Longevity of car batteries? Also an example of extreme NiCad longevity...

[HighlanderNorth]

I cant remember how many car batteries I have replaced, but the truth is, its actually been quite a long while since I have had to buy one. I'm talking since at least as far back as the mid 90's. Thats mainly because I didnt own cars for more than 2 years. I bought my current vehicle, my 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 new in '05. Once 2010 rolled around, I started waiting for its battery to go bad that winter, because that would be 5 years, which generally seems to be the longest they tend to last. Its not a special dry cell battery to my knowledge, as it looks just like a standard battery, without even a label.

Well, the winter or 2010-2011 came and went, then I was sure it would be the winter of 2011-2012 that it would go bad. At this point I was surprised at how long it had lasted. That winter came and went, and I was absolutely positive it would go bad during the 2012-2013 winter. Nope.... So, this winter has been extraordinarily cold and we've had near record snowfall. Once again, I was awaiting its failure. But once again it didnt happen.

So today, while at the dealership, I asked how long that factory battery should last, and they said 5 years. Well, its been 9 years now! So, I have decided to go ahead and replace it next week just to be safe. I Have not needed a jump start or anything since I bought it new. Does that seem normal for a battery to last that long?

BTW: I also started a thread over a year ago about the NiCad batteries for my old 18v Ridgid drill/driver and circular saw kit. I bought it in late 2003, and just had one of the 2 batteries finally go bad last year in 2013. The charger wouldnt charge it anymore, but still charged the other one. Over all that time, they still kept about 80% of their original charge potential, but had poor self discharge. They worked fine though! If I needed the tool and hadnt used it for a few weeks, all I had to do was charge the batteries for 20-25 minutes and I could drive many, many long wood screws with one battery before it died. Then last year, the one battery wouldnt charge anymore, and I remembered a deal that was offered when I bought that kit in 2003, where Ridgid guaranteed the entire tool kit for life, including the batteries! So I called Ridgid and asked about it, and they told me to go and drop off the 2 batteries at a Home depot repair shop, and they would have Ridgid mail me 2 brand new batteries for the drill/saw kit. Sure enough, less than a week later I had 2 brand new 18v batteries, which cost around $79 apiece sent to my house for free! IN other words, I got nearly 10 years out of the Ridgid NiCad batteries, and when they went bad I got new ones for free! I think Ridgid is offerring those lifetime warranties again now maybe....

 

[hiuintahs]

It's not a bad idea to replace a vehicle battery after 9 years unless trying to go for a record. After 5 years you never know where you are at with it and its a bummer to get stranded.

The longest I had a battery last was my 1999 Ford F150 bought new in Nov 1998. I replaced that battery in May 2011............12 and half years. That truck started so easy that you hardly had to sit on the starter and that may have been one of the reasons why.

I have had batteries only last 2 or 3 years. Typically if it will last 5 years I feel I got my money's worth. Years ago (70's & 80's) it seemed that you could tell a battery was getting tired when it was sluggish to start on a cold morning. But I have had batteries simply short one of the cells and they'd be fine once day and totally worthless the next day without any warning that it was on its way out.

 

[jtr1962]

Regarding extreme NiCad longevity, a few weeks ago I played with some old NiCad batteries I had laying around. One consisted of 6 button cells in series, the other 5 oval Varta cells. Both had a nominal capacity of 100 mAh. After cycling them about ten times the former reached a measured capacity of 127 mAh, while the latter achieved 106 mAh. I'm not sure how old the 5-cell battery is, but I know I've had it at least 20 years. The 6-cell battery had the date of manufacture stamped right on the case-8616 (the 16th week of 1986). Not bad at all for something a few months shy of its 28th birthday!

As for lead acid batteries, I've had them fail regularly in UPSes after maybe 2 or 3 years. In fact, I've given up on using UPSes for that reason-I just can't afford to replace batteries that often. Maybe I'll try a LiFePO4 replacement battery one of these days.

 

[Etsu]

As with most batteries, how long they last really depends on the quality of the lead-acid battery and how you've treated it. A quality replacement car battery should last many years, certainly more than 5. I think the battery in my car is about 10 years old now, and while it is starting to get weak, it's still working even on cold winter mornings (as cold as -30C). But yeah, on the really cold mornings, I wouldn't want to trust it.

Cars are pretty tough on batteries, and they're designed for brief current not for total energy. A deep-cycle marine lead-acid battery should last a good deal longer than a car battery.

 

[mattheww50]

One of the things that has probably impacted battery life in vehicles substantially is the shift to electronically controlled charge regulators and BIG alternators. These are generally temperature compensated, and do quite well at keeping batteries fully charged, even when the vehicle is used for relatively short journeys. The typical electrical system 40 years (in the era of big V8's) was only about 40 amps. Today you will be hard pressed to find an alternator smaller than 85 amps, and most are 100 amps or more. The limited output made it much more difficult to keep the battery fully charged, and with the earlier mechanical regulator, charging voltage was not temperature compensated. It also helps that todays fuel injected engines are a lot smaller, and a lot easier to start, so the demands on today's battery to start the engine are substantially lower. I.E. a 2 liter fuel injected 4 cylinder engine needs a lot fewer amps to crank than a 5.7 liter V8.

 

[louie]

For another data point, my 94 Acura batteries have been lasting about 9-10 years before getting sluggish in cold weather. I have a sloped driveway, and when it fails to start, I roll down the driveway and pop the clutch, then head to Sears. The OEM was Panasonic, the replacements Sears. This is in the temperate PNW USA, and I drive low mileage.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

For another data point, my 94 Acura batteries have been lasting about 9-10 years before getting sluggish in cold weather. I have a sloped driveway, and when it fails to start, I roll down the driveway and pop the clutch, then head to Sears. The OEM was Panasonic, the replacements Sears. This is in the temperate PNW USA, and I drive low mileage.

That brings back memories! I remember needing to bump start either my car or friends' cars when either the battery or alternator went bad, or they just kept the radio running for too long with the ignition off! But only generally worked with manual transmissions.

I didnt know Panasonic makes lead/acid car batteries.

Apparently, according to posters here, having a battery last longer than 5 years isnt that big a deal these days. maybe it doesnt happen often, but I guess it does happen to other people too. The guys at the Dodge dealership acted as if they had never heard of a battery lasting that long, and I'm talking about guys at the repair counter no less! Maybe its pretty rare even now. They asked me if I was absolutely sure the battery hadnt been changed at some point. I told them no...

 

[StorminMatt]

For another data point, my 94 Acura batteries have been lasting about 9-10 years before getting sluggish in cold weather. I have a sloped driveway, and when it fails to start, I roll down the driveway and pop the clutch, then head to Sears.

This brings up yet another reason to stay on top of battery health. With a manual transmission, you have an alternate means of starting a car if the battery can't crank the motor. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer cars are being offered with manual transmissions. And with an automatic, you're dead in the water unless you can get a jump. So if you drive an automatic (and pretty much everybody does these days), that's just one more reason to replace a battery before it actually dies.

 

[Etsu]

I have a sloped driveway, and when it fails to start, I roll down the driveway and pop the clutch, then head to Sears.

You must have a very steep driveway. I've jump-started my car this way a couple of times, and I need to get to a fairly good speed before it works. Otherwise, all it does is suddenly stop.

 

[louie]

You must have a very steep driveway. I've jump-started my car this way a couple of times, and I need to get to a fairly good speed before it works. Otherwise, all it does is suddenly stop.

Pretty steep, but short. I have to be careful, and at the first sign of a dying battery, I start parking head-out. I've got one chance to pop-start, then I'm dead in the street.

 

[StorminMatt]

You must have a very steep driveway. I've jump-started my car this way a couple of times, and I need to get to a fairly good speed before it works. Otherwise, all it does is suddenly stop.

You want to bump start in second or maybe even third gear. If you do it in first, it will very often just abruptly stop. Also, you want to prime the EFI system a time or two before bump starting.

 

[Viking]

My car battery is 10 years old ( little 1.1 l engine , easy to start for the battery ).
I check the voltage drop when the motor is started once a year , to minimise unwanted surprises cold winter mornings.

 

[zespectre]

My car batteries tend to last longer in usually-mild-but-not-right-now-thanks-polar-vortex Virginia than they ever did during the harsher winters of far upstate NY. My relatives in northern North Dakota are happy if they get three years out of a car battery whereas my uncle in Florida used to brag about his cars rusting out from the salt air before he needed a new battery.

 

[SemiMan]

You need more battery capacity to start a car in the cold due to battery capacity loss at temp and higher engine resistance but in terms of life cold climates are better on lead acid batteries. Lead acid batteries do not like to be hot ... Other than sulfation and undercharge or overcharge and drying out, heat is a surefire killer with rapid end if life acceleration past 35 Celsius.

Batteries are better made today but a vehicle is not that harsh other than temp and vibration. The battery is essentially in float condition almost its whole life and 10 years float with a good battery is reasonable.

 

[Yamabushi]

Where I live, the normal annual temperature range is -35°C (-31°F) to 35°C (95°F); record low and high temperatures in my lifetime have been -45°C (-49°F) and 40°C (104°F).

Only once in the last 40 years have I had to replace a car battery that was less than 5 years old.

 

[HighlanderNorth]

You want to bump start in second or maybe even third gear. If you do it in first, it will very often just abruptly stop. Also, you want to prime the EFI system a time or two before bump starting.

I used to always recommend bump starting 4 speeds in 3rd gear(cars made from the 1960's to 1980's). Its probably the same for 5 speeds, but once you get into the newer manual transmissions with 6+ gears, maybe 4th gear is the key.

 

[SaraAB87]

I am in NY and our car batteries last 5-7 years. We are only supposed to be getting 4-5 years but we seem to get more than that. We also don't charge electronics from our cars so that possibly extends the life. We buy exide brand from a local place.

 

[Kestrel]

Checking the date sticker on my car battery, March 2004 - so ten years this month.
Probably going to try to get through the summer, than replace it before the winter.

 

[marinemaster]

My personal experience is that car batteries die in Summer time more so than Winter. I have seen it happen at least 4 or 5 times. As far as longevity goes I have experienced 4 to 6 years max.

 

[mdixon]

meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum I have to replace mine every ~2 yrs. I live in new england, have a 6 cyl grand cherokee and doesn't matter if it's a diehard, autozone, wallyworld or w/e. I work at home so don't need to drive but every 3 - 6 days and figure all the sitting is why I don't get more out of them (right?). I could go out driving every couple days for 1/2 hr or so to extend their life but factoring in the cost of gas it's prolly cheaper to just keep replacing them every other fall before winter hits.