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Honestly, I get 11-15 years from batteries in all my cars. Maybe bought 2 batteries my entire life. I don't know what the hell is wrong with all you people!
Just got another 12 years out of a plain old flooded lead acid battery in my F150. And the only reason it died is because my wife left something plugged into a 12V outlet. A battery that old that sits 2 weeks stone dead just isn't worth trying to resuscitate so I replaced it with another affordable and fabulous flooded lead acid battery.
LAFireboyd, Johnson Controls sold their entire battery division several years ago to private equity and it is now known as Clarios. While some retailers use single-source suppliers for batteries, not all do and some change sourcing periodically. I'm not sure who manufactured the battery in your photo, but the country of origin (South Korea) suggests it may not be a Clarios battery.
SirReveller, I'm sorry to hear about the issue you had, but I'm not surprised to hear your nearly-new Tahoe completely discharged your battery in a month's time. Twenty years ago, a 33-lb 75/25 battery was a direct-fit replacement option for the 2002 Tahoe with a 5.7-liter V8. By 2009, most Tahoes had moved to a 54-pound H6 battery and some in recent years use an even larger, 60-pound H7 battery.
Automakers aren't using batteries that are 60-80% larger, because newer engines require that much more cranking power. It's because newer vehicles demand more reserve capacity from batteries than ever before. The more deeply you cycle any lead-acid battery, the fewer cycles you will get out of it, so the answer to get a battery in a newer vehicle to last beyond warranty coverage is to make the battery bigger.
While I understand your trip ran longer than expected, if your Tahoe is going to sit for even a couple weeks, I would recommend either disconnecting the battery or keeping it connected to a quality battery maintainer while it sits. If your battery has been discharged to the point that it needs a jump to start your truck, you should fully-recharge the battery to about 13.0-13.2V with a battery charger as soon as you can. You don't need an OPTIMA charger to do it, but your alternator is not designed for that purpose and using it in that manner can lead to a cycle of dead batteries & jump starts until either your battery or alternator fails.
Jim- I spent the extra $300 for AGM specifically to *not* futz around with a charger when the car is sitting for 2/3weeks in the winter. (Also I’m probably not alone among the driveway guys where a charger on an extension cord to a cracked hood right next to a sidewalk for days on end would tempt teenagers or other f*ckwads to vandalism) Again- the wife’s $100 cheapo lead battery that was maaany years older than Oct 2020 started her car right up. An identical 5 week driveway sit right beside her and my relatively new Optima bought expressly for the purpose had died. Murphy’s Law with an extra kick in the *** from hers starting up lol
I said I wouldn’t but to avoid some horrible return process I ended up getting an AGM compatible charger to see if I can revive this turd and give it one more shot in the truck before just getting the Odyssey.
I just go to Rural King and get a 55 dollar battery these days. Seem to be really good batteries too. Have one that's three years old, Blazer sits a lot in the garage, hasn't failed once.
SirReveller, regardless of the price of the battery you purchased or the technology inside of it, the battery is still a box of energy and your vehicle consumes a certain amount of energy over time as it sits. If you leave any battery in that vehicle for five weeks, it may end up discharged to the point that it will not start. The parasitic draw in your wife's vehicle may be different. As I mentioned before, an alternative to keeping your battery on a maintainer for extended periods of non-use is to disconnect the battery. If you are concerned about theft in your neighborhood anyway, having the battery disconnected may serve as an added deterrent.
SirReveller, regardless of the price of the battery you purchased or the technology inside of it, the battery is still a box of energy and your vehicle consumes a certain amount of energy over time as it sits. If you leave any battery in that vehicle for five weeks, it may end up discharged to the point that it will not start. The parasitic draw in your wife's vehicle may be different. As I mentioned before, an alternative to keeping your battery on a maintainer for extended periods of non-use is to disconnect the battery. If you are concerned about theft in your neighborhood anyway, having the battery disconnected may serve as an added deterrent.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
We're supposed to believe this when the less expensive, lesser known, or even better known like interstate, continually out perform any Optima product. I've purchased a number of Optima products over the years. The 1st battery I purchased lasted about 2.5 years. I was OK with that, it always started and was neglected. Was impressed, I've bought/exchanged 3 others since then and all failed very early on. Quality was not there. Bit too many times to buy another Optima product. Tried improved CCA's and other configurations that were supposed to well exceed my requirements. Disappointed every time. Sorry Optima, you have failed your customers, and your awesome marketing is not enough to support another purchase.
01-22-2022, 03:59 PM
