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Nothing lasts like it used to- not even Interstate batteries. Recommendations for a replacement battery? Login/Join 
Too clever by half
Picture of jigray3
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quote:
Originally posted by Hildur

My BMW still has a factory battery in it from when I bought it 5-6 years ago.



BMW is a bit of an outlier with regard to battery maintenance. For instance, I have a 2011 328 convertible that came with a Varta Group 42 AGM, which is significantly oversized for the car and typical for BMW. They utilize a smart charger ECU optimized specifically for an AGM charge regimen delivering precise voltages at 3 different discharge states. The ECU is programmed with the age and specs of the battery installed, both Amp Hour rating and reserve capacity. Because the entire system is highly engineered, batteries tend to last in BMW's, but the trade off is it makes them expensive to replace as well, usually around $500 at a dealer. A new battery must be registered to the ECU with the new specs, or it will not survive long. I replaced mine this past summer, original to the car after 10.5 years. It was still functioning without issue, but tested at 56% state of health. I installed it myself, a PITA in this specific car, but paid a tech to register it to the car.




"We have a system that increasingly taxes work, and increasingly subsidizes non-work" - Milton Friedman
 
Posts: 10376 | Location: Richmond, VA | Registered: December 11, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gone but Together Again.
Dad & Uncle
Picture of h2oys
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^^^ My 2011 bmw 335i's original battery lasted 10 years as well.

Para, back to your situation, and just in case you've not bought your battery yet, for our 2002 Ford Ranger and our 2015 Subaru Outback, we go with the Walmart Everstart battery.

Consumer Reports always rates them highly and they are the cheapest as well. I can pull up your exact battery size if you will share it with me. I've found the ratings can vary dependent upon battery size.

From an overall general perspective here is a screen print:

 
Posts: 3855 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: November 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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I just checked the battery terminals. No evidence at all of any corrosion. The terminals are tight and the ground cable is, too. The alternator belt does not seem slack to me.

The battery is an Interstate Megatron II MT-24F, labeled as a 5 year battery. My estimate of when I bought it may be off. You older guys know that the years start rolling by like months. It may very well be that I got my money's worth out of it.

A local dealer wants 140 for the battery with a swap. 209 installed. Puhleeze. 69 bucks to loosen and retighten a couple of terminals.
quote:
Originally posted by h2oys:
Para, back to your situation, and just in case you've not bought your battery yet, for our 2002 Ford Ranger and our 2015 Subaru Outback, we go with the Walmart Everstart battery.

Consumer Reports always rates them highly and they are the cheapest as well.
Yeah, that's what I'm going to do.

Here's my battery. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Eve...lmentIntent=In-store

No swap at that price and WalMart will take my old battery and recycle it if I bring it in to them after I install the new battery.

Thanks to everyone for their help. I am not nor have I ever been a "car guy". I never saw the point of investing a lot of money in something that will end up being soup cans and lawn furniture in a decade or two.
 
Posts: 110020 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Leemur
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Much as I loathe Walmart, I’ve never had a problem with their batteries.
 
Posts: 13882 | Location: Shenandoah Valley, VA | Registered: October 16, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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I have to purchase a 10mm wrench, though, for the battery terminals. Damn metric stuff.
 
Posts: 110020 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:

A local dealer wants 140 for the battery with a swap.




If it's an OEM battery from the dealership I'd be all over that.
 
Posts: 843 | Location: Southern NH | Registered: October 11, 2020Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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No, it's just a service station which happens to be an Interstate dealer. I won't even bother with the dealership. They're money-grubbing thieves.
 
Posts: 110020 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Only the strong survive
Picture of 41
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You did good. I am not a tight wad but being a engineer, you seem to look at every thing in benefit analysis view point.

I change batteries in the fall when the battery reaches seven years. Then it is used on my lawn tractors for another couple years.

Look on your old battery for the month and year it was made.


41
 
Posts: 11896 | Location: Herndon, VA | Registered: June 11, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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quote:
Originally posted by 41:
Look on your old battery for the month and year it was made.
I've looked, but I don't find a code. There is a sticker on top which 0-10, individually, and the 12 months of the year, individually, but neither of these groups is marked in any way.
 
Posts: 110020 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Gone but Together Again.
Dad & Uncle
Picture of h2oys
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Walmart will also install the batter for free, or at least, they used to do so. Here are the ratings for your size battery:



 
Posts: 3855 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: November 24, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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quote:
Originally posted by h2oys:
Walmart will also install the batter for free, or at least, they used to do so.
Nah, I'll doot. I don't want to sit around the WalMart service bay, waiting for them to get to it.


____________________________________________________

"I am your retribution." - Donald Trump, speech at CPAC, March 4, 2023
 
Posts: 110020 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
Here's my battery. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Eve...lmentIntent=In-store

No swap at that price and WalMart will take my old battery and recycle it if I bring it in to them after I install the new battery.


Yep, I've gone with the Wal-Mart Everstart Maxx for my last several battery purchases.

I've always just brought the tools that I needed, and changed the battery in the Wal-Mart parking lot. Only takes a few minutes with some simple handle tools.

Park near the automotive entrance. Buy the new battery, and carry it out. Remove the old battery. Install the new one. Carry the old one inside to turn it in and collect the deposit money. Drive home.
 
Posts: 33430 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
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As best I can tell, there is no deposit/core/exchange, nothin'. It's 98.76 plus tax and that's it.
 
Posts: 110020 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
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Must be a state-by-state thing.
 
Posts: 33430 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
7.62mm Crusader
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You dont have to buy the 10mm wrench as they will loan it too you from just inside the bay. They keep a 10mm hanging there just for this. Also, use a cart so you dont get stuck carrying the batteries. I had 2 of the Everstarts back to back and they failed just under the 2 year warranty so Walmart tested them, both dead. They do honor the warranty but, hang on to your dated receipt and, the purchase gets recorded in their system. Maybe some have good luck with the Everstarts but I see them as cheap replacements. If your Toyo is a 6 cylinder, I feel you should have purchased the Truestart. Any how, good luck with your new battery.
 
Posts: 18017 | Location: The Bluegrass State! | Registered: December 23, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Just because you can,
doesn't mean you should
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One other helpful tip.
Before you venture out to replace the battery, pop open the hood and gently rinse off the battery with a your garden hose or even a gallon jug of water.
Residue of battery acid may not be visible but can damage the paint, your hands and clothes.
Do the same to the new battery before installing.


___________________________
Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible.
 
Posts: 9981 | Location: NE GA | Registered: August 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
Picture of ensigmatic
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
I have to purchase a 10mm wrench, though, for the battery terminals. Damn metric stuff.

I'm not the "car guy" I was in my youth, but there's no way I could get by with what little wrenching I do do without nearly everything I have in SAE duplicated in EMS (Eurotrash Measurement System)



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26029 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of Krazeehorse
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
quote:
Originally posted by 41:
Look on your old battery for the month and year it was made.
I've looked, but I don't find a code. There is a sticker on top which 0-10, individually, and the 12 months of the year, individually, but neither of these groups is marked in any way.

There’s a code on the end of the battery that’s melted into the case. That’s the manufacturing date. It’s comprised of letters and numbers.


_____________________

Be careful what you tolerate. You are teaching people how to treat you.
 
Posts: 5758 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 27, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
teacher of history
Picture of maxwayne
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I do some driving for various dealers. All of my cohorts and myself carry a 10mm wrench as that is the standard for license plate bolts. Hang onto it, might come in handy the next time you change plates.


quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
I have to purchase a 10mm wrench, though, for the battery terminals. Damn metric stuff.
 
Posts: 5703 | Location: Central Illinois | Registered: March 04, 2001Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fire begets Fire
Picture of SIGnified
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by maxwayne:
I do some driving for various dealers. All of my cohorts and myself carry a 10mm wrench as that is the standard for license plate bolts. Hang onto it, might come in handy the next time you change plates.


quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
I have to purchase a 10mm wrench, though, for the battery terminals. Damn metric stuff.


Isn’t it a 3/8”? I mean at 10mm will work.





"Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty."
~Robert A. Heinlein
 
Posts: 26758 | Location: dughouse | Registered: February 04, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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