06 TL with 61k miles.

I bought the car used in 2009. I had the battery checked at a parts store today and the battery came out to be 471CCA. It's rated at 550. Would you recommend getting a new battery before winter or was it not charged enough because I only drove the car for 10 minutes before going to the store?

 

should be ok. keep a close eye on it though. try running it for an hour then bring it to them.

 

If it is the original Acura battery - watch it closely. They have a tendency die without notice. Happened to me last week on my 08 TL-S. There are plenty of other threads where folks have complained about the OEM battery. Up until this point I have had pretty good luck with Honda / Acura OEM batteries.

 

I have an 2006 and replaced my battery a two years ago with a Costco battery long before it showed signs of dying. Your OEM is pushing the end of its life and I think buying a new battery on your terms is better than when you're in the middle of nowhere on somebody else's terms. A Kirkland battery is like $70 too so it would be worth replacing now for peace of mind.

 

General lifespan is around 5 years before you start thinking about a new one.

It's about 100 dollars for a new battery.....so about 20 dollars per year. Do you want to roll the dice ?

Be thankful we do not have to pay 400-500 dollars to change a battery (late model BMW) !

 

Batteries for Acura TL's are cheap compared to : (see below)


http://www.clickmeplease.com/bmw_battery_invoice.pdf

 

My friends car, Acura 2008 TL Type S went through a battery every 6 months since there was an electrical short, yet Acura kept replacing the batteries and never was able to find the problem.

 

That's just nuts!! A whole lot of markup on that invoice. There is no way it took or should have taken 2 hours (not to mention at over $136 / hour) to diagnose a bad battery and then to add insult to injury - charge $299 for a battery.


If this car was repaired at the same dealer - that is just negligence or laziness.

 

My dad has MB E-class and the battery for that is expensive as well. There is a giant one in the trunk as well as a little aux one up front.

 

Update: I just returned from being gone for a week and the car had a slow start with the battery. I let the car idle for a while and then proceeded to wash the car having the radio on- 20 minutes later the radio quit.

It turned out the Costco battery's fluid cap was partially open on the outside cap and one of my cells was bone dry. I figure the hold down clamp torqued up the cap. I filled the battery with some fresh distilled water and put the battery on the charger and all seems well now.

Solution: place a flat long plate over the fill caps to keep even pressure on these caps. The TL's bracket is curved and it wants to push one side down while the other side of the 3 Cell cap wants to go up when you tighten the cap. I used a plastic toilet shim for now and plan on a better solution later- a plastic ruler piece would work so I'll look for something nicer at Home Depot the next time I go.

 

Spend the extra money and get a better battery while you're replacing your OEM one . My 10 month old Die hard gold from Sears just took a crap on me today. My mom also had a Die hard gold battery on her 06 Corolla S that died last Winter, I'm starting to think that they can't hold up in the cold . Looks like I will be picking up an Interstate battery tomorrow, 2yrs strong without any problems on my old car before I traded in it in for my TL. GL.

 

Doesn't seem to be in this car (3G TL). Battery #1 lasted ~ 2 years.

Battery #2 lasted .... drum roll .... about 2 years.

I've got an '07 I bought new off the lot 1st of June 2007 and I'm on my 3rd OE battery as of a month or so ago.

 

Anyone know who makes the batteries Acura is putting under the hood nowadays? Like I said above, historically I have had very good luck with Honda / Acura OEM batteries. I got 8.5 years out of my 94 Accord battery and my 04 TL had the original battery in it when I traded it just shy of 6 years.

 

My battery (08 TL-S) is starting to act a little funny lately. I was thinking about switching to an Interstate battery. I am curious to know what batteries people are using in cold climates.

 

Aren't all batteries made by 2 or 3 general vendors?

 

I had mine replaced under warranty, meaning no out of pocket costs for me. You have an 08 so you should be under warranty as well unless you have racked up a lot of miles.

 

I just replaced the Sears Die hard gold battery Rated at 700CCA for an Interstate Mega-Tron 800CCA 85 month battery today. I'm sure it'll hold up to the cold Minnesota Winter. I also Changed the factory positive battery post terminal to one of the universal ones found at Auto zone and such. Since the stock one seem to had been over torqued one too many times by the previous owner. It wouldn't hold onto the new battery post even when tighten to where it's supposed to hold. I'm pretty impress with these Auto zone battery post terminal believe it or not. Quality vs stock is just wow! Looks like I will be replacing the Negative one soon also.

 

How can you tell how old the battery is? Is there some kind of a label somewhere? There is a sticker on top of mine where you can circle the month, but it's not marked.