Car battery life?

[Spaniel]

What has been your experience with car battery?      Seems like they last about two years then ready for replacement.     

[transam]

Depends on quality, usage, heat etc...Many rides last just 2 years and many last longer.....

[KhunBENQ]

My car is 7 years old and has it's second battery.

About 4 years for the first.

Frequently used car.

[pgrahmm]

We put a Yuasa battery in with a 5 year guarantee....4+ years so far & still going strong....

Another vehicle is at 3+ years & still strong.....

Both of those are diesel SUV's....

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, pgrahmm said:

We put a Yuasa battery in with a 5 year guarantee....4+ years so far & still going strong....

Another vehicle is at 3+ years & still strong.....

Both of those are diesel SUV's....

 

You got a five year LOS guarantee...?   

[HAKAPALITA]

1 hour ago, transam said:

You got a five year LOS guarantee...?   

Yuasa offer no warrant whatsoever. As clearly stated in their Thai website, its up to the Dealer who sold it.. Generally Excellent ive found on MFree.

[johng]

And remember ( I forgot)  before changing/condemning the battery to check that the alternator is providing 13.8-14.5 volts or the battery won't charge.

[Kwasaki]

9 hours ago, Spaniel said:

What has been your experience with car battery?      Seems like they last about two years then ready for replacement.     

Buy GS heavy duty then 4 to 5+ years in my experience. 

[MINIMIGLIA]

Never had less than 5 years , in fact my tractor lasted 7 years and none of this lift bonnet crap. just well maintained.

 

[transam]

19 minutes ago, MINIMIGLIA said:

Never had less than 5 years , in fact my tractor lasted 7 years and none of this lift bonnet crap. just well maintained.

 

And what does "well" maintained involve...?

[Boon Mee]

The chief reason most vehicle batteries don't last much beyond two years is the ambient temperature. 

Another reason is the poor workmanship of the batteries. 

You get what you pay for and the most reliable battery comes from your dealership. 

[AsiaCheese]

If I had gone with the "good advice" of my Honda garage, I would have replaced the battery at the first 10,000km/1 year service. They even showed me a paper strip from their diagnostic machine that said "urgently replace"... Rinse & repeat for every 10,000km service after that. I finally replaced it after 5 years, because it occasionally played semi-dead (= needed to turn the key several times, with a bit of a pause in between) after long runs in hot temperatures and a 15 minutes stop at an Amazon. I could probably have used it another 1-2 years, with the occasional caugh, but I got fed up and a bit nervous about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere...

 

It so happens that "reputable" service places like to make good money on unneccessary battery changes. Same goes for overpriced internal air filters (THB 3,000). Nowadays, I explicitly tell them to leave that stuff alone, and if I need a polution filter or a battery, I go to the MMS Bosch car service in Naklua (look it up on Google Maps) - brilliant place also for tires. They're very professional, and (unbelievably enough) very honest!!!

Edited March 19, 2018 by AsiaCheese

[transam]

8 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

The chief reason most vehicle batteries don't last much beyond two years is the ambient temperature. 

Another reason is the poor workmanship of the batteries. 

You get what you pay for and the most reliable battery comes from your dealership. 

I had 2 Toyota "named" batteries that lasted exactly 2 years...The next two non Toyota batteries lasted 3 and 3.4 years...

[alant]

agree that the batteries are very very short lived compared to the ones I used to get say on the Audi when in the UK (which never needed replacing).

I am told it's the heat but I think it's also build quality.

Putting me off solar cells as well.

[action]

I had this problem before... 

I asked my mechanic, he said a lot of batteries sit in the Thai shops for years, sometimes in direct sunlight.  

He said,  "Go buy a Panasonic battery."  
I went to the shop and said, "I wan a Panasonic battery"  The girl there said, "Oh, you know your batteries!"  

4 years now, still starts strong and I've probably left my dome light on overnight at least a dozen times.

Hope it helps.

[Toscano]

Some cheaper batteries are sealed and only last a year or two .  Batteries that you can open , must be checked regularly for water and topped up as necessary . In this tropical climate dehydration is a problem , if the battery dries out it will be lost very soon .

[pgrahmm]

23 minutes ago, AsiaCheese said:

If I had gone with the "good advice" of my Honda garage, I would have replaced the battery at the first 10,000km/1 year service. They even showed me a paper strip from their diagnostic machine that said "urgently replace"... Rinse & repeat for every 10,000km service after that. I finally replaced it after 5 years, because it occasionally played semi-dead (= needed to turn the key several times, with a bit of a pause in between) after long runs in hot temperatures and a 15 minutes stop at an Amazon. I could probably have used it another 1-2 years, with the occasional caugh, but I got fed up and a bit nervous about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere...

 

It so happens that "reputable" service places like to make good money on unneccessary battery changes. Same goes for overpriced internal air filters (THB 3,000). Nowadays, I explicitly tell them to leave that stuff alone, and if I need a polution filter or a battery, I go to the MMS Bosch car service in Naklua (look it up on Google Maps) - brilliant place also for tires. They're very professional, and (unbelievably enough) very honest!!!

The Honda dealers here take no prisoners....

[manchega]

Quite simple, the temperature is higher here, - than much of Europe at least so batteries need to be replaced more often due to thermodynamics 

I find every two years on average, I still get caught out occasionally at the most inconvenient times, though there are always warning signs before it happens.

[GreasyFingers]

46 minutes ago, manchega said:

Quite simple, the temperature is higher here, - than much of Europe at least so batteries need to be replaced more often due to thermodynamics 

I find every two years on average, I still get caught out occasionally at the most inconvenient times, though there are always warning signs before it happens.

Yes, this is the advice I received when I moved to Darwin with similar climate.

[Spaniel]

Thanks for all the replies.   Seems like two years is the general consensus  of opinion.     I just replaced mine at the Honda dealer.    Costs B 2,200.     The old battery was used for 33,000 km in our CRV.

[tpkhk]

This was from an article in Quartz about lead poisoning arising from re-cycling....  "In developed countries in the northern hemisphere, a car battery lasts around six years; in many Asian and African countries, possibly due to lower-quality lead and tropical conditions, they typically last just one or two years."  

[no deal]

i have to buy a new battery on a new 13 month honda jazz, dealer wont garantie ...

[Billy Bloggs]

Yeah and dont believe the it gives you a heads up before it goes, my last battery before the one I have now just gave up the ghost, a cell collapsed, and couldnt even clutch start it.

[gamesgplayemail]

Two years is really too short. It means that you do not use your car everyday or only use it to go to 300m far 7-eleven just like Thai do. It can also be that you buy crap.

 

Where can we buy Panasonic batteries ?

 

 

 

 

[ThaiWai]

3 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

The chief reason most vehicle batteries don't last much beyond two years is the ambient temperature. 

Another reason is the poor workmanship of the batteries. 

You get what you pay for and the most reliable battery comes from your dealership. 

You think car manufacturers make their own batteries? 

[rwstamm]

Most likely due to the humidity causing your battery fluid to evaporate.  I purchased battery fluid at Big C or Tesco for less than 100 thb and ordered a battery charger off of Lazada for about 500 thb.  When your battery starts to struggle to start your engine, top off with battery fluid or distilled water then charge from 5 to 8 hours.  Good as new.  If you wait to long the battery will get damaged from lack of fluid and a new one is required. 

[chingmai331]

I bought my 2nd hand car with a well used battery 3 yrs ago.  The Panasonic battery will outlast the car, i'm afraid.  But if i need another battery it will surely be Panasonic, none other.

[tryasimight]

1 hour ago, GreasyFingers said:

Yes, this is the advice I received when I moved to Darwin with similar climate.

I've had five years plus out of batteries in the Top End no worries. 

 

I think there are a lot of old wives tales being perpetuated in this thread and mostly by people from cold and miserable climates. 

 

Buy quality and you get what you pay for. 

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

The chief reason most vehicle batteries don't last much beyond two years is the ambient temperature. 

Another reason is the poor workmanship of the batteries. 

You get what you pay for and the most reliable battery comes from your dealership. 

My first motorbike battery only lasted one year and 12.000 Ks, and that was from Honda.

[tryasimight]

46 minutes ago, rwstamm said:

Most likely due to the humidity causing your battery fluid to evaporate.  I purchased battery fluid at Big C or Tesco for less than 100 thb and ordered a battery charger off of Lazada for about 500 thb.  When your battery starts to struggle to start your engine, top off with battery fluid or distilled water then charge from 5 to 8 hours.  Good as new.  If you wait to long the battery will get damaged from lack of fluid and a new one is required. 

A lot of what you describe occurs because the vehicle is being used for very short distances.  I read somewhere that the engine needs to run for twenty or thirty minutes to make up for the charge used in starting the motor.  Over time the battery will slowly go flat.