andy-gts

Duralast, as some one commmented earlier, is the bottom of the quality batterylist.....did it used to be a decent battery at some point and then just become bad. We buy interstate here at the interstate dealer and really have no complaints, always got rid of a car before any battery issues ever seemed to happen, corvette and porsche, tahoe, cad srx, and mustang...never troubles the oldest is the 01 vette battery and still going strong, no maintainer but all are driven on a weekly basis > 15 miles weekly (lots of kids)

JPTL

I just got an Optima Yellow Top thru a group buy from Dave (944 Cup) for $95 delivered. It's the last one, I believe. That's a great price for an Optima.
I'll be putting it in my wife's Suburban since it's due for a new battery. The reason that I went with a Yellow is because my wife is the soccer mom defined. She refuses to acknowledge that car batteries aren't designed to provide an hour or two of daytime running lights, radio & seat warmers (and all of the accessories that are on when the key is at full accessory w/the engine off while watching a soccer game).
According to her, there's something seriously wrong with the car when it won't start after such a draw is put on an other-than-new battery.
So Yellow Top it is. Fortunately the Suburban only requires 620 CCA. I'll put the current battery in the aux. battery tray & keep a set of jumpers in the back so she'll never be stranded.
We'll see how it works out.

Don Carter

I just replaced my Duralast after about 2 years. Got a free replacement, but still not happy with only getting 2 years out of it. I used to curse Walmart batteries because they only lasted about two years, but I recently got 5 years from a yellow "Maxx" Walmart battery in my Yukon.

depami

I just replaced the original battery in my 2001 F-150. The original still worked fine but I'm getting too old to be stranded in Minnesota winter.

I put in a Super Start Extreme from O'Reilly Auto as the Optima was nearly twice the price.

I think I'll put the original back in in the Spring and see how long it will go. It is a Motorcraft. Who makes that?

SteveG

My last two Duralast didn't last. It's probably harder being a garage queen, but most of the time they were either disconnected or on a Schumacher. Dr. Bob may be right about the cycling not being good for these batts. I suppose I have to try and find the drain, but with all the aftermarket stuff on it, I'm sure some of it cannot be disconnected. It's just easier to monitor and replace. Pepboys had Bosch at $108. So that is where I am.

JPTL

This is what gives me a bit more comfort with buying an Optima. Although I can't vouch for longevity, I can vouch for customer service.
You can reach the Optima division of JC directly in Milwaukee. They have helpful tech support and seem to have a vested interest in their reputation via satisfied customers. My Red Top suffered a complete discharge while in my GT - totally my fault - and tech support walked me through the steps to revive it (not the customary method w/gel batteries). Had it not come back, I could have taken it into a local Optima dealer and gotten a replacement @ no cost/no hassle. My guess is that you'd get the same treatment from Interstate.
Try that with Duramax, DieHard or WalMart batteries.
Also, I think it helps w/customer service to have bought through the Team Optima World Challenge (aside from it being 1/2 price). Selling batteries this way puts them under the microscope with car people. I'd think that they'd strive to satisfy.
Sorry for steering off the Duralast topic, but it was a Duralast that the Optima replaced.

danglerb

Today I made the rounds to warranty two old batteries and found out Duralast only offers the Group 49 battery early cars need in the mid range line, no gold anymore, so only 2 year warranty and off my list. Now I have two Bosch batteries ...

heinrich

As I've said elsewhere, the batteries in my Ford trucks last years. Without even being started for 6 months at a time. Our 928 batteries are no different. The difference lies in the constant drain almost all 928's experience from faulty switches, old wires, amplifiers, alarms and rusted light sockets.

There's no magic here. If you run the battery down, it becomes less reliable with every drain. As a test, disconnect your battery every day. It will last forever.

dr bob

It's been exactly four years since the last Duralast battey was installed.

This year's annual battery well service and inspection revealed a couple things. First was, the battery was pretty dead. It's been sitting for about a month with the ground strap lifted, and offered nothing when I hit the key after reconnecting. It's OK, it happened in the garage and it was just going to go for a late-night dash up Angeles Crest into the national forest, on a perfectly-clear 70º January evening.

The battery came out of the car, and went on the charger for a day. The current draw was pretty low initially, and never made it up past a couple amps the whole while that it charged. Terminal voltage was OK as it charged, at 13.5 for the first 12 hours or so, finally ramping up to 14.7 towards the end of 24 hours. I decided to leave it on the charger for another day just for grins, but the terminal voltage stayed stable at 14.7 and the current stated constant at a little less than 2 amps. Removed the charger connections, and the terminal voltage dropped back to 12.7 tested after an hour, generally a good result. The battery had the covers off while charging so I could verify liquid level, and also monitor any outgassing. Level was good to start, no outgassing or bubbling observed. I checked the specific gravity of the electrolyte after it was charged, and unfortunately the float sat at the bottom of the sample tube, indicating completely spent electrolyte.

As much as I love a little frugality, I also hate getting stranded by stupid stuff, especially when I have all the indications of impending failure right in front of me. So I went battery shopping at about 8:30 PM, and the only local source for a Group 48 battery was the local WalMart. A few over a hundred dollars, and they took a spent UPS battery I had as core so no spurious extra costs. It's a perfect fit, with better venting system than the outgoing Duralast battery. My hidden vendor-choice agenda includes the fact that the car won't be near a Duralast store the next time it's 'scheduled' for a new battery; There is a Super WalMart a reasonably close close ride from the new house though.

Fast-forward a few days, and I have the old Duralast ready to go back to the original selling store. Into the boot it goes in a plastic pan, along with a few gallons of waste oil that they will recycle for me. While waiting for the cashier, I cruised the battery display to see what the difference in price might be. Turns out the WalMart battery is a perfect match for the Duralast on the shelf, right down to the unique new handle design and the terminal caps. One might think that the only differences are the location, labeling and the cost. The cashier happens to be wearing the 'store manager' badge, so I asked her what I might have gotten back on 4-year prorated warranty against a new one. Turns out the net cost would have been very close to the same, BUT the warranty on the new Duralast would be just the remaining months on the old one. Meanwhile, the WalMart one comes with a 3-year no-questions replacement warranty, and prorated for the rest of the same period that the original Duralast offered.

The saga now continues, this time with a WalMart-branded Johnson Controls battery. I'll keep the group updated.

19psi

I've had nothing but great luck with the Duralast Gold batteries.

1994....factory battery died in my '90 Geo Storm. Installed a Duralast. Replaced it early last year with another Duralast. Old battery was still ok but would get weak if the car sat for more than a 2 weeks. At 1,000 amps, the new one is even more powerful and will hopefully last at least another 15+ years.

1995....replaced failed battery in my '88 Toyota pick up. Installed another Duralast. Sold the truck several years ago to a good friend/co-worker. We were joking about 2 weeks how that POS still started right up @ -15° F with that very same battery.

1999....installed one in my Corvette. By far the worst experience as it completely failed to take a charge when I took it out of winter storage in 2011. I think that one was a Duralast Silver.

Don Carter

Bob,

Good timing on your post. On the way to the local PCA gathering yesterda, I was stranded at the car wash (I know, should wash by hand, but it was cold!), with a dead Duralast battery. If my records are correct it's 4.5 years old. Pretty happy it lasted that long. I never trickle charge, or do anything special.

I'll be checking the water, and probably replacing it today.

I did have a defective Duralast in my track car a few weeks ago that was only a year or two old and it was replaced at no charge.

I have had so much grief with Walmart batteries over the years, (they seemed to usually only last 2 years), that I have switched over to Duralast. I'd be surprised if they are really the same, but maybe they are now, but were not in the past?

andy-gts

remember that battery rejeuvenator liquid you put in old batteries to revive them, what was that chemical ?? just fresh electrolyte??

RKD in OKC

VX-6 cadmium Sulfate JC Whitney

Gary Knox

I haven't been following this thread, but decided to share my experience with Duralast. I have one in my '90 Mercedes 560 SEC. This car is used about once or maybe twice a week in the winter months, for short trips only. In the spring/summer/fall months, it may sit for anywhere from 3 to 7 weeks without being started or run. I don't think it has been driven further than 20 miles on any 'trip' in the past 6 years. The battery has never had a 'charger or maintainer' attached to it, and the engine always starts immediately with fast starter rotation.

I always mark the installation date on the top of a battery when I put them in. This battery is in the engine compartment and easy to see when I check oil or other fluids. The installation date was Sept. 17, 2002. So - this Duralast battery is now 11 1/2 years old. I'm obviously very pleased with THIS battery!

I'd thought I would replace it with a Duralast (or buy that battery for any of the three other cars when they need them), but this thread is making me re-think that!

The GTS has a battery from NAPA, which my internet research indicated was made by Deka (North Penn. It has been in the car about 4 years, but I have a maintainer permanently attached, and always plug it in for a day or two every 5-10 days during the 'off season' (which is NOW here in the Delaware Valley). The '07 Audi A8 seems to have the original battery which is now 6 1/2 years old, and both of the batteries in the Sl55 AMG are nearly new 'Mercedes' brand batteries. These cars seem to 'eat' the rear battery, so I've installed a maintainer on that one, which like the GTS, I plug in for a day or two every 5-10 days, and will probably do that even during the driving season. The rear battery powers everything EXCEPT starting the engine on these cars (including lowering and raising the top, which is a 'transformer' experience).

Gary---

the flyin' scotsman

Same GM battery working well, now into its 9th year