Quote:
Originally Posted by JDG2000
I just replaced my battery for the second time in four years. It's an everstart from walmart. Replaced it in 2020 and it just went bad last week so i replaced it again. Seems strange that two batteries would go bad even before their warranty is up.
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Over the decades, I’ve had batteries last over a decade, and I’ve had them last weeks. The shortest lived batteries were OEM in new cars. The longest lived battery was an OEM in a new car. In general, I get between five and ten years between batteries.
I spent my last working decade before retirement in automotive parts stores and handled a lot of warranty replacements. In my last years warranty periods changed and became shorter. Battery life seemed to change for the worse as well. My thinking is that is due to two factors - quality going down on the part of manufactures to boost profit margins; more and more high drain electronics on all vehicles.
My practice has always been to replace my batteries with OEM size and capacity. When I retired, I’ve been given employee discounts, so still purchase from the store I retired at. My last battery purchase was for my ‘12 Subaru Outback. One and a half years later, that battery prematurely died and was replaced under warranty. The replacement has been in the car for three years. My ‘18 T4R still has it’s OEM battery.
I have lived all my life in rural areas, so all my driving is extended and not start and stop as would be the case for city dwellers. But temperature swings are the norm - 100º+ in summer, subzero in winter (as low as -29º where I currently live, record low -39º).
I carry a jumper box in each vehicle. I’ve used them more often on others, but have used them on my own when batteries failed. They’re also handy for other stuff, like charging electronics when camping, inflating tires.