I'm pretty sure I've read an article somewhere over the years about the average life expectancy of a car battery. I think it said that the typical battery under normal circumstances will last between 4-6 years. Does that still hold true today? I just had to replace the battery in my 2016 Dodge Charger R/T on Christmas eve because it died as I was leaving work. My car was an early build for 2016 and shows an in-service date of very early September 2015. I was surprised when I removed the battery and saw that it was the original factory unit. That means it was almost 9.5 years old! Is that normal now or was I extremely lucky all these years? I'm sure it lived a longer life because it's located in the trunk next to the spare tire. It's protected from the elements that tend to corrode and destroy components, especially up here in New England. Anyone else have this kind of experience with a battery? What about with your classic Oldsmobile?

 

I'm going to say 3 years is the new average for lead acid. I've had an AGM in my 442 for probably 10 or more, but i unhook it during winter storage and charge it before 1st fire up in the spring. Which reminds me......

 

The 2 Walmart Everstart lead acid batteries that were in my car lasted 9-10 years each. On average, lead acid batteries lasted 7-10 years in all my years of driving.

 

I think for lead-acid batteries it depends largely on how they're used. I've had much better life out of batteries that were in frequent service than ones that regularly sat for extended periods.

In our two vehicles that are stored over winter, I use AGM batteries disconnected and maintained by a smart charger.

 

Some battery wisdom accumulated over the years...

Battery life is dependent on the average temperature it sees. High temperatures speed degradation.

When I lived in MN, I would get 10 years on a battery. In South Texas, the battery in my DD (under hood) lasts about 3 years and the battery in my Challenger lasts 5 years (in the trunk).

The life of wet batteries is considerably reduced when they are stored partially-charged or when they are repeatedly discharged below 50%. Pure lead AGMs are not so sensitive to those factors, but constant heat reduces their life as well.

One of the benefits of any AGM is that it gives warning before it dies. It will not leave you stranded. To me, it's worth the cost premium because you escape towing charges and inconvenience that a wet battery gives you when it goes bust.

 

I haven’t experienced this yet. What does it do?

 

The only warning sign I got was the car almost didn't start on both Monday and Tuesday mornings. I didn't notice anything unusual up to that point. I just chalked it up to the fact that both mornings were about zero degrees, the coldest we've had this season so far. I got to work on Tuesday and needed a jump start in the afternoon to get home.

 

When an AGMs begins cranking slowly (assuming it's charged), you have about a week to replace it--maybe 10 more starts. The starts get slower, so you get more urgent reminders if you delay.

Wet batteries have such a sudden death because active material falls off the plates and builds up in the bottom of the battery case. When the material reaches the plates, it shorts them and kills the battery.

The active material in an AGM is bound behind a mat, so nothing falls off to cause a sudden short.

Gary

 

^^^ Thanks!

 

I got 16.5 years in my Alero factory Delco. But that only had 13k miles on it. I got 19.7 years out of A.Z. Gold battery in the 70 Supreme . All were SLA's I went with the Delco for the Alero and trying Interstate professional in the Cutlass. Both have 4.5 years on them so far so good

Pat