Costco Interstate Batteries

Bottom line you have no ideal who made the factory battery. It may say Toyota but they didn't make it. I would also say they got them from the lowest bidder as they buy them by the hundreds. A bag full of modules draw less current than a head lamp.

 

I had one in a Nissan Frontier, and it lasted the standard New Mexico 3 years. The best battery ever was the original Honda S2000 one in my 2005, that made it to 2015. Unfortunately, they’re not imported.

 

There is a safety factor built into using a 24F/27F, aka ‘reverse terminal’, battery in our rigs. If you look at the engine bay in most, if not all, vehicles today, you may notice the positive post is positioned away from the nearest vertical wall whenever possible. If the wall caves in, as in an a collision, there is a higher chance of metal to battery-post contact with the post nearest that wall.

As with most have said, I, too, usually get a Costco Interstate or Walmat battery. OEM was 27F for my Taco, but, since I have a dual battery system, I now have a 24F as my primary and a 34 as my auxiliary. If my 24F dies on me, my Taco can start and run off the 34.

 

Toyota battery in my 2011 2 years, NAPA replacement is still starting the truck. Gets pretty cold Maine this time of year. I don't remember seeing a date stamp on the Toyota battery but I'm going to guess in may have been older than the truck. All most identical case with my diesel tractor the only difference is it may sit for days on end I think it to has a NAPA battery. The camper has two Wal Mart batteries they also have some age on them, they are on a smart charger in my barn. Bottom line check the date stamp on a battery before you buy it.

 

I have a Costco interstate agm for baby taco it cost like 200 bucks

 

I, of course, believe you that you use the 27(non F) marine battery, so this is more for information and discussion than anything else

But warranty aside, I was always under the impression that marine/deep cycle batteries couldn't discharge "fast enough" for a vehicle...as in starting. Maybe that's old thinking...or maybe it was never true. Thoughts?

Another possibility is that I'm combining two types of batteries (marine and deep cycle) in my mind, when they are really not the same at all. I see the CCA of your battery is 940ish, so that's obviously plenty...I also see that you derived that from MCA, which I have no idea what that is to be honest lol. Again, I believe you and your calculations...just discussion and education for me and probably for others too.

Any info and thoughts you're willing to share is appreciated.

 

The picture below was taken about 30 seconds before I started to type this post. So, yeah, I am running the Deep Cycle Marine battery in my truck. If the positive post should ever make contact with any metal, it is because I have been in a severe accident, and I have bigger problems than a shorted battery.



Marine batteries use thicker lead plates than conventional car batteries, and I believe that they are slightly more resistant to sulfation. The number of plates is rumored to be fewer, but I have never seen ANY proof of this. Nor have I seen any issue with having sufficient amperage or voltage to spin the starter motor in either my Tacoma (4.0L V6 - gasoline) or my sailboat (.893L I3 - diesel).

A marine "Starting" battery is essentially a car battery with dual posts.
Here is a cutaway of a 12V Marine "Starting" battery (left) versus a 6V Marine "Deep Cycle" battery (right):
- credit Rodd Collins
Which would you rather run?

I run EVERYTHING (including the starter motor) on my sailboat from the "House" bank. The "Start" bank on the boat is simply a Group 24 battery, that I use in the same way that you would use a spare tire - when another battery dies, and only when I have to. If a Deep Cycle battery is good enough to start the diesel on my boat, it is good enough for my Tacoma.

MCA = Marine Cranking Amps which are equal to CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) * 1.25

If you REALLY want to get into the weeds of what a Marine Deep Cycle battery is, then let me point you here: https://marinehowto.com/what-is-a-deep-cycle-battery/

I hope this helps.

 

i have one, no complaints. My truck is stock

 

Is the $150 right? Last time I remember paying closer to $100 for the starting batteries. I run those Costco batteries in everything - 5 starting batteries and 2 deep cycle currently installed and have used them exclusively for the past 20+ years and they easily last 5+ years for me. I did have one prematurely die and Costco did it's thing.

 

There is only like 3 battery manufacturers in the U.S . Johnson controls makes over 50 percent of those so mostly you are buying the same ish battery the difference being the warranty and the customer service. Really hard to beat costco customer service.

 

I'll definitely read that. Thank you

I think I'm going to get the same battery you have...it's about time anyway.

 

Everything Logger just stated is exactly correct. The only difference between the Interstate Battery and a store branded battery made by Johnson Controls is going to relate to the formulation of the lead plating in the battery and the sulfuric acid. Battery manufacturers can essentially "limit" battery life by playing with those formulations as it relates to the specific gravity of the acid.

Go with the interstate, its the gold standard especially in cold weather climates. There's a reason why most repair shops stock them, because they stand by their warranty and hardly have issues.

Batteries from advance auto and auto zone have been predisposed to premature failure in the plates causing large flakes to fall off the lead plate into the bottom of the battery essentially shorting out the battery internally. Not sure if thats been addressed yet

 

I have Interstate Battery in my Tacoma and my RV. 3 year life span?

 

For the record, Johnson Controls sold its battery business in 2019 to the private equity firm, Brookfield Business Partners.

Clarios is the name of the business now.

 

I have the Costco Interstate in my '06 Tacoma. The battery will be 6 years old in August of this year. No problems or complaints.

 

Thank you all. I called Costco and they had it in stock, so I went with the Interstate battery.

 

Duralast in my truck also going on 7 years,not a single problem.

 

Not to get off this Costco-specific topic, but are these the same batteries that the Interstate Battery stores sell? Nearest Costco to me is 50 miles away, therefore I don't have a membership, but I think my battery has seen better days. Hate to pay $50-$60 more, but...

 

ran interstate batteries in 3 of my other vehicles and never had a problem. will most likely get an interstate from costco when my taco battery dies.

Like my dad always says, the best car battery is the battery with the longest warranty.

 

The Costco Interstate batteries and the ones sold in Interstate battery stores are two different batteries. The Costco ones are a generic battery with Interstate stickers on them(not that they are bad). The Interstate battery store batteries are said to be higher quality batteries but their price is a lot higher and their warranty was cut to 30 months. Costco Interstate batteries have to be returned to Costco if they are defective, the Interstate battery store will not replace a Costco Interstate battery under warranty. I know because the garage I work for sells Interstate batteries.