I have typically leased vehicles for the past 30 years, but bought my Grand Cherokee out and the end of its lease a couple years ago…

 

It will turn 6 years old this July, and so does its original battery. Do most of you replace your battery proactively at a certain point in time, or just wait until it doesn’t work some day? 

When the warranty runs out, whether it seems to need replacing or not...and I pay the slight extra for 5-year batteries.

At 6 years, I’d probably be proactive and replace it while it’s convenient instead of risking having to be towed, or being stuck when you have somewhere you need to be. 

I am very tuned in to the characteristics of my truck.  Sight, smell and sound.  So much so in my old truck I could tell there was a different sound when the truck was turning over to start.  Took it to a shop telling them I needed a battery.  When I picked it up the mechanic asked me how I knew and I told him it turned over differently.  He was amazed because they tested the battery and there was one cell that was starting to go bad.  With my new truck (2016), I replaced the battery after 6 years even though it was starting fine.  To quote my mechanic friend, “Things rarely, if ever, fail in your driveway” 😂. How lucky do you feel.  

@FryDog62  my record for a battery kicking butt is 10 years.  but it wasnt a battery provided as OEM.

 

at 6 years, i let my mechanic buddy run a load test.   any signs of trouble show up easily at that point.    last time, i was prepping for an Idaho elk hunt where we were to see some zero deg days.  i ended up buying an Interstate battery at that time, which is the very battery that went 10 years.  

5 and gone.  Being stuck with a truck 100 miles from home would cost more than the new battery.

When it won’t start anymore, get your moneys worth out of them 

Being 5 years old it's probably a good idea to change it v. getting stuck somewhere. Unless of course it's like a 10 year battery, then you could maybe get a couple more years out of it. Also depends on how much work it did. I assume batteries last longer when not exposed to extremes (like Phoenix  heat or International Falls cold).

 

Like TOXIC I could tell when my last battery needed replacing as it just sounded different on the start. Not a car savant like him. Mine just sounded off.

 

Also, while a pain you only need the battery to start the car. So if you have cables or a jumper box you could wait until it fails....

I replace the battery after I have to use my jump start box.

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

When it won’t start anymore, get your moneys worth out of them 

Yeah. This happens sometimes. Other times I'll hear it start "chugging" at startup. That different sound is a big indicator that the battery is ready to be replaced. 

If I wanted to ensure trouble free service, I would replace them every 5 years. I have in the past run them until they wouldn't go, but now, I would rather just replace them instead of getting that extra penny or two out of them.

I replace the battery when it is on the last leg. 

Trucks have batteries ?

Haven't replaced one in long time.

Of course, I'm in a new rig every 3 years 

so there's that . . . 

I did change wiper blades one time.

😎

A-Jay

The first really cold morning in the fall is when I find out if I need a new battery.

My shop does a load test on the battery every time I take it in for routine maintenance.

 

They have 3 “grades” of battery life: good (green), replace soon (yellow), and replace now (red).

 

I prefer to be proactive about these kinds of things rather than run into an unforeseen problem.

 

Not long ago I started a thread about replacing a spare trailer tire. Seems like this falls into the same category.

You'll notice it being slower on startup but other than that you go until it dies.  You get a jump and go get a new one.  I'll proactively get mine tested if I am going on a trip or something maybe but other than that, you'll know.

 

2 hours ago, Kev-mo said:

Also depends on how much work it did. I assume batteries last longer when not exposed to extremes (like Phoenix  heat or International Falls cold)..

Well, it did start out in Minnesota with below zero temps for 3 winters, then spent two summers in Southern Florida... surprised its made it this long !! 

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Trucks have batteries ?

Haven't replaced one in long time.

Of course, I'm in a new rig every 3 years 

so there's that . . . 

I did change wiper blades one time.

😎

A-Jay

That was me for the past 3 decades... I started leasing before it became fashionable. Then the buyout on this vehicle at the end of the lease was about $8-10k less than what I could sell it for so I bought it. First time for everything, we'll see how it goes... I don't tolerate things that don't work very well. 

16 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I did change wiper blades one time.

Funny story, I took my truck in for one of my negotiated free oil changes at the dealer (I got 8 free) and told them to replace my wiper blades.  Went to the cashier and my bill was $79. I went back out to the service tech and reminded him my oil changes were no charge.  He told me that was the price of the wiper blades.  I told him that was ridiculous.  He said maybe, but he gets a lot of people back to buy them over parts store wipers.  Those d**n wiper blades lasted over 5 years without ever streaking or hopping on the windshield.  I just replaced them not long ago and decided to order OEM off Amazon and guess what….. they were $60.00, so not so bad after all. 😂

14 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

Funny story, I took my truck in for one of my negotiated free oil changes at the dealer (I got 8 free) and told them to replace my wiper blades.  Went to the cashier and my bill was $79. I went back out to the service tech and reminded him my oil changes were no charge.  He told me that was the price of the wiper blades.  I told him that was ridiculous.  He said maybe, but he gets a lot of people back to buy them over parts store wipers.  Those d**n wiper blades lasted over 5 years without ever streaking or hopping on the windshield.  I just replaced them not long ago and decided to order OEM off Amazon and guess what….. they were $60.00, so not so bad after all. 😂

Nice.

Biggest killer of wiper blades for me is running them over a frozen windshield. 

#shredded

As long as that doesn't happen, I'm good for a while.

A-Jay

batteries are so good these days.  I remember topping them off with distilled water when I was 5 years old for my parents.  

 

with a good Fluke multimeter with the MIN/MAX function button, you can do a DIY load test at home, but I dont have that meter.  

 

I just know my vehicles.  and I know extreme heat, extreme cold, full discharge, overcharge, and long time sitting kills them.  I won't proactively change out a battery super early, since that seems so wasteful and just builds more garbage.   my old truck is running a Deka battery.  first time trying that brand.  it is killing it.  

I knew it was time to change when the Ford app on my phone told me it was shutting down the remote features on the truck to conserve battery and that I should run the truck for a while. I’d just come home after driving for an hour. 

Beyond the generic ages, Chrysler products are notorious for acting up when the batteries need to be replaced.  That’s Chrysler, dodge, ram, etc.  They all get gremlins when a battery starts to go bad.  I think I’m due (2018 OEM original) in my truck because of a few little things it does (like when you hit the window down all the way and it just does down a little while you’re holding it). For a grand Cherokee at 6 years it’s probably about time.  

Old mechanic told me years ago to replace car and truck batteries ever 3-4 years.

 

Living in midwest we can get below zero winters, and triple digit summer temps. Replacing batteries before they fail is cheap insurance vs. getting stuck.

 

I did purchase a pretty good battery tester last summer. Foxwell BT705. My cranking battery in the Lund was acting strange...tested out bad, so replaced. I think it was 2 years old. 

 

ATV's and the John Deere x750 have battery tenders on them 24/7/365. They live in the unheated shop. I ran the x750 battery down to dead then replaced. I wasn't too worried about getting stranded in my yard : ) 

 

 

 

 

A few years ago I was at walmart and it was raining. I went in for something and came back out and the battery was dead. My wife had been listening to the radio, but the battery was weak and we didn't know it.

 

Across the aisle there was 2 women putting groceries in their car. I walked over in the rain and politely asked if they'd give me a jump. She said they didn't have cables, to which I replied that I did. She said sure and I went back to my car and waited.

 

They finished loading their groceries, jumped in, and took off like a shot.

 

There happened to be a guy in the car next to me whom I had not seen, he got out and offered me a jump.