My '16 SR5 has 75k miles and is still on the OEM Panasonic battery. It works fine but I plan to replace it in a few months before winter comes and it fails. The car is 6.5 years old since I purchased it. When and what was the mileage when you replaced yours? Should I replace it soon?

I think a battery can be load tested to see how it's lifespan is holding up. I know winter will be the hardest on it and you don't want to get stuck, but I would test it before replacing it with no symptoms of imminent failure. They always seem to give a couple death rattle slow crank episodes before totally crapping out. I would invest in a set of good jumper cables (not crappy light gauge cheapos). They are always good to have on hand, if anything, to help someone else that needs a jump.

This is part of what i was going to post. If you feel like you might have battery issues, I'd get it tested, and also, i'd put a multimeter on your alternator and make sure it's putting out the factory charging numbers (usually around 13-14 volts)

All that aside, i've had batteries last as long as 5-6 years on some vehicles and some cheaper units last less than 3 years. Vehicles on a trickle charger or battery tender can last indefinitely if they're cycled properly.

Jumper cables are great to have for sure. Better yet OP, may be worth investing in something better like one of these Amazon.com: NOCO Boost HD GB70 2000 Amp 12-Volt UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter Box, Car Battery Booster Pack, Portable Power Bank Charger, and Jumper Cables for up to 8-Liter Gasoline and 6-Liter Diesel Engines : Automotive . I keep one fully charged in my 4R. Had to use it for the first time the other night with my 240z, and holy crap I thought the damn engine was going to fly out of the car with how fast it spun and how long off this thing.

Wow, Li Ion battery tech is crazy now!

Yeah it's crazy. I also have this big ass jumper box thing that must weigh 30 lbs I used to use. That little noco thing is like..2lbs? maybe? It's a great investment! People always get a kick out of it.

Your friends are probably like "WTF is that thing??"
We have one of those jump boxes as well, but too big and heavy to keep in the vehicle. The little Li Ion do hickey is perfect size. Guess the main thing is remembering to keep it charged.

NOCO jumpers are great. I have a GB40 in my 4R and got it on Amazon during black Friday for I think $65. Well worth the security. Still haven't used it on the 4R yet, but have multiple times on my lawn mower and once on my ATV. I also have an EFI Generac generator that HAS to have the battery full. If I forget to trickle charge it and the power goes out I have backup power to jump it with it. It can charge your phone and everything too if necessary. It's a great thing to have and comes with a car charger too in case you need to charge it back up off grid or something.

I bought a smaller one about palm size and it works well, but can only be used twice when fully charged. Don’t like the usb charger though. Wonder why don’t they include a standard charging cable?

https://www.autozone.com/test-scan-a...ter/567690_0_0

I would highly recommend getting rid of jumper cables if you own or use them. Why? And reputable mechanic will tell you that jump stating another vehicle with jumper cables is a recipe for disaster. Hooking the cables up backwards or attempting to jump a vehicle with serious electrical problems can fry the ECM in your vehicle. (Remember, "No good deed goes unpunished.")

And for those of you that think only idiots can hook jumper cables up backwards, try jump starting another truck after 24 hours in the seat snow plowing. Yes, anyone can hook them up backwards. At least with most jump boxes, they won't function if they're hooked up backwards.

I have to respectfully disagree that getting rid of perfectly functional jumper cables is a good idea. Years back when I was running a very popular valet team at an airport, I can't tell you the amount of times jumper cables saved us - as I'm sure they do hundreds of thousands each year. The benefit of them highly outweighs the possible issues you may have using them. If someone can't match 2 colors up then maybe they shouldn't be jumping a car to begin with.

I'm in my mid-60's and have (probably) been working on cars and boats since well before you were born. Yes, I can tell the difference between black and white. And yes, I've jumped hundreds of cars, trucks, boats and other vehicles. I only hooked cables up backwards once - after 24 hours in the seat during a big snowstorm. Does that make me an idiot? Nope, just damned tired. If I'd used my jump box (which wasn't in my plow truck), nothing would have happened.

Getting back to my original reason to no longer use jumper cables, a good friend of mine who works on cars for a living fried his ECM a number of years ago jumping a dead car with a serious electrical issue. Even hooked up correctly, the jumper cables helped kill his ECM. That's why we both use GB70 jump boxes these days. They're a lot cheaper than his ECM was.

Replaced the original Panasonic battery in my 17 last year.
This is in AZ which is brutal on batteries (and most everything else)

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I replaced the OEM Panasonic in my 2004 (bought in 9/2003) with a Toyota (Interstate) in 11/2015. I still have the Panasonic and it charges up and holds at 12.5 volts. The parts guy said "no, we can't get the Panasonics....wish we could. They are a great battery". I use the Panasonic to jump neighbors' batteries in winter. I keep it on a monitoring battery charger. (BTW, even though the battery is sealed, you can unscrew the little caps to add distilled water if needed.)

The Panasonic was working just fine at the time I replaced it. It was coming into winter and I was pulling a travel trailer down to Florida then over to Texas. We were to be 3 months on the road and I didn't want to have any starting worries. I'm still using the battery I bought in 2015.

2016 with 80K miles here, original battery still going strong without any signs of impending failure, don't plan on replacing until it starts showing its age. Of course, now that I said all that it'll probably crap out on me next week ...

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