What is the average life of OEM Battery?

[spirit0fwar]

I've had factory battery till this March. It was crank slow but still worked. New battery fixed this issue.

[Charley5]

My Camaro 2SS was delivered 09/09/2009 and is still fitted with the OEM battery. 49000 and change for miles.

[sherob]

Extreme dry heat... as well as a long drain will kill the life of your battery.

[km9v]

Originally Posted by km9v

I've been having some anxiety about my battery. It's over 6 years old, OEM & I'm just waiting for it to die. This has been the longest lasting battery I've every had.

Finally replaced the OEM battery last week. It didn't completely die, but it almost didn't start, probably would have kept going a few more weeks. I was going on a road trip & didn't want to get stranded. 7 years is a long time for a car battery. Swapped it out w/ a new AC Delco

[Angrybird 12]

Originally Posted by 4.0=SS

I started my 2010 SS about a month ago. Forgot to put the tender back on. I tried to start it this weekend- Completely dead. I put the tender on but after a week the lites on the charger/tender are still blinking red/green. :-( I will try a jump after the deep freeze ends, but I'm preparing myself for having to shell out for a new battery. 6000 miles on it by the way....I read somewhere that there is a recall on the battery cable near the starter shorting out. Wonder if there's any connection(pardon the pun).

A tender will not charge a dead battery. You need a good charger, but from my experience once these modern batteries go dead they will never fully charge back and you might as well change it soon.

[cribman]

Got my 2010 in August of 2009. Had the car in Wisconsin up until November of 2016. Now in Arizona. Didn't drive it in winter in Wisconsin. Had it hooked to tender every winter. Original battery still cranks like a champ, but thinking I'm due.

[myold88]

Originally Posted by cribman

Got my 2010 in August of 2009. Had the car in Wisconsin up until November of 2016. Now in Arizona. Didn't drive it in winter in Wisconsin. Had it hooked to tender every winter. Original battery still cranks like a champ, but thinking I'm due.

You think?

[AG454]

Originally Posted by cribman

Got my 2010 in August of 2009. Had the car in Wisconsin up until November of 2016. Now in Arizona. Didn't drive it in winter in Wisconsin. Had it hooked to tender every winter. Original battery still cranks like a champ, but thinking I'm due.

I’ve had my car since July 09 and I just replaced my battery a month ago. The original battery still cranked like new, but I wanted to be safe not sorry.

[Mando2776]

Replaced mine after 5 yrs. with this aftermarket battery. Original battery drained on me after leaving radio on for about 1hr. It was time.

[Leo72793]

Originally Posted by Mando2776

Replaced mine after 5 yrs. with this aftermarket battery. Original battery drained on me after leaving radio on for about 1hr. It was time.

cost? i suspect mine is failing after 7ish years. Randomly loosing ECU and TCM and service backup assist. randomly. no actual codes trigger. sometimes goes into no crank. one time a while back then now. OEM is still in the trunk

[Mando2776]

Originally Posted by Leo72793

cost? i suspect mine is failing after 7ish years. Randomly loosing ECU and TCM and service backup assist. randomly. no actual codes trigger. sometimes goes into no crank. one time a while back then now. OEM is still in the trunk

priced at 219.99, I got mine at pep boys for 180 after CA taxes. currently on sale for 164.99

[spurscar]

Interesting thread. 2011 with 98k miles, still original battery but the car sits a lot more now and crank is tough after sitting for 2-3 weeks and at first if there's a big draw (cold crank, fans, rear defrost, heated seats) then the radio will cut off.. then after running for a bit turn back on, then off for a bit, then back on. Then it stays on and if I go for a 15 mile ride it can sit for a bit and crank right up no issues, radio stays on.



Figure the OEM battery is on its last leg and it's time to replace it... can't complain about getting 12 years, 1 month out of it though, right?

[NOT A 45]

Working in the field for almost 40 years and replacing more batteries than I could even count, I will give my observations. There really is no rhyme or reason for battery failure, although it does seem to tic up just a bit in the fall when it first starts to get cooler out. Where I live it goes from single digits in the winter to 100 or so in the summer. From what I've seen I don't believe temperature has much of an effect on battery life, although I'm gonna contradict myself in a min.

I believe these are the 3 biggest factors that determine the life of a battery.

1. Poor construction resulting in cracked plates or connections inside the battery. There are 6 separate cells in a 12v battery connected in series. Each cell fully charged will have 2.1 volts, so when connected together a fully charged battery should read 12.6v with your voltmeter. If you lose a cell you'll only have 10.5 v

2. Excessive discharging and recharging of the battery. Starting batteries are not designed for repeated discharge recharge cycles and it will shorten their life. Obviously this occurs to a degree just driving your car however if your the guy who likes to sit and listen to the radio for hours on end without the engine running your just accelerating the aging of the battery. A 60 month battery should average 5 years of life under "normal" use! Nothing lasts forever.....

3. Here's where I contradict myself.......Cold weather will kill a battery if a high enough state of charge isn't maintained. Think of State Of Charge as anti freeze for your battery. Yes the liquid in the battery will freeze and when it does it causes the plates to sulfate. That coating on the plates keeps the chemical reaction between the acid and lead plates from occurring resulting in a ruined battery. The higher the charge, the lower the freezing point of the acid will be. A battery tender will definitely keep this from happening.

I've seen multiple opinions on this post, but there's my 2 cents for what it's worth.

[WarDaddy376]

After 9 years the OEM battery pooped on me today, do I go to Costco for an Interstate battery or go AGM this time around. My ride only has a smidgen over 15K, sits on a battery tender.

Decisions Decisions and Happy Thanksgiving To All