When to replace a car battery??

[Anonymous]

Hi,

My car is about 4 years old – a ’01 model. We’ve had an early cold snap here in the midwest. I took the car in for a checkup and had the oil changed recently. Nothing showed up about the battery apparently. However with this cold weather it takes a few clicks to fire up(on the same key stroke – I haven’t had to take the key out and start again – it just takes a few heartbeats to start on the initial ignition). Now once it does catch it fires up beautifully without hesitation.

But should I be concerned about the delay??? My dad had said 5 years is the ideal life for a battery and I could wait till next summer or fall to replace it.

Would that be ok??? My car is in great shape. I let maintainance slip a little the other year but I’m back onto a more or less regular schedule for oil/tires etc.. This battery is original to the car.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Topic

[montefrazer]

Most palces that sell batteries like Sears, Autozone, Batterys Plus, etc. will do a test for free on your battery. This is lke a tress test for it. If it passes the test, it;s fine. If not, whoever tests it would be happy to sell you one. I change my battery right after I need a jump start. w00t.gif But that is just me. A friend of mine believes in replacing his every five years like your dad. If peace of mind means more than money, replace it now. Or you can carry jumper cables like I do. icon_cheesygrin.gif

[Anonymous]

Thanks monte

I can wait I just wanted to hear from some other users

[Anonymous]

I am a bit more anal than most. I believe that 48 months is about the longest “dependable” period you can get out of a standard battery such as a diehard, etc.. This is especially true with larger vehicles with lots of electronics onboard, needing a larger amount of CCA (cold cranking amps) to fire the vehicle and keep it running. If we were talking about any of the Optima batteries, such as the red top or yellow top, then I would agree with 5 years.

Being as how I am in charge of vehicle maintenance for my wifes Toyota Camry, and my teenage sons Honda Civic, I am a firm believer in replacing the battery at 48 months, especially here in the Midwest. Just my two cents worth. Knowing that you have a new, strong battery under the hood in the dead of winter is good peace of mind.

Marshall

[Anonymous]

A batterys life depends on how its used and taken care of for. If its constantly overloaded or allowed to bounce around in the engine compartment then it will have a shorter life. The two major killers of batterys believe it or not are heat and vibration, batterys dont like extreme temperatures thats why u see some batterys with heat shields on them. I test batterys in all my vehicles once in spring, summer then just before winter. Keep in mind car companies will put the cheapest brand and lowest CCA possible battery in their cars just to save a dime on each one. A good rule we learned and used in tech school was take your engine CID , add 100 for colder climates like wisconsin and 50 for each major accessory like power steering, ac etc and use that as a guide to what the cca of your battery should be at or higher. for example in wisconsin, a 350 with ac and rear window defroster u would want a battery cca of at least 550-600. Anything lower and it may have a hard time starting the vehicle when its -32 degrees. Its no problem to use a higher cca battery for example in my truck i have a straight six 300 and no ac or major accessorys and i put in a 800 cca battery and it does real good for below freezing temps unless the fuel freezes up but thats another story icon_cheesygrin.gif

[Anonymous]

The battery in my car is five and a bit years old now, and the car still starts very nicely. It was -4 deg C last night – let me nip out and grab a recording of the startup for you for comparison…

Cobra

EDIT – Here it is:

http://www.videohelp.com/~cobra/almera_start.avi

After a cold night, and I promise that that is the first start. The battery is 64 months old (about 70 months old from manufacture) in that car. No problems. It is a standard Nissan battery:

I have never once reconditioned or maintained it, nor charged it from the mains. It’s just sat there in the car, doing it’s thing.

[Anonymous]

wow thanks for posting that cobra. I appreciate it. Looks like I can probably wait till next summer or so.

[Anonymous]

Anytime, Yoda.

[Anonymous]

If you are getting clicks right before it starts and your battery is that old then I would get a new battery at my next convenience. I ended up replacing my 7 year battery after 5 years becasue it died and it was no fun dragging a new battery home on >90 degree heat and > 90% humidity last summer (I put the new one in a backpack and walked home). You will get stranded unless you replace it. The 5 year rule is a good one.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by “getting clicks” – my car has always started like it has, when it was new right up until today. Would you consider my startup OK or not?

[Author]

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