How long can one expect a well maintained battery to last?

 

Our 96 OBW has the original battery in it. I keep the water level up and keep the posts, cables and terminals clean.

 

We have had 0 degree whether several nights in a row and it spins over and starts right up every morning. Granted I have a block heater on the car but not a battery heater.

 

I know all good things must come to an end, but does anybody want to predict the end?

 

Very happy with the life of the battery if it died tomorrow so I am not complaining in any way.

 

Thanks in advance to all would be prophets,

Greg

I never have any battery problems because of this.

We have 500 busses in our fleet and use the same procedure.

I also install the largest battery that I can get in the stock holder.

If you lose an alternator sometimes you can get home on a good battery, and if you were to develop a marginal starting problem it might make the difference between walking and riding.

The BMW board was hot last fall with the batteries all failing on the 99s.

Some folks are lucky and get years out of a battery. My dad got about 10 years out of his boat battery. I think after four you are running on luck.

Do yourslef a favor and change it. I use Interstates in mine as they are reasonably priced and have one for darn near everything.

I like the gel batteries too, but I can replace two Interstates for one gel.

Congratulations, eight years is exceptional service from a car battery. The Subaru "maintenance required" battery will usually have much longer life than a "maintenance free" battery. You can replace lost water in a Subaru battery, but not with a "maintenance free" battery. A battery will last longer if it is discharged only 50% or less before recharging. Accidently leaving the car lights on and completely discharging the battery will drastically shorten its' life.

Unfortunately, batteries will frequently fail without any warning. That means possible inconvenience and expensive towing or roadside service. Balance the relatively low cost of a new battery against expensive emergency service. Obviously, you know how to take good care of a battery.

I just replaced the OEM battery in our car. It was still performing fine for the most part, but it gave a sluggish start one 0*F morning and out it came. It had never been run dead or jumped.

 

I felt a little funny about pushing the battery through it's 5th winter and had little tolerance for any perceived degradation of performance. A battery failure resulting in a jump from a stranger of questionable knowledge when my wife is alone simply isn't worth the $60 to me.

The OE battery in my Legacy lasted through 10 winters and over 100K miles of daily start ups. I credit a lot of the life span to the fact that the Legacy headlights go off with the key. I don't remember it ever being totaly discharged.

I was going to write the manufacturer, but I though it might go to their head.

I'm not sure why a lot of the automotive experts say to replace a battery every three years....wait a minute, they sell a lot of batteries that way.

A lot depends on your location.. down here in TX, batteries don't last as long as the would in the NW.. the heat can be a real killer, as can the cold.. In WA, I have a 73 chevy Pickup.. battery was installed in 1993. Still going strong.. On the other hand, the battery in my soob was 2 years old when I moved to TX.. 3 weeks in the 100+ heat and it was a boat anchor..

cool batts last longer. 125F is when serious degradation starts to occur.

 

Agree with installing the largest that fits.

 

Actually, starter batterys should not be used for more than 20% (80% remaining) discharge.

 

7 years, 106,000 on oem batt

 

Mike

The best I ever got was 9 years in my first car. It was my parent's car... a 15 yo 1969 Pontiac Laurention. A boat of a car, but power "nothing". And I mean that. Other than the engine compartment, lights, radio and fan on the interior heater, I don't think there was a single electrical item on the car!

 

I got about 4 to 5 years with my Civics.

 

Right now, I'm just past the 7 year mark on the OEM battery in my 97 OB. I'm surprised it has lasted this long. I think the 'dope' I put in it about 1.5 years ago to combat sulphation actually did something (Battery Equaliser). Didn't seem to hurt at all. (I decided to try it since it was inexpensive and I considered the battery to be on borrowed time anyway.)

 

I've only got 3 years out of the battery on my wife's 99 Odyssey. That things alarm system seems to suck the life out of the battery. That, and stupid interior lights that do not go out if they are manually turned on.

 

Heat kills the batteries more than the cold. Studies have borne that out.

 

Commuter

Sears markets northern and southern batteries. I assumed that the northern batteries were "better". Based on the "heat kills" comments (and I agree) does anyone know the difference between the Sears batteries????

Never got more than 5 years and that was stock Honda batt (Yuasa) in '78 Civic. Most batts here are doing good to get much past 3-4 years.

 

I think in cold you need CCA, in heat you need 'reserve capacity'? something like that.

I don't know the difference between Northern and Southern batteries. I know that I've seen the recommendation several times that one should not use maintenance free batteries in hotter climates, since there is no way to replenish the water. I wonder if that is the difference.

 

The batteries you add water to are good for either climate... as long as you don't forget them and run them low on water.

 

One has to wonder... They could probably make batteries last twice as long for 20% more dollars. But that wouldn't be good for business. Just musing...

 

Commuter

I once got six years out of a J C Penny five year maintance free battery. I think that was an all time record for me. Sorry to say Penny's has been out of the auto repair business for years.

 

 

~Howard

of maintence free ones. My BMW battery that I use to power stuff in the garage and as an emergency spare had a sticker over the filler area that said maintence free. If you pull off the sticker you often find little caps you can get off with a screwdriver. Then just fill with distilled water.

My 99 subaru one was dying when I got the car and I promptly gave it a new Interstate. I did not look to see if I could fill it before giving it to the recycler.

I do agree that heat and overcharging are battery killers and I used to lose more to heat than cold.

Sf is pretty temperate, I have had ice on the Subie windows a few days this year, and it never gets Texas hot.

It seems from what you guys say that the original Subie batteries are pretty good.

Keep in mind that batteries have been made smaller to save weight and be easier to recyle and the car's electrical needs are far higher these days.

An eighties car had a tiny load compared to these new ones.

In the days of points, coils, distributers, and mechanical fuel pumps, a car could run for days without charging the battery.

 

I bought a Volvo 164 from a guy, which wouldn't start the third day after I got it. His "mechanic" had put on a new positive battery cable, and it didn't have the wire running from the alternator attached to it!

I'm onto my 4th year and 2nd car with an Optima Red Top, see they outlast the car even :D :D

 

Nah! I traded the MY01 Liberty in on a My03 Forester much better car for my needs.

Thanks to all who have replied. One thing that runs through most of the responses is that the OEM battery has done a decent job for most people.

 

Who makes the OEM battery?

 

I would pay 25% more and buy the battery from the dealer if I knew I were getting the same one that came in my car to begin with. Otherwise AutoZone or Sears will do just fine.

 

I am cheap but not so cheap as to run the risk of leaving my wife stranded as 99obw mentioned. To bad, as I would like to just run the battery until it bleeds and then run it because it bleeds! and see how long it will last.

On my 2000 Forester the original battery was Panasonic. I thought that was odd because I never knew that they made car batteries.

 

 

~Howard

If your battery is more than 5 yrs old, but still behaving normally, especially in the cold, you might want to try a technique that i am experimenting with. The chemical EDTA, when added to a battery which is just starting to "sulphate up", can remove the deposits on the plates, and drop the material out of solution. The EDTA then goes on preventing Lead sulphate forming on the plates. I have read that this can extend the life of a battery by 10yrs or more.There is quite a lot of info on the net about it.

It does not work with a damaged battery (eg one with a shorted cell ), but will rejuvinate most old batteries. Only a teaspoonful per cell is required. The full name of the compound is Di sodium Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid. Harmless Chemical.

i've had wal-mart batteries last well over 5 years... and they're cheap, lol

Originally posted by urabus1995

The full name of the compound is Di sodium Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid. Harmless Chemical.

 

That sure sounds harmless to me :brolleye:

 

JK, it sounds pretty interesting. I think I'll look that up...

I just keyed in " EDTA battery" in google search , and it went to lots of sites which explain it all. Manufacturers dont do it cos they want to sell batteries!!! strange as it may seem LOL

the oem batts that did so well were made by INTERSTATE. There is a taller interstate that fits just fine, has a bit more oomf, and is $10 cheaper due to its more standard size.

 

EDTA is the battery equivalent of a hack. It can cause particulate to build up on the floor of the batt, which *could* pile up enough to short the plates. It can help gain a few months out of a dying battery. Stuff's been around for years. Used to buy it for like $2.50 at western auto...

 

Mike

Longest battery life I have experienced was with an '86 Saab 900. The original factory battery lasted for 12 years and 170,000 miles with just regular maintenance, clean the terminals and keep the fluid level topped off.

we rejected this stuff for fleet use 25 years ago.

A better emergency type (broke) deal is to dump out the acid, clean the plates as well as you can and make sure nothing is shorting, add new acid and charge.

I have been to a factory a few years ago where they rebuilt batteries. I am not sure they do this anymore since new batteries are so cheap and the cases do not lend themselves to replating.

Most of the core batteries had shorted with residue at the bottom of the case. On many of them much of the plates had been eaten away.

I see we had better get a shipment of spark intensifiers over to Scotland right away as there may be a ready market for them there.

Originally posted by urabus1995

The full name of the compound is Di sodium Ethylene Diamine Tetra Acetic Acid. Harmless Chemical.

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That sure sounds harmless to me

 

 

I know what you mean. Someone told me to add DHMO (dihydrogen Monoxide) to my battery, but I quit doing it after visiting this website:

 

http://www.dhmo.org/