Battery life (no not EV)
Discussion
My wife tried to start her car this morning. Zilch. Flat battery. No point re-charging, just ordered a new one from Halfords. Looking at the handbook it recommends changing battery after five years. Car is a Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSi at nearly 9 years old, and 68k miles. So fair enough, especially with recent short journeys and cold weather.
So the question of opinion/experience is, how long do you expect a standard ICE battery to last?
My experience is.
(this) Skoda Fabia. Almost 9 years from new on a 1.2 TSi
BMW E 36 I6 2.5 litre, probably two replacement batteries in 19 years.
Volvo 740 GL one replacement in 10 years.
Would a stop/start facilitated car’s battery (and switching off stop/start feature on a regular basis) have a longer life.
How long is your ‘piece of string’?
So the question of opinion/experience is, how long do you expect a standard ICE battery to last?
My experience is.
(this) Skoda Fabia. Almost 9 years from new on a 1.2 TSi
BMW E 36 I6 2.5 litre, probably two replacement batteries in 19 years.
Volvo 740 GL one replacement in 10 years.
Would a stop/start facilitated car’s battery (and switching off stop/start feature on a regular basis) have a longer life.
How long is your ‘piece of string’?
Daughter just had a new one in her 5yr old Jazz - she didn't tell me, just got the AA to change it for £99 after it failed to start. You can buy a Jazz battery from Tayna for about £40 - reading Jazz forums a lot of the old folk change them every 3yrs as a matter of course.
VAG cars seem to have very erratic battery life - you read lots of comments of them failing in 2-3 yrs. Very random whether the owner gets it covered under warranty.
VAG cars seem to have very erratic battery life - you read lots of comments of them failing in 2-3 yrs. Very random whether the owner gets it covered under warranty.
Caddyshack said:
Anything over 5 yrs is good for a modern battery. I believe their life is reduced the longer they are left at zero voltage before recharge.
This pretty much, leaving a lead acid battery flat for any length of time will generally wreck it, it might be recoverable with a fancy charger but will probably die for good in the next cold snap.Pica-Pica said:
...Looking at the handbook it recommends changing battery after five years. ....
I've never heard of such a recommendation before. Last 3 batteries I have changed:Daughters Fords, both changed batteries at about 8 years because the cranking speed in frosty cold starts was noticeably slower than normal for their cars in those conditions.
My Jaguar, changed at 6 years because it was standing unused for long periods so needed a good battery to retain charge.
That said, imo it's always better to replace a battery well before it lets you down which is probably the 5 year point even though I regularly exceed that. I don't think it's difficult to detect when a battery is losing it's ability to hold charge etc by how well it turns the engine taking account of temperature, how long it's been standing etc.
Pica-Pica said:
Would a stop/start facilitated car’s battery (and switching off stop/start feature on a regular basis) have a longer life.
How long is your ‘piece of string’?
I've only had one car with stop/start and that was a 2007 BMW 123d. The AGM battery didn't last 5 years, had to be coded to the car once replaced and cost over £250 fitted and coded at an Indy - Sytner wanted over £300! And the starter motor didn't last 7 years.How long is your ‘piece of string’?
Kept turning stop/start off and crossing my fingers until I sold it!
But my 2006 Z4 didn't need a new "normal" battery until 2016 and that only cost about £120 to replace.
So my limited experience suggests stop/start is more likely to kill the battery than prolong its' life!
The battery in my Golf only lasted 3.5 years from new, I think it was an EFL battery and up to then I usually just let the Stop/Start mechanism do its thing. Now I tend to turn off the Stop/Start feature. I'd changed it to a AGM battery at Halfords where they coded it up as well.
From what I've read, VW batteries of that time were a bit pants.
From what I've read, VW batteries of that time were a bit pants.
cuprabob said:
Aunty Pasty said:
From what I've read, VW batteries of that time were a bit pants.
On my VWs, no problems if they came fitted with Varta batteries however my latest one came with an Exide battery and it wasn't very good. Replaced with a Bosch, which touch wood, is spot on. Now replaced by a Halfords Yuasa. £103. I have just collected it and now fitted it in the cold and rain. No loss or broken hardware either! Car started fine and radio did not need re-coding. It’s been many years since I last fitted a battery! All good for a few years now!
Edited by Pica-Pica on Monday 10th January 12:54
I recently replaced a 4 year old Exide 027 EFB 59Ah battery with a larger Halfords Yuasa 096 EFB 75Ah battery.
I registered it with Carista.
The battery tray in my Skoda takes more than one size. Quite a few people do it.....
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/439978-027-t...
I registered it with Carista.
The battery tray in my Skoda takes more than one size. Quite a few people do it.....
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/439978-027-t...
The more regularly a car is used the longer the battery will last. It doesn't have to be every day but it certainly ought to be weekly. My batteries rarely fail and I tend to change them on a precautionary basis between 6 and 8 years old.
Car batteries like to be at full charge all the time. They're not intended to flatten a bit and then recharge like a phone battery. The chemistry of a lead/acid battery causes something called sulphation of the battery plates if the battery sits below full charge. Over time the efficiency just goes down and down.
Charging will never fix a knackered battery. It may enable a poor battery to start the car but the battery will never be able to hold a decent amount of charge. This is what's tested when a battery specialist does a high current drain test on your battery.
Car batteries like to be at full charge all the time. They're not intended to flatten a bit and then recharge like a phone battery. The chemistry of a lead/acid battery causes something called sulphation of the battery plates if the battery sits below full charge. Over time the efficiency just goes down and down.
Charging will never fix a knackered battery. It may enable a poor battery to start the car but the battery will never be able to hold a decent amount of charge. This is what's tested when a battery specialist does a high current drain test on your battery.
saladdays said:
I recently replaced a 4 year old Exide 027 EFB 59Ah battery with a larger Halfords Yuasa 096 EFB 75Ah battery.
I registered it with Carista.
The battery tray in my Skoda takes more than one size. Quite a few people do it.....
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/439978-027-t...
Yes, when I fitted the new battery, I noticed the battery tray had the space for a bigger size. As the article says, it needs a new, larger battery jacket to fit the larger battery.I registered it with Carista.
The battery tray in my Skoda takes more than one size. Quite a few people do it.....
https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/439978-027-t...
Changed the original Exide battery in my 2013 320d just before Christmas. Started struggling to start a few months ago and then in December failed to start at all.
Bought a slightly higher ah and CCA Exide from Tayna for £115 delivered and paid a local indie £40 to code.
It probably helped that I do a lot of motorway journeys and coded stop/start off by default when I bought the car 3 years ago.
Bought a slightly higher ah and CCA Exide from Tayna for £115 delivered and paid a local indie £40 to code.
It probably helped that I do a lot of motorway journeys and coded stop/start off by default when I bought the car 3 years ago.
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