Just what the title says - the stock battery is crap and I'm tired of it - what are you folks having good luck with?

 

interstate megatron plus 85 month. great CR reviews (#1) and so far so good. my TL can sit for 10-14 days and she starts right up without hesitation. hated the OEM battery.

 

+1
I have to agree that Interstate Batteries are very dependable batteries and that's all my mechanic replaces batteries with.
I have also had good luck with Die Hard batteries as well. Just as a second choice.

 

What do you guys think about Optima batteries? I hear they are just overpriced and nothing special.

 

You are correct! Way overpriced and nothing special... Unless you have a specific reason for needing a gel battery it's a waste of money period!

I've had good luck with Costco batteries! Great price, good warranty and last forever. Do a search and you'll also find they have very good reviews.

Hope this helps

 

Interstate and Optima are both manufactured by Johnson Controls, just food for thought.

My dad used to own a franchise (my cousin still does) and I'd agree the Megatron line is the only thing going in my car unless I'm looking for a lightweight battery.

 

Thanks - my car is only 7 months old but today while shopping it took a few seconds to start when I pushed the button. Sounded like it was trying way to hard. Once it turned over everything was fine.

My old Avalon did the exact same thing and the battery was completely dead a month later, so I want to be ahead of the game on this one. Of course it took 3 years for that to happen in the Avalon, but it didn't have near the tech of this fine lady.

We went to 4 stores today, and it happened powering up after the last stop. I brought a bunch of CD's with today to load onto the hard drive, so it was busy recording between stops, and I also have the HFL active. It was chilly and windy too, so multiple factors working against the battery, which from what I'm reading is far from a champion in these cars

 

Both my cars have Costco/Kirkland batteries and they seem fine and are a 1/3 of the cost of an Optima. The Kirklands have a 36 month free replacement and 100 month prorated warranty. I have 3.5 years on the oldest battery and almost 2.5 years on the nearest and they seem fine.

I think the Kirklands run around $60 which seems very reasonable.

 

i know the battery in my 07 shit the bed during the first year....the battery in my 10 seems to be just fine....

 

Is the megatron an AGM battery? (googled around, couldn't find anything)

I know the Optima batteries are AGM, As are some Odyssey batteries. Odyssey also private-labels AGMs for sears as the Diehard Platinum. FWIW, have 2 Diehard Platinums in our cars, but neither car beats up on batteries.

I think the spiral-cell optima is good for handling vibration, I don't know how relevant this strength is in the TL.

 

I've had good luck with Diehard Gold's as replacement batteries in 2 previous TL's and our 09 Ody. The battery in my 10 TL is still going strong but when it dies I will go with another Gold. It's fairly easy to find a Sears store if help is needed.

 

Ya Optima batteries are overrated. Don't waste your money.

 

Die Hard's are also manufactured by Johnson Controls.

There are really only two manufacturers of batteries in the US, Johnson Controls (Interstate, Die Hard, Optima) and Exide being the other.

Although I'm sure there's still some difference in the tech that goes into them, the raw material stream is more then likely identical as well as the manufacturing process.

 

Who makes Odyssey batteries? I've read that Die Hard Platinum are private-labelled Odyssey batts, but not certain.

are there any mfg marks I could check for on my battery, I'd be curious to know. I'm always interested in the appearance of diversity ;p

 

Looks like Die Hard Platinums are made by EnerSys but their lead acid batteries are still made by JC

 

Get a DieHard Platinum from Sears. They're one of the best, plus comes with a 4-year warranty. Usually priced at $220 + Tax. Sometimes they have a sale.