ILTomK

I looked at the top of the battery on my 07 TSX, 17 months old, about 16K miles on it.

There are three symbols next to a round window. As I recall one is a red cycle or broken circle that says battery is OK. Another is a white circle that says something about needing service or charging, can't remember which right now. The third circle is blue and says something about distilled water. There is a slot on the top of the window that looks as if a quarter would fit in it.

The top of the battery says "Maintenance Free." What is with the distilled water part I called the dealer service dept and they didn't seem to know about it. The guy said that they just check the battery function. I'm bringing the car in on Monday AM.

Anyone had any experience with this?

JimHolloman

Why are you taking the car in on Monday? Hopefully, not because of the battery. Compare the sight hole, in the top of the battery, to the symbols and see if there is any abnormality. Most likely, your battery is fine. It is generally a good idea to replace a battery at 48 months. Beyond that and the failure rate goes up sharply.

ILTomK

Sorry Jim, I wasted the time that you took for your response.

I neglected to include one important detail. The sight hole is showing the color (blue) for distilled water.

Many years ago I replaced a battery at about the 48 month with a "good as long as you own your car" warranty. Kept the car for 10 years, about our minimum, and got two new batteries free. I don't think that anyone is offering that type of warranty anymore.

litesout

Even a maintenance free battery needs water every now and again. It evaporates over time and seriously reduces their life span. If the window's blue, it probably means that the water level is low. Distilled water is ideal for batteries, but can be a bit tough to find. There should be some screw on covers recessed into the top of the battery for filling.