I have just replaced the battery in my Mothers Toyota Starlet. Interesting to note the battery was purchased and installed in 2006, ie 14 years old.
It was still starting the car but was getting slower to start. I took it out, put the meter on and it read 12.6V. Put the charger on for 24 hrs and after settling time(12hrs) it read 12.8V. For all intents a fully charged battery.
So thinking about the long life and why, the pattern of use is pretty regular over the years, (creature of habit), the car being started on average 4 times a week and mainly used on short (10 minute max) trips. A longer trip of around 30 minutes on occasions.
My guess is this useage (charging regime) is exactly what the battery required to keep it in good condition, plus of course a quality battery to begin with, made in Aus.
Has anyone else had as long or longer life from a car start battery?
I have a nine year old Kia Cerato SLi - it still has the original Korean OEM battery. I only have a few minor non-starts if the car has been left for more than 2-3 weeks without starting - then I use a Smart Jump Start, to kick it over, then it all works normally again. Can't think of the name of the Korean battery.
Warren-Pat_01 said
11:49 PM Mar 6, 2020
Vibration, heat, abuse are three things that kill batteries.
The best I did were the batteries in my first Patrol (MQ & 24v). They lasted six years.
Peter_n_Margaret said
10:57 AM Mar 7, 2020
Batteries for black top driving are like tyres.
They wear out when being used and they deteriorate with age.
It depends which gets there first.
Off road vibrations from corrugations will kill wet cell batteries. I have killed them in 2 years.
I use AGMs for cranking and have had them last 9 years.
Cheers,
Peter
Whenarewethere said
12:56 PM Mar 7, 2020
Couldn't tell you how long mine last as I replace it at 4 years. Too much effort wasted with the inconvenience of a stuffed battery.
Jaahn said
08:29 AM Mar 8, 2020
Hi
It has been my experience over many years that battery life is very variable. Some batteries seem to go on and on with normal use and others can just quit one day for no apparent reason. In between are the average ones. So treat your batteries well, do not let them get down too far, use a battery minder to keep them charged if you do not drive much, and hope you got the long life one.
I find that having a solar panel with a good regulator keeps the batteries fully charged whether using the MH or not. I replaced the vehicle battery recently as it was more than 6 years old and was in there when I bought it. Still starting OK but we were going away and I cannot be bothered worrying about whether it will start when we are away.
On my car which was used regularly most days the battery just had a cell fail one day. Still started but obviously not instantly as before. My learner driver even noticed the change. Why did it fail at 4 years, who knows. But it does have variable voltage control so is not kept as fully charged as in previous times. Hmmm is this progress ?
Jaahn
Whenarewethere said
10:13 AM Mar 8, 2020
My neighbour's Honda's battery lost one cell at 3 years. I was shocked at how small the battery was. Reducing weight maybe!
bgt said
10:57 AM Mar 8, 2020
It's not all about charge/volts. Keep in mind CCA. Our RAM was in top condition when the battery simply wouldn't turn the motor. Had plenty of volts on the meter but not enough to turn half a ton of engine over.
Peter_n_Margaret said
12:10 PM Mar 8, 2020
bgt wrote:
It's not all about charge/volts. Keep in mind CCA. Our RAM was in top condition when the battery simply wouldn't turn the motor. Had plenty of volts on the meter but not enough to turn half a ton of engine over.
It may have seemed to be in top condition, but it clearly was not.
A CCA test is also useless for checking the capacity of a deep cycle battery.
Cheers,
Peter
Bicyclecamper said
01:53 PM Mar 8, 2020
15 years for my 2001 Vitara, and then sold vehicle, did not replace it before I sold it. It too was a smaller battery.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Sunday 8th of March 2020 01:53:35 PM
The Travelling Dillberries said
07:12 PM Mar 8, 2020
Bicyclecamper wrote:
15 years for my 2001 Vitara, and then sold vehicle, did not replace it before I sold it. It too was a smaller battery.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Sunday 8th of March 2020 01:53:35 PM
Do you know what make it was? Was the car used regularly?
Aus-Kiwi said
10:11 AM Mar 9, 2020
About 8 to 10 years here . Too scared to say as it often brings on bad luck ! Seems every time I praise anything . Bang !! Years ago a neighbour asked how good was my hay bailer . I said great hardly cost be a cent . Next minute bang !! When its funny but not !!
markf said
10:17 AM Mar 9, 2020
My wife's 1997 Subaru had it's last battery replacement in 2000. It's starting to get a bit slow in the cranking department now though. We've never really thought about it until this thread. It's probably getting on towards time for a new one though.
The Travelling Dillberries said
03:07 PM Mar 9, 2020
markf wrote:
My wife's 1997 Subaru had it's last battery replacement in 2000. It's starting to get a bit slow in the cranking department now though. We've never really thought about it until this thread. It's probably getting on towards time for a new one though.
That's a great battery life Mark, can you let us know what brand it is?
Aus-Kiwi said
05:26 PM Mar 9, 2020
Mine is like that too !!
markf said
11:31 AM Mar 10, 2020
The Travelling Dillberries wrote:
markf wrote:
My wife's 1997 Subaru had it's last battery replacement in 2000. It's starting to get a bit slow in the cranking department now though. We've never really thought about it until this thread. It's probably getting on towards time for a new one though.
That's a great battery life Mark, can you let us know what brand it is?
It's just a common or garden Century. All it's life I've only ever topped it up with just plain tap water. It's been run dead flat a number of times too. In short it hasn't been treated properly but it's lasted...
Our camper batteries are still going as new and they're Full River and the tug batteries (crank and aux) are both Century.
Stretch60 said
08:02 PM Mar 10, 2020
Always found century batteries do outlast others. For heavy outback use consider a marine cranking battery, built tougher.
I have just replaced the battery in my Mothers Toyota Starlet. Interesting to note the battery was purchased and installed in 2006, ie 14 years old.
It was still starting the car but was getting slower to start. I took it out, put the meter on and it read 12.6V. Put the charger on for 24 hrs and after settling time(12hrs) it read 12.8V. For all intents a fully charged battery.
So thinking about the long life and why, the pattern of use is pretty regular over the years, (creature of habit), the car being started on average 4 times a week and mainly used on short (10 minute max) trips. A longer trip of around 30 minutes on occasions.
My guess is this useage (charging regime) is exactly what the battery required to keep it in good condition, plus of course a quality battery to begin with, made in Aus.
Has anyone else had as long or longer life from a car start battery?
The best I did were the batteries in my first Patrol (MQ & 24v). They lasted six years.
They wear out when being used and they deteriorate with age.
It depends which gets there first.
Off road vibrations from corrugations will kill wet cell batteries. I have killed them in 2 years.
I use AGMs for cranking and have had them last 9 years.
Cheers,
Peter
Couldn't tell you how long mine last as I replace it at 4 years. Too much effort wasted with the inconvenience of a stuffed battery.
Hi
It has been my experience over many years that battery life is very variable. Some batteries seem to go on and on with normal use and others can just quit one day for no apparent reason. In between are the average ones. So treat your batteries well, do not let them get down too far, use a battery minder to keep them charged if you do not drive much, and hope you got the long life one.
I find that having a solar panel with a good regulator keeps the batteries fully charged whether using the MH or not. I replaced the vehicle battery recently as it was more than 6 years old and was in there when I bought it. Still starting OK but we were going away and I cannot be bothered worrying about whether it will start when we are away.
On my car which was used regularly most days the battery just had a cell fail one day. Still started but obviously not instantly as before. My learner driver even noticed the change. Why did it fail at 4 years, who knows. But it does have variable voltage control so is not kept as fully charged as in previous times. Hmmm is this progress ?
Jaahn
My neighbour's Honda's battery lost one cell at 3 years. I was shocked at how small the battery was. Reducing weight maybe!
It may have seemed to be in top condition, but it clearly was not.
A CCA test is also useless for checking the capacity of a deep cycle battery.
Cheers,
Peter
15 years for my 2001 Vitara, and then sold vehicle, did not replace it before I sold it. It too was a smaller battery.
-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Sunday 8th of March 2020 01:53:35 PM
Do you know what make it was? Was the car used regularly?
My wife's 1997 Subaru had it's last battery replacement in 2000. It's starting to get a bit slow in the cranking department now though. We've never really thought about it until this thread. It's probably getting on towards time for a new one though.
That's a great battery life Mark, can you let us know what brand it is?
It's just a common or garden Century. All it's life I've only ever topped it up with just plain tap water. It's been run dead flat a number of times too. In short it hasn't been treated properly but it's lasted...
Our camper batteries are still going as new and they're Full River and the tug batteries (crank and aux) are both Century.