[Kimcotorres]

Hello!
took my accent hatchback in to get serviced and they did a battery test on the car. The dealerships says it’s time to replace. I drive the car everyday, sometimes on hours end, haven’t had any issues starting up/etc and no warning symbols/signs have showed up on the dashboard. The car is only 3 years old too ..

 

[Circuitsmith]

1. I would never buy a battery from a dealership. There's better deals. My favorite: Walmart.
2. If in doubt get a second opinion.
3. Three years seems too soon in Canada (heat kills batteries). I would just drive on.

 

[DarrenBach]

Go to car parts place and have them "load" test it if they are capable to. Many do this for free...I agree with CS, it should have a least another year in it. Heat does kill...our Buick's battery lasted over tens yrs (being under the rear seat).

 

[hochiinn]

both of our 2016 elantra batteries went before 3 years. when i worked at the parts store, i sold a lot of batteries. most of the time, the cust would bring in the battery, and we would load test it. i think every one failed. the most popular scenario is, when the first freeze hits, lotsa batteries die. if the car is garaged, it will start. then, you go to work, and it sits out in the cold. cold is a much bigger killer of batteries than heat is. another scenario is, come home from work, car sits outside, temp drops. go work in am, car no start. i load test our car batteries every fall, i dont need my wife to be stuck in a dark parking lot in the cold. each of our cars also has a gooloo jump starter, they work really well, and are foolproof to hook up and use. and dont pay dealer prices for a battery

 

[charlescrown]

I think the position of the state of health arrow favors the battery seller. I wouldn't toss it yet. Yes a battery load is the 100% true test for a battery.

 

[kylemarshall]

Hello!
took my accent hatchback in to get serviced and they did a battery test on the car. The dealerships says it’s time to replace. I drive the car everyday, sometimes on hours end, haven’t had any issues starting up/etc and no warning symbols/signs have showed up on the dashboard. The car is only 3 years old too .. View attachment 455466

I used to use the exact same testing machine when I worked at a shop, I forget the make and model but can find out to prove that im not making it up. I would tell you that the battery is great and should last a few more years with that printout.
Just because this machine says "replace battery" doenst mean its bad. Sometimes the machine will say that on a BRAND new battery off the shelf.
The reason this is occuring, you can see that they checked the battery after the vehicle was charging it for some time. There is a residual charge voltage in the battery. it should be 12.68 not 12.80. This causes the machine to believe that the battery is overcharging due to an internal fault and the low output current is due to an internal short from the last winter.

Check the sides of your battery for puffing. If it looks relatively straight its fine. If there is puffing then yes its time to replace it. Or you can run it for the next year and it will eventually not work one day. (only if puffed badly)

 

[kylemarshall]

1. I would never buy a battery from a dealership. There's better deals. My favorite: Walmart.
2. If in doubt get a second opinion.
3. Three years seems too soon in Canada (heat kills batteries). I would just drive on.

Cold kills batteries. Not heat. ( well by the time the heat is killing the battery the rest of the car would be melting away, likely on fire)
EDIT: Cold AND discharge usually. Discharged battery causes sulphating of the plates. The water becomes not acidic and freeze point increases, cold comes around, liquid freezes and squishes all the plates together and puffs the sides. Most common damage to battery is cold damage actually.
Here in Canada when winter comes around you better have a few extra of each battery in stock in your store or youll run out in a day.

 

[charlescrown]

Extreme temps at either end of the scale will dramatically shorten the life of a battery. A battery is more efficient in warmer climates but that's not to say it's better. We had one model Falcon that was very popular for using as a cab and the battery would last about a year so they moved them to the boot and they lasted several years. Most people think the covers around the battery is to keep it warm but no it's to insulate the battery against heat. Many cars made for our market have cold air ducted to the battery to extend their life. It all gets down to extreme climate. We never would get a battery freeze here but we sure do get up to 50deg C outside and a lot hotter under the bonnet. Keep your battery for at least another year or two and test it again.

 

[Kimcotorres]

I used to use the exact same testing machine when I worked at a shop, I forget the make and model but can find out to prove that im not making it up. I would tell you that the battery is great and should last a few more years with that printout.
Just because this machine says "replace battery" doenst mean its bad. Sometimes the machine will say that on a BRAND new battery off the shelf.
The reason this is occuring, you can see that they checked the battery after the vehicle was charging it for some time. There is a residual charge voltage in the battery. it should be 12.68 not 12.80. This causes the machine to believe that the battery is overcharging due to an internal fault and the low output current is due to an internal short from the last winter.

Check the sides of your battery for puffing. If it looks relatively straight its fine. If there is puffing then yes its time to replace it. Or you can run it for the next year and it will eventually not work one day. (only if puffed badly)

Thank you, will definitely check!

 

[Carlsbad1]

The dealer gave you a valid assessment of your battery. It has 321 cca (which means they did a load test on it). If you're in a warm climate, that should be plenty for a while. However, if you're in a cold climate, expect to have trouble starting when extremely cold. Bad news about warm climates is the heat tends to shorten battery life. I buy batteries at walmart. their top class batteries are well made. Most other batteries you pay for a lot of Nascar advertising.

Now here is the real question. Do you want to drive it until it fails and you have to replace it because your car won't start (run to failure) or replace it before it fails (preventive maintenance). When I was young and poor I did the former. Now I do the latter. In addition to not being inconvenienced, you can buy the battery at a better price and might even find a good sale.

I replace batteries every 3 years.

--Jerry

 

[charlescrown]

That test is not a load test. The test device simply measure the batteries internal resistance. I have one and do find it quiet accurate but it will never beat a true load test.

 

[Gazwould]

Tested my other cars original AGM 10 year old battery .

Does it still work , yes .

I'll replace when the starter motor sounds slowed .

 

[GsiTurbo]

What I would do: run a full battery charge with a quality battery charger (such as Noco Genius 10 or similar) and if the charger supports it, run the repair mode to increase the electrolyte density. Then redo the battery load test.

 

[Circuitsmith]

cold is a much bigger killer of batteries than heat is

There's an old saying: Heat kills batteries, and cold buries them.

Heat does the damage; cold brings out the weakness. Plus cold, thick oil makes the engine harder to crank.

 

[DarrenBach]

Now here is the real question. Do you want to drive it until it fails and you have to replace it because your car won't start (run to failure) or replace it before it fails (preventive maintenance). When I was young and poor I did the former. Now I do the latter. In addition to not being inconvenienced, you can buy the battery at a better price and might even find a good sale.

I replace batteries every 3 years.

--Jerry

I'm taking your advice...as far as I can tell the battery is 5 1/2 yrs (Carfax). I will pick-up a Walmart battery today and I have a memory saver gizmo from Amzn. This may be the 1st time I've done this...but because of nice folks, I've never been stranded!