2nd Honda / acura battery failed on 2015 MDX in 18 months. Under warranty but sure caught me off guard.

 

Never had much luck with Honda/Acura batteries lasting more the 3-4 years in the southwest. Usually, they start fine and dead the next start without warning. I replaced with interstate and get the full warranty period or more from them.

 

they are free right now because of the warranty on them. Maybe if the ride weren't so stiff they would last longer.

 

it's a cheap/free battery...
they dont last long because they are cheap/free.

if you want a battery that is more reliable, you will have to buy one....one that is not a honda branded battery.
Duralast (autozone) is a good brand.
Sears battery is a good battery brand.
anything but the stupid honda battery

 

It is just the fear of being stranded with a failed battery concerns me. We were lucky to be in town each time I had an issue. I think it is the poor quality of the Honda/Acura battery and extreme temp swings from summer to winter I have with my travels. I can be negative temps in winter in Colorado and 6 months later in Phoenix with +115 degrees. I usually get 30-45 days for 98-105 degree heat in NM during the summer and average temps low-mid 90s rest of the summer (probably way hotter than that in the engine bay). So far, 3 Acuras and 3 fail batteries in 3 to 3 1/2 years average. I will be looking to upgrade my 19 MDX battery in 3-4 years just in-case it might happen a 4th time.

 

I have one of these as safety item in case my battery fails. I tested this one time on my old car with a completely dead cold battery. It works.

 

Stiff suspension = failing batteries?

 

I was good until I got to the stiff suspension part. Care to explain rationale here?

Are the honda batteries actually made by Panasonic?

 

That's why I bought a battery charger/maintainer.

 

I have a battery charger/maintainer at home and have the NOCO GB40 or GB50 portable Li-Io jump starters along with jumper cables in each vehicle. My son is a hero at his college dorm because he can jump other kids cars with his GB40. Those cars sit for weeks/months because they can't afford the gas to drive them. It is becoming a lost art of jumping cars, changing tires, or changing engine oil for Y2K generation.

 

bouncing a battery all the time knocks pieces of the lead matrix off. It collects on the bottom and shorts the plates out. We have speed bumps on the street even though we take them slow it still shakes the car pretty good every time we go out and come home. But the good news is that no more traffic short cutting down the street or doing 90 in a 25.

 

I don't know if this has been addressed before in the forums. As part of the crazy rush to get better EPA numbers, Acura, as well as most other manufactures, have made engineering choices that create user problems. The well-known problems like VCM vibration, shifting programs that favor MPG rather than driveability, the whacko 9 speed ZF etc. are part of this insanity. The charging system on my '14 MDX leaves the battery constantly undercharged. It likes to stay at 12.2 volts while cruising, going up to 12.6 at times. A battery needs a minimum of about 13.2 volts to start charging, and 14.0 to 14.4 to reach fully charged in a reasonable time. The only time I see those voltages is running the engine in neutral or park. If you use a power plug voltmeter on your MDX, I expect that you will get the same results. It is well known that flooded lead-acid battery life is reduced by staying in an undercharged condition over long periods of time.

After having my original battery fail after 3 years, I now use an external battery maintainer while parked.

 

If you can document the 12.2 volts I would hound the dealer until they either say that is normal or they fix it. I don't have a voltmeter on mine but I guess I could put one on it temp. If 12.2 is normal then all it would take is one battery manufacturer to say that will kill batteries and there would be a big class action. This is the 2nd battery Acura has replaced on my 2015. 18 months is an awful life for a battery. They should last 4 years at least.