Car batteries: Walmart any good?

Who knows. They're made by some battery company, probably Johnson Controls or Exide. Those two (especially Johnson) make lots of "store brand" batteries, including the Sears Diehard.

Best on the market is Optima, but they cost 3x a conventional battery. Best of the conventional tech batteries is a tough call because they're all so similar. I've had reasonable luck with Interstate, rotten horrible luck with Exide.

They're fine.

From my experience Optima are crap. They break just like any other battery, are expensive and have a very short warranty that is only honored at specialty shops.

I get 'way' better service out of chain store batteries with a long warranty good at any store.

Mike

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Understood. It says the Exide made the Walmart battery I bought. Well Exide distributed it anyway

I cant seem to get any more than 3 years out of a battery now days!

OK

Any thoughts on Costco's line of batteries? Kirkland brand that is?

Thats what I buy now. I get the one with a 3 year no cost replacement. Wal Mart is close by. Optima is crap. First one I bought lasted 18 months, replace from them pro rated and I had to pay $70 . Brought it home would not work or take a charge. Returned for another one (round trip 90 miles.) Also had bouht a Deep cycle one $160.00 for second battery in modified van for camping. These have no warranty. Lasted one year. Replaced with a Wal Mart deep cycle Marine battery works great. End of rant.

I've had several Diehard batteries die real easy, and suddenly, well before the warrantee was up. Yeah, they pro-rated the goddamm thing on the new purchase (good way to hook you), but if you factor in the tremendous headache this shit causes, they shoulda paid ME. Fuck Sears. Several states have sued their ripoff automotive end.

It used to be that batteries died a slow death. You could *hear* that it was time for a new battery by the cranking, and not by just getting effing stranded.

I think truck-related battery companies might be a good hedge--Delco, Interstate.

I think tho I'm in good shape w/ my Honda fit, cuz I might be able to start it in an emergency with 8 D cells. :)

Of course not! WalMart has managed to stay in business all these decades by selling nothing but junk batteries that produce no electricity. I do have a question though. Why are you asking this question after buying the battery?

Go ask at your local auto parts store if you are worried (which it sounds like you are). Some batteries require a special vent and in that case I would go with a battery from the car dealer. I needed such a battery for a late model Volvo and the dealer price was the same as the local auto parts store and not a whole lot less than the discount store.

Glad you brought this point up

I agree that al my batteries die VERY suddenly!!

One day it was fine... but next day won't even turn the starter over

What gives?

and why did it die in the summer?

just curious

yep that's EAXTLY why I bought a Walmart battery this time... close by no mater where you are

you put a marine battery in your car?

FWIW, I bought my optima FROM walmart. Go figure. Use it in my race car. Haven't killed it yet, but it's only been one season. It's currently in my truck.

But, they are 3x the price of a cheapo battery...

Ray

I have had a cheap WM battery in my classic mustang that sits more than it drives going on 5 or 6 years now. it goes dead once or twice in the winter, give it enough charge to start the car, drive it for 30 minutes and the battery is back to life.

I have been concerned how long this battery will live for the last year or two.

I've never had ANY battery last as long as the 4 Optimas I've had in 3 different cars over the last 10 years. I wouldn't have anything else ever again. And they're especially good in rarely-driven cars because they have such a low self-discharge rate and they don't sulfate as badly as a regular battery, but they're fine in high-mileage daily use cars too. I've never bothered with the deep-cycle "yellow top" or the deep/cranking combo "blue top" Optimas, just the plain red-top starting battery.

Specialty stores?!? You call Pep Boys a "specialty store?!?" You got a different definition than I do!

Most batteries used to fail when the plates would get "swiss cheesed" to the point that not enough lead was left to make a good connection, or a single cell would sulfate so badly that it wouldn't contribute its nominal 2 volts to the total and you'd get a "10 volt" battery for a while. Now, they have better plate separators, thinner plates, and it tends to be a catastrophic failure of a plate interconnect that kills the battery, and those are "all or nothing" failures.

Most batteries do- summer is far harder on them than winter, actually.

In my experience, they also last at least twice as long (6 years for my current Optima compared to 3 for most batteries in my cars), are far more tolerant of the occasional deep discharge ("oops, left the dome light on for 4 days" kind of thing), and are more toleratnt of heat and vibration.

And when they DO poop out, they seem to fail slowly and with plenty of warning, but I've only managed to wear 2 out so far.

I had thought to avoid this thread, but finally decided to hop in with my experience. I find no battery that is as good as we expected in past years.

WalMart batteries are, however, about as good as any, depending upon the price and quality level you choose. And the fact that WalMart exists over much of the Americas must be an advantage.

I get 3-5 years from a battery..ANY battery.. None of them are, IMO, enough different to rate a strong kudo.

I always buy Wal-Mart batteries They last the warranty period - almost to the month. And Wal-Marts are everywhere.

I agree. Here in the AZ desert you're lucky to get three years out of a battery...the heat is really hard on them. The OEM batteries in the last two new cars I bought (a Chevy and a Ford) didn't make two years. Best battery I've had recently is a Panasonic in my daughter's '03 Mazda Protege...the original and still going strong after four years.

Sudden death seems to be the norm for me in car batteries. Last one that crapped out was in the Ford. It was working fine, no hint of a problem, and it died at a gas station when I went to leave after gassing up...Click!, zero...stone dead. Wouldn't even light the dome light. Measured about 6 volts on the tester and zero under load. Best bet seems to be one from Checker or Autozone with a three year free replacement.