Optima Yellow Top Longevity

I'm going to try to keep this simple on a topic that's been beat to death. I am curious to anybody who has ran an Optima Yellow top in their Tacoma, what state they live in, and how long it lasted before it needed to be replaced. I'm either going to purchase an Optima Yellow top or the Platinum whatever at Advance Auto Parts. I'm leaning toward just getting to Platinum whatever because besides perhaps doing an LED upgrade, I'm not planning on adding any Electronics to my truck anytime soon. But if people say that they got more than 5 years in a Southern state from their yellow top then I may invest the money.

 

I had a yellow top in mine for about 4-5 years. I replaced it with a Napa Legend 800cca.

 

What state do you live in? And I only ask that because I live in Florida and batteries here generally last two to three years.

 

WPB, FL

 

So what made you switch, did you not like it or something? Or did you just not feel it was worth the money?

 

Basically yeah, didn't think it was worth the extra money. I originally considered dual Optima batteries but never got there.

 

That's the exact I answer that I was looking for. I have a stock battery in there right now, but I want to make up my mind what I'm going to switch to when it goes bad, so I don't making an uneducated decision. I've never had an issue with the red Optima top, but those are usually $180ish for all my other cars. When I saw the $300 price tag I was like...bitch please. I assume the Platinum whatever at Advance Auto Parts will be way better than the OEM battery, so I'm not worried about it. But if somebody said that they got say 5 to 7 years living in the southern state, then maybe it would be worth the investment. The platinum battery at Advance Auto Parts you can get for about a $170ish with coupon codes with a 3 year warranty. So you could almost purchased two batteries for the price of one yellow top.

 

I've red reports from guys getting 8-10 years out of Northstar AGMs who live in the desert Southwest.

 

Has anybody else had that experience with that battery? I mean that battery seems way overkill for my application, but if it lasts more than 5 years. I'm down.

 

I bought an optima red top in 02. Got 14 years out of it. Might have gone further but I killed it listening to tunes with my lights on. Oops.

 

Damn

 

Old Optimas were great, now ones.............well, they moved production to Mexico and their quality went straight to hell. Got 8 years out of the first, just a bit over two out of the new ''Mexican'' one. Heard the same thing numerous times.

 

I've always had yellow tops in my cars. Just put one in my taco a couple months ago when my Toyota battery took a shit. Paid right around $220 after my discount from autozone. Longest I've had one was 5 years in my old civic. Im in jersey by the way.

 

I have red top for past 5 years or so. Been great in CT winter's to with the remote start

 

Had a red top for 6 years in a Silverado loved it. It sat for exactly one year disconnected came back hooked it up truck fired no issue sold me on optima.

 

I had a Die Hard Platinum and that only lasted 3 years for me. I've heard hit or miss with optima batteries, but good things with the northstar AGM's but they are pricey.

If you're sucked into Optima marketing, Costco occassionally has Optima Red Tops on sale for under $100.

I have the interstate battery from Costco b/c the costco warranty is painless.

 

This.

I had a yellow top die just before the 3 year warranty. Spent 1.5 years in FL the rest in CO, the new one is still going good now but only about 1 year old.

I have a blue top that has been resold at least 2x that is still going good and it’s goyta be 8+ years old, made in Aurora CO

Honestly I wouldent wast my money again on optima, go with a quality agm

 

Wasn’t impressed with mine!
Only time I’ve been stranded. Good thing it’s a standard.
Long story battery was older when I bought it new! Killed it a few 3-4 I’d say times my fault. Less than 2 yrs and a bad cell.
Advance wouldn’t cover it ended up with a auto crap agm.
It’s been a awesome battery pretty impressed.

 

I'll answer the question you didn't ask. My Duralast Platinum AGM from AutoZone took a dump 3 months after the 3 year warranty ended. Most of that time garaged in Texas. I went back to the cheaper battery with a better warranty.

 

I had red tops in all of my 4x4's many years ago and experienced everything from the usual 4 year range to 1 or 2 that lasted 6-7 and maybe even 8 in the Texas heat. But more often it became roughly 4 years, as they were replaced, which is what just an average old battery seems to last. So, now I just buy a decent battery from the auto parts or walmart and call it good and I get the same lifespan out of them, and what seems like the same performance, for less money. vehicles have so much more electronic demands these days that combined with the heat here, I just don't know that paying a lot for a battery is really worth it anymore. Weather I pay more or less I still seem to get the same amount of life out of them. I go through this same train of thought every time I need a new one and it's getting easier to just get a cheaper one as time has proven to me it just doesn't really seem to matter. Maybe others have different experiences, but for me, paying 100 or less every 4 years has felt like the wiser choice.