How old is your AGM battery?

I've got a red top optima group 35 in my 1st gen that's still going from 2017. Back when Optima's were still quality batteries.

I accidentally ran it dead today when I left my lights on and it got me wondering what kind of lifetimes people are getting out of their AGM batteries these days.

I don't want to buy a new battery if I don't have to, but being at 8 years makes me a bit nervous for how much left it has to give.

 

Optima moved their manufacturing from US to Mexico in 2013-14, that’s generally when the quality started to degrade. 8 years is pretty good, I’d say you’re probably getting to the upper limit.

I got my Odessey group 65 batteries in 2017 as well, and they’re on their way out. Seems like throughout the battery industry, prices have gone up steeply and expected lifespan has dropped. I had some Optima blue tops from the late 2000’s that went over 10 years with regular deep discharging.

If you want to take that red top right to the bitter end, maybe carry a jump pack like a Noco just in case?

 

Got it. Seems that the general consensus from folks I ask these days is that optimas aren't too good anymore. So I'm sort of unsure on where the best bang for buck is these days.
Northstar/X2 have a good rep, but the price tag is painful.

I do carry a noco jump pack, but it wasn't fully charged and the battery was so dead it was only able to give me a couple slow unsuccessful cranks of the starter before it completely died/went into thermal protection.
Had another cheap jump pack at work that was mostly charged but wouldn't take itself out of "protection mode" since the battery was so low.

 

Wally World Everstart 24f agm. Made in Korea. 4 year free replacement warranty and under $200.

I replace them every 2 years irregardless in AZ. I'm not going to risk getting stranded in 120 degree heat.

Topped it off today with the Noco Genius 10. I also keep a noco boost gb40 in the truck. I'd like to add another for a dual battery setup.

 

Automotive batteries of all types are most definitely not what they once were (that or it costs 3× now, even adjusted for inflation, to get something comparable to those of 15-20 years ago).
I recall it was about 2008 or so when Johnson Controls bought up Optima, and then subsequently shifted their production over to Mexico. It was a couple years after that when pretty much every vehicle forum suddenly lit up with posts about people's Optima batteries failing left & right (and also a fella by the name "Optima Jim" trying to do damage control on those same forums with foolish (obviously canned) responses like your alternator wasn't working right, etc.). This continued on until maybe around 2014-2015 when things started to settle down a bit (I guess JC having finally figured out how to make them last better).
IMO Optimas have always been overpriced for what you get. Nowadays there are a lot of AGM batteries that have 40-50% more capacity for a given size, while costing much less (the Optima six-pack design of round cells leaves a lot of wasted internal space compared to a battery using conventional flat-plate cells). The post right above mine seems a good example. I believe Costco has some AGM options now too (though even their flooded batteries have worked well for me in most cases too).

 

Given the cost difference, I have been considering rolling the dice on a costco/walmart AGM.