Battery bad after 3 years...

[Sputnik]

My battery is already reading bad in my 2011 toyota 4runner only after 3 years.
IMO that's premature for a original Panasonic battery. What do you guys think?
I'm having second thoughts on getting a oem Panasonic battery.
PepBoys carries Bosch for $125 with 3yr warrantee and 8 year pro-rated.... Might go that route, but more importantly, how many of you 5th gen owners had to change out the oem battery already?

 

[limamike]

Depends on what you have hooked-up to the battery, how you maintain it, etc. I keep my batteries maintained pretty well, but frankly I'm surprised my OEM battery hasn't crapped out on me yet, and I drive a 2010. From my perspective, I don't think 3 years is too bad.

 

[Sputnik]

Depends on what you have hooked-up to the battery, how you maintain it, etc. I keep my batteries maintained pretty well, but frankly I'm surprised my OEM battery hasn't crapped out on me yet, and I drive a 2010. From my perspective, I don't think 3 years is too bad.

Not sure what you mean by maintaining a car battery. All I do is make sure the terminals are clean on it. What else is there anyway?

Have about 56k on the car, to me it sounds premature, I always experienced oem Panasonic batteries to last for about 7 years.

I don't run any aftermarket electronics except remote starter that was professionally installed...

 

[Logan714]

Depends on what you have hooked-up to the battery, how you maintain it, etc. I keep my batteries maintained pretty well, but frankly I'm surprised my OEM battery hasn't crapped out on me yet, and I drive a 2010. From my perspective, I don't think 3 years is too bad.

By Arizona standards 3 years is great battery life.

 

[limamike]

It does sound a bit premature if you aren't running much aftermarket stuff, you drive the truck regularly, and don't have a tendency to listen to the radio with the engine off for extend periods of time. Though, seven years seems unrealistic to me. But, the remote start, no matter how it was installed, will likely decrease the life of your battery if you're simply relying on your alternator to maintain the charge. I don't know anything about your remote start other than it likely draws some current to receive your remote start signal above and beyond your standard OEM remote lock/unlock. Will it cut years off the life of your battery? Probably not, but I've also seen [MENTION=51030]joneseyyy[/MENTION] have engine misfires because of a "professionally installed" remote starter.

 

[Sputnik]

It does sound a bit premature if you aren't running much aftermarket stuff, you drive the truck regularly, and don't have a tendency to listen to the radio with the engine off for extend periods of time. Though, seven years seems unrealistic to me. But, the remote start, no matter how it was installed, will likely decrease the life of your battery if you're simply relying on your alternator to maintain the charge. I don't know anything about your remote start other than it likely draws some current to receive your remote start signal above and beyond your standard OEM remote lock/unlock. Will it cut years off the life of your battery? Probably not, but I've also seen [MENTION=51030]joneseyyy[/MENTION] have engine misfires because of a "professionally installed" remote starter.

Never had an issue with the remote start, but I can see how it would decrease the life of the battery by a little.
My wife likes to listen to the radio in the car while it's off while waiting for someone going into a store, etc, for 10-20minutes at a time. That's how we actually found out we had a bad battery. It's our daily driver as we only have 1 car in our family.
Time to do research on a good car battery..

 

[4RBob]

2003 4R V8 w/ remote start since new, over 200k miles, just replaced the original Panasonic battery two weeks ago. battery tested bad 4 or 5 years ago...

 

[The Waco Kid]

Never had an issue with the remote start, but I can see how it would decrease the life of the battery by a little.
My wife likes to listen to the radio in the car while it's off while waiting for someone going into a store, etc, for 10-20minutes at a time. That's how we actually found out we had a bad battery. It's our daily driver as we only have 1 car in our family.
Time to do research on a good car battery..

We just had a really good battery discussion last week. Should be an easy search. ( Synopsis for you....Diehard, Kirkland, Odyssey, Interstate. Can't go wrong with any. Go with the most readily available in your area, with the best warranty)

 

[harper7]

My battery is already reading bad in my 2011 toyota 4runner only after 3 years.
IMO that's premature for a original Panasonic battery. What do you guys think?
I'm having second thoughts on getting a oem Panasonic battery.
PepBoys carries Bosch for $125 with 3yr warrantee and 8 year pro-rated.... Might go that route, but more importantly, how many of you 5th gen owners had to change out the oem battery already?

You never know when a battery can go bad. Some last a couple of years and some last a decade oo more.That's why I like having two of them so I can jump myself with the touch of a button.
Here's some semi scientific reasons why they can go bad....... What Causes Car Batteries to Fail? ? Battery University

 

[limamike]

You never know when a battery can go bad. Some last a couple of years and some last a decade oo more.That's why I like having two of them so I can jump myself with the touch of a button.
Here's some semi scientific reasons why they can go bad....... What Causes Car Batteries to Fail? ? Battery University

That's an awesome article! First line sums it up nicely: "Driving habits rather than battery defect are often the cause of battery failure."

 

[DannyLlama]

Mine was reading bad around June of 2013, so 3 years here as well. Was bummed, but it's simple maintenance in the grand scheme of things.

 

[ejason]

I have a 2010 and just had to replace my battery. It happens.

 

[Stifler]

lucky to get 2 years out of a battery here in the Florida heat

 

[Muddy Duck]

My battery in my 2010 SR5 crapped out last year and the only extras I have running are navigation and radar. My wife and I were on our way out of town when it couldn't turn over the starter. So, I didn't have time to investigate. I jumped it and went straight to my mechanic for a new one. He said Toyota saves money on the stock tires and stock batteries. They put in just enough to get them out the door and down the road. Then it's up to us, the owners, to put in a decent battery.

 

[4RBob]

A LOT of people in the 4th Gen world got a lot of years out of their OEM Panasonic battery. So, I think it, at least, used to be a really good battery. Reading this thread, starting to think the new Panasonic batteries are not what they used to be.

 

[2007toyota4runners]

My stock Panasonic battery was at 6 years when I got rid of the truck and showed no signs of going out. And my other car has been on the oem battery for 8 years and recently tested fine so I think it all depends on what's connected to it and luck. Just my .2 cents

 

[HwyChile]

I never get more than about 3 years out of a battery and they sometimes go out between 2-3 years. This is true regardless of how much I spend on a battery (the best 5 year warranty battery still goes out in 3 years). I have replaced a lot of batteries over the years on a lot of cars, and all of my cars are newer cars--not old cars with weak starters, shorts, slow starting motors, etc.

The battery article posted above does not explain why they are going out for me because none of the things its lists apply to me. I live in Texas and rarely use windshield wipers, heater, etc. and I drive enough where the battery should stay fully charged. I think that article is worthless and incorrect for most people.

The Panasonic battery that came in some cars must have been a great battery. Where can I buy one? By the way, none of my factory Toyota batteries in my new Toyota vehicles have ever lasted longer than 3 years (2004 Corolla and 2004 Camry). If they were Panasonic then you folks must have gotten some really great ones or live somewhere that is kind to batteries.

 

[eddiebx]

I never get more than about 3 years out of a battery and they sometimes go out between 2-3 years. This is true regardless of how much I spend on a battery (the best 5 year warranty battery still goes out in 3 years). I have replaced a lot of batteries over the years on a lot of cars, and all of my cars are newer cars--not old cars with weak starters, shorts, slow starting motors, etc.

The battery article posted above does not explain why they are going out for me because none of the things its lists apply to me. I live in Texas and rarely use windshield wipers, heater, etc. and I drive enough where the battery should stay fully charged. I think that article is worthless and incorrect for most people.

The Panasonic battery that came in some cars must have been a great battery. Where can I buy one? By the way, none of my factory Toyota batteries in my new Toyota vehicles have ever lasted longer than 3 years (2004 Corolla and 2004 Camry). If they were Panasonic then you folks must have gotten some really great ones or live somewhere that is kind to batteries.

I don't think the article is thaaat worthless, I mean everything said is pretty much true, lol. Your problem with batteries might just be your climate.

I see you are from TX...one thing that kills batteries in a hurry is heat, and I would imagine you've got plenty of that down there

 

[Sputnik]

Went down to the stealership and asked if it's pro rated or covered by warranty. The warrantee for the car battery falls under the 3yrs 36,000mi, mine failed at 3yrs and 2 months, imagine that lol.

While I was there, I was amazed at the cheaper prices of there batteries compared to anywhere else. They carry "true start" batteries at $89 installed. Tempted to go this route, al though I do have a costco nearby, and there batteries are supposed to be the best, no sure how much they run for

 

[homeyclaus]

Went down to the stealership and asked if it's pro rated or covered by warranty. The warrantee for the car battery falls under the 3yrs 36,000mi, mine failed at 3yrs and 2 months, imagine that lol.

While I was there, I was amazed at the cheaper prices of there batteries compared to anywhere else. They carry "true start" batteries at $89 installed. Tempted to go this route, al though I do have a costco nearby, and there batteries are supposed to be the best, no sure how much they run for

Most of that stuff is made by Johnson Controls. They make just about all grades, from the cheapest stuff all the way to Optimas. Their respective quality is not only dependent on the grade of product but the plant it comes from. So basically, it's a crapshoot at the best of times.