Battery life

[yrwei52]

Well, I DID have a $5 off coupon. (headbang) And it seems like all the AGM batteries available locally had just a 3 year warranty.

Anyway, a few factors in my decision making process. First off, AutoZone was the closest place that actually HAD any Group 35 batteries in stock. Second, the AGM battery has higher output and more reserve than the regular batteries do. We were -22F here last week which is not all that unusual for Minnesota. Third, I'm at the point in my life (read that as old/retired/well enough off) that I don't want to have to worry about small things like my vehicle starting or not just to save a few bucks. So I went with top of the line. Besides, everyone else bought them out of the regular batteries last week when theirs failed in the cold weather! (boom01)

I am satisfied with my purchase.

I will add a couple of other items of note.

- My OEM battery had a sleeve around it; sort of a plasticized cardboard. It has some foam rubber cushioning inside of it too; a little extra battery protection I suppose. It slipped right off so no problem. I tried to put it back on after I put the new battery in but it seemed like it would not "seat" itself all the way down even though it looked like it was all the way down. That's when it dawned on me that the Group 35 battery is shorter than the OEM Panasonic battery! I was able to cut enough off the bottom of the sleeve to get it back even with the top of the battery (which is needed for clearance of the battery hold-down bracket).

- In addition to the Solar battery/system tester that I noted above, I also have this booster pac http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=262 and this memory saver cord http://www.cloreautomotive.com/sku.php?id=269. You just plug the the memory saver cord into the booster pack and then into the OBD connector and all of your vehicle's memory settings (like radio stations, for example) are saved while you swap out the battery. Works great!

Yes I agree, we should do whatever we feel comfortable at our stage! And been in Iowa many years ago and I still remember -60F wind-chill temperature which makes a strong battery ever so important! Although they usually are more expensive, I normally get OEM batteries for replacement and I found they normally fit better just like you just found out on group-35 battery on our CX-5. I wish the OEM battery at Mazda dealer is made by Panasonic but in reality I know it's made by one of the US battery manufactures here.

I believe in its website under AutoZone Duralast Platinum 35-AGM battery it does say don't use memory saver while changing the battery?

 

[Kedis82ZE8]

I use AGMs in my powersports equipment and they last a long time if you make use of a trickle charger. Some of this equipment sits outside all year long as well. I think my oldest AGM is from 2007 or and easily cranks ATV. This ATV also has a 3K winch and heated grips.

I guess we'll see how long the Li-ion lasts in one of my quads.. That being said lead acid in my cars has been fine. Just make sure you keep the water level correct and they last a long time for me. Granted I don't deal with the extreme heat some do.

 

[minnesotaart]

I believe in its website under AutoZone Duralast Platinum 35-AGM battery it does say don't use memory saver while changing the battery?

That notice is dependent on the particular vehicle that you have selected as "My Vehicle" when you are finding the proper size battery. With my 2014 GT, the notice does not appear. I don't know if it's different for other year CX-5s, but the memory saver worked perfectly for me on mine.