My wife has a 2014 RDX FWD. She has about 65k on her car. Today she took it in for service and they told us, once again, she needs a new battery. I think this is #4. At least 1 was replaced under warranty.

How long should these batteries last? This current one was replaced 27 months ago.

Second, I am making a mistake by using Acura batteries? Should I be replacing it with a different brand?

 

yeah, use a different battery...
seems like Acura cut costs by using a cheaper battery.

depending on where you live and the weather; you can get 3-4 years out of a aftermarket battery made by the bigger companies like Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls makes most of the batteries at the big box stores like; autozone, sears, etc.etc.etc.

 

I am in NJ, outside Philly. The weather here certainly isn't extreme like the northern parts of the country.

Ok, so this is our last Acura battery.

 

you could possibly see 5 years with a better made battery.

 

That was my original expectation. My Infiniti Q50 has 39k and I am still on my first battery. 5 years.

This is my first Acura so I wasn't sure what to expect.

 

yeah, the acura batteries are one the most common complaints, as you found out...only about a 2 year life span

 

It appears you may have a parasitic current draw. Check with your mechanic.

 

I had a Chevy van that went through batteries like Your Acura.I had it nine years and 6 batteries.It would never start in winter after a couple of years with a battery.Finally a mechanic cut the insulation off of the positive battery clamp to find nine wires,only three were connected to the clamp.So battery failure is not as common as people think.Get a second opinion or have the battery load tested at any auto parts store. Four batteries in five years sounds "fishy" to Me.

 

When I was shopping for my current RDX, I noticed the Carfaxes on a lot of the Outbacks and RDXs I was checking out showed batteries being replaced around 30K miles. I was later advised that the OEM batteries in these vehicles suck, and that I should expect more life out of the replacement. So I wasn't scared off any more by a RDX on its 2nd battery. Time will tell how long the replacement will go.

I wonder how much of the short battery life is due to everything being shoehorned under the hood and getting stupidly hot. The Volvo I had before went 9 years and 147K on its original battery, at least in part due to it being in the back away from all the engine heat.

 

On two of our cars that were bought new and were sold at 15 and 16 years, the batteries were still the originals. So they can last 16 years.

Batteries last if the charging system is up to snuff and you do not take ultra-short trips to the corner store.

I used an East Penn battery in the used car I bought.

 

While that may be your experience, batteries in a lot of new cars do not last much longer than 3 years. Five years would be an outlier.
Those old cars you had that had batteries that lasted a long time were not computers with engines.

 

We'll see, but I doubt it will change. My 1999 had a computer under the hood. Each car had original batteries made by Panasonic, so that explains a lot. Plus there were plenty of people with old cars, some without electronic wizardry that had batteries that lasted a couple of years. My motorcycle batteries which get seasonal use last over 9 years and they do not always get "looked after".

If people have a battery problem, they have issues be it a charging problem, a drain, operating them in very hot temperatures, etc.

 

I used to have 2011 Audi that I sold in 2017 with well over 100K miles and original battery. Lexus RX350 original battery lasted close to 7 years. Replaced with Interstate battery that lasted only 3 years.
As I said before, the car has parasitic drain. Fix it and your car battery will last as designed.

 

Battery just crapped out in our 15 RDX, it lasted 5.5 years. Generally I've never gotten any more than 5 to 6 years out of a battery in cold climate locales.

 

5 years is solid.. i'd be happy with that .

 

Cold climates put more of a load on the battery during starts, but high temperatures like in the deep south cut battery life. General rule is anything over the standard temperature of 25C, every 8C above that cuts battery life in half.

 

I lived in Dubai in the hot Middle East for many years. The best battery would not last more than 30 months, but 18 months is not uncommon.

The only exception are the batteries mounted in the trunk like BMW and Mercedes. Because they are not exposed to the heat from the engine, they would last 5-7 years. Of course, it costs the manufacturer more money to place the battery away from the engine in the trunk.

 

The battery in my Volvo V70 was mounted in the back. It lasted 9 years, and 147K miles, and I had it replaced when the low voltage caused the computer to start throwing airbag faults.

 

The trunk mounted AGM battery in my 2012 BMW 550i lasted 2 1/2 in Phoenix and cost $500 to replace.

 

Now you know why "heat" and "vibration" are the biggest killers of batteries. And overcharging which is temperature dependent does not help, especially on VRLA batteries.

These are mostly 6TAGM batteries used in the military. Guess where? Hint...it was hot, really hot.

 

Data Point: The battery in my wife's 13 RDX just died...dead, without any progression or forewarning. This battery was OEM, Acura branded which was installed just before we purchased this vehicle in 02-2018...meaning the original battery lasted almost 5 years and this replacement OEM battery went ~2.5 years.

I replaced it with a WalMart EverStart Maxx (made by Johnson Controls) because of the excellent service and warranty I've enjoyed with the brand.

 

And where do you live? Climate makes a difference.

 

I live in the mountains of SW VA...very moderate climate

 

The OEM battery in my 2016 Advance was replaced at 3 yrs and 7 months. It hadn't really failed when I replaced it, I just thought that it turned the engine over a little slow on very cold mornings. Out of caution I replaced it. Car has been used only in the Midwest (Kansas/Iowa) since new. Replaced it with a much more powerful X2 Power AGM.

 

The OEM battery on my '13 RDX lasted till April 2018, making it just over 4 years old when I encountered a startup failure after having the radio on for an hour with the car turned off . I live in the SF Bay area with milder climate and the car doesn't get driven around much.

I ended up replacing it myself with a Costco battery which cost me just over $100 with trading in the old battery. If I remember correctly the OEM battery was rated for 450 CCA (cold cranking amps). The Costco one is 750 CCA, which gives it a good bit more power to keep cranking a hesitant engine in cold weather. Their batteries are rebranded Interstate and come with Costco's warranty which I believe was for 3 years from the date stamped on the battery.

Someone commented about Subaru Outbacks earlier in the thread having poor batteries. My neighbor had this issue too and used my RDX for a jump multiple times (when I had the OEM battery). Subaru saved cost by putting in 300 or 350 CCA batteries for a few years, which was just too low and the battery didn't have enough juice left after a few short trips