Reaching 5 years now when to change the battery

[1230vani]

Hello,

My car is now reaching 5 years, would like to avoid having a dead battery surprise, car has 100k km and has been recently officially serviced. Do they check battery health at the service or should I just assume they dont? Anyways would like to hear your thoughts.

Best

Edit: oh and auto start stop is always off, not sure if that makes a difference

[1230vani]

Originally Posted by stocktree

I just changed mine. 2013 manufacture date. First check to see if you have one or two batteries. The manufacture date is stamped on top of negative post.

Thank you!

[Keithwand]

Thinking the same thing on my 2016 X5 but all is well. My big issue is a wobble in the right rear which I believe is the continental DWS tires because it goes away. Nothing is now happening where am I trans or turbo seems to lag and the engine seems to make a strange noise. Going in for an oil change and hoping they can run a diagnostic.Vehicle only has 40,000 miles and I really want to keep the car cause I love it

[Cranswick852]

I have a 2014 with 80K miles on it, on original battery. Why change yours now if it's not causing any problems? I don't get it. However, if the cost of a new battery helps you sleep at night then you could argue it'd money well spent.

Alternatively, try running with stop/start turned on for a while. If the battery is on its last legs then you should find the car will keep idling when you stop - it will recognise the poor battery and not stop the engine.

[Ascotgrun]

I would invest in a good battery charger like CTEK and just use that regularly before spending money to replace a fully functional battery.

The type of use is more of a determining factor than vehicle mileage or even battery age. Lots of short journeys with multiple starting throughout the day will kill a battery much quicker than long journeys where you start once or twice a day and drive longer than 45mins to an hour where the alternator has more time to replenish the battery.

My car sits unused in a parking lot for 7-8 weeks at a time. When it does get started, it's for a 2.5 hour commute home. I do lots of short journeys while home, but it goes on a CTEK as soon as I am done for the day.

[1230vani]

I remember on my (bought used) E46 (long time ago) car was packed for an early weekend trip and it would not start, no signs of problems with battery. Due to set of circumstances I did not keep a car longer than 3 years and was buying new cars. This one being longer I'd rather change it planned in a service visit rather than calling road assistance.

[Keithwand]

Originally Posted by Cranswick852

I have a 2014 with 80K miles on it, on original battery. Why change yours now if it's not causing any problems? I don't get it. However, if the cost of a new battery helps you sleep at night then you could argue it'd money well spent.

Alternatively, try running with stop/start turned on for a while. If the battery is on its last legs then you should find the car will keep idling when you stop - it will recognise the poor battery and not stop the engine.

Good to know. I always keep the stop start function on. Stoplights are long here in Florida.

[Keithwand]

Had my batteries changed today. They were dated 2015 and didn’t want to be stranded.
Auto stop and start not working so guessing due to batteries not being fully charged. Have it trickle charging overnight.