Main Battery failed yesterday

[txj2go]

I have a 2018 Sport 3.6 Automatic.
When I started doing "overlanding" and camping I hunted around and bought the best battery being manufactured according to my research, an X2Power AGM sold by Batteries Plus. Last night I got in the Jeep to go to the store and it wouldn't start, I had driven it earlier in the day. So today I drove around and finally got a new replacement battery under warranty. I installed the first X2Power 46 months ago, and at the same time disconnected the small battery. At that time my Jeep was 3 years old and when I pulled out its battery I found that the dates on the battery indicated it was only 2 years old. I don't know the history of that. Until now I have not had any problems with the new X2Power. AGM batteries are supposed to last twice as long as flooded acid batteries so I expected 5-6 years from it. The X2Power came with a 5 year free replacement warranty, I think now it is a 4 year warranty.

I took my failed battery and original receipt to the nearest Batteries Plus store that is open, the store where I bought the battery is closed for repairs after a fire. The first thing I discover is that different stores are owned by different companies and some of the stores can't honor my warranty. Besides the store that is closed, there are 2 other stores in my general area so I drove 15 miles to the next one. They said they would have to charge the battery for a couple of hours and then run a test on it so I said go ahead and I went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. I came back, they tested the battery and pronounced it bad and gave me a brand new replacement battery. It will be under warranty for another 14 months, the remaining length of warranty from my original purchase. I asked the person in the store how long those batteries generally last and he said between 5 and 7 years. I'll mark today's date and start being suspicious of the new battery beginning less than 4 years in the future. It might be good for me to buy my own tester so I can test the battery before a big trip, I'll look into that.

So I have mixed feelings about this. I have the new battery that should be good for quite awhile, then I may buy a more consumer-oriented battery with good warranty support across the country. I still think that statistically I have the best chance of reliable battery performance of course YMMV, and it was 3.5 hours of driving around today to get it done. I can't recommend relying on Batteries Plus for products with warranty unless you live close to a store.

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[4xFUN]

5-7 years battery life in a Jeep...

 

[txj2go]

5-7 years battery life in a Jeep...

Well I got 46 months out of the first one so it's yet to be seen how long the new one will go. Honestly though I don't think I would go past 5 years, I would just replace it by then. The last 4 trails I was on I might see 2-3 other vehicles all day, not a good place to be stuck with a bad battery.

My father owned a garage for a long time and I learned that normal flooded acid batteries, located in the engine compartment, of a car driven frequently would last 3 years. I tried to push it one time and got stuck in a small town on a Sunday without a functioning battery. For a long time I would just mark on my calendar and by 36 months I would carry the battery in for replacement. Sometimes they would just warranty it and sometimes they would want to test it but those were normal batteries with pro-rated warranties. So when I get the Jeep I find that it has AGM batteries and the internet says that AGM batteries last "twice as long", so that should mean 6 years for me right? Anyway you pay your money and you take your chances, and you deal with it. When the fancy new blue battery fails I might consider the dual battery conversion.
And the exception to the 3 year thing... my wife's car and my daughter's car both have the battery in compartments under the rear floorboard, and with the batteries not exposed to the heat under the hood both batteries lasted 5 years.

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

I can't recommend relying on Batteries Plus for products with warranty unless you live close to a store.

I have an old thread in the battery talk forum that explains a similar experience with them. The TL;DR is that I bought a NorthStar (USA made) battery from them and it failed within a year. They needed to keep it overnight to test, and that meant I had to drive it over there in a different vehicle. Not convenient. They declared it bad, but could not get me a replacement for 4+ weeks. Offered me a Duracell and I declined.

I ended up buying an Odyssey (same parent company as NorthStar) from a different merchant. It’s going on year three of service. I maintain it monthly with an Odyssey 20a charger.

Oh, Batteries Plus did eventually get me a replacement which has been sitting in the garage all this time. I maintain it a couple times a year. I hope it’ll have some life left when my Odyssey eventually dies.

So, yeah, I won’t buy another battery from Batteries Plus.

 

[dsgrey]

I haven't had a battery last in any vehicle for 4 years since maybe 20+ years ago. My 2019 Jeep is on it's 3rd one (one covered under battery warranty) and the spouse's 2022 Honda is the same - 3rd and one covered under warranty.

 

[BRuby]

Well I got 46 months out of the first one so it's yet to be seen how long the new one will go. Honestly though I don't think I would go past 5 years, I would just replace it by then.
.....
And the exception to the 3 year thing... my wife's car and my daughter's car both have the battery in compartments under the rear floorboard, and with the batteries not exposed to the heat under the hood both batteries lasted 5 years.

Can 100% agree there are fortunately exceptions to the general rule. Case in point:

1 Jeep - 7 years shitty AGM everyone hates - both main and aux are fine
2 Porsche - 12 years really shitty Maintenance Free - replaced just last year
3 Benz - 15 years really shitty Maintenance Free - is fine
4 Subaru - 8 years really shitty Maintenance Free - is fine

Provided that any OEM battery is kept separately smart charged and separately desulphated - or simply used daily - that battery should last a reasonably long time in our lame feeble experience. Often over 10 years even parked outdoors 24/7.

However if not properly maintained - 12V batteries may fail to hold a charge after only a relatively short amount of time. The Jeep seems particularly bad with 2 dissimilar sized batteries hooked up in parallel. The most idiotic ill-advised system devised. As the weaker battery effectively kills the stronger battery. Now this applies either way. Aux kills the main - or main kills the aux.

Currently our main is slightly weaker vs our aux by 0.1V. But both are still fine. Jeep can sit for a week outdoors and fire right up. Start stop is available after a minute of driving after sitting outdoors. But my expectation is at some point down the road - the main will fail a hot load test - before the aux. Use is for driving in the winter for skiing and SB. So very cold temps.

Since our charging protocol has worked flawlessly year after year for 20 something years - we have no intention of changing a thing. Just realize there may be a better way and that these OEM batteries - even AGM Jeep or some third party - may not necessarily be complete shit.

Your wife's car and daughter's car batteries lasting 5 years sounds very normal to us. As is generally very easy to tell when a battery is starting to fail without a hot load tester. Electrics start to go a bit wacky. Starter is slow to crank or simply cannot start. Our Porsche had the windows drop down a couple of inches at a time - and not go back up. Could not crank to start. I recall first lasted 4 years with no smart charging - this one lasted 12 on CTEK but was never desulphated. Because CTEK did not have this repair mode. NOCO do. So use those now. Have 2 CTEK and 5 NOCO. Yeah have a race boat and other 12V toys.

So recommendation for those concerned. Really take care of your batteries - and they should last a decent amount of time. 1 or 2 or 3 years is complete BS. But some seem very content with this. Ok. Chk.

Probs we are just lucky. Haha!

 

[Heimkehr]

My decades-long, evidence-based standard for any 12V battery was 5 years. Most lasted at least six years, so my expectation was reasonable.

The OEM H6 AGM in my bought-new, garage-kept JLU lasted just four years, almost to the day. I already knew from forum chatter that my experience was a bit better than what a fair number of other owners have experienced, so I adjusted my lifespan expectation for 12V batteries in the Jeep accordingly. I had to do the same when the Ural's original battery departed this Moral Coil after just four years.

My current record for a 12V battery's lifespan, and I hope I don't jinx myself, is currently 9 years and 3 months for the original Yuasa YTX9-BS battery in my Suzuki. It still reliably cranks the engine, and the resting voltage hasn't ever been below 12.3V (also a personal standard.) These things can sometimes surprise us.

 

[Bandit59]

I have a 2018 Sport 3.6 Automatic.
When I started doing "overlanding" and camping I hunted around and bought the best battery being manufactured according to my research, an X2Power AGM sold by Batteries Plus. Last night I got in the Jeep to go to the store and it wouldn't start, I had driven it earlier in the day. So today I drove around and finally got a new replacement battery under warranty. I installed the first X2Power 46 months ago, and at the same time disconnected the small battery. At that time my Jeep was 3 years old and when I pulled out its battery I found that the dates on the battery indicated it was only 2 years old. I don't know the history of that. Until now I have not had any problems with the new X2Power. AGM batteries are supposed to last twice as long as flooded acid batteries so I expected 5-6 years from it. The X2Power came with a 5 year free replacement warranty, I think now it is a 4 year warranty.

I took my failed battery and original receipt to the nearest Batteries Plus store that is open, the store where I bought the battery is closed for repairs after a fire. The first thing I discover is that different stores are owned by different companies and some of the stores can't honor my warranty. Besides the store that is closed, there are 2 other stores in my general area so I drove 15 miles to the next one. They said they would have to charge the battery for a couple of hours and then run a test on it so I said go ahead and I went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. I came back, they tested the battery and pronounced it bad and gave me a brand new replacement battery. It will be under warranty for another 14 months, the remaining length of warranty from my original purchase. I asked the person in the store how long those batteries generally last and he said between 5 and 7 years. I'll mark today's date and start being suspicious of the new battery beginning less than 4 years in the future. It might be good for me to buy my own tester so I can test the battery before a big trip, I'll look into that.

So I have mixed feelings about this. I have the new battery that should be good for quite awhile, then I may buy a more consumer-oriented battery with good warranty support across the country. I still think that statistically I have the best chance of reliable battery performance of course YMMV, and it was 3.5 hours of driving around today to get it done. I can't recommend relying on Batteries Plus for products with warranty unless you live close to a store.

. My factory lasted 26 months. Just passed the warranty. Next battery got34-36 months. So I can expect 2-3 years to buy one. AGM or not. With all these new vehicles are allways awake using power. Not like older vehicles

 

[txj2go]

My decades-long, evidence-based standard for any 12V battery was 5 years. Most lasted at least six years, so my expectation was reasonable.

There are a lot of variables that we don't know how to quantify. You seem to be in a much different climate than I am. One of my theories is that high temperatures degrade a battery so a battery in a hot climate exposed to high underhood temperatures will not last as long. A battery in an underfloor compartment will last longer. Some vehicles will be harder on batteries than others. How often and for how long the vehicle is driven is important. My Jeep would sit for 3 or 4 days without being driven and then might get driven for 12 hours straight.

As is generally very easy to tell when a battery is starting to fail without a hot load tester.

I've always hoped for this but typically it is subtle enough that I don't notice. Friday I got in the Jeep to move it out of the driveway and it started fine, then I restarted it to put it back in the driveway and it seemed to start slowly. Two hours later it wouldn't even spin the starter. So I got one little hint.

My other car sits outside for one or two weeks at a time without being started, it has 4 years on its battery. It has been driven 4,000 miles the past 4 years. I started it Friday and it started slowly but did start OK a couple of times after that. That might be a bad sign. I just sold the car so it's not my concern anymore.

 

[Bandit59]

There are a lot of variables that we don't know how to quantify. You seem to be in a much different climate than I am. One of my theories is that high temperatures degrade a battery so a battery in a hot climate exposed to high underhood temperatures will not last as long. A battery in an underfloor compartment will last longer. Some vehicles will be harder on batteries than others. How often and for how long the vehicle is driven is important. My Jeep would sit for 3 or 4 days without being driven and then might get driven for 12 hours straight.

. Yes many people have to replace around2yr factory battery. My Ram is 2-3 years to replace a battery. My 1980 Z/28 owned it 4 yrs no issues. And it sits a lot. New vehicles seems the electronics are always awake seem to draw in batteries. Seen all manufacturers of vehicles have this going in

 

[hamiamham69]

Has anyone tried a lithium battery? I realize they are times the price of a standard battery but if you get additional years and save on the install cost and hassle it might be something to consider.

getting 2-3 years out of a battery might be “normal” for a Jeep but - in my experience is certainly not normal. I’ve owned a 70’s era Maverick, 2 Toyotas (one sports and one suv), a Cayenne, and a full sized Range Rover with dozens of cpus all of which I got 5+ years on the battery.

 

[Bandit59]

Has anyone tried a lithium battery? I realize they are times the price of a standard battery but if you get additional years and save on the install cost and hassle it might be something to consider.

getting 2-3 years out of a battery might be “normal” for a Jeep but - in my experience is certainly not normal. I’ve owned a 70’s era Maverick, 2 Toyotas (one sports and one suv), a Cayenne, and a full sized Range Rover with dozens of cpus all of which I got 5+ years on the battery.

True but double the cost for maybe double the life I will pass. If technology gets cheaper then I will look at it. But unlike your older cars these newer ones r sucking the battery most of the time even when sitting. Different world now.

 

[txj2go]

getting 2-3 years out of a battery might be “normal” for a Jeep but - in my experience is certainly not normal. I’ve owned a 70’s era Maverick, 2 Toyotas (one sports and one suv), a Cayenne, and a full sized Range Rover with dozens of cpus all of which I got 5+ years on the battery.

You didn't say what period of time this was but you seem to be in a climate that isn't hot most of the time, and did all of them have the battery under the hood where exposed to engine temperatures?

 

[hamiamham69]

I live in the Northeast; specifically on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. It should be - in theory - the Goldilocks zone for car batteries. It’s very temperate; rarely gets too cold or too hot. And yet the batteries in the Jeep need to be replaced every 3 years like the rest of you guys.

our full size Land Rover Range Rover had - if memory serves - 28 CPUs and put as much of not more drain on the battery then my 2019 Jeep.

Apart from discussions on the dreaded rusty hinge problem, the short comings of the Jeep dual battery setup are so numerous that they reallly can’t be disputed.

I’m sorry if this is hurting anyone’s feelings. Jeeps - as we know - run on feelings and not logic

 

[txj2go]

the short comings of the Jeep dual battery setup are so numerous that they reallly can’t be disputed.

I did away with the dual battery thing 4 years ago.

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