Today was Battery test day. Advance Auto (Autocraft Gold) battery is 5 years old now (from date of purchase), And voltage passed well. But Amps are down.
While fussing with the battery I was removing the top to access the hidden acid fill caps, pulled the battery top decal up & noticed it had another under it.. From before Advance, used to be Carquest. & the date was 2015

So feeling a lil ripped off, I got about 8 years outta it then. They got 3 & I got 5. Arrgh. The store said nothing they can do.. And I said you just lost me as a customer.

Think it's time to throw some biz to local Napa, & their Made in USA batteries.

 

That strikes me as fraud. Maybe some lawyer wants to file a class-action suit

We have Advance, Autozone, O Reily, and Napa, all within a couple of blocks. Advance is always my last choice.

 

Thanks- Strikes me as fraud as well... Especially cause it had a round green sticker on it w/ date of July 2018 on top corner... My OE Delco lasted 11 years.

We have them all as well, in close proximity also. Advance will still be my used oil dumping place. But I'm done with them, I spoke to the store manager & he said he wasn't even working there before the name change.. Advance announced it bought out Carquest on Jan 3, 2014

I'm looking into attempting contact with upper management.. I just feel taken advantage of, Store manager said it is common practice to change labels. That was a shock.

 

Evenyone is alway obsessed with the load test but these car don't need that much power. I'm more interested in if the battery holds voltage. Within limits, of course. The power steering motor makes its demands. I don't turn the wheel unless the car is rolling.

 

Very true. I just am getting to the age where I don't wanna have to push in winter, for example..
It's not holding a good 12.6 after sitting a few days. With diminished amps, the Alt has to compensate for that..

 

Hate to say this but.. Walmart has about the best price and warranty on batteries these days..

 

Yeah, with Winter coming, I would put a fork in it.

I saved the original battery from my 2011 after replacing it after 10 years. When I go to charge it about every 6 months, it's usually a bit under 13V. Now prolly at least 13 years old. Weird.

I remember years ago reading a Consumer Reports review of car batteries. They emphasized that, counterintuitively, performance varied with battery size group, i.e., brand A might do better with one size, while brand B might do better with another size. Also, durability didn't correlate well with warranty duration.

Walmart's Everstart Maxx got a best buy, if I remember correctly. Our T5/90 is $160 at a nearby store. Duracell is $140 at Sam's Club.

I don't worry too much about the warranties because with the battery management system and the nice cool rear cargo bay location, I would expect even the crappiest battery to outlast anyone's warranty.

 

After many months of searching, I finally found an untorn rubber seal for my drivers side front door.
15 minutes to replace and 'VIOLA'
a major reduction in wind noise.

 

Enjoy the silence!

Today , I started it up and moved it so I could wash and vacuum the Terrain after our trip to Cape Cod .
The BlackSwan fired off like normal after sitting since last Sunday.

 

took a short drive last night to an ex-coworker's 50th birthday party. 185 miles round trip (with a few miles on gravel roads) and my HHR had no problems. Got home just before midnight and it wa good to see old friends! Only saw 4 or 5 deer along the road, they were admiring my HHR !! At least they didn't try to commit suicide in front of me.... (the deer that is) Now it needs a good car wash to get the road dust off it.