Guys it's 31F outside and my car (2008 TL) has been sitting out for the last 24 hours. When I went to start it today it wouldn't crank - looks like the battery has discharged. I am surprised because I have had no problems starting the car in temps of -16F last winter. I got the battery tested when I got my car serviced in October this year and it tested "good".
My questions are:
1. What is the average battery life for an Acura OEM battery?
2. Why would the battery discharge in "not so cold temps" when it tested good in couple of months ago? Can couple of months make such a big difference? I have been driving the car around regularly so it's not like it has been sitting idle for long.
3. What is the warranty coverage on the battery? In case I have to replace it would this be covered under warranty?
4. Which is a good battery to go for other than OEM? and how much is the cost of an average battery?
Appreciate your help!!
Thanks!!

 

1-acura batteries...SUCK. as to avg life...6 mos to 5-6 yrs. the former is freakish, and the latter is rare. BOTH of my acura batteries crapped out at 3 yrs and 3 yrs and a few months. my first was replaced under warranty for free. the most recent 2nd one....flickering lights, hard start....(same as the first)...i replaced with an aftermarket battery which will hopefully last longer than 3 yrs.
2-acura batteries have been known to spontaneously die without warning.
3-100 mos...you're lucky to get to 36-48 months. it's prorated aftera certain amount of time. maybe be covered under warranty...check with dealer.
4-$90-$200 for aftermarket depending on which one you go with. yellow top, red top, autozone, costco, interstate...to name a few.

i have an interstate battery (megatron plus 85 mos). got great reviews by CR and rated #1 by them for our battery size. avg cost $120. so far no issues (there shouldn't be its been in my car for 2 months now. my car can sit for a week and start no problem.

so its up to you...you have an 08 its almost 2012...you're in that range for acura battery crapping out. good luck!

 

Mine OEM battery is running strong from my '05 TL. For the past 2 years, my car has been garage kept which may help with the temperature stress although I live in SC which is mild anyway.

 

did you leave a light on or a door ajar? There was an issue with the HFL but I believe it was resolved by that model year.

The original acura battery was changed out at 8 years (november 2008, car was built november 2000) when I noticed the car starting to take longer to start and the headlights would flicker during the crank. How do I know it was the orginial? it had Marysville address stamped on it where as the replacements do not. New battery instantly resolved that problem and it is over 3 years old and not a honda oem one. I went for a higher CCA battery that was slightly heaver due to where I live (Minnesota)

Oem battery faithfully started the car even when the temps plummetted to -25F outside

 

I've got an 06 and my battery died earlier this year. I leave my car outside under a carport with a car cover. I went to Ireland for about 5 weeks Jan-Feb and it started giving me problems when I came back. Went dead in March or April.

 

Thanks all for the responses!!

TLtrigirl - I will checked the warranty book and it says Acura credits you for 60% of the replacement battery cost after month 36. Any idea how the credit works? Do I have to go for an Acura battery to get the credit? Any idea how much an Acura battery costs installed?

YeuEmMaiMai - I am pretty sure I didn't leave anything open/on. I have had absolutely zero issues with battery so far and like I said it was checked in October. I couldnt see the battery indicator tonight will check it tomorrow morning to see what it says. Maybe that will tell me if the battery is bad? If the car starts fine tomorrow how will I know the battery is still good and won't crap up on me sometime soon?

Thanks again all!!

 

the credit is applied to a new acura battery at the dealer. i think an acura battery costs $100. the dealer will charge you an arm to do the install unless they like you they might do it for free. it should only take 5 min to swap them out.

have your radio and navi codes available.

 

Q: Acura battery life??


A: Sucks.

 

Any battery can die in the 3-6 year range, and probably will.
Most die with no warning. Just like that stinking light in the closet!!!!
Autozone batteries are a very nice quality battery. I've bought a ton for different vehicles. It's all I go with these days...
Always have heard good things about Interstate too, but Autozone is easier.

Of course, this is like oil thread-lite.......

 

The dealer replaced my battery in my '05 under warranty in it's forth year. I had no problems with it. They tested it while in for the power steering hose recall and said it was weak. The replacement is now about the same age and still no problems. The car has low mileage (35K) and is garage kept on Long Island.

The battery in my previous car, 2001 Acura CL-S, had the original battery when it was traded after 5 years. It was working fine and had pretty much the same use pattern and same location.

The car before that, 1991 Honda Accord, I changed the battery twice in the 16 years I had it. Every 7 or 8 years.

I had a performance boat many years ago that would need a battery every 1 to 2 years due the physical abuse it took. When I oversized it I would get a 3 year life. That's with a 6 month season, removing the battery in the off season and placing it in the basement with a full charge. I don't believe batteries made for rugged use were made back then.

So many variables affect battery life along with the type, size, and brand itself. Like the manufacture's say "Your mileage may vary!".

Oh, don't forget there is a pretty high output alternator in our cars to handle all the powered stuff (seat heaters).

 

^^you must be one of the lucky ones with long "normal" OEM battery life.

 

I changed the OEM battery in my 06 at 4 years of ownership- it wasn't dead, but started to crank just a bit more slowly in the colder weather. I bought my battery for $85 from Autozone (Duralast brand with a free, 3 year replacement, and then a total of 84 months prorated warranty). It's been a good battery since I bought it. Even if your OEM battery has some prorated time, after the expense of getting a new Acura battery, even at a discount, you would probably do better financially and get a better battery going aftermarket. AGM batteries are excellent (like Optima brand), but expensive. For standard power demands of the TL, a good quality lead-acid battery will do fine.

Usual story, no battery will last forever. There's eventual sulfation of the lead plates in the battery that cause deterioration with time and a battery can only tolerate a maximum number of charge and discharge cycles (deep discharging a battery multiple times really shortens battery life). Also, sometimes internal short circuits can develop in the battery resulting in failure.

 

the original OEM battery has a 4yr/unlimited mileage warranty. I had the original battery replaced just after 3 yrs/90K+miles free even tho I never had any problems with it. The dealer said it tested low when they were doing my annual state inspection. Tomorrow I am going to the local acura dealer for it's annual state inspection.

 

May be only due to driving 6,000 miles a year and being garaged!

 

You are still lucky-my mom's 08 honda accord is driven about that many miles in a year (short distance not every day trips) and the car is garaged. Had to replace the battery.

 

They are GARBAGE, mine last 2 years the most. WARRANTY? that's a bunch of BS. Twice now my dealer has refused to replace my batteries under FULL warranty, they simply pro rate it.

 

<---------


Same battery, better dealer.

I"m on battery #3.

1st Battery = 2 years and a couple months; 100% warranty.
2nd Battery = 2 years and few months; 100% warranty.
3rd Battery = Scheduled to die ~12/2013.

 

Summer hurts batteries, winter kills them off. Here in the Dallas area, anything more than 3 years is pretty decent for an OEM battery.

Agree with the AutoZone Duralast Gold battery suggestion. Usually a lot more CCA (cold cranking amps), long reserve-able to drive my old 626 more than 30 miles home after the crank pulley blew apart and there was no way to put the alternator belt back on) and still have it still start up after I got home, great battery at a reasonable price.

 

So the battery was dead again this morning. I checked the indicator on the battery and it is still green. Shouldn’t it red or orange or something? Anyways so it looks like I am going to have to get a new battery asap.
TLtrigirl – I wouldn’t mind doing the install myself but it seems (from the Acura website) that the warranty is valid only if it is installed by a dealer. That sounds strange because I feel the warranty should not be dependent on who installs it. Any recommendations on an AF battery??

Jimmyl – The acura service provider who came to jump start my car yesterday recommended Interstate too. What do you mean by the Autozone battery is easier? Easier to install? What kind of battery should I be looking for?
Clsdave – If you don’t mind me asking, how much did you have to pay in the fourth year for the battery and installation? How did the Acura credit thing work out? Any hassles? I am planning to call/visit the dealership tomorrow to get quotes etc.
So far only list of probable I have Acura OEM, Duralast Gold? (Autozone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco) and Optima. Any recommendations other than these, among these? And how much should I expect to spend on an average on installation of an AF or OEM battery?
Just out of curiosity, with reference to nj2pa2nc’s post - when does a battery test low? And what is the indication? I have the battery test result from the October test at the dealer and the result was 12,.79V 470CCA – what does this mean?
I appreciate all the advice pouring in. Thanks all!!

 

12V ------- 6V --BATTERY CHARGE
12.65 v -- 6.32 v -- 100%
12.45 v -- 6.22 v -- 75%
12.24 v -- 6.12 v -- 50%
12.06 v -- 6.03 v -- 25%
11.89 v -- 6.00 v -- 0%

I went to o'reilly auto and had my battery tested. He said it came up as 13.0v even. He told me that it's unusual for the battery to read that high, and usually when it's that high it's known as a "false positive" and said most likely its going bad. I started the car and he said my alternator as well as my starter seems to be just fine.

I too had similar problems as you did - you can read more about my problem that I posted in the "Problems & Fixes" part of the forum here == https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/symptom-starter-going-bad-battery-841753/ == -

I had a Digital MultiMeter and also measured it myself and it read well above 12.65v... I got 12.85 - 12.9V.

I decided to replace the battery with a "Super Start" brand battery that I had laying in my garage from my previous vehicle. I used my Digital Multimeter and measured it when it was still on the garage floor and it read 12.45V aka 75% charge.

The next morning I put it in the car and have cranked the car to start about 6 times already and it's started up just fine. No signs of the previous problems that I used to have.

I noticed that with my original Acura battery, I started experiencing the 'problems' within the last 2 weeks. It just so happens that within the last 2 weeks is also the same time that here in Texas the weather has dipped into the 20's and 30's so I'm assuming it's the cold weather that did this to my battery.

After some research, it turns out the OEM acura battery that is in our vehicles are rated at 550 CCA (Cold Cranking Amps). The "Super Start" battery I replaced it with is rated at 725 CCA. The higher the CCA, the better it is for cold starts. I think anyways lol.

Get a new battery man and see how it works. Worked for me so far, but it's only been 2 days...

 

if the dealer installs, then i would imagine they charge you like $20 to put it in or just the price of the battery. if you have a good relationship with the dealer then...they might be nice and put it in for you no charge.

if you want aftermarket...after a little research...i went with an interstate megatron plus 85 mos battery. for the battery size (24), for our cars it ranked #1 in CR. also has more than enough cold cranking power to get our cars going.

autozone i believe is just more readily available b/c autozones are everywhere. certain areas don't have interstate batteries readily available. my body shop was able to get one for me and installed for free (my car at the time was getting a new rear bumper and repaint (long story) and my battery was checking out at that time.

run some searches on reviews for batteries and make your decision from there. i know there is so much info out there it makes your head spin. i even searched on AZ for the interstate battery and felt it was a pretty safe to go with since it had nothing but positive reviews along with the CR ranking and testing.

for me i just don't wanna hassle with "hoping" the car starts. i want to know it will start. my battery was $120. usually autozone type places will install for free and give you $10 or so back for a core exchange (they take your battery).

GL.

@viet-glad it worked out for ya. wondered what happened. no more weird stuff going on in your car?

 

If Acura wants $100 for another battery AND want to charge you to install it, go somewhere else. You can get a much better battery from an auto parts store for that price.

I'm on my 3rd Acura battery. First one lasted 2 years, second one lasted 2 years, and the one in now is going out after, you guessed it, 2 years. Acura won't cover this one so its upgrade time. Looking at the Duralast Gold. 750 CCA, 935ca, 3 year free replacement.

 

After 4 years (in 2009) my TL was hard to start on the first cold morning in the fall. Didn't mess around and went immediately went to Autozone for a replacement, knowing the OEM quality.

 

The dealer replaced the battery at no charge under warranty. The car probably had about 20,000 miles on it at the time and I was thinking they did the replacement to get more money from Acura. With all short life battery problems here may be it was getting weak. I just never had a problem. The car starts like most Honda's, in two or three seconds. Three seconds being a long.time.

 

In my experience, when you have the dealer replace the battery under warranty, the new battery is only warrantied for the remainder of the warranty period that is on the battery that it is replacing...

When you buy the battery elsewhere, (in my case Costco), when the battery dies prematurely, they pro-rate the cost of the battery, and cut you a check. In my case, since the battery lasted 3 years or less, I got a full refund... Then I purchased a new battery, and started the cycle over again... I've gotten 2 free batteries so far for each car I've used the battery in.

As far as longevity is concerned, it has a LOT to do with how often you drive, how far you drive, and the temperature that you use the battery. For the climate I have here, and the type of driving I do, I have never had a battery last more than 4 years, no matter who made the battery or how long the warranty was.

 

Is there a manufacture date on the stock batteries that anyone knows of? I couldn't find anything and have a newer looking Acura battery....

 

Exactly. Replace it as soon as the symptoms start, a slowly dying battery is hard on the alternator.

 

My battery just randomly died on me. Acura put a brand new battery in it (04/10) when i bought the car. No problems at all with starting and decided to park the car for this winter. Been parked for 4 weeks but started the car week or so, went to start it an hour and it was completed dead! no lights left on or anything at all!! will be taking it in for warranty for sure!!

 

What year is your TL? I know the 05's had an issue with the bluetooth system intermittently going into an infinite loop, causing a battery drain when the power is off, which usually results in a dead battery within 3 days if you don't start the car. One of the symptoms that the system went into an infinite loop, is that the temperature on the MID display says, "---". IIRC, when this happens, your radio presets stop working too. From what I remember, this is because when the computer is stuck in the bluetooth code, the CAN/DATA bus stops working correctly, which is what the temperature guage and radio presets rely on.

There was a TSB for this I think, but it didn't solve the problem, as I (as well as one of my friends who also has an 05') still occasionally get this problem. Not sure if Acura resolved this on newer models...

In my case, I've only had this happen maybe 3 times. It happened to my friend more often. Usually when the temp guage reads "---", I disconnect the battery, which apparently causes the computer to reset, such that the temp guage comes back to life. If I don't do this, I'd get greeted to a dead-battery in a few days if I don't drive anywhere...

 

I have a '08 TL that I got used earlier this year, not sure on the battery if they previous changed it out. The car now has 72k miles, should i swap it out or go get it tested?

 

battery in my 07 TL-S was replaced earlier this year. i would say it lasted little over 3.5 years. dealer replaced it w/o any cost to me.

 

Very true.

I have had 2 Acura Batteries. Neither have crapped out on me. The one I have in my TL was installed a couple months before I bought the car and so far it has done it's job.

I have had good success with Die Hard. And I had one that dies just after the 3 year mark. I've also heard very good things about Interstate.

 

same here... Mine is a 08 and i change the battery last year...
it was under warraty... so it was free!!

 

I have a 07. My stock battery lasted 5 years and then puff. It was kinda acting up for a few months now. Just changed it last week.

 

Update - dealer replaced the battery under warranty...As Avs007 said the warranty is only what remains on the old battery.

Thanks all!!

 

Happy ending, congrats!


I'm still on my stock battery in my '06 with 43k, but it just failed a load test so my good luck just came to an end. Off to the store...

 

The one in my '07 (Purchased 11/06) Died last week, pretty good life I'd say.

 

2006 Acura TL Purchased new in Nov 2006. 85k miles

ORIGINAL Battery still. and It's starting to show some "low voltage" signs when I crack the engine. I'm going to replace it this year once we get closer to the zero's.

 

^^you got a good one.

 

Okay time to sound stupid. For those that put an aftermarket battery in, does the plastic cover fit back on? The battery in my 07 TLS is only 8 inches high and there's not much room. The 24F battery is 9 inches high.