12v Battery Recommendations

[joeriv]

Costco has 51R in stock - less than $100.

[LeftieBiker]

If the OP has a 2013 Leaf with charging issues, then a standard 51R starting battery may not prove to be satisfactory.

[joeriv]

IMHO it's not the size that counts but how you maintain the battery. There is a parasitic drain on the 12v battery and if the car sits unused for too long, it will drain. I strongly suggest you buy a trickle charge that desulfates the battery and routinely use it. The 12v on my 2013 at 3 1/2 years tested like new because of this.

[LeftieBiker]

IMHO it's not the size that counts but how you maintain the battery. There is a parasitic drain on the 12v battery and if the car sits unused for too long, it will drain. I strongly suggest you buy a trickle charge that desulfates the battery and routinely use it. The 12v on my 2013 at 3 1/2 years tested like new because of this.

Good advice, but the underlying reason doesn't apply in most cases. SOME Leafs do have a mysterious parasitic drain, but most don't. It's sitting plugged in but not charging that tends to drain them, and the car doesn't adequately recharge the 12 volt battery. Most Leafs do fine sitting around unused and unplugged.

[baustin]

My original plan was to get a Yellow Top Optima from Amazon, when the time came to replace the battery. The price has increased to $163, with a three year warranty (no pro-rated coverage after that). I'm now considering just getting a Standard Replacement from Sam's Club for $100, with the same three year warranty. I'm also looking at options for a higher capacity battery that will fit in the same tray. I'm still using the original battery, which is getting close to five years old.

I”be looked on amazon. Can’t find one under $200 shipped.

It looks like it has gone up. The last time I checked it was $163. It makes the Sam's Club option look even better.

The link above for the Bosch AGM at Pep Boys shows it on sale for $132 through October 2nd, with a 4 year replacement warranty. I may just get one of those. They also have the Optima Yellow Top on sale for $143.

I went over Saturday and got one of the Bosch 51R AGM batteries at Pep Boys, while they were on sale. At $132, with a four year warranty, it seemed like a pretty good deal. The original battery was almost five years old.

[powersurge]

Hi, I have an original battery for 3 years, and have never had a problem with my battery.

First of all, spending more money on a better battery will not get you a longer lasting battery.

Having a warrantee is not a guarantee that you will not have problems with the battery.

If your battery has been draining to a low level, then you need to take the time to keep an eye on the battery. To start, check the battery voltage WEEKLY with a meter. If you ever find that it is somewhat low, then connect the car when you don't use it to a "battery tender" trickle charger. Or connect a small solar panel on the dashboard, which will keep your batterY in top tip shape.

There are so many types of drivers in this world, that do so many bad things to batteries, that this is the best procedure to follow for all people concerned with their battery.

[TomT]

Deep cycle marine batteries work well and have high power connectors. Costco has one (Interstate) that will fit the Leaf for about 75 bucks. Sorry, I no longer remember the number...

Deep cycle (aka not starter batteries) will last longer.
They have a small CCA value (or no value mentioned at all).
Though usually they don't have very high current pole-connectors.

[Nubo]

First of all, spending more money on a better battery will not get you a longer lasting battery.

Well, no the money doesn't make the battery last longer. But a better battery is a better battery. Faster charge acceptance and better deep-cycle tolerance are two characteristics that will definitely help mitigate problems. True though, if consistently and deeply abused even the best battery will die an early death.

Having a warrantee is not a guarantee that you will not have problems with the battery.

True, but not the whole truth. A 4-year unlimited warranty is unusual for an automotive battery and shows a remarkable confidence by the manufacturer, which you can reasonably assume is an indication of the underlying fitness. And even if it does go bad, you are indemnified.

f your battery has been draining to a low level, then you need to take the time to keep an eye on the battery. To start, check the battery voltage WEEKLY with a meter. If you ever find that it is somewhat low, then connect the car when you don't use it to a "battery tender" trickle charger. Or connect a small Solar Panel on the dashboard, which will keep your batterY in top tip shape.

There are so many types of drivers in this world, that do so many bad things to batteries, that this is the best procedure to follow for all people concerned with their battery.

I agree, if you've had consistent problems then it's a good idea to monitor the battery for awhile. Also check occasionally even if nothing's wrong. A load test is even better. Whether or not a regular program of extracurricular charging is warranted depends on the severity and frequency of the over-discharge condition, if any. And having a more robust battery can mitigate some of these effects and keep you from having to be a slave to the battery tender. 12V batteries don't have to live forever to be "good enough".

[baustin]

Hi, I have an original battery for 3 years, and have never had a problem with my battery.

First of all, spending more money on a better battery will not get you a longer lasting battery.

Having a warrantee is not a guarantee that you will not have problems with the battery.

If your battery has been draining to a low level, then you need to take the time to keep an eye on the battery. To start, check the battery voltage WEEKLY with a meter. If you ever find that it is somewhat low, then connect the car when you don't use it to a "battery tender" trickle charger. Or connect a small solar panel on the dashboard, which will keep your batterY in top tip shape.

There are so many types of drivers in this world, that do so many bad things to batteries, that this is the best procedure to follow for all people concerned with their battery.

Nubo provided an excellent response, so I will not go over all of that again.

I would expect a battery only three years old, in your climate, to still be working well, especially if properly maintained. Heat is very hard on batteries, and to get almost five years out of one here in the desert is doing quite well. I got the car at a little over two years old. All six cells in the battery were low on fluid. I topped it off with distilled water, checked it periodically, and got another two and half years out of it. Without driving regularly, and running a charge cycle every day this summer, the battery would not keep a voltage level high enough to keep the TCU happy. Pulling the fuse to do a TCU reset every few weeks gets annoying. I found a good battery, with a good warranty, at a price I was willing to pay, and did the replacement so I don't have to worry about the battery, TCU, or if the car is going to start when I need to go somewhere.

No, having a warranty does not guarantee there will be no problems with the battery. It does provide some peace of mind knowing that I can get it replaced for free if it fails within the warranty period. It does have a warranty one year longer that every other battery I looked at, and the sale price brought it down close to the pricing for a standard auto battery. Knowing what heat, and the Leaf Charging Algorithm, does to batteries, there is a good chance it will be replaced for free during year four, unless it truly is a 'premium' battery.

[Supersleeper]

Well, bummer. Seems we’ve turned the thread into another debate. I decided to go optima yellow D51r since I found it on sale at Pep Boys for $143. I let the car sit for a weekend without driving it, and started up Monday without issues. On the old battery, it wouldn’t have made it barely a day.