life span of an automotive battery....

[Chuck Wintle]

can a new car battery fail in a little a 2 years? :D

[mike stenson]

Yes. They sure can.

[Scott Winners]

Yup, now days I new vehicles they can wear out that quick. It is amazing how much stuff is still drawing current in the background when the remote start fob is across town and the car turned off.

[mike stenson]

It's not only parasitic drain. There are many reasons that a cell can be damaged within a couple years. The parasitic drain, itself, shouldn't be a big deal as long as it is recharged. You should see how quickly cells die in the heat. Three years would be normal maximum life expectancy.

[Scott Clausen]

Most manufacturers don't put the "Best" batteries in production cars. Even if they do anyone can get the bad one.

[Brian Elfert]

Most of the stories I hear about car batteries is that the original battery that comes with the car usually outlasts any subsequent battery installed in the same car. Lots of reports of five or six years on the original battery and subsequent batteries often only last three years even with a name brand battery. I replaced the original battery in my car just as winter started. It was five and a half years and still working just fine, but I didn't want to end up stuck in the cold. We'll see how long the NAPA battery by Deka East Penn I installed lasts.

[Brian Tymchak]

After getting stuck at work with a dead battery (oem-4yrs old, wouldn't take a charge on the jump, alternator fine) on my previous truck, I adopted a policy of replacing the battery after 3 years, no questions asked. For the few extra dollars I fork out, it's a risk I no longer worry about.

[Dave Lehnert]

After getting stuck at work with a dead battery (oem-4yrs old, wouldn't take a charge on the jump, alternator fine) on my previous truck, I adopted a policy of replacing the battery after 3 years, no questions asked. For the few extra dollars I fork out, it's a risk I no longer worry about.


I got 9 years out of a battery in my F150.
I have a Walmart Ever start mower battery that is 12 years old, It still puts out more volts than the new one.

[Ron Citerone]

After getting stuck at work with a dead battery (oem-4yrs old, wouldn't take a charge on the jump, alternator fine) on my previous truck, I adopted a policy of replacing the battery after 3 years, no questions asked. For the few extra dollars I fork out, it's a risk I no longer worry about.

I agree on the replace before you get stuck sentiment, I do it too. I usually go for 3.5 -4 years though. And 3.5 if I am about to go on a long trip.

Way back when batteries showed signs of being tired before they died. More recently it seems they just die and in my exerience and with my kids cars they die in hot weather more than cold. Be interested in others thoughts on that.

AS far as the original question, I haven't had one go bad in 2 years in any of my cars since I had my first one in 1980.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Wow., I bought my back hoe in 2003 and the battery was shot. I bought a battery for it at the farm supply store that year and the thing is still starting the machine. The battery in my wife's 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage is still the factory battery.. Now, the Harley, I have to get a new battery every three years.

[Dave Zellers]

Yeah wow is right. I just had the battery replaced in my 2005 Chevy Express van for the first time since I bought it new.

Reading all this is depressing.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, they can. I just replaced mine at about two and a half years. This past week, as a matter of fact. It was undersized from a CCA perspective and I felt it was a risk if we get any cold weather. I went with the same group type, but it's 100 CCA higher and an AGM. Interestingly, I got nearly 7 years out of the OEM battery on my previous vehicle, but it lived inside the cabin under the seat and wasn't subjected to weather and heat swings like one up under the hood experiences.

[Ron Citerone]

Also, having raised 3 daughter’s and my wife (Also known as the 4 Queens lol). I always felt better when their car batteries were replaced before failure. Didn’t want them stranded in a parking lot waiting for a tow truck. With my car it didn’t worry me so much.

[Frank Pratt]

I have a 2013 Honda that's on its third battery that I'm expecting to have to replace soon. The funny thing is, it's never been slow to crank, headlights were bright & the horn worked. It just didn't turn over at all and no clicking. My best guess is that a computer in the car decides that cranking voltage/current isn't as high as it should be & just shuts everything down. Both times I had it tested & the battery showed as being bad & it was replaced.

On the other hand, the battery in my 5th wheel was just replace after 12 years & it was still in decent shape. The first year I had it, the dealer was doing warranty work (in the winter) & let the battery run down while they waited for parts. It was actually frozen solid, but after thawing, it worked as good as new. I couldn't believe it didn't rupture the case. Weird.

[Ron Citerone]

I have a 2013 Honda that's on its third battery that I'm expecting to have to replace soon. The funny thing is, it's never been slow to crank, headlights were bright & the horn worked. It just didn't turn over at all and no clicking. My best guess is that a computer in the car decides that cranking voltage/current isn't as high as it should be & just shuts everything down. Both times I had it tested & the battery showed as being bad & it was replaced.



Now that you mention it I think I may have heard something like that before.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Batteries are a crap shoot. Some last longer than others. As an example, my 1994 Ford Areostar (made in Dec 1993) is two years into it's fourth battery. Means first three lasted around 9 years each. OEM one was replaced because wife went shopping left lights on for a couple hours. As it was 9 years old, I just replaced it, despite the fact that it charged up and tested good. Look online a "Project Farm's" battery comparison of different brands of batteries. His testing rates the Walmart Ever Starts, as the best buy. Right now, in three of four vehicles, we have the $49.99 (now $59.99) Walmart batteries made by Exide. Third vehicle (98 Chrysler Town and Country) has old (2 year) from daughter's Honda Civic. She let car sit for several months and let battery drain. Bought new and was going to trade in one year old battery. At about same time, battery in T&C failed (4 year old, 12 month battery) , so I charged hers and put it on the Battery Tender for a couple days. Our stand by generator has an ELEVEN year old battery on it. Cranked without any problem on Monday when power went off. It has a Battery Tender on it at all times. I get tickled at either Autozone, or Advance when a customer comes in and says they will never have another battery from the other store as they are junk. But both stores sell the exact same battery, made by Johnson Controls. Only the labels are different. Johnson Controls also makes Interstate batteries, which Costco sells now that they dropped their Kirkland brand. Our local Interstate Battery distributor sells "refurbished" batteries for less than 50% of the cost of a new battery. They come with a 12 month warranty. Some time ago, I started a thread here about cost differentials of same battery based upon warranty length.

[Lee DeRaud]

I have a 2013 Honda that's on its third battery that I'm expecting to have to replace soon. The funny thing is, it's never been slow to crank, headlights were bright & the horn worked. It just didn't turn over at all and no clicking. My best guess is that a computer in the car decides that cranking voltage/current isn't as high as it should be & just shuts everything down. Both times I had it tested & the battery showed as being bad & it was replaced.
By the 2016 model I have, they had apparently fixed it so the battery fails in the normal manner: wake up one morning and it's lost its will to live, just barely turning over and saying, "I'm done for, save yourself!"

Mind you, it doesn't last any longer than before...first one lasted just under two years, second just over three. As I recall, there was also a recall for the battery sensor, which may be what causes the stone-dead symptoms you describe.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

My first Harley battery lasted 9 years but it’s always on a tender when not in use. The wife’s odyssey needed a battery when we bought it used in 2018 and it’s still going ok. My Mazda pickup on the other hand had its battery die after 3 years but I abused it by storing it without a tender for 2 summers; when I put it away in July I’ll take the battery out and leave it on a tender until it’s winter. I ride, exclusively during the summer.

[Dave Zellers]

I have to ask- what is a tender? Something that keeps it charged when you're not using it?

On a related note- I have an electric cart that uses a 12 volt battery (smaller than a car battery)- should I leave it plugged in to the charger during the cold winter months? I will use it from time to time in the winter. Will leaving it plugged in damage it in any way?

[Jason Roehl]

I have to ask- what is a tender? Something that keeps it charged when you're not using it?

On a related note- I have an electric cart that uses a 12 volt battery (smaller than a car battery)- should I leave it plugged in to the charger during the cold winter months? I will use it from time to time in the winter. Will leaving it plugged in damage it in any way?

Yes, a tender is a very small charging device that uses a very low current to periodically top off a battery when it’s not being used regularly, like for a boat or motorcycle stored in the winter months.

[Scott Clausen]

If I ever get that "slow start" I go to the store and get a new one. My company vans drain quickly due to the trackers. I was reading up on the new ones and they have a idle time cut off so maybe that will help.

[Terry Wawro]

I have to ask- what is a tender? Something that keeps it charged when you're not using it?

On a related note- I have an electric cart that uses a 12 volt battery (smaller than a car battery)- should I leave it plugged in to the charger during the cold winter months? I will use it from time to time in the winter. Will leaving it plugged in damage it in any way?



Yes, a battery tender is also sometimes know as a trickle charger. It keeps the battery topped off as batteries will naturally discharge slowly when not in use. There is even a model named "Battery Tender".

As for your electric cart charger I would recommend reading the manual on it's charger. Some chargers are "smart" chargers and will switch to trickle charge mode when the battery is fully charged. Other models will not, and need to be removed when the battery is fully charged. If left on, it can damage the battery.

[Dave Zellers]

Great- thanks guys.

[Kev Williams]

Batteries are a crap shoot. Some last longer than others.
Yup. My '02 F250's battery finally needed replaced at 11 years 4 months, August of '13. Wasn't the least bit dead then either, it just went POP the last time I tried to start the truck. Developed a short in side apparently. It's replacement battery, a basic 3 year Walmart thing I believe, is still going strong.

Walmart also makes an el-cheapo 1-year warranty battery. Bought one of those for my old '04 Chevy Van soon after we bought it. That battery gave up the ghost at just about 366 days, I swear. ;) (okay, may have been 380 or so, but it didn't make it 13 months!)

Like a box of chocolates...

[Frank Pratt]

When it come to automotive batteries, I don't believe there's any such thing as a cheap battery. I always get the best I can reasonably afford.

[Stan Calow]

I should know this, but is there any kind of easy test one can do with basic electrical tools to check the status of your battery? Voltmeter across the terminals?

[Warren Lake]

I just check with a small mulitimeter. I always oversize to as large as fits in the space this last time didnt as wasnt getting good enough service. Wish I had done my usual Last four batteries insterstate and get at least six years but there are different models maybe three levels as well. Bought a 2003 saturn a friends moms car he kept after she passed. It had a delco think it did 8 years. In reading all her past bills see the first Delco same one lasted 2 years and was replaced for free. ??? big difference there.

Told there are guys on the net who make batteries last forever but they have routine where they hit them with a 200 amp charger for some period of time. I didnt pay much attention but it is on there and maybe more than one person. Dont have the time to fiddle with it so didnt really watch.

Stuff comes out if stored in the cold winter and use a trickle on it. Friend built a hot rod had a fancy dancy battery for it, car took longer than planed and battery was dead from sitting think he said would have been fine had he used a trickle charger.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I should know this, but is there any kind of easy test one can do with basic electrical tools to check the status of your battery? Voltmeter across the terminals?


Yeah, drive to the local parts place and have them test it for FREE! HF sells a deluxe battery checker for around $75. I have a couple of deep cycle batteries that I traded local parts place other cores for. Neither would accept a charge. After a week on Battery Tender, both check out as good.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Yes, a battery tender is also sometimes know as a trickle charger. It keeps the battery topped off as batteries will naturally discharge slowly when not in use. There is even a model named "Battery Tender". Battery Tender isn't just a trickle charger. It's also a battery conditioner which uses high frequency pulses to break up and prevent sulfitation.

[Warren Lake]

I think that is what the 200 amp guys were doing getting rid of sulfation or is it sulfitation you call it?

[John Terefenko]

Most of the stories I hear about car batteries is that the original battery that comes with the car usually outlasts any subsequent battery installed in the same car. Lots of reports of five or six years on the original battery and subsequent batteries often only last three years even with a name brand battery. I replaced the original battery in my car just as winter started. It was five and a half years and still working just fine, but I didn't want to end up stuck in the cold. We'll see how long the NAPA battery by Deka East Penn I installed lasts.
Boy do I agree with this statement. Happened on 2 vehicles I have bought

[Jason Roehl]

I should know this, but is there any kind of easy test one can do with basic electrical tools to check the status of your battery? Voltmeter across the terminals?

You can pop off the cell caps and check the voltages between cells. They should all be the same at about 2.05-2.1V. One terminal is at the same potential as the adjacent cell, the other will have that same 2.1V between it and the adjacent cell, so you should get 6 readings. I was fighting a battery in my wife’s vehicle that, by Friday of the week, after charging it on the weekend, wouldn’t start her vehicle. The auto shops said it was fine. Finally, after trying to chase parasitic drain, I took off the caps, and started measuring individual cells. I found a short between two of them. This was on an 18-month-old battery, when I normally get 5-6 years on them here.

[Tom M King]

I keep Battery Tenders, and NOCO's on every small battery, and regular ones that sit for more than a few days at the time here. I forget how many years I've been doing that, but I've not had to replace a single battery since then. There are four full sized tractor batteries that might be 10 years old.

Our Farm Use car battery dies every few months. That car doesn't run long enough at the time to charge the battery, but we don't want to bother to plug, and unplug a charger every time we use it. Charged with a 10 amp NOCO, it's good for another several months. It's been doing that for some years now, and wasn't new for several years before that.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I think that is what the 200 amp guys were doing getting rid of sulfation or is it sulfitation you call it?


I've watched several of those videos. Just don't understand how it could work, when most alternators now put out over 100 amps.

[Lee DeRaud]

I've watched several of those videos. Just don't understand how it could work, when most alternators now put out over 100 amps.
They do, but how much of that actually shows up as charge current at the battery? It's connected in parallel with the rest of the electrical system...I've never been able to get my head wrapped around the effective "resistance" of a battery, which makes any normal Ohm's Law calculation a bit sketchy.

A related question I've never gotten a plausible answer to is, how much driving does it take to fully recharge from a typical cold start? Due to the local geography (e.g. less than a mile to Home Depot :) ), I'm kind of the poster boy for short-trip-driving, so it's actually something that might be a concern.

[Rod Sheridan]

After getting stuck at work with a dead battery (oem-4yrs old, wouldn't take a charge on the jump, alternator fine) on my previous truck, I adopted a policy of replacing the battery after 3 years, no questions asked. For the few extra dollars I fork out, it's a risk I no longer worry about.

Having spent a lifetime diagnosing large stationary battery problems and developing PM plans for batteries, I replace mine at 3 years also.

Nothing like having battery issues New Years Eve, when you’re in a suit and it’s-25😀😀

[Chuck Wintle]

Having spent a lifetime diagnosing large stationary battery problems and developing PM plans for batteries, I replace mine at 3 years also.

Nothing like having battery issues New Years Eve, when you’re in a suit and it’s-25😀😀 and i bet that is -25C!

[Jason Roehl]

and i bet that is -25C!

…which is -13°F…

[Ron Citerone]

They do, but how much of that actually shows up as charge current at the battery? It's connected in parallel with the rest of the electrical system...I've never been able to get my head wrapped around the effective "resistance" of a battery, which makes any normal Ohm's Law calculation a bit sketchy.

A related question I've never gotten a plausible answer to is, how much driving does it take to fully recharge from a typical cold start? Due to the local geography (e.g. less than a mile to Home Depot :) ), I'm kind of the poster boy for short-trip-driving, so it's actually something that might be a concern.

I think it charges pretty quickly. 4 second crank X 225 amp starter draw = 900 ampseconds.

Even with an "effective" charge rate of 20 amps it would take: 900ampseconds/20amps =45 seconds

My math brain has senior moments so I am open to corrections. :p

[Lee DeRaud]

I think it charges pretty quickly. 4 second crank X 225 amp starter draw = 900 ampseconds.

Even with an "effective" charge rate of 20 amps it would take: 900ampseconds/20amps =45 seconds

My math brain has senior moments so I am open to corrections. :p
Fair enough...guess I can cross that off my list of "things to worry about".

Especially given that four seconds is a LONG crank for any modern car. Every car I've owned this century, sub-1-second is more normal. (Note: I don't do diesel. :) )

[Ron Citerone]

Fair enough...guess I can cross that off my list of "things to worry about".

Especially given that four seconds is a LONG crank for any modern car. Every car I've owned this century, sub-1-second is more normal. (Note: I don't do diesel. :) )

Yeah, my 2007 minivan fires up instantly, but my wifes 4Runner cranks pretty long compared to most it seems.

I was on a 4Runner forum trying to find out about originl battery life last year and people had great longevity with original equiptment battery. It is made by Panasonic. I thought I would replace hers with a Panaonic but found out they don't sell them in the U.S.

[Lee DeRaud]

I was on a 4Runner forum trying to find out about originl battery life last year and people had great longevity with original equiptment battery. It is made by Panasonic. I thought I would replace hers with a Panaonic but found out they don't sell them in the U.S.Huh. Seemed like for awhile every piece of electronic equipment I bought came with Panasonic AAs for the remotes etc, and they were total rubbish.

[Ron Citerone]

Funny thing about the AA batteries. For a Middle School science project, a student in the school I taught at compared AA battery life of several name brand batteries and off brand (store brand). In his experiment, CVS batteries out lasted them all in a flashlight test. I never bought the name brand again although I realize it was a school experiment, I figured at best they were of similar longevity and not worth the $ premium for the name.

[Rod Sheridan]

Battery resistance measurement is essentially the change in output voltage during an increase in discharge current.

For large cells internal resistance will be between maybe 80 and 400 micro-ohms, depending upon battery condition and capacity.

That’s why batteries are so dangerous, very low internal resistance yields very high short circuit currents. Many cells have short circuit currents between a few thousand and 30 thousand amperes…..Rod.