Car battery life

[Die4Cy]

While it is true that most battery brands are coming from the same small handful of manufacturers, battery quality is not equal. There are many aspects to the design and production that matter and allow for differing price points, such as the amount of recycled material used, case design, or the quality of component connections. I feel like in general, the quality trend for all batteries has eroded some, but like a lot of things, you get what you pay for. I probably spend $1500 or more annually on starter batteries on heavy equipment I own. I have had two catastrophic battery failures (explosions) in the past ten years.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Walmart batteries are fine. There are very few companies that actually make auto batteries. It's the same battery you'll get elsewhere.

Yes, Johnson Controls makes most of the batteries but No, they aren't even close to the same. Wal-Mart's NeverStart batteries are known as junk industry wide.

 

[cydsho]

Yes, Johnson Controls makes most of the batteries but No, they aren't even close to the same. Wal-Mart's NeverStart batteries are known as junk industry wide.

I think Johnson Controls sold the battery side of the company to a PE and is now Clarios. They make a lot of the batteries now for Advanced Auto, Oreillys, Walmart, etc.,
East Penn is what I use and they make many different brands like Deka, NAPA.
Should be able to check the Safety Data sheets to confirm who actually makes it but it's probably either Clarios/JC or East Penn.

 

[NickTheGreat]

My last 4 vehicles had batteries die within the first 1 or 2 years, and my last one made it almost 8 years. All GM vehicles, all delco factory batteries.

 

[2speedy1]

I was watching a Youtube video of a guy in Arizona who had dead batteries on two of his vehicles. (I know, scintillating stuff). One battery, a premium Walmart battery with a warranty, was only a year and a half old. Turns out the warranty was no good, because he had already used it when he got the current battery that died. The other battery, just a regular Walmart battery that cost half what the other one did, was only 2 1/2 years old. He said he has to change batteries every 2-3 years because of the brutal heat in Arizona.

I've never heard of extreme heat being a destroyer of batteries. I've always heard that extreme cold was the big battery destroyer. Plus, I have never in the 50-plus years I've owned cars had to replace one battery in a car. I've had to replace alternators, but never batteries. The only thing I've ever had to replace batteries in has been riding lawn mowers. Anyone else have the same bad luck with batteries as this guy?

Batteries are all over the place really. There are so many factors. Temp is a big one. Use, Care, etc all are big factors too. Quality does matter too, but sometimes some just dont last for whatever reason, from error in construction or whatever.

That being said, I have had batteries last only a short time, 1 year +/-, to a Decade +/-, in my regular used vehicles, even of the exact same brand/model.

Also keep in mind there is really no such thing as a "premium Walmart" anything. Buy a Milwaukee drill from walmart, then buy the same thing from an actual tool dealer. The Walmart will always have an added letter or something added to the model number, same model but just an added letter or something to designate it as a Walmart model. Companies cheap out on manufacturing anything for Walmart, to meet their price demand.

I talked to a hardware store at one time about a "lifetime" warranty on a tool, needing repair. He said most companies wont fix or replace tools from places like Walmart, and you can only take them to walmart to hopefully be replaced/honored, with mixed results.

The reason for this is Walmart goes to places like Milwaukee and tells them they want "X" amount of drills for some discounted price, they refuse to pay any more, so they can sell them "cheaper" than their competition. So the first thing the company does is to replace many parts with cheaper components, ie. plastic gears instead of metal, brushed motor instead of brushlest, less features, etc. So trying to take those in for repair or warranty the manufacturer refuses any warranty that walmart offers.

This is similar to buying a John Deere lawn mower from some place like Home Depot. Those are not real JD equipment, they are built by MTD for JD to sell cheap at Box stores. They have much lower quality and features than anything you get directly from a John Deere dealer.

 

[jdcyclone19]

Batteries are all over the place really. There are so many factors. Temp is a big one. Use, Care, etc all are big factors too. Quality does matter too, but sometimes some just dont last for whatever reason, from error in construction or whatever.

That being said, I have had batteries last only a short time, 1 year +/-, to a Decade +/-, in my regular used vehicles, even of the exact same brand/model.

Also keep in mind there is really no such thing as a "premium Walmart" anything. Buy a Milwaukee drill from walmart, then buy the same thing from an actual tool dealer. The Walmart will always have an added letter or something added to the model number, same model but just an added letter or something to designate it as a Walmart model. Companies cheap out on manufacturing anything for Walmart, to meet their price demand.

I talked to a hardware store at one time about a "lifetime" warranty on a tool, needing repair. He said most companies wont fix or replace tools from places like Walmart, and you can only take them to walmart to hopefully be replaced/honored, with mixed results.

The reason for this is Walmart goes to places like Milwaukee and tells them they want "X" amount of drills for some discounted price, they refuse to pay any more, so they can sell them "cheaper" than their competition. So the first thing the company does is to replace many parts with cheaper components, ie. plastic gears instead of metal, brushed motor instead of brushlest, less features, etc. So trying to take those in for repair or warranty the manufacturer refuses any warranty that walmart offers.

This is similar to buying a John Deere lawn mower from some place like Home Depot. Those are not real JD equipment, they are built by MTD for JD to sell cheap at Box stores. They have much lower quality and features than anything you get directly from a John Deere dealer.

MTD does NOT build any John Deere lawn mowers. Deere builds them all, even the S series, This often comes up because Deere and MTD have plants in the same town of Greeneville, Tennessee but no Deere mowers come out of the MTD facility.

 

[jdcyclone19]

For those who used Costco for the batteries, they just completely redid their warranty program for the worse. Not to mention, some interstate batteries are now being made by Exide.

 

[2speedy1]

MTD does NOT build any John Deere lawn mowers. Deere builds them all, even the S series, This often comes up because Deere and MTD have plants in the same town of Greeneville, Tennessee but no Deere mowers come out of the MTD facility.

Are you sure? It has been readily told that the ones in big box stores are not built by JD. If nothing else they do the same thing as others do with massively lowering the quality for those they send to said stores vs actual JD dealerships. Because those models are really cheap junk.

 

[Gonzo]

Are you sure? It has been readily told that the ones in big box stores are not built by JD. If nothing else they do the same thing as others do with massively lowering the quality for those they send to said stores vs actual JD dealerships. Because those models are really cheap junk.

A John Deere S120 at Home Depot is $2,799, the same model at Van Wall is $2,899. If there is a difference in quality I can't imagine it'd be much.

 

[2speedy1]

A John Deere S120 at Home Depot is $2,799, the same model at Van Wall is $2,899.

Did this change at some point? At one time, the same model at Home Depot was not sold at dealers, at least according to multiple JD dealerships at that time.

I admit its been a while since I was in the market for a riding mower. But several dealers told me at the time I was looking at them. I even took a used one home and it had problems with my yard, took it back and said well it was a Home Depot model so it was not really the same quality and build as their models.

 

[2speedy1]

MTD does NOT build any John Deere lawn mowers. Deere builds them all, even the S series, This often comes up because Deere and MTD have plants in the same town of Greeneville, Tennessee but no Deere mowers come out of the MTD facility.

Who Makes John Deere Lawn Mowers? - LawnModel

John Deere is an American Company with a global reach that designs agricultural equipment, machinery, and lawn care equipment. But, does the company make all

lawnmodel.com

 

[Gonzo]

Did this change at some point? At one time, the same model at Home Depot was not sold at dealers, at least according to multiple JD dealerships at that time.

I admit its been a while since I was in the market for a riding mower. But several dealers told me at the time I was looking at them. I even took a used one home and it had problems with my yard, took it back and said well it was a Home Depot model so it was not really the same quality and build as their models.

The only change I noticed is the $100 price difference. I got an S120 earlier this spring and in my research they were priced identical. But it was harder to find the 100 series in stock at VW and other dealers. And even though I bought mine through Home Depot it was shipped/delivered from the VW in Urbandale.

 

[AgronAlum]

I had an OEM Ford Focus battery last 11 years. Most others have been around 5 to 6 years. Latest one was both batteries in a Chrysler Pacifica. Turns out if you get the message about auto start stop being unavailable, don't ignore it or you'll have to replace both.

We're probably a year plus of ignoring that light. My SIL even longer. Extremely common in the Pacificas to throw the error. Some people think they came with bad batteries, some people think it's due to electrical issues. I read a bunch of comments from people replacing the Aux battery only to have the warning come back a month or two later. Some say the aux battery being bad drains the main battery. Idk. I could probably pull them and have them load tested but it has worked this long.

So far the only side effect is not having to turn off the auto start/stop every time we start the van (knock on wood). We'll take that as a plus.

 

[jdcyclone19]

Who Makes John Deere Lawn Mowers? - LawnModel

John Deere is an American Company with a global reach that designs agricultural equipment, machinery, and lawn care equipment. But, does the company make all

lawnmodel.com

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Outsourcing parts does not equate building mowers.

They use to be department store models only but they were still set up by a local dealership. Dealers were getting pissed so mother Deere allowed them to start selling the same cheaper models. It’s the x3 series and above where it becomes a Deere dealer only.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

My last 4 vehicles had batteries die within the first 1 or 2 years, and my last one made it almost 8 years. All GM vehicles, all delco factory batteries.

When I worked in the auto industry, AC Delco's were notorious for leaking and plates shorting out.

 

[2speedy1]

Outsourcing parts does not equate building mowers.

They use to be department store models only but they were still set up be a local dealership. Dealers were getting pissed so mother Deere allowed them to start selling the same cheaper models. It’s the x3 series and above where it becomes a Deere dealer only.

The above says they not only build parts but also some tractors.

I suspect what you are saying here confirms that the cheap box store models were for a time only available in said box stores, but now changed.

to be fair getting all parts from MTD then being assembled at JD is still a MTD mower built by JD.

The way the above reads is its not just a part or two but basically the entire mower in the cheap models.

 

[MeowingCows]

For those who used Costco for the batteries, they just completely redid their warranty program for the worse. Not to mention, some interstate batteries are now being made by Exide.

I explicitly didn't use Costco for a battery due to this reason. They used to be the best place to get them from straight up due to the warranty policy...which changed for the worse, and the Interstates they sell aren't well-regarded. Went with Sam's instead for a Duracell (East Penn made).

 

[jdcyclone19]

The above says they not only build parts but also some tractors.

I suspect what you are saying here confirms that the cheap box store models were for a time only available in said box stores, but now changed.

to be fair getting all parts from MTD then being assembled at JD is still a MTD mower built by JD.

The way the above reads is its not just a part or two but basically the entire mower in the cheap models.

I worked for Deere for 5 years with a part of that in the parts/service department, not a single mower comes out of the MTD plants.

So since Deere uses Kawasaki engines, it’s a Kawasaki mower built by Deere then? It’s on a random internet site so it must be true kinda vibes…(insert scarcasm here). In all seriousness, they build the cheaper models. Dealers said a lot of negative things to get people to buy their higher end models when they couldn’t sell the cheap ones. If you went shopping today, they’re still cheaper models but they’ll tell you they’re made by Deere.

 

[2speedy1]

I worked for Deere for 5 years with a part of that in the parts/service department, not a single mower comes out of the MTD plants.

So since Deere uses Kawasaki engines, it’s a Kawasaki mower built by Deere then? It’s on a random internet site so it must be true kinda vibes…(insert scarcasm here). In all seriousness, they build the cheaper models. Dealers said a lot of negative things to get people to buy their higher end models when they couldn’t sell the cheap ones. If you went shopping today, they’re still cheaper models but they’ll tell you they’re made by Deere.

No not exactly what I am saying.

As my first post said, first thing companies do when Walmart or similar want cheaper versions to sell cheaply, the companies put cheaper parts in them.

So this is exactly what JD is doing they are now selling cheap versions of their mowers, by puting cheap (MTD) parts in them. Only thing that changed is the JD dealers were tired of losing out on the sales because these mowers were sold so much cheaper than their version, so they were allowed to start selling them as well. This is what was going on for years when I last bought a rider.

Finally, puting 1 kawasaki part in something doesnt make it a Kawasaki, but puting 90% Kawasaki parts in something might just make it a Kawasaki, Hell putting more than 50% pretty much does.

This is not the same thing as Toyota sending all the parts here to America, assembling it here, and calling it American made Toyota. This would be like Chevy buying all the parts for a Camry, and putting it together and calling it a chevy. (which has been and is done for some models, but everyone knows its a Toyota/Mitsubishi/Honda etc with a chevy badge)

None of this changes the fact of the original post that companies are putting cheaper parts in things to sell at box stores vs other specialized dealers. And these box stores are still selling these items as though they are premium versions. If you go to Home Depot to buy a JD mower, they are not advertising them as a discount version of JD, they are selling them as a premium version of their mower lines. But if you go to a dealer they will tell you the 'S' line is their budget line, etc.

(For clarity, I also have family members that have worked for JD, for decades.)

 

[Gonzo]

No not exactly what I am saying.

As my first post said, first thing companies do when Walmart or similar want cheaper versions to sell cheaply, the companies put cheaper parts in them.

So this is exactly what JD is doing they are now selling cheap versions of their mowers, by puting cheap (MTD) parts in them. Only thing that changed is the JD dealers were tired of losing out on the sales because these mowers were sold so much cheaper than their version, so they were allowed to start selling them as well. This is what was going on for years when I last bought a rider.

Finally, puting 1 kawasaki part in something doesnt make it a Kawasaki, but puting 90% Kawasaki parts in something might just make it a Kawasaki, Hell putting more than 50% pretty much does.

This is not the same thing as Toyota sending all the parts here to America, assembling it here, and calling it American made Toyota. This would be like Chevy buying all the parts for a Camry, and putting it together and calling it a chevy. (which has been and is done for some models, but everyone knows its a Toyota/Mitsubishi/Honda etc with a chevy badge)

None of this changes the fact of the original post that companies are putting cheaper parts in things to sell at box stores vs other specialized dealers. And these box stores are still selling these items as though they are premium versions. If you go to Home Depot to buy a JD mower, they are not advertising them as a discount version of JD, they are selling them as a premium version of their mower lines. But if you go to a dealer they will tell you the 'S' line is their budget line, etc.

(For clarity, I also have family members that have worked for JD, for decades.)

I think your original post on this implied that if someone were to buy a John Deere S120 at Home Depot it was made much more cheaply and was a cheaper version compared to the John Deere S120 sold at a Van Wall or other non-box dealership.