Good thing about buying a 10mm socket is you can damn near take apart your Toyota and put it back together with that one socket! Every bolt seems to b e a 10mm on my 4Runner

Welp, wife was stranded at Aldi just a few minutes ago. Went and got her. The battery in her 2014 Honda Odyssey is original. Off to Menards to replace it. The only reason I’m going to Menards is because it’s closer than anywhere else. Never bought a battery from them.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
Good thing about buying a 10mm socket is you can damn near take apart your Toyota and put it back together with that one socket! Every bolt seems to b e a 10mm on my 4Runner

When talking about 10mm sockets/wrenches, you need to get several, because that size almost universally disappears.
 
It has become such a running joke that several companies are now selling 10mm sets, with multiple 10mm sockets and/or wrenches.
 

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
What is an "AGM style battery"?

At this point, I'm ready to just go get the WalMart battery with 750 CCA. 97 bucks and change.

That's what I did late last year, although mine is 800 CCA and cost about $10 more. I bought an EverStart Maxx to duplicate the one I had bought at WalMart 9 years earlier.

The old one still would start the Jeep, but it seemed to be laboring harder. I decided 9 years is long enough so I gave that one away and used an old junk battery I had as a trade in. It's only been a couple of months but the new one works just fine. To boot, WalMart backs it with a 3 year free replacement warranty.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
As best I can tell, there is no deposit/core/exchange, nothin'. It's 98.76 plus tax and that's it.

Pretty sure that the price WalMArt shows is assuming you have a "core" to trade in. If you don't they will add the "core charge" to your bill but will refund it to you if you bring an old core back.

I just bought one from WalMart a couple of months ago and I think it was $15 maybe $20 core charge. But they refunded it to me. Maybe different in different states.

Interestingly, when I click on your link to the WalMart battery it comes up at $129.84 here in the Dallas area.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:
Interestingly, when I click on your link to the WalMart battery it comes up at $129.84 here in the Dallas area.

Well, everything is bigger in Texas...

Jesus. I'll probably go with the Interstate battery after all. Since there is some question about WalMart's posted price including a trade-in, I made the mistake of calling the store. A woman with the thickest island accent I've ever heard was the operator. I asked for Automotive. It took two attempts on her part to be understood by me, telling me that Automotive was having trouble with their phone and she could answer my question. "You can answer questions about car batteries, ma'am?" I asked. "Alright," she said, "let me call them on my mo-byle." "Your what?" I asked. "My mo-byle."

The question arises, if she could call them on her "mo-byle" then why couldn't I speak to them directly?

"What is your question?" I tried to explain. She relayed the question to Automotive on her mo-byle but she got the question wrong.

"No, I already know the listed price of the battery. I'm asking is that price includes me turning in my old battery to them."

She didn't understand the question and I didn't understand her when she told me she didn't understand. We went around like that a couple of times and finally I told her that I didn't understand why WalMart has someone taking customer calls who has such difficulty understanding American English, and told her I was hanging up. I didn't thank her because there was nothing to thank her for.

I tried calling back later, but surprise of surprises, my call just rang out to the point that my mo-byle said 'screw it'. I tried calling several times. No answer. Uh huh. She could have gotten someone on the phone who didn't sound like a drunken Bob Marley, but apparently, the WalMart customer service manual says "Just ignore it."

I hate these bastards to begin with, so even if they don't care, which they don't, and even if they don't notice, which they surely won't, I'm taking my business to a local shop where the people who answer the phone actually speak American colloquial English like champs, and who behave as if they appreciate my business.

Price, Quality, Service - pick two.

When was the last time you went to Walmart? Wallyworld is known for their terrible service. That's the trade-off you make for their "low prices". Nothing about your story surprised me, b/c it's entirely consistent w/ the Walmart way.

I hate going to Walmart, but there have been times I relented when they had great deals on ammo. The trade-off is that every time I've gone, I've had to wait a minimum of 20 min for the one employee w/ the key to the ammo cabinet to come help me.

Around here the posted price includes trading in your old battery or they will add the core price of the old battery..$12.

I resubmit my suggestion. Interstate battery from Costco (if you are member). Costco is always a pleasant experience. The batteries are sorted out in the tire center.

They charge a core fee. $15 last year when I last changed a battery. They refund the core fee when you bring back a battery.

In addition to a 10mm socket, an adjustable wrench is also handy. I'm fond of this little 6" made in Spain Channelock branded adjustable wrench: Channellock 806NW Adjustable Wrench Black Phosphate Coated, 6-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000..._encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I also have this Crescent branded combo pass through socket and adjustable wrench. For versatility, it wins in spades. Each socket does both metric and SAE, and has a pass through for long bolts. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Cr...ece-CPTAW8/205642158

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
I resubmit my suggestion. Interstate battery from Costco (if you are member).

I am not.

Having a trade in is pretty normal, otherwise they tack on a fee known as a 'core charge'. Which you can get back when you return with your old battery.

As noted in previous posts, many cars and trucks have a constant current drain which can reduce battery life, particularly when driven intermittantly. My 2003 Silverado has some drain and is driven intermittantly. It has an Interstate from Costco and it was cranking slowly when cold. I was at Costco and decided I'd spend $100 on a new battery to ensure reliability and stop overworking the starter, which low voltage does. Went to install it and found I had bought the weak one in May of 2020 and was still in the 36 month warranty period. Took it back and they refunded all but the price increase of $5. It is cranking great now.

Has the suggestion been made to put the current battery on a charger overnight then taking it in to have it load tested? Is driving the vehicle 500 miles in 2 years even enough to charge the battery?

Yees, the suggestion has been made. Let me ask this- if I have a "five year battery", does it fail after approximately five years whether or not it's used a great deal? Can you turn a five year battery into a seven or eight year battery by using it very little?

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
... if I have a "five year battery", does it fail after approximately five years whether or not it's used a great deal?

Not necessarily. That "five year" thing is an approximation based on average use in average climate. It may last longer, it may die sooner.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Can you turn a five year battery into a seven or eight year battery by using it very little?

Depends on too many factors to say. E.g.: Do you have a warmer or colder climate than average? When using it very little does that mean spending long periods sitting idle? When used, is it exposed to average demand and is it allowed to reach full charge after use? Is the charging system behaving properly? (Neither over-charging, under-charging, or too-aggressively charging the battery.) Then there are the inconsistencies in manufacturing, which means no two batteries will necessarily perform identically.

So the answer is: "Maybe."

Do you have an honest-to-God automotive battery place anywhere nearby? That's where I've been going for probably forty years. They've never led me wrong yet--including times they could have sold me a new battery, but, instead, after testing the battery I hadn't bought from them (came with the vehicle), told me "Your battery's fine."

<Notices another comment, just above...>

Oh...

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Now, the battery is four or so years old, yes, but in the past two and a half years, I haven't put 500 miles on this truck...

I apologize. I missed that comment.

So the truck sat. A lot. When lead-acid batteries sit a lot they are prone to sulfation: BU-804b: Sulfation and How to Prevent it

My guess is that's what's happened to your battery.

quote:

Can you turn a five year battery into a seven or eight year battery by using it very little?

I don't believe so. Sitting for long periods, especially if out in the weather, and then only being used for short trips, is just as hard on and probably worse for a battery than being driven every day. There is always a small amount of current drain from the memories of radios, clocks and whatever electronic modules are present. Short trips compound this by not fully recharging after a startup.

Sulfation. Dang, sounds horrible.

So, a new battery and a trickle charger is what I need, then.

What's a good, inexpensive trickle charger, if there is such a thing/

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yees, the suggestion has been made. Let me ask this- if I have a "five year battery", does it fail after approximately five years whether or not it's used a great deal? Can you turn a five year battery into a seven or eight year battery by using it very little?

Maybe.
I have a pickup I drive very little and keep a Battery Tender on when I know it will sit for a while.
If a battery drops a lot, like it will when sitting for extended periods of time, and gets charged back up to full charge quickly (more amps), that seems to be harder on the battery. The tenders charge at a very low rate (1 amp or less usually, and no more than 2) and maintain around 100% compared to an alternator that could be 12 or more.

Oy

It's a car battery. When did this stuff become so convoluted? There's two or more answers for every question or issue.