[GT182]

The only new car I've owned was the '79 Formula Firebird. It's battery last about 7 years.

Believe it of not: My Kubota G2000's battery lasted about 5 years. In 1997 I had to change it out and the Interstate replacement will be 20 years old in March of 2017. And it's still running strong. So far no battery tender has been needed for it seeing it sits a lot in the garage.

[Ron Landis]

Originally Posted by J GLASGO

I put a new Delco in every truck I buy, and replace it at 5 years. If you have had a battery die on you at a horrible time, I assure you it's not worth 100.00 bucks!!

not something you wanna roll the dice on.

[lemansboy70]

It used to be pretty common here at the Napa store to see OEM batteries traded in that were 7-10 years old. That seems to be shrinking drastically. We are replacing a lot of original 3-5 year batteries now. Our replacements usually are good for 5-7 years, but as in anything electrical, it could go for ten minutes or ten years. You never know!

[SRR]

Originally Posted by lemansvertdude

It used to be pretty common here at the Napa store to see OEM batteries traded in that were 7-10 years old. That seems to be shrinking drastically. We are replacing a lot of original 3-5 year batteries now. Our replacements usually are good for 5-7 years, but as in anything electrical, it could go for ten minutes or ten years. You never know!

Same here. Although the heat is murder on batteries. The parts store battery that is in my Merc is almost 9 years old.

[Blowd]

I'll chime in since my GTO still has the original battery from '06. Of course with only 22k on the clock, I will put it on the float charger when it's going to be parked for long periods. Doesn't seem to have affected longevity one way or the other.

[John V.]

Originally Posted by Squidward

Wow. At least I don't have to shovel sunshine. That's the consolation prize I get for having batteries last 3, maybe 4 years at best out here in AZ.

Originally Posted by SRR

Same here. Although the heat is murder on batteries. The parts store battery that is in my Merc is almost 9 years old.

Was waiting for somebody to mention this as most of the posters here have been northerners. Battery life changed drastically for me when I moved to the south 20+ years ago. Up north I never replaced batteries like I began to do when I came south. First southern experience I can remember was when the 3 y.o. O.E. battery in the '97 GMC Safari died. I was lucky to get 3 year battery life over the many years I owned that van.

I'm also amazed at the many of you that replace batteries as preventative maintenance. I have never done that but do carry jumper cables in every car. They have mostly been used to jump others.

17 yrs here in NE Fla best I have ever done was my '04 GP, OE battery lasted 7 yrs, 2 mos.

Always bought replacement batteries from Walmart, Everstart made by Johnson Controls with just one exception.

The Everstart in the GP just had its 6th birthday.

The O.E. batteries in the '08 Civic and the '12 Civic lasted 3-1/2 and 2 years respectively.

Since living here and with several different cars, most of the time I've been lucky to get 3-4 years out of the replacements. At one time the Everstart had like a 96 mo. pro-rated warranty so I would usually pay little to nothing when they had to be replaced.

More recently I have had better luck with the Everstart in a few cars.

I put a different battery in the '08 Civic, might have been from Pep Boys, because at the time Walmart had stopped offering the prorated portion of the warranty. That battery is 5 yrs old now, went to Boston a few months after the replacement battery went in and gets very little use now, hasn't been driven more than 4000 miles in the past 2 years, mostly a grocery getter literally and has gone weeks and even months at a time just sitting.

That car had an issue with corrosion at the pos cable terminal with the O.E. battery. Every few months it wouldn't start and I would clean up the terminal as best I could and it would jump.

Finally one time it wouldn't jump after cleaning up the corrosion so I replaced it. I bought the felt washers and greased things up on the terminal. The corrosion stopped occurring which has probably helped the battery a lot. I don't know why that car had a problem with corrosion like that.

But when we bought the '12, I noticed right away that Honda had added some sort of electrical paraphernalia at the positive post, I'm sure because of the issue I experienced with the '08.

Never had a corrosion problem with the '12, but the O.E. battery died in just 2 years anyway. The Everstart in it is only 3 yrs old now so no way to know if it will last.

Prolly bad luck for me to be discussing battery life. The '08 is sitting outside in Boston right now and will be sitting for almost a month without being started. I'll blame you guys for jinxing it if it has to be replaced when my son gets back to it.

[ponyakr]

Batt in '06 Tacoma lasted only 2 years.

Replaced it with a Wal-Mart batt, which is still doing fine.

[Bob Hall]

I can't confirm it but the guy I bought my 84 Monte from in 1997 said the battery was original. It died in January of 98. On the 03 and 04 Montes we were the 2nd owners of those from 2006 and 2007 and both of their batteries died on the same day in August 2013.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oldsmobiledave]

My 2005 Ram 3500 dually was built in September 2005. The original batteries are still in the truck & it starts first try every time.

[daduck]

original Delco battery lasted 7 years (2009).

replacement battery (autozone) is still going strong at 7 years.

The truck only has 33 K miles.... so it sits a lot ....without a battery tender.
It will start after 5-6 weeks in the frigid garage.

Now that I have posted this...... I will mentally prepare to replace the battery!!!!!!!

Dave

[MUSLCAH]

Batteries are only good for 4-5 years.....I change them at 5 years if they need it or not. Don't need to be left on the side of the road....when I was young,I changed them when they died...lol

[Jack Ferris]

My 03 Cummins still has the original batteries.

[6t7goat]

Im with JohnV. Here in Florida i dont get near the life out of a battery like i use to in PA. 4-5 years is about average. I work for a dealer and drive a demo and my current car has about 1600 miles on it. Battery had to be replaced about 2 weeks ago. I dont think they make them like they use to.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by daduck

It will start after 5-6 weeks in the frigid garage.

Where is your garage, that it's "frigid"?

You live in MO and it never gets "frigid" there, and inside a garage it should be at least 10 - 20 degrees warmer than the outside temp...

[craigs69]

I am really surprised that us northerners experience longer battery life than those in the south. I always figured the extra draw from cranking cold engines in the winter months would shorten the life faster than those in milder climates.


I guess you learn something new every day!

[FirebirdHank]

My '00 Bonneville got more than 11 years out of the original battery. I think it had something to do with the battery being located under the rear seat away from the high underhood heat. Location made it easy to change too.

[tigergto]

Originally Posted by craigs69

I am really surprised that us northerners experience longer battery life than those in the south. I always figured the extra draw from cranking cold engines in the winter months would shorten the life faster than those in milder climates.


I guess you learn something new every day!

On the Cadillac forum one the members who spent 27 years as a Sales Engineer for a major battery manufactuer had this to say. Hotter climates shorten the life of a battery just as under the hood heat does. However if you live in a hot climate when replacing your battery go with less CCA than the OE. The higher the CCA the thicker the plates which means less acid mixture. They all evaporate over time and the exposed plates deteriorate faster.Maybe not his exact words but the basics are the same. I've read other posts of his on batteries and he seems to know his stuff.

[David Jones]

Usually around 5-6 years.

[geeteeohguy]

Never owned a new car, so can't say. The 2002 Walmart battery is still cranking my '67 GTO over just fine, as is the 2003 Walmart battery in my '65 GTO. So, going on 15 years, which makes me feel I'm probably on borrowed time!

[Old Blue 66]

Ive had a couple of cars go to eight years. But five is the norm.