# Battery Life



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

If a cell flat out dies, you will not have a progressive downgrade that will be noticeable. 

Batteries can outright fail for a multitude of reasons. 

Did you have a guarantee on the battery? Even one of the cheapos should qualify for a partial credit.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

In "yesterday's" cars, the battery sat there, doing absolutely nothing, other than perhaps running a clock on something like a Chrysler Imperial or whatever, but "today's" cars have things running all of the time. Nothing comparable to turning the starter, but they're drawing current, a little here and a little there, so, by the time we go to start it the next time it is indeed dead. 7 years is pretty good today, but they should typically last more than 2-1/2 years. 3-5 years is pretty common. Most of those places have them, so I would remove the battery from the car, charge it if you have a charger, otherwise they can do it for you, return it to the store where you got it, and ask them to load test it. That will tell you if the battery is good or bad, so whether you need to replace it or search elsewhere for the problem.


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

I am of the opinion (unproven) that batteries aren't quite what they used to be. I got 7-8 years out of my OEM (garage kept). Then I bought one with a 6 year warranty and just replaced it because the CCA was at about 40% and I did not want to get stuck somewhere in the Arctic blast we were having. The new one only came with a 3 year full replacement warranty.

You may not want to buy the cheapest one you can find. MFGs spec a certain battery group number. You should meet or exceed that number.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Any auto parts store will do a free test that will check the whole charging system not just the battery.
Also consider it may be as simple as a loose connection, corroded cable.


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

There are good batteries and bad ones. Some brands are better than others. Some are just junk and only last 3 years.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

filesmom, you likely ovetaxed the battery. First thing to do is to clean battery cable connectors and, in case of Toyota, disassemble them and clean all connections. I think, you have a combination battery cable connector on at least one cable. Those have tendency to oxidize there too. After it all was cleaned, before re-connecting back, apply good layer of dielectric grease to all connected surfaces.


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## Marqed97 (Mar 19, 2011)

I agree that batteries are not what they used to be. The original battery in my 99 Camry lasted 9 years. Second one lasted 5 (interstate). 

The police fleet I maintain goes thru a lot of batteries due to severe duty use and large discharge cycles. 19 vehicles, in 2014 I warrantied 7 batteries, which means each one was less than a year old (for police use we are only granted a one year warranty). Every one of them was a cell failure in which the battery was fine, then the car was dead after being shut off and attempting to restart. 

I had one of them short internally. Got hot enough that it melted the top cover and you could smell it 50 ft away. 

I'm not impressed by the quality of most batteries now. Funny thing is, interstate told us we should be using their new special "100% lead" commercial grade batteries (which cost exactly 3x what the current ones do)... I remember when they had grey and green tops, green was standard and grey was commercial. They still have the colors but apparently they don't matter.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

Sorry, got distracted and didn't complete the thought.
When you do not have good connection at battery terminals, battery is slowly but steadily undercharged and overtaxed for use. 
Eventually, that results in catastrophic battery failure. 
Be well. Btw, my Panasonic battery in my 07 Camry was replaced end last year just because and is still good. 8 years.


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## curtd (Oct 25, 2013)

I would test the output voltage of the alternator immediately after installing new battery. To charge a 12 volt battery, 14.8 volts is needed. Voltage regulators do fail. In my case the alternator outputted more than 14.8 volts...effectivity killing the battery...But this took minutes to do so, not 2.5 years.

BTW, is your battery a maintenance free battery ? How's the water level ?


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## Bob Sanders (Nov 10, 2013)

Marqed97 said:


> I agree that batteries are not what they used to be. The original battery in my 99 Camry lasted 9 years. Second one lasted 5 (interstate).


Yup.
I got one that's barely 2 years old and it's already showing signs of death. They just don't last like they used to.


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