PSA Walmart Everstart Batteries

[AuSeeker]

I have always had great service out of Walmart Everstart batteries for the last 15 or more years in several vehicles, never had one fail within it's warranty period, all lasted well beyond the warranty period....BUT in the last almost 3 years I have had 2 fail on me, all of their batteries up until the last 2 were made by Johnson Control whom is known for making great batteries, the first one to fail prematurely was a 5 year battery made by another company called "Clarios" (which is a subsidiary of "Brookfield Business Partners") it failed in about 13 months, I got it replaced under warranty with a battery having the same Walmart part number and also made by Clarios....but that part number now is a 3 year battery, now 12 months later it is failing, I'm going to get it replaced one more time and hopefully the next battery will come close to lasting out the warranty, if it does or doesn't I will not be buying batteries from Walmart any longer unless I see they go back to selling Johnson Control made batteries!

 

[jbtvt]

Was it the maxx or value line? Maxx isn't as cheap as it used to be either, I was looking at one yesterday but decided to join Sam's with a fee rebate coupon and got a Duracell made by East Penn for $20 less

 

[AuSeeker]

Was it the maxx or value line? Maxx isn't as cheap as it used to be either, I was looking at one yesterday but decided to join Sam's with a fee rebate coupon and got a Duracell made by East Penn for $20 less

All I ever bought was the best they had, so yes it was the Maxx.

I was there yesterday and looked at all the Everstart batteries, they all are now made by Clarios now.

Also the last 2 were right at $100+/-, now the same battery I think is $133

 

[waypoint]

EDIT: it's not the battery's fault in my case. Car either has a parasitic draw or the starter is failing. Same problem this morning at 8 degF ambient, scantool showed 11.9V at the ECM and again crank but no start and no spark. By comparison, my 4Runner showed 11.4V and started no problem.

EDIT 2: problem was the NAPA Echlin ignition coil/control module I installed on the Subaru last April while fixing a P0302 cyl 2 misfire and visible arcing at the plug tower, along with new wires. No spark again this morning at 8 degF ambient, warmed up the coil with a hair dryer and it fired right up. Replaced with the factory takeoff part and the engine fired right up.

Same here during last week's cold snap @ 6 degF ambient with the Everstart MAXX battery in my daughter's Subaru. Date sticker on the battery was 1/19, receipt showed purchase date of Feb 2019. 2 years, 11 months from purchase with a 3 year free replacement warranty.

It had enough juice to roll the starter, but no spark when I clipped my timing light onto a spark plug wire. Scantool showed 11.6V at the ECM, no error codes. I jumped it with the 4Runner and it fired right up. She drove it for over 2 hours continuously (doing GrubHub during college break), next morning at 10degF ambient same problem. Edit: yes, I checked alternator output, scantool showed 13.8VDC at idle.

No local Wal-Marts had a replacement for it in stock, and they wouldn't budge on a refund. Went to NAPA and got a Legend made by East Penn, same as the ones in our other vehicles (only a 2 year free replacement warranty). Gave the Everstart as a core. It was an East Penn made battery, no cell caps and EP on the sticker...I wonder if they're making cheaper batteries for the Everstart MAXX line. NAPA price $152, WalMart price $89.

 

[Hi-desertT4R]

I put an Everstart in my 4Runner in 2018 as its 3rd battery since 2007 and a Maxx Everstart in my 2015 Scion as it’s second battery in 2019. So far so good.

 

[importman]

I just replaced mine last week. The Duralast in it was rated at 750 cca and tested out at 634. It was still working fine but since we travel a lot between home and our mountain home I don't take chances. Replaced it with a Duracell from Sam's. It's a 27F rated at 840 cca.
Funny story. We left home headed for the mountains and after about 20 minutes the battery light came on for just a second. I was already planning to stop at Sam's on the way, to get a battery and install it later. Since the light had come on I decided to go ahead and replace the battery in the Sam's parking lot. The light came on again multiple times all the way to our 2nd home. Long story short, ended up replacing the alternator the next day. (It was not working whenever the light came on).
I just think it's so uncanny and unusual that I replaced the battery and the alternator the same weekend, and the two failures were totally unrelated.

 

[MikeinNH67]

I just put a Walmart battery in our van last week, never had an issue in the past with their batteries and I've bought quite a few of them. This concerns me a bit.

 

[AuSeeker]

I just put a Walmart battery in our van last week, never had an issue in the past with their batteries and I've bought quite a few of them. This concerns me a bit.

I hope it last for you, look on the label on top of the battery and see if it was from made by Johnson Control or Clarios.

 

[0verland]

Costco Interstate is the only way for lead acid batteries.

 

[DblZeta]

FYI Clarios is Johnson Controls. Clarios bought Johnson Controls like two years ago. You can tell a Clarios (Johnson Controls) battery by its caps. All Clarios caps are octagon shaped.

 

[AuSeeker]

FYI Clarios is Johnson Controls. Clarios bought Johnson Controls like two years ago. You can tell a Clarios (Johnson Controls) battery by its caps. All Clarios caps are octagon shaped.

Thanks for that info, but I'm sad to hear that.

But if that's a fact I would argue that Clarios is not what Johnson Control was, because apparently the quality that was Johnson Control is not there any longer with Clarios running the show, and also this will affect many other "brands" that were made by Johnson Control as well, again so sad!

 

[AuSeeker]

Sadly this topic is more disappointing than I thought when I started this topic, it appears to be fact that Johnson Controls no longer makes the Walmart batteries "Everstart", they also no longer makes any batteries, automotive or any other types!!!

FYI Clarios is Johnson Controls. Clarios bought Johnson Controls like two years ago. You can tell a Clarios (Johnson Controls) battery by its caps. All Clarios caps are octagon shaped.

Thanks again for the info on Clarios/Johnson Controls, I had to check it out for myself, you are correct in part....BUT only the "Power Solutions" business unit of Johnson Controls was sold to "Brookfield Business Partners" who then remade it into "Clarios", so the Johnson Controls company is still in existent, only they no longer have anything to do with battery manufacturing. .

See below for more info on this

Thanks for that info, but I'm sad to hear that.

But if that's a fact I would argue that Clarios is not what Johnson Control was, because apparently the quality that was Johnson Control is not there any longer with Clarios running the show, and also this will affect many other "brands" that were made by Johnson Control as well, again so sad!

Here is info on Johnson Controls selling it's "Power Solutions" portion on the company.

Johnson Controls - Wikipedia

Former Business Units
Power Solutions
This unit was sold to Brookfield Business Partners and re-made into a new company, Clarios, as of 1 May 2019.[36]

The Power Solutions business unit designs and manufactures automotive batteries for passenger cars, heavy and light duty trucks, utility vehicles, motorcycles, golf carts and boats.[26][37][38][39][40] It supplies more than one third of the world's lead-acid batteries[41] to automakers and aftermarket retailers including Wal-Mart, Sears, Toyota, and BMW.[42][43][44] Lead acid battery brands produced under this business unit include Continental, OPTIMA, Heliar, LTH, Delkor and VARTA automotive batteries.[26] This part of the company also manufactures Lithium-ion cells and complete battery systems to power hybrid and electric vehicles such as the Ford Fusion[45] and Daimler's S-Class 400.[46] Additionally, it manufactures Absorbent Glass Matt (AGM) and Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFB) batteries to power Start-Stop vehicles such as the Chevy Malibu and Ford Fusion.[26][41][47][48][49][50][51][52] As of 2012, the business unit operated from 60 locations worldwide.[26] On 13 November 2018 Johnson Controls agrees to sell its Power Solutions Division to Brookfield Business Partners.[53]

 

[theoutbackdream]

Wonder if it's just a bad batch too.

I've been running the Everstart in my 4Runner for some time now which led me to this post in the first place, but I did have a similar issue with Costco batteries on my parents cars in 2019. Both their cars needed new batteries within a week of each other, so I went to Costco, swapped their batteries, to which the new ones were dated (I think it was in June, but let's just say June)6/19. Not even a week later they were having issues again. So I checked for parasitic draw and a failing alternator. No signs. I ended up going back to Costco swap both batteries, and end up getting a 6/19 battery for one, and the other was a 7/19. The 6/19 battery failed within a few day. Swapped this one and ever since both cars haven't had problems.

 

[AuSeeker]

Wonder if it's just a bad batch too.

I've been running the Everstart in my 4Runner for some time now which led me to this post in the first place, but I did have a similar issue with Costco batteries on my parents cars in 2019. Both their cars needed new batteries within a week of each other, so I went to Costco, swapped their batteries, to which the new ones were dated (I think it was in June, but let's just say June)6/19. Not even a week later they were having issues again. So I checked for parasitic draw and a failing alternator. No signs. I ended up going back to Costco swap both batteries, and end up getting a 6/19 battery for one, and the other was a 7/19. The 6/19 battery failed within a few day. Swapped this one and ever since both cars haven't had problems.

A bad batch was what I thought on the first battery to fail but now 12 months later and having a second one fail lead me to posting this topic, it's possible the second one was a flute as well but fool me once, shame on them, fool me twice then that's another story, seems to be a quality control issue or just bad quality altogether IMHO.

 

[MikeinNH67]

Wonder if it's just a bad batch too.

I've been running the Everstart in my 4Runner for some time now which led me to this post in the first place, but I did have a similar issue with Costco batteries on my parents cars in 2019. Both their cars needed new batteries within a week of each other, so I went to Costco, swapped their batteries, to which the new ones were dated (I think it was in June, but let's just say June)6/19. Not even a week later they were having issues again. So I checked for parasitic draw and a failing alternator. No signs. I ended up going back to Costco swap both batteries, and end up getting a 6/19 battery for one, and the other was a 7/19. The 6/19 battery failed within a few day. Swapped this one and ever since both cars haven't had problems.

Ouch, nothing like a bad battery sending you down a rabbit hole.

 

[Syr4RinNC]

It was still one of the better rated batteries on Project farm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rTcBanpMk

 

[AuSeeker]

It was still one of the better rated batteries on Project farm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rTcBanpMk

Yes indeed the Everstart was rated high in that video....BUT that video was made in early December 2019....and the Everstart he tested was made by Johnson Controls not Clarios and Johnson Controls was out of the battery business for 8 months at the time that video was made, the battery he tested probably was one of the last Johnson Controls batteries Walmart sold or very close to the last one.

 

[Syr4RinNC]

Yes indeed the Everstart was rated high in that video....BUT that video was made in early December 2019....and the Everstart he tested was made by Johnson Controls not Clarios and Johnson Controls was out of the battery business for 8 months at the time that video was made, the battery he tested probably was one of the last Johnson Controls batteries Walmart sold or very close to the last one.

Yea - I was trying to figure that out - glad you did!

 

[DblZeta]

I think the battery business is going to go south for a couple of years because of the pandemic. Clarios and Stryten (formally Exide Batteries) are having a hard time getting back into production. I'm sure quality is going to take a dive. Trojan Manufacturing, can't keep up with the demand for golf cart batteries. They are hard to find in stock. If you look at CCA on a 27F from Clarios they are all 710. The only difference between brands is the stickers they put on them. Look for the newest date code to get a fresh battery. A2 is this month A=January, B=February and so on. 2=2022. L1 would be December 2021. Look for the hot stamp in one of the corners of the top cover, that's the true ship code not the round sticker they put on latter.

 

[Ralph Blake]

The best thing about buying a battery at Walmart is you can always find a Walmart.:bounce: