szhosain

Looked for the information, but don't seem to see it anywhere here ...

The Acura OEM battery in my wife's 2011 TSX 4-cylinder is just too weak - been like this since the start really.

If we leave the radio on for 15 minutes, or even forget any internal light at night, it will not retain enough charge to turn the engine over. She has been semi-stranded four times this year alone.

Any recommendations for specific batteries, by the way? I use an Interstate in my car (not the Acura) and like it, but not sure what is best for this car.

Thanks much!

iCrap

Size is 51R. Found it in a 2 second google search " acura tsx battery group" first result. obviously you didn't look very hard lol

Use whatever battery you like really... optima ones are highly rated.

szhosain

Oops, I guess I didn't use the right search terms. Sorry about that! I will look for a 51R battery for her car.

The Optima tend to be expensive though ... as I recall (have not used them myself).

dbat23

Coincidentally, both I (in cold Wisconsin) and my son (in Tampa) own 2010 TSX's and my battery died last Saturday and his today. We both replaced with Interstate MT-51R's which are highly rated, 500 CCA, and only about $95, while Acura battery is 425 CCA and $160.00.

NBP04TL4ME

Semi-stranded wife 4 times this year.

You must have a very understanding wife After the 2nd time, my better half would be all over my case to get that taken care of.

I have always been a fan of the Sears DieHard - DieHard | Automotive Batteries

szhosain

I jump-started her car on two of those occasions and AAA helped me avoid getting too burnt this last time! Luckily it was at home in the garage, so she wasn't out somewhere bad waiting for the guy to show.

Anyway, the Acura dealer "tested" the battery and charging system yesterday and this battery is supposedly within their specs, so will not replace it under warranty. The heck with that - I will just pay for a good battery and replace it myself. I'd rather avoid a worse stranded situation for her.

According to Consumer Reports, the Interstate and DieHard are good ones, but they didn't test any 51R group ones. There is some difference in top ratings in different groups shown in their tests, so I am not sure which is best.

But, as you noted, probably can't go wrong with either of these two brands.

Thanks to everybody for the responses!

WheelMcCoy

Everstart MAXX from Walmart got good ratings from Consumer Reports. I am using it in my Mazda3.

The battery in my wife's TSX Wagon died twice. The first time, the Acura dealer tested it and found no problem. The second time, they replaced it, no questions asked. I consider myself fortunate to have a reasonable dealer.

iCrap

Keep complaining. I had to go through this last year. My car would be dead every time I went out to it. Complained to the service dept and they said it was "normal." and that it passed their diagnostic. Yeah, fucking right it's "normal." So they had the manager come out, we talked to them and got a free battery as a "goodwill to customer." The warranty on these batteries is 5 years on the car's original battery and 7 years on the replacement. Might as well get it replace if you can.

NBP04TL4ME

Either that or you might accidentally leave your lights on for an extended period of time...........

szhosain

Maybe when I drop it off for service the next time, an interior light will "accidentally" stay on!

szhosain

A good point ...

I will be taking the car in for some work next week, so will ask to talk to the manager. We like this dealership ... they have treated us right over the years (two cars purchased from them), so will see what might be possible.

Thanks!

Username 0

I heard that once a maintenance-free car battery is completely discharged, it will lose almost 50% of its life or capacity.

NBP04TL4ME

I can't speak to the numbers, but can tell you automotive batteries are not designed to be deep cycled.

urbanstereo

i ended up getting a interstate for mine. 51R is what u want

urbanstereo

although in my accord i had an optima yellow top, but i heard quality has gone down so i didn't look into it

Cu2Suspect

Yeah I have the same issue with mine, it's always turned over but ... Sometimes hesitates like crazy... Oem battery is terrible

xtcnrice

I have a 2013 but it struggled last winter (when I picked her up) and I suspect it will do the same this winter.

robpp

iTrader: (2)

one other point. your alternator will only do so many deep charges too/

buy a real battery.

musty hustla

The V6 uses 24F.

ScottyWM

Just had mine replaced under warranty today, because the dealer said it was "low". (Had it in for just an oil change.)

The Stig CA

You said you have AAA, so an option is to just give AAA a call and have them install a new battery. It is super easy, and they offer a good warranty if anything goes wrong with it. It comes with a 6 year warranty, and 3 year free replacement. They come to you, and install it for free. The price for our car (I have a 2012 TSX 4 cyl, but it's the same) is $99, which is probably a little on the high side.

I cannot attest to their quality, but it's gotta be better than the crap OEM.

Just my $0.02.

TSXV6Guy

Honda's 4 cylinder batteries are way too small for any serious winter conditions. You can use the opportunity to replace the small battery with a larger one. I thing some 4 cylinder owners in here have done it. You need to get a longer ground wire and a larger tray. SOmeone in here or on one the accord forums had posted the part numbers of what's required.

Username 0

I always keep a battery float charger on my cars. Makes the battery last longer. They are not that expensive and keep your battery alive.

Puppetmaster

My limited experience is that Honda batteries generally don't last very long. My 2006 Pilot battery went out at 32k, my wagon battery could barely crank at 36k miles (Autozone tested it and it was on the verge), and now my wife's MDX battery, at 28k miles, is asking to be changed per the on board diagnostic system. I think those warnings starting popping up 3k miles ago too. Our previous two cars, a VW and Nissan, had the original batteries last until at least 50k or so. I know 3-5 years is a normal life span, it's just that these batteries seem to be on the lower end of that range.

I definitely agree that the OEM batt for the TSX is weak in terms of CCA compared to other batteries in the same class.

szhosain

Thanks for all the additional info, folks! I have not yet had a chance to get to the dealer to whine harder. If that does not work, I will look for a good Interstate 51R battery - that brand is working very well for me in my car.

Anyway, for the past few months, we have just been extra careful to avoid any inside lights staying on, etc. and that has temporarily dealt with the issue till I take the car in for the next service opportunity.

OTOH, the idea of putting in a larger battery (with a larger tray and longer cable) is also quite appealing. Will search for those posts here.

Thanks again!

szhosain

That sounds quite interesting ... I will look for those posts.

Thanks!

PyroDave

take a look into fitting a 24F in there, just pull and chuck the plastic casing shit in the tray, measure the metal, and find out dimensions of the battery you want. remember higher CCA is better. 500 is better than our stock, i'd pop up to 600 if possible without much issue, i think that can be found in a 51R, 700 in a 24F which should fit if you bend/torque the tie down a bit, or buy a new tie down

fxcarden

My dealer replaced my battery for free under warranty last month (2011 TSX). Apparently they have an extended warranty for some reason. Just thought I'd put that out there.

jctsxguy

2011 TSX, had the same battery issue. Care died after having being in accessory position for less than 10 minutes twice. When I took in in a few months ago the dealer said the battery test came out fine. I noticed cranking slowing down noticeably during start the last few days. Took it to the dealer again, this time the battery test failed. Good thing too since the 48 month warranty was up next week, so I was still able to get a brand one installed by the dealer for free.

I think the first word of out my mouth when the service rep said "Your battery test failed" was "awesome "

2012wagon

Well after 6 years, OEM battery died. Car wouldn't start this morning. Time to get a new battery.

TSX1012m6

You know what to do, upgrade to a bigger battery

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-.../#post15946976