I wonder which battery would last longer? Battery A which is used in a daily driver, averaging 15,000 miles per year; or Battery B, same car, same battery, but the car is only used once a week, averaging 3,000 miles per year. The reason I ask is b/c my truck’s battery lasts 3-4 years longer than my Corolla’s, and while they aren’t the same vehicle or battery, the main difference the truck isn’t driven nearly as much.
I wrote 2015 that the battery in my 2002 Miata was original. It was, past tense. Last summer it was really cranking slowly after sitting for a week or two without being run. It was fine if i drove yesterday, but not holding a charge for more than a week. I started shopping (Miata batteries are unique) and bought one on sale at Advance, so the original Panasonic battery lasted from a build date of September 2001 until August 2018. Mild weather, battery in the trunk, low but steady use of the car over the years so only 50,000 miles, all play a part.
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Born and raised in MD (outside DC), purchased my 11 audi a5 brand new in Feb. 2011 and just last week
got my first battery low warning. This might be the longest I’ve gone on an original battery. But even after the warning message came up, after driving the car to work a few more time than usual, the warning want away and car seems normal again.
My audi service adviser recommended that I keep driving until the starting the car up becomes weaker.
That is really Dumb advice. Batteries can completely fail without warning . You are going to need one so do it now while you can drive to shop and you don’t need a dealer for a battery.
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I was worried about the car not starting while im out, but the battery seems fine now. I really dont drive the car too far from home (work is 15 min away) and the first instance of car not starting, Ill jump it, then replace the battery. Probably wont get it replaced at audi due to cost, probably take it to new german. I’m impressed with the quality of battery audi uses.
I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this Audi needs to have the new battery registered with a scanner. And if that’s the case, I wouldn’t expect your local autozone guys to be in a position to perform this procedure. I mentioned autozone because in my area they install customer batteries in the parking lot
To be more specific, some modern cars need to be told that you installed a new battery, and they need to know what type of battery you installed . . . for example AGM or old school, which I believe is referred to as flooded lead acid. This is so that the charging system works properly, versus over- or undercharging the battery, reduced battery life, and so on
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I have a 2005 Honda accord that still has the factory battery in it. So that would make it 14 years old! I have to put a new starter in it this weekend so I’m just gonna replace the battery as well. But it is crazy that a battery can last that long. The battery didnt even start getting weak until this past winter.
My 2004 PT Cruiser was 7 1/2 years old with the original battery when it was totalled , If I had replaced it proactively, it would have been a complete waste of money.
How much would it be worth to avoid your battery failing while stopped in your banks ATM drive thru at 10:00pm on a stormy Saturday night? Or possibly the drive thru at Chik-fil-A at lunch time on Friday.
Sometimes it’s better to be a year too early than a day too late.
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I have been driving for a very long time, and only had 4 new cars and many of ny used cars were sub $500. I have never had a battery fail without giving me some warning. Maybe the heater speed momentarily slows when you turn on the A/C or lights, or the cranking speed is just the tiniest bit slower or your lights brighten a little bit if you rev the engine.
Besides, I am retired, I have time to wait for the tow truck. I pay for the service on my insurance and never have used it. I just want my wife to have someone to call if I am not with her. As far as people in line behind me, they have twree choices, help push, back up, or wait. My banks atm is only open when the bank is. I have never used it.
I put a Walmart battery in my 93 Toyota pickup 9.5 years ago and its still working fine today.
@oldtimer_ It all depends where you live and travel.
Although the battery in my Toyota is 12 years old and working just fine, when winter comes there will be instances where the car may not start. On of those instances is our New Years Eve Dance usually held at a club without bock heater outlets.
One such dances was a bitterly cold night and my car barely started when we were ready to go home. Where I live we test our batteries before the coming of winter and if not fully up to scratch, we replace them before the cold sets in. Calling the AAA on New Year’s Eve is futile, and my wife would never forgive me for neglecting such an obvious thing as a deteriorating battery over 12 years old.
Replacing an aging battery is called “Pro-active Maintenance” , a subject I teach as a consultant.
Some years ago I held a workshop during a very cold winter day. My car was parked beside the front entrance to the hotel. The participants told me they wanted their money back if my car did not start It did thanks to synthetic oil and an up to scratch 6 year old battery.
So, saving a few bucks by nursing an aging battery in a cold climate is bad economics and even worse common sense.
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There is a very wide range of opinions on the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” scale and my own experiences dueling with Murphy lead me to try to stay ahead of the curve. Maybe if I had been luckier early on in my life I could be a little more ‘devil may care’ but I’m old and set in my ways.
I live near Buffalo NY. If your read my previous reply on this post I said that I have never had a battery die without giving me some signs. I have had this battery tested the last 2 Autumns and will do so this year.
What would you have to say about someone living in Canada and using a 12 year old battery?
I would consider it akin to doing Kramers Test drive on Seinfeld. I would just be curious about how long it could last. Kramer had a strange sense of adventure, but that is better than not having one at all.
I would say test the battery in the fall to see if the voltage and load test are up to snuff. This fall we will likely replace the battery in our 2007 Corolla, which was a heavy duty unit to start with. The mileage on the car is only 65,000 but the number of starts is what counts.
We have an insulated garage, so the temperature in there is about 20F even on the coldest day.
We spend time in a mountain lodge in mid winter and this lodge does not have block heater plugs. So we take the newer car, a 2012 model out there. The AAA won’t likely come to the rescue if the car won’t start in the morning when we check out of the lodge.
Canadians who live in Vancouver and don’t go out of town can drive much longer on a battery.
I live where it doesn’t freeze, and my car is a standard shift Miata, so pushing it to start it is not difficult. I used the original battery for 16+ years and it started every day, but if it did not start on the first or maybe second try, it would not start. Batteries for Miatas are special because they come with a more complex venting system, so they can be hard to find at a moment’s notice. I finally gave up when I had a good coupon from a local store and they ordered it for me. It was an interesting project to see how long it would survive.
I was generalizing and mainly thinking of my previous neighbor who drove a $40,000+ Acura to her medical job and kept having “no starts” due to a weak battery.
I helped her several times but she refused to get a new battery and have her alternator tested as well and set out on her 20 mile trip to work every morning.
By now she will likely have to have a new battery.