Time For A New Battery?

While under the hood today changing the oil for the first time...., I noticed my battery looking out of whack.








It looks like the tie down bar may have crushed the top of the battery. How long it's been like this? Don't know. The last time I had my oil changed at the dealership, they said my battery status was "low" and to keep an eye on it. But it's never been an issue. Always started everytime.

I bought my truck used almost 3 years ago in Phx, AZ.

 

I suspect that's why this isn't the OEM battery. When I bought the truck, it was 2009, so the owner had it for about 2 to 3 years.

 

Yeah, I think I'll pick up either an Interstate or Duralast Gold. I'm hoping for a sale soon for the holidays.

 

Your battery terminals and hold down are showing signs of corrosion. Please see Section 3.3 in the Car and Deep Cycle Battery FAQ on www.batteryfaq.org for more information on how to deal with that. If it were my battery, I would fully recharge the battery with a battery charger before testing the battery and vehicle charging system. Many battery dealers and auto parts stores will perform free tests, but the accurate of the battery conductance testing is improved if the battery has a 50% State-of-Charge are greater.

If the battery needs to be replaced, please see Section 7 for more information. Matching the battery type to the OEM battery type will improve the service life. Please see Section 7.1 for more information. If I lived in a hot climate and used a wet "Maintenance Free" battery, I would use a non-sealed version, so I could add distilled water when required to extend the service life of the battery.

 

I would think there's more concern on the damage to the casing than the terminals.....

So I looked at Autozone's website. They do not stock the 27F version. It has to be a special order item. WTF bs is that. They do have the standard 27 version though.

 

5 year batteries generally last about 5 years.

 

You are correct, a leaking or cracked battery case would be of more concern and the battery will have to be replaced. A BCI 27F battery has terminal orientation originally for Fords; whereas, the BCI 27 batteries has the terminals reversed. This means that you will have to modify or replace your battery cables to use one. Other auto parts and battery stores will have a BCI 27F battery.

By "low" the dealer probably meant that the State-of-Charge or the CCA performance. If the battery case is not cracked or leaking, I would clean the terminals and hold down bracket, fully recharge the battery with a battery charger, and have the battery and charging system tested. If the battery is not healthy, I would replace it.

 

I would say.... if you have a battery that's 5 years old, you're on borrowed time.

I just replaced my OEM (from factory) battery a few months ago. Nothing was wrong with it and it never gave me any issues - so I replaced it for safety/maintenance purposes (and especially before the winter).

I bought another OEM / Toyota battery on sale at the local dealer with a nice warranty.

 

AdvanceAutoParts.com and use the ship to store option.

Promo code A124 for $40 off
Mail-in rebate AAP-10020 for $25 on a Gold series battery

Good battery for ~$60! Expires 12/31 ... gotta get a new battery for my MS3, so I've been shopping around!

 

Also look at Advance Auto ship to store. There are a lot of different on line cupon codes. Do a little leg work and save quite a bit.

I was able to save $40 on a $190 battery for my car this summer. The battery lasted over 8 years so I was not mad at all.

I have a very unique battery that is only sold at Advance Auto and Interstate.

 

Both the batteries in my trucks went out, the 07 died 4 months ago couldn't find a 27F had to order it from Napa auto parts.. my X-runner battery crapped out last month.. i guess 7 years isn't bad

 

Looks like you're mixing this up. You have a link to Autozone, but it appears those coupon codes are for Advance Auto. Don't have those in WA. Not going to bother ordering a battery online where I wont have anywhere local for warranty issues.

 

Check wally world, they had the right sized batt. for my 06 for about 70.00

 

Sorry about that, will fix my original post. Luckily, I have all the major retailers around me except Napa . Unfortunetly, I get them mixed up from time to time