Simple question, which no one I know can give me a good answer about:
How long should a car battery last? I’ve had mine for 3.5 years and I think it’s just about gone.
This is the battery that came with the car (a 97 Camry) and is probably a standard issue battery and has been used in a car that is driven in normal conditions.
I honestly don’t know much about cars, but I’ve had the battery in my car much longer than 3.5 years and it’s still charging fine.
Am I just lucky?
It is a combination of quality, use, luck and magic. The one I have now has lasted quite a bit longer but I’ve had some last 3 years. So, when it’s dead, just get a new one
I’m assuming that sometimes my car lurches a bit and then sometimes stalls right after starting, but only when it’s been sitting for a while, is a sign that the battery is starting to go, especially since I had a tuneup this year and had to have the computer that runs the emission system replaced.
BobT, if the battery starts the motor then it is fine. If the motor does not run well, then the problem lies elsewhere. maybe you need to warm it up a bit longer. Mine will stall when it is cold.
Thanks, just wanted to check this out.
I guess it’s just the way the engine warms up. Well, that’s one thing to cross off my “To Do” list for tomorrow.
Tell me what kind of car it is, Bob, and I might know a quirk or two about it.
Batteries, like pencils, have a longevity consistent with their use. Some of the factors that can shorten battery life are:
Starting in extremes of heat and cold. Cold-weather starts, in particular, are taxing on batteries because the chemical reaction required to produce the burst of electricity that turns your motor over is subdued in cold weather. In addition, the engine block itself contracts slightly in cold weather, and lubricant travels to the cylinders more slowly. This increases the friction of the system and requires more work from the battery, and can shorten the battery’s life. Just like pushing a pencil really hard into a sharpener.
Irregular use. A battery naturally discharges with time. If your vehicle is used infrequently, this stresses the battery, because it is required to work on a thoroughly un-lubricated system at a less-than-ideal charge.
Suburban life. The advent of the alternator, as opposed to a generator, has proven to be successful in prolonging battery life. However, suburban driving, with its stop-and-go nature and generally low RPM peaks, can slowly tax a battery. Sulfation of a single cell in the battery is often the result here, although I don’t know why.
The economy, not-so-stupid-as-to-not-ask-the-question. Efficient cars, like HF versions of Hondas, try hard to make you shift at low RPMs. Similarly, to reduce engine resistance, fuel-efficient cars have small alternators and small diameter alternator pulleys. This increases fuel efficiency, but at the expense of battery life. The alternator spins off the motor in order to recharge the battery. If it doesn’t supply enough power, an engine will sometimes steal electricty from the battery to produce enough spark to sustain ignition. Police cars, in contrast, have large V-8s and oversized alternator pulleys in order to run all of the electronic equipment in the vehicle.
Having said all that, a stall after starting is likely not a consequence of battery discharge. More likely, I think, is a fuel delivery problem. In the good old days, it might have been a sticky carbureator, easily fixable by a healthy shot of Gunk through the open air filter. With modern vehicles, you have to worry about clogged fuel filters, fuel lines, injectors, PCVs, leaky vacuum lines, and a host of other problems which I hope you don’t have to run down. Good luck, and please, do tell us the make, model and year of your vehicle. That can help a lot.
In my experience, 3.5 years is a pretty good life for the kind of cheap battery installed at the factory.
You will soon find out if your battery really is “just about gone.” If it is just about gone, the first cold Monday morning your car won’t start. If your car starts every morning, even on the cold ones, then your battery is OK.
However, to avoid spending 45 minutes some cold morning with neighbors and jumper cables or an expensive service call, you can have your battery tested. Expect to be told you need a new battery. I’d watch the automotive section of the paper looking for sales.
Bob, look at the top of your battery, it should say how long.
40 month, 50 month, 75 month, etc.
I used to remember batteries giving me some warning before conking out - you would notice the starter cranking slower before the car would start and so on. The last few I’ve replaced, it seems like they were perfectly fine one day, and dead to the point of no longer even being able to hold a charge the next. Is there any difference in batteries in the last few years causing this, or is it because I used to live in colder climates? Maybe if it doesn’t get below freezing, you don’t notice the battery getting weaker until it completely craps out?
I once went in to have the battery replaced in my car and when the mechanic looked at the battery he said he was impressed that it had lasted seven years. Normal life for a battery here averages about five years. We live in the frozen north and the demands on the battery and starting system can be extreme. Cold starts take their toll on everything. Our old car had a 1000 amp battery and would start the car in -40 weather without use of the block heater. Doing this too often will significantly shorten the life of the starter, I replaced two of them.
I just replaced the batteries in both our vehicles, they are rated at 700 CC amps and each has a 60 month warranty. I would guess that I will get 6 years out of the batteries.
If your car stalls after startup but restarts then you don’t have a battery problem. Quite a few cars are like this until they are properly warmed up. My Thunderbird does this when the temperature is just around freezing but runs fine in colder temperatures.
The biggest single destroyer of batteries is when they aren’t clamped tight to the car.
Those with short lives are often a replacement battery and not an exact fit with the battery box mount. If the tightening wedges don’t quite reach the battery, or if they are missing, be sure your battery can’t slip side to side or front to back, as well as up and down. If it’s sitting on a piece of grit, it may rock around, which is just as bad.
Some batteries, even cheap ones, come with a free replacement within two years, rather than pro-rated. This is something to look for.
He says the battery cranks the engine just fine and the engine starts just fine but then stalls unless he warms it up a while. How on earth can the battery be at fault?
Gosh, I’m flattered that everyone went to so much trouble about my car.
For the record, it is a 1997 Toyota Camry, 4 cylinder engine.
The battery is good. After I actually went and looked at it, I saw that it had an indicator on it to tell whether or not it was still charged. After I wiped off the dirt, the indicator was on. The engine turns over on the first crank.
I think I just have a small problem getting started when the engine is cold. It only happens occasionally. It did not happen this morning. When it does happen the car sort of goes “putt, putt” and then sometimes stalls or else it just keeps going and after about 10 seconds it’s fine.
I don’t think it’s a big problem.
I don’t know much about cars, but I do know to keep the car maintained and I get all the regular maintenance checks and change the oil, etc.
My driving pattern is suburban. Lots of stop and go as I commute from the San Gabriel Valley into Downtown Los Angeles.
Bob, did you read the manual on how to start the car? It’ll state a few things you have to do. It’llprobbaly start no matter what you do but they have a procedure to follow.