have one car and you don’t have a place to work or the time to set aside for car puzzles, then buy a new battery at the first sign of trouble.
Is it only me, or do other people notice how reliable and economical cars are today? Compared to 30 years ago, cars today are absolutely remarkable.
@wentwest, we have a similar approach to batteries. I don’t normally replace them until they show signs of failing. Most recently, my '03 Camry and '04 Trailblazer had the OEM batteries and show no signs of failing. The TB was recently totaled so we’ll never know about that one
I spent many years in the frozen mid-west and routinely got 10+ years out of batteries. Although heat does tend to kill batteries, nothing weeds out the weak like a good -25 deg F for a week straight.
Care is everything IMHO. I have deep cycle marine batteries that are >10 years old and work pretty much as good as ever. Some are used 3-4 times per week. I recharge them immediately upon returning home and if they sit unused, I charge them at least once a month.
I’ve taken a more cautious approach in the last year as I now have a wife and toddler that are riding in a new vehicle. That one I may be more proactive in swapping it out as the risk is higher.
As said above, the way to test a battery is a “load test”. Most auto repair shops – the big ones at least – will do this for free if you ask them. The other way is to test the specific gravity of the battery acid. But the load test is better.
Usually batteries last about 5-6 years, so yours is indeed a candidate for replacement. If it works ok though, and you don’t mind winding up stranded in a “no or slow crank” condition on a colder than normal morning this winter, I don’t see any problem with keeping it for now.
A faulty battery could indeed damage an alternator if it drew too much charging current. But the battery would have to be pretty bad before it would damage the alternator. A battery this bad would probably not be able to start the car.
Just replaced the OEM battery in an '03 Honda this weekend. It didn’t have enough juice to start the car after sitting in a parking lot for 20 min. listening to a ball game on the radio. I did forget to put the ignition into ACC, so it was more of a drain in the battery with the ignition “on” without running the motor. Still the no crank said the battery wasn’t up to snuff anymore. This is a “stick” so was able to push start the car and a day later installed a new NAPA battery.
