Never again Optima batteries

[James Westfall]

All batteries are junk now. As noted, they are all made by like three companies and as a result, there really isn't any differentiation between them, nor any motivation for any one brand to provide a better product.

Just pick out a well-priced AGM from one of the "known" brands, and be ready to replace it in 2-3 years. I always just get the Interstates from Costco because I can get the better AGM unit for about the same price as the "premium" lead acid batteries from the parts stores.

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[There’sOnlyOne]

The Panasonic green top batteries that used to be in Toyotas were the longest lasting battery I've seen. 10+yrs in my experience. I've had all brands. Diehard, Advanced,Auto Zone, Interstate, EverMax, Napa and Honda over the past few decades. They all seem to last less than before. For the past 11yrs I have used Walmart EverMaxx and they last what the warranty is and that's about it.

 

[BullMoose1776]

Whatever the warranty, expect that this will be the life of your battery.

I don't know what's happened to this country. There was a small window of excellence following the 1970s and before NAFTA.

We've been on a downhill slide in everything, except Government Debt & Budget Deficits since then.

 

[yokramer]

Whatever the warranty, expect that this will be the life of your battery.

I don't know what's happened to this country. There was a small window of excellence following the 1970s and before NAFTA.

We've been on a downhill slide in everything, except Government Debt & Budget Deficits since then.

You could say its slowly trickled down?

 

[Maverick909]

i am on year 8 right now on my red top on my 76Pickup. sad to see quality is down. I am currently running dual 750cca full river batteries in my JLU though they have been great thus far about 3 years old now

 

[mtn-hiker]

Interestingly, my 2012 WK2 OEM battery was never replaced. It fired up the Jeep every single time in all kinds of Colorado weather. Sold the Jeep with 150k miles last year! Also, had OEM brake pads and rotors.

 

[Nokones]

Putting an AGM baterry in an older vehicle is a recipe for failure. The charging system on an older vehicle or a vehicle not originally designed for an AGM will cause the AGM battery to fail in short time.

AGM Battery Chargers have a specific algorithm for properly maintaining and charging AGM batteries.

Also, if you do not keep the AGM Battery State of Charge that is required for the AGM battery the battery will also fail quickly. AGM batteries need to stay above that low State of Charge point to prevent it from failing.

AGM batteries can be recovered if done properly by a quality AGM Battery Charger/Conditioner.

Another mistake people are making with batteries is that most newer vehicles require AGM batteries. The charging systems on these vehicles are conductive for those batteries, but not for lead acid or Lithium batteries.

Lithium batteries are also a different animal and they require a charging system that are conducive to only a Lithium chemistry battery.

 

[Ratbert]

Whatever the warranty, expect that this will be the life of your battery.

I don't know what's happened to this country. There was a small window of excellence following the 1970s and before NAFTA.

We've been on a downhill slide in everything, except Government Debt & Budget Deficits since then.

By "following the 70s" you're excluding them, right? We produced some shitty "quality" vehicles in the 70s.

 

[Krondor]

So many reviews. So few good choices.

I miss the days my Optima lasted 10-13 years.

 

[grimmjeeper]

You could say its slowly trickled down?

 

[flick2614]

Given the problems with the 4xe could it possibly be the vehicle over the battery?

 

[BullMoose1776]

Yes, AFTER the

By "following the 70s" you're excluding them, right? We produced some shitty "quality" vehicles in the 70s.

70s we were on the uptick....right until NAFTA ruined everything for everyone except the rich.

 

[jeepingib]

Yes, AFTER the

70s we were on the uptick....right until NAFTA ruined everything for everyone except the rich.

I remember the era of Pintos, crossfire injection, and Chevy Citations differently.

 

[Nokones]

My two Red Tops are 7 and 12 years old. My Yellow Top is 3 years old and my three Blue Tops are 5 years old.
The Yellow Top replaced a Red Top that was 13 years old. The Blue Tops are additional. The two Red Tops replaced 13-14 year old Red Tops.

I maintain my Optimas with Optima 1200 Smart Chargers

 

[azjl#3]

I've had a red top in my 73 bronco for over 10 years, still charges to 100%. That said it lives 24,7 on a tediculously expensive optima charger.

My boy has a motorcraft battery that is over 10 years old in AZ of all places. I'd go that route.

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