Do you preemptively replace your car batteries?

Participant · 13 May 2018 at 10:23

I've got a 2009 Golf that's still on its original battery. PD is 12.3V with engine off, 14.2V with engine running.

There are no adverse symptoms that would indicate that the battery is failing. We have AA cover.

Would you replace it?

robinbanks · 13 May 2018 at 10:33

I normally leave mine till it starts showing signs of struggling or if the garage give me a printout saying i need to look at replacing.

sigma · 13 May 2018 at 10:43

It's just a battery. If it isn't broken then don't fix it.

Participant · 13 May 2018 at 10:47

sigma said:
It's just a battery.

Truism.

sigma said:
If it isn't broken then don't fix it.

Nice sound bite, but the problem is that they quite often break with no prior warning, leaving you / your family stranded until the AA show up, hence I'm wondering if people would advise me to change it given its age and voltage. From Googling I can't determine whether 12.3V is normal or indicative of imminent failure.

Holst1981 · 13 May 2018 at 10:51

Keep a set of jump leads in your car.

Sone · 13 May 2018 at 10:57

When mine died couldn't jump it. Was dead dead

rodenal · 13 May 2018 at 11:00

It's really not worth worrying about - if there are zero signs of an issue just leave it alone.

If you get really unlucky and it dies when out and about one day then just bump start the car and be on your way

Jez · 13 May 2018 at 11:09

I wouldn't give this a 2nd thought personally. If it works it works. Batteries IME tend to become weak, but not just die altogether unless you let them go stone flat.

Dangerous Dave · 13 May 2018 at 11:22

I would change it rather than wait for problems to happen. Sod’s law means it will happen at a time it causes the maximum disruption.

9 years is nearing the end of life for a battery. Depending where you look 12.3 resting voltage is around 35-45% of original capacity.

andy_mk3 · 13 May 2018 at 11:28

I would consider changing it. While still working OK now, it wouldnt take much for a cell to short out and leave you stranded. Even with AA cover it's still hassle and delay you can do without for the cost of a battery.

Phemo · 13 May 2018 at 11:29

I had a car recently which just wouldn't start in the morning. It was absolutely fine starting up every time with no excessive cranking until this particular day when it wouldn't start. Even when the engine wasn't trying to start, if I turned the rear wiper on, the LCD screen up front would turn off. Couldn't predict that one too easily.

Also had a car a couple of years ago that was struggling to start every so often. I changed the battery on that one before it had a chance to get worse.

So basically I'll only ever change my battery if the car is having issues starting, although my experience shows that you can either get signs that it's on its way out or that it can just die one morning.

blueboy2001 · 13 May 2018 at 11:30

I wouldn’t proactively replace a battery, but I will always replace at the first sign of trouble or weakness if more than a few years old.

It’s often cheaper if you don’t need a battery in a rush.

AHarvey · 13 May 2018 at 11:36

After seeing a recent issue on a facebook vw group your battery is fine at those levels.

IAmATeaf · 13 May 2018 at 11:38

I personally only ever think about changing it if it shows signs of issues, so weak when starting etc. Wouldn’t worry about trying to guard against real hardware faults as they could equally occur on the new battery?

MagicBoy · 13 May 2018 at 12:07

Nope. Those stats are fine, wait until it shows signs of going.

3t3P · 13 May 2018 at 12:10

I was thinking the same recently, didn't know how old the car battery was and no real problems until one day it wouldn't start and RAC out. So if it's five years old, knowing what I know now I would replace it prememptively.

MagicBoy · 13 May 2018 at 12:15

You've got the RAC cover? What else do you pre-emptively replace to avoid having to use it?

bremen1874 · 13 May 2018 at 12:44

Ignoring times when the lights have been left on (back before cars reminded you) I don’t think I’ve ever had a none start due to the battery that didn’t happen whilst parked on the drive at home.

If it’s at home it’s easy enough to put it on charge for a while and then to go and get a replacement.

I usually give mine one second chance. If it fails again after a full recharge it gets changed.

[TW]Fox · 13 May 2018 at 12:47

Run to breakdown. It'll be obvious when it's on its way out imho.

sigma · 13 May 2018 at 13:26

Participant said:
Truism.

Nice sound bite, but the problem is that they quite often break with no prior warning, leaving you / your family stranded until the AA show up, hence I'm wondering if people would advise me to change it given its age and voltage. From Googling I can't determine whether 12.3V is normal or indicative of imminent failure.

As most people have said, it's quite uncommon for them to just die without some sign showing.

If you're really concerned then perhaps just buy a new one? They're cheap enough.