08WDPTL

My battery is on the fritz and I'm trying to "upgrade" to a Diehard platinum.

For those that have this battery, what group class did you have installed?

I called the Sears auto store near me and the guy said they don't make a platinum battery that will fit the TL (group 24 or 34) so I'm curious what you guys are running?

The guy did say that a group 35 May fit, but he wasn't sure.

polobunny

Can't help you regarding the size, but is there a reason you want to run such an expensive battery? Do you have a big audio system to power?

I'm saying that because it's pretty much twice the price of any good quality battery. Your money, not mine, but simply wondering. The OEM battery from Acura is actually pretty decent too.

GKinColo08TL

I had a Diehard in my car, I had a Gold, group 24, has a 100 month warranty. I installed in July 2013...absolutely no issues. Item # is 22833023.

truonghthe

Group 24 is the battery size for our TL, I just replace my last night.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Diehard Platinum for me. Don't recall the size though.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

24F is the OEM size 550amp -10-1/4 x 6-7/8 x 8-3/4
35 - 9 x 6-7/8 x 8-3/4
When viewed from top and posts closest to you, neg on left.
Really don't need an AGM battery, overkill.

Just an example, Sam's $99:
BCI Group Size:24F
CA at 32 degrees F:890
CCA at 0 degrees F:725
Reserve Capacity:120
Volts:12
Warranty: 36 months

NBP04TL4ME

Many folks including myself prefer the DieHard as the go to replacement as they always have and continue to be a very reputable long term replacement option. In other words once and done.
In terms of the OEM battery, I personally have had very good luck with them, but the vast majority of AZ members will tell you the OEM batteries "suck", "blow", "are crappy" etc....... In other words less than stellar performance.

nfnsquared

According to the Sears website, a Platinum Group 35 will fit a 3G TL...On the other hand, according to the Sears website, a 24F Gold won't fit our cars.... so who knows?

Another satisfied Diehard gold user here (it fits fine, 24F). I see no real advantage to spending twice the money to get a Platinum... I've been lucky enough to get them when on sale for 20% off, which Sears does about 3-4 time/year.

08WDPTL

Thanks for all the info guys.

The reason for Diehard is just because I've had very good success for the brand on previous cars.

I couldn't find one that fit in my area so I went with the Duralast Platinum this evening.

On a side note, I went to Home Depot right after I installed the new battery and I noticed they sell car batteries as well under the brand Excide. The 24F size had more CCA than the Duralast I just bought and a longer warranty (40 mo instead of 36 mo) for $99.

Any experience with Home Depot batteries? I'm debating buying it tomorrow and returning the Duralast to save close to $100.

NBP04TL4ME

No experience with HD Exide batteries, but are you saying the Duralast cost you $200?
What type of Duralst is it? AGM?

08WDPTL

Yep. The platinum is AGM. The price was $183 before tax so it would be approx $83 saved.

nfnsquared

Extreme 24F Auto Battery-24FX - The Home Depot

^^^^ Damn, the specs are great and the price is great!! Thanks for the heads up. I may have to give them a try next time around...

GKinColo08TL

Hey, you'll get a warranty, for a savings of $83 or so, do it!

polobunny

See what I mean about DieHard Platinum maybe being.... overkill? Good batteries are available for half the price. Most batteries will last from 4 to 6 years, throwing them out of warranty even of the DieHard Platinum. Just my !

truonghthe

Yup that how much my Duralast cost me.

csmeance

find a discount code online for advance auto parts or another parts store for the battery your want, choose the pick-up instore option and you'll save a TON of money!

For example a New Autocraft AGM 710CCA is around $150 with a 35% off (up to $50off)

Antonio K

A few of the top rated options by Consumer Reports in group 24f are the Interstate batteries, and Everstart Maxx. My local Costco didn't have any size 24f Interstate batteries so I went with the Everstart and it's been working great. Three year free replacement warranty, five years prorated.

NBP04TL4ME

This cold weather that is hitting more than 50% of the country is a real test and killer for automotive batteries. Availability of batteries will diminish while the cold continues and folks are looking to replace them. I'm absolutely not saying you won't be able to find a battery but supplies will be lighter than normal as demand spikes.

sockpuppet

I'll admit, I'm no battery expert. I just bought an "EverStart maxx" from Walmart because it was the only battery I could lay my hands on at 7pm on a Sunday night...seems to work.

I would caution anyone relying solely on a brand name, however...that might have been safe a couple of decades ago, but not anymore, and Sears lines are a perfect example. All their batteries, like their tools, are made for them, and at some point, it goes to the lowest bidder. Back in my father's day, Craftsman tools were considered very good... once you had them, they would last for life. Those days are long gone, and craftsman is now at the lower end of the quality range. I'm not saying their batteries are no good, but the brand name doesn't tell you anything about who made the battery, and whehter the ones on the shelf were made by the same company that made the last Diehard you might have bought.

Here in Canada, Sears has sold the Diehard line (name) to a tire shop (Kal Tire, I think).

polobunny

Regarding tools, I usually go with the cheapest ones that carry a lifetime warranty. Mastercraft at Canadian Tires has given me so many ratchets. You can even use them as breaker bars, heck, they're getting replaced!

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

The Diehard Platinum and one of the models of the Odyssey battery are both made by Enersys. They both are identical except for the label and the price. The Platinum being 100 bones cheaper.

I hate cars

Exactly! And finally someone that does not think the Diehard is made by Odyssey and rebadged.


To the poster a while back that commented the OEM batteries are pretty good, you must not be an original owner. Mine was pretty average to a lot on here back then, it lasted about 1.5 years.


The Platinum is an AGM battery, it won't corrode, spill, it has a quick discharge rate if you do have a big system or other large electrical demand. It's rated reserve time is extremely conservative. My SQ system has 1,800w to the fronts and 4,200w to the subs and I can drive it at a decently loud but not annoying level for over an hour with the engine off. I do this pretty often when tuning the system and I've accidentally pushed it past 1.5 hours. Obviously nowhere near full output but it still started where the Optima I had before would literally not last more than 15-20 minutes before the car wouldn't start. This battery seems less affected by the cold as well. The engine turns over at about the same speed whether it's 30F or 200F.


The warranty is among the best as well. I heard they might be or maybe already have reduced it but mine is 4 years free replacement .


The question was asked why would you run a battery like this. Either for the warranty, if you have a big draw like a system, lots of vibration, or temperature extremes.


I haven't weighed one but I swear these are the heaviest batteries I've ever lifted for a given size.

polobunny

OEM Battery date is 3 years and a half old and tested out perfectly at the garage my uncle works at in July 2014. No sign of imminent death. Canadian car, not garage parked by the previous owner. Owner before him got the battery changed.

I'd say that's good enough for me. *shrugs* 1/3 of the price of a DieHard.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

My OEM battery was replaced 3 times in 4 years all under warranty. My experience was not good.

polobunny

Darn that's a lot of replacement!

I'm curious to know if you guys down south have a different battery then we do up here. Can't be arsed checking my battery right now since it's 5F outside and getting colder, but still very curious.

GKinColo08TL

My Diehard gold cost me $119 + tax, so that's not 1 1/3 times higher than oem through the dealer...no way.

polobunny

I was refering to the Diehard Platinum that is. The Diehard Gold is like any other decent quality battery, price-wise and quality-wise.

I hate cars

You're one of the few. Look back to when these cars were new. Dead OEM battery threads popped up every day. I believe they even extended the warranty on them because they were known junk.


What do you mean OEM battery date is 3.5 years old? The math doesn't exactly work out on an '04. If it was replaced 3.5 years ago it's not an original battery. It's a 3.5 year old battery and while that's better than a lot of us got from them, it's nothing to brag about.


Heat and vibration will kill a battery quickly. I live in a hot area. That's one reason I would not go with a super high CCA battery where I live, AGM being an obvious exception.

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

my battery was replaced with an OEM one early 2011.

Still good. Can I brag?

Have you ever been in the cold with your phone?

Numerous times my phone dies when I'm out in the cold.
I bring it inside the house and it turns on saying I have 40%.

I hate cars

You can brag about whatever you want. Regardless of your case there was a big enough problem with OEM batteries that it was acknowledged and the warranty was extended. There were what, roughly half a million TLs sold each year? One or two people with 3 or 4 year old "OEM" batteries does nothing to change that.

Cold will make a battery temporarily weaker. Heat and vibration ruins them. That's why the (usually) thicker plates of the lower CCA batteries are better in harsh conditions. This is also why I excluded AGM batteries.

NBP04TL4ME

There is always someone to throw off the curve -

94 Accord OEM battery lasted 8.5 years.
2004 TL OEM battery was still in the car when traded at 6 years.
2007 MDX OEM battery was still in the car when traded at 5 years.
2008 TL-S OEM battery replaced under warranty at 45 months.

polobunny

Battery in the car is 3.5 years old OEM replacement. It has been replaced before, which is nothing surprising as it's a 10 years old car. I don't know which battery was in there prior to it. I'll assume it might have been an OEM, else I don't see why someone would go back to OEM after being badly served by it.
As for being 3.5 years old, it's not bragging, simply stating. You don't have to be so pedantic with everything being shared in this thread.
Battery life expectancy is around 5 years, so unless it craps out on me out of the blue I don't see it not making that mark.

As noted earlier, I'm wondering if earlier batteries or even the current batteries are a somewhat regional thing. It's not like I'll go out of my way to find out, but still somewhat curious as to why some of the people here had a high failure rate and others have very good experience with them. Cold weather is known to be really harsh on the batteries just as much as warm weather since it constantly goes from cold to hot under the hood and then back to cold over the course of 6 months every year.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I'm not sure I agree with that. I'm guessing hot temps kill a battery far quicker than cold temps but I'm no engineer and will defer to someone more knowledgeable on the topic.

polobunny

Heat is the worst offender, but both are very bad. It's mostly the hot then cold mixing that I was referring to. My bad, it wasn't very obvious from my previous post.

Cold will slow down the chemical reaction and increase resistance of the electrolytes. If your battery is too discharged when cold it might freeze over and damage the plates. You'll need a top notch battery for winter too when it's really cold since the motor oil thickens thus you need more cranking power. Here is the importance of the CCA rating on batteries.

Heat will make water evaporate from the electrolyte and will make the battery discharge faster and end up corroding the plates, shortening the lifespan quickly. Mix both high heat from under the hood and freezing cold when you're parked and you got a good recipe for killing a battery.

08WDPTL

Interesting bit of information.

I was debating switching to the Home Depot battery this weekend, but after your comment about the lower CCA batteries having thinker plates I'm thinking I should just stick with what I have.

I'm in South TX where the temps are pretty hot for the most part so AGM may be better for my situation.

I hate cars

I'll agree temperature extremes in either direction are bad for a battery but again, on the cold side, the battery is rendered temporarily "low" or "slow" or whatever you want to call it. Of course if it's not maintained the cold will kill it quickly but in general, very hot temps will render a battery useless quicker.


A desulfating charger will help a battery to last nearly a lifetime and to stay 100% assuming no physical damage.

I hate cars

AGM or a "normal" CCA battery would be best for a hotter climate or in a car with lots of vibration but obviously just about anything these days will work ok. I ended up installing an AGM in the fiancée's Murano because every battery corroded the terminals so badly. The AGM put an end to this problem so it's one more plus for that type of battery.


Our TLs came with what, a 450CCA battery (Can't remember exactly but I know it was around there). These 1,000+ CCA batteries in a normal climate are overkill. Nothing wrong with it but there's nothing wrong with a 450-800CCA battery if you want a little more durability. That's a huge blanket statement though. I should qualify it with it as having more durability within the same brand and type of battery. Obviously some really good high CCA batteries are more durable than a lower CCA cheap battery.

polobunny

I've heard of desulfating chargers/desulfated battery but honestly have never experienced them myself. The principle makes sense, so I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine, but I'd rather not put my seal of approval on them without testing from my part. Have you tried any desulfated battery or desulfating charger yourself?

nfnsquared

Well, as long as we're thread drifting, FWIW, I have the Noco Genius 3500. Haven't yet had a situation to test it's de-sulfinating abilities...

G3500 | Features | Genius Battery Chargers

wusty23jd

Reviving a very old thread here because there is lots of good info!

I had trouble starting my car last night after it was sitting for a few days. After further diagnosis, the battery was showing less than 8.0 volts

I jump started my TL with my wife's Acura RDX. While charging with the alternator (i.e. car running) the battery was showing 14.4 volts and it did not drop below 10.2 volts when cranking over after it was jumped. After a few minutes, I tested the battery again and at full charge it showed 12.3 volts. However, this morning I checked and it was down to 11.67 volts already after just 8 hours. All battery terminals were disconnected overnight to avoid any drain.

I was planning on making a trip to sears to purchase the DieHard Gold 24f battery, but then I ran across this thread. I've never heard of Exide, but the specs look great! I love this forumn.

Decisions decisions...