Just brought the wife's 2012 TL for minor A1 servicing at just over 2 years and about 14,000 miles. Everything fine but the service guy said the battery failed a load test so they replaced it under warranty. I seem to recall this may have also been the case way back when we had the 2000 TL and I also thing this was the case with a 1990 Maxima we owned--battery was replaced within the warranty period.

Is this some sort of scam or do these batteries really only last a couple of years?

 

acura has to cut cost somewhere.

the Acura OEM batteries just plain SUCK!
most are like you and only get about 2 years out of the stock battery.

they replaced it under warranty, but be ready in 2 years.

 

I'm thinking a lot of newer OEM batteries are poor. My friend had to replace the battery in his new golf within two years of purchasing it.

 

Optima branded batteries have gone down the drain in recent years.
I heard they changed production or was bought out, and their product suffered.

as of right now, one of the best batteries is the Sears Diehard Platinum series.
It's made by Johnson Controls.

another great brand of battery is the costco branded batteries.
They are also made by Johnson Controls.

 

50k miles on my 2010. OEM battery still running strong. Lucky?

 

I had my 2010 stock battery replaced at 45K miles in 18 Months. The battery in the 2014 has already acted weaker than the 2010's replacement during the recent cold stretch. (I have 5k miles on the 2014 since Dec. 1 2013.)

 

I remember the "old days" with cars I had where you could not only get batteries to last quite a long time but you would get ample warning when you needed to replace. The most laughable example was in my teenage years without much money to spend and the battery post in the car I had at the time had actually loosened so I would sometimes have to jiggle it a time or two to get the car to start.

Back then when a battery was nearing its end you could still always get that one or two more cranks out of it to start the engine. With cars since the 1990s or so you get no warning whatsoever. One day the car starts great in the morning and you could come out after work and get only a click (has happened to me a number of times). I would even go through the practice of once every month or so hooking up a trickle charger thinking that would extend the life of the battery but this doesn't seem to make much difference with modern batteries.

 

^ya know what they say



"mo money mo problemz"


there's a lot of gadgetz and gizmos in your car!
i bet a little economy car with an oem battery will last longer than a power hungry car like most of today's entry-luxury to high end luxury cars

 

I guess I was fortunate to get @ 40k miles / 3 years out of my OEM battery. I also have an aftermarket amp installed. I did have a warning though...hadn't started the car in a few days over the holiday break and the first time I did it struggled to crank up. I think I got another 3-4 starts before it stopped working.

I was dead set on replacing it with an Optimum battery once it kicked the bucket. Fortunately AZ made me aware of what justn said above so I went another direction (top of the line battery from Advance Auto Parts...can't remember the brand). Hopefully I'll get several years out of that one.

 

The battery should be under warranty.

I got my battery replaced within a month of getting my TL after I discovered corrision around the terminals. Now, I am starting a new battery warranty. If goes bad during that period, its cover.

Yeah, the battery might suck but why am I going to spend money when you can just get it replaced and EVENtually upgrade the battery in the future once there IS NO warranty.

 

As long as under warranty who cares? Once you have to pay for it, go aftermarket, they are better than OEM for most part.


Who knows, maybe dealer wanted to make bit extra on Acura's dime?

 

ufc_bronco: When replacing batteries I have always opted for the best I could get in terms of "advertised" battery life. I have had 7-year Sears Diehard and 7-year Bosch and also some others but I have been lucky to be able to get maybe 4 years at most out of a so-called 7-year battery.

thePearl: Yes it was no cost under warranty so it didn't bother me. Still the 2-year life is disappointing.

 

agreed that is dissapointing but like you said, as long as its cover.. its ehh whatever! the benefit when taking the car to the dealership, you get a loaner and get to try other cars. when i took mine in, they had the ILX available - well that was an extreme disspointment, the ILX is just plain cheap! hoping to get an MDX next time i go for anything else.

 

There was a new RL in the lounge where I was waiting--what a yawner! Other than the color (Pomegranate) the car was pleasing at best but boring at worst. Add to that the $61K sticker and so-so 310HP engine potential buyers have plenty of other cars to look at.

 

you dont even know how many times i think the RLX is an Avalon.

 

Definitely look into getting a better battery there's a lot of options for the TL the stock one blows I'm looking to replace mine mid February

 

Walmart Ever-Start Maxx. Three years full replacement.
Almost every big town has a store and most are open 24 hours.
Can't say if it's the best battery but it easy to get it replaced.

I got a replacement at 1 am in Orlando FL after a day at Disney World.
Car wouldn't start but had it jumped. I didn't want to waist the next morning getting a replacement. I had to pay at first but returned the next night for a refund after they tested it.

 

Optima batteries are now made in Mexico where as they were made in the USA before which is why you might have noticed the reliability has gone down (not that Mexicans are unreliable or anything...)

I've used Interstate on all my vehicles and it's been by far the best battery. Still made in the USA and their cold cranking amps are higher than the Optima deep cycle ones.

 

I've been battery shopping and Interstate seems to always be highly recommended.

 

I've had decent fortune with the Diehard "Gold" series. Got 7 years out of one on our old 01 Chrysler T&C. When the OEM battery died at 3 years on our 09 Ody I replaced it with the Gold. I plan on doing the same with my 10 TL although the OEM is still hanging in there after 3 years - first TL out of 4 the OEM has lasted that long.

 

My TL went through 2 batteries at about 3 yrs a piece. Oddly the MDX's battery lasted 4.5 yrs on the original (I think)... there was no born on/ install date like the new one. OEM batteries are known to crap out in 2 yrs though.

 

just made me think-the replacement battery on my 06 is now 4years old. Yes I do mostly highway driving but when I checked I average 34MPH. Lots of traffic lights, lots of traffic.

 

Well the upside is they found it while you were being serviced and you got a n/c replacement.

 

There's a firmware update for the battery management system. My battery got drained, went flat within 9-10 months of purchase. Acura replaced it and updated the firmware for the system. Been good since. (1.5 years old now)

 

Update: after not driving my car for a few days and it being cold I went to start my car to find a dead battery. Luckily my next door neighbor came to the rescue. They lent me their battery tender and drove me to where I had to go. Let it charge. A few days later I went to autozone to have the battery tested figuring it was time for a replacement. They told me my battery had a excellent charge and did not need to be replaced. I asked him about buying a battery tender. He said only if you do not drive your car very much. My neighbor told me to borrow his when needed.