Mathesis

I know this has been discussed before here.. I've been reading up on them. I have a 2013 TSX wagon with the tech package, and only 25000 miles. I had the dealer install their remote car starter (I think that was 800 bucks) and the thing has never worked well, if at all on really cold mornings. I live in Connecticut. The dealer has checked it all out and they just shrug their shoulders, "everything looks fine" they say.

Should I dump this battery? What kind of upgrades can be done without screwing up my warranty? I do take short trips to the store and back mostly, I must say.. Probably like 10 miles out and back..
I do remember while buying this the woman told be about limiting my use of the rear hatch (door) using the remote..That should have set bells off for me on battery power.. Anyway I was thinking of this battery Interstate Mega-Tron II MT47H5 Car Battery - Consumer Reports
Thanks for any advice

Bill-

Yvuru

are you using the acura battery the car came with? the acura batteries do not have a good reputation here. the one you are looking at is most likely better than the standard acura battery.

as for your remote starter issue idk. perhaps get a second opinion at another dealer?

thoiboi

Buy a new battery. Dump the Acura one.

Mathesis

Yes this is the original battery..4 years old this Sept. Guess i will try it.. I'll be back with an update

JT4

If you're at 3-1/2 years on the original battery get a new one. This is right around the time they usually fail. Happened to me twice with two different Acura's. Both times they failed with no warning.

Mathesis

Thanks for the heads up.. I have noticed twice I think, that it started kind of poorly .. I was thinking of pushing it till summer is over. But I guess I'll go ahead and do this this week.

AZuser

If you're mostly doing short drives (10 miles) and average about 5,000 miles per year, that could be your problem. The battery isn't getting fully charged; It's constantly in a low state of charge.

I have short commutes too (drive 5-10 miles and for 15-20 minutes each way) and while the drives are enough to charge the battery for the next day, I found that if I let my car sit for more than 3 days, the car struggles to start the following day or the battery's dead and I have to jump start the car. On cold mornings, I notice it can sometimes struggle to start. And as the battery ages, the problem can worsen.

My solution was a Deltran battery tender. I connect it when I know I won't be using the car for 3 days or more (i.e. working from home, away on vacation, etc.) After using it for the 1st time (charged battery over 1 night), I found I was able to let the car sit for 7 days without use and easily start it the following day. Starts are much stronger. I also have a small-ish size group 51R battery so those tend to be kind of weak.

If you have a small battery too and if it's old, try upgrading to a larger and more powerful group 24F battery. Maybe you need more cold crank amps. Really cold temps can make starting a car struggle. Look for one with a CCA that's around 700 or higher.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

go with a diehard from sears... that's what i switched to after the two OEM Acura batteries died within 4 years...

sixsixfour

you are at 4 years. it's time to swap it out, even if it still cranks fine. my TL before had the same issue and I am getting my wife's RDX a new battery this month (hers is a 2015).

julius071

Hmm, maybe its time for me to swap batteries also.

Mathesis

750 CAA wow yeah would be nice.. But I don't know if it would cancel my warranty out. I have heard Sears Diehards are really good also..Either Sears or Interstate. Seems like a 24F would require some modding also. My stereo I think has been weak.. now that they mention it..my neighbors a truck mechanic but doesn't really like working on stuff out of work..so guess it'll have to be a 51R.. Would like to find a 700 CAA in a 51R
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-...1r-24f-950091/

xtcnrice

Costco batteries are great too. I just installed one and I regret not doing it sooner. Honestly, my 2013 sedan with TECH started struggling to start in cold Canadian winters since 2015 lol. I suggest doing it sooner rather than later, or you might end up being stranded.

Mathesis

Stopped into an old friends garage to check batteries out. Looks like the best I can do without modification is a 500 CCA battery..Can't believe they built a car like this with a 320amp stereo, 12 speakers and all this gps crap using a battery like this..The dimensions of my battery are L 9-3/8 x W5 -1/8x H 7-1/2 ....The height gets me..lol..

thoiboi

+2 for Costco battery. Except recently they've switched to a shorter warranty Interstate battery, no longer a Kirkland branded one.. I think they were 550 CCA IIRC.

Mathesis

So I noticed today my bluetooth Hands Free Link isn't working..must be the car because everything else blutooth connects fine.. this better be still under warranty..I also came across this https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/honda-...reelink-defect

thoiboi

The HFL failing is a fairly common issue on the 3G TL: https://www.google.com/search?q=hfl+...curazine.com&*


but it also caused battery drains on our cars. It COULD be related.. Get a new battery, unplug the HFL. try again.

ceb

If you are still under warranty (4yr 50k) then the battery is covered as well. dealers are now using a 500/510 CCA battery as a replacement. Get a free battery from the dealer and swap it out a couple of years down the road.

TacoBello

I recommend batteries from Costco, too. In Canada we have Kirkland branded batteries. No idea who makes them for Kirkland/Costco, but they've always been great batteries. They pack some high cold cranking amps and have never left me in a position where one of my cars wouldn't start. I stick to the OEM batteries until they die... Then promptly go to Costco after that

I think I've purchased four or five batteries from Costco over the years, for different cars. They've never let me down!

astallings

If you want to get crazy, the Optima Redtop has 720 cca.The 35 series fits my '06 TL. They ARE pricey. https://www.optimabatteries.com

cu2wagon

I've been going through this with Acura right now and it's a wonderful catch-22.

The battery is just weak enough to intermittently die overnight​and not be able to start the car. But then, after a quick jump and drive to the dealer, it'll charge enough to check out good when they diagnose the system for a bad component.

So I asked if I could just bring the battery in next time it dies and they say no, because it needs to be in the car so they can diagnose the system for a bad component.

Their genius solution is to call Acura roadside assistance the next time it dies and have the car towed to the dealership​. Because that is much more convenient for everyone...

I tried contacting Acura Cares (more like Acura Don't Cares) and while they almost seemed helpful, they ended up saying I needed to bring it in to the dealer to be checked out. Which is the original problem.

t3hhcaptain

I'm running one of these: BCI Group 51R - XS Power

745 CA and If I recall correctly 650ish CCA. I posted the specs in another thread about swapping out the i4 battery group for the v6 battery. You don't need to modify anything for this to fit, though I did get some longer hooks for ease of installation.

RTM

If you live in a cold enough climate to want a remote starter, changing your battery every 4 years is probably a wise idea.

Mine was weak when I bought it (used), and they swapped it for a new one. Its already only so-so, after 2 years. Not impressed with Acura OEM batteries either. I live in a decently warm climate, no big stereo, no remote start, nothing non factory.

Mathesis

My mechanic next door neighbor told me it looks like i have plenty of room for an upgrade. Just this plastic cradle on the sides would have to go..Maybe this weekend i'll be back with pictures and all on it.. I hope

xtcnrice

There are already a few threads on battery upgrades on the I4 TSX. Give those a look, might answer some questions you might have.

Mathesis

Thinking of getting this D5100R - 12V AGM Battery
This is Length – 9.04 in
Height – 8.19 in
Width – 5.43 in
my battery measures L= 9 3/8 x W= 5 1/8 x H= 8 7/8
I seem to have plenty of room width wise.. not so sure about length

Should be workable right?

julius071

Here is the link: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-...attery-952200/

pL2009

I just put a Walmart Everstart Maxx 24R battery (750 CCA, $93) in my 09 4 cyl. I normally hate walmart, but it's a johnson controls battery and the price is right. It's been awesome. You can see my posts and pics on page 2 in the thread julius071 posted. Not too much modding. A dremel, a new bracket, and about 10 extra minutes when you make the swap.

Mathesis

What bracket would i need for this? Do you think this battery would fit on the plate i have now? Width wise there is plenty of room, length not so sure, I have to look at that again. Walmart is pretty good on returns so if i can't get it to fit.. Are Johnson battery's pretty good? never heard of them..93$ better than taking a chance with a 200-400$ battery.

pL2009

The V6 battery hold down (bracket) is part number 31512-TA0-A10

I got mine on ebay for less than $10 shipped. I also needed longer J-hooks which I got from Advance Auto, but you could get the honda ones too. When you search for the hold down part number, lots of sites have the diagram which will probably list the J-hook part numbers as well.

For me, the battery fit on my tray, but it's more of a plastic box and it was definitely too small so I dremeled the sides off leaving only the base for it to sit on. Once I put the J-hooks and hold down in and tightened it all down, the battery is secure.

As for Johnson Controls, there are only really 3 battery companies, Johnson Controls, Deca/East Penn, and Exide. Pretty much every other battery you can imagine is one of those. Die Hard, Optima, Interstate, Duralast and WalMart's Everstarts among others are all made by Johnson Controls. In my searching, it seems like lots of people seem to hate exide, but I don't have any personal reasons to agree or disagree with that assertion.

Mathesis

Thanks very much.. I'm going to give this a go after the dealer fixes my Bluetooth next week. They want to check my electrical out about my remote start next week also.. they better not charge for it.. we all know what the problem is..i'll be back with an update

Mathesis

You mentioned the Walmart Everstart Maxx 24R battery (750 CCA, $93) .. All i see is the 24F .. I suppose that has to do with polarity positions?

pL2009

Yes, 24F is correct. My fault on the typo.

kleung21

thanks for all the tips... looks like i'm going to replace my 42 month old car's battery before I hit the next winter.

The car only has 43000 km on it though (~ 30k miles?) .... do you think that would mean that the battery is in better shape?

Also, thanks for the tip that dealers won't replace the battery unless they can catch it in a bad state, not going to waste my time towing my car to the dealer for a $100 part from costco (with warranty).

kleung21

I'm planning to replace mine in the fall. Going into the spring, we should be in for warmer temperatures.

Batteries usually fail when it is cold. Just replaced the battery (under warranty) on my Nissan Altima (2010) >> I bought a battery ~ 3 years ago from costco and learned my lesson the last time.

Last time, I replaced the battery after having start problems, charged it back up and only to have it fail again after 3 months. This time, upon first failure, I just swapped the battery.

The cost for the taxi ride to work and the inconvenience is not worth it.

Originally, I wanted to save the environment but batteries are recycled I guess

Mathesis

Took my car in to check the bluetooth. I wasn't pairing it correctly was my problem. I bitched to them again about my cold weather starting, but they just shrugged it off, saying everything checks out fine.He was telling me if i had to replace bluetooth, it would be 1700$ yikkes. He says he confirmed my station wagon was made in Japan. Don't know if i can believe all that. But says they've only had a few TSX's seen with that problem. I'm thinking of going with a Optima Red Top.. The D35 I think it is.. measurements are really close to original battery. Won't be for another month or so..soon as it warms up more here in conn.

Username 0

Ever since I upgraded my i4 battery to the optima redtop for the v6, all my battery issues went away. I even left one of my map lights on for over 24 hrs and it still started up like a champ.

Sanibelstar

i am guessing the HFL is causing a parasitic draw on the battery - happened to me with my 07 RDX. Never had another problem once i replaced the HFL and homelink boards.

kleung21

Yea, the bluetooth on the 2nd gen TSX sucks. I suggest buying a Kinivo BTC450 and just running it into the aux input. The BTC 450 is an amazing little bluetooth adapter. Very fast, very reliable.

Only thing is it needed me to install a "ground loop isolator" on one of my vehicles to block out a hiss.

wpgacurafan

I also purchased Walmart Maxx batteries for my 04 TSX and 10 TSX V6. Great strong battery at great price. Highly rated by Consumer Reports FWIW because Walmart batteries have been found to be fresher. Look for production date on the label to see how long your "new" battery has been on the shelf. Walmart is usually less than 90 days for popular sizes.

BROlando

Wagons should all have VIN numbers starting with J. Meaning they were made in Japan.

A VIN starting with 1 means US made (like an Accord, civic, etc).

Are you guys just having sluggish start issues when its cold? Our original, 5 year old Acura battery started the car fine when it actually got to something like -15 to -20 out. It started a bit sluggish...but it was cold AF out, so I also shrugged it off as normal.