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-   -   Car battery life - How long did your battery last? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/38613-car-battery-life-how-long-did-your-battery-last-48.html)

For my Skoda Rapid, the OE battery (Exide) was replaced after 3 years (36k km). I did not face any problem due to battery if the car was used every day.

The problem I was facing since when the car was new was:
I travel almost every alternate month and the car is not used for five-six days when I am traveling. If this period is extended, the battery used to go dead.

During first service of my car, I had complained about this to Skoda A.S.S. and the SA had told me that this is a problem with all skoda cars. He recommended that I should disconnect -ve terminal of battery while leaving the car idle.

As I had to use a jump start way to start the car, I was not happy, hence replaced the battery with Amaron.

Now, my car has run almost 10k km (almost one year) since the battery change and I have not faced any problem even when the car is idle for two weeks.

When I chatted with a battery dealer, he said that the OE batteries are often of low quality compared to after-market batteries, specially made for OE use (Low cost). Hence, battery with same model & rating has longer life if it is after market.

Safari EX . March 2011. Bought it second hand in 2013 @ 18500 km.Current status@24000km with stock battery.
My job makes me stay away from India for one month, at home for a month. Every time I come back home, Safari is waiting for me , parked for a month and waiting for a crank. When I do it, it comes back to life in a single crank. I grin one more time. This is repeating every time, since I bought it. I am happy.

Got the Maruti OEM Amaron battery of A-Star Automatic changed today. The Amaron lasted for nearly 4 years as I got the car on 27 Jan 2012 so it lived for years. It was in trouble from some time and I had to call CrossRoads for jump start 2 times in last 1 year plus today. Took it for a check where the cranked voltage was rated at 7.9 and the Tata green battery tester showed its condition as Bad.

Replaced it with Tata Green Premio PR 4000R with 30+30 month coverage.

Confused and delighted :)

My Feb 2009 Safari came with Dec 08 manufactured Amaron. The battery is still going strong, seven years now:thumbs up . I just did a RJ/Thar desert trip in last week of December and was worried about the age of the battery in extreme desert cold. But, it worked flawlessly. Back home, it is still cranking fine even after sitting idle for weeks together. Is it a miracle or something else?

-BJ

My replaced Exide DIN80 Cruze battery (bought in Jan 2014) became weak and unreliable last week leading to starting issues and weird electrical behavior. This one lasted roughly the same as the original OE Exide DIN80.

Took it to Chevy and confirmed that the alternator was fine and cranking voltage was way below requirements (< 10 v). Changed it for 10k with exchange of the old one - price was lower than what I paid in 2014 (10.4k) but what was worrying was that this specific Exide DIN80 was very difficult to source in BLR. Multiple dealers simply said not in stock and cannot be ordered.

Was lucky to find a Dec-15 manufactured one in a nearby store. Car back to normal now.

2011 Fiat Linea 1.4 Dynamic. Did only 25k till now. Battery going to die anytime now. :D

Swift VDi.
Purchased : Oct 2011
Kms done : 70 K
OEM Battery replaced : Jan 2016

Was quite happy with the performance by the OEM Exide battery.

Lasted more than a bit over 4 years.

Recently replaced by an Amaron one thru batteriesexpert.com

Friends, need you advice on finding appropriate replacement battery for i10 Magna Automatic. My OEM battery is 6 yrs old and giving signs that it may die soon. I thought of doing preventive maintenance so that I am not stranded somewhere.

OEM Battery: Exide EF40 40B20LMF 12V 40AH

This battery is not listed on Exide site now.

Searched BatteryBhai.com, carbatteryexpert.com, amco.in as well as exide reachout, but all of them are recommending following models
Amaron AAM-FL-0BH40B20L - 35AH
Exide Mileage FMI0-MI40L-BH - 35AH

My queries
1. Why these manufacturers are not having 40AH battery? I did find one 45AH battery with Exide.
2. Is it ok to put 35AH battery in place of 40AH? What are other options I have?

Please advise.

6 years is great service! Most car manufacturers use batteries that are available off the shelf, but Hyundai seems to have gone in for an odd 40AH battery. But there's no issue with using a 45AH battery provided:

a) The battery fits in the battery tray
b) Negative and positive clamps are the correct size and fit the battery posts without having to force them on
c) Check for L or R orientation. From the specs you have included it is 'L' - left orientation.

Best thing is to use a battery (model/make) recommended by the Hyundai dealer. But buy it from a battery dealer or online to save money.

Thanks. I googled a bit before contacting Hyundai Dealer. Basically, it seems more important than AH (ampere hour) is CCA (cold cranking amps). Full specification of my current battery is

Exide EF40 40B20LMF 12V 40AH RC: 55MIN CCA: 354

Checked with Hyundai dealer and they said 35AH is what they provide as replacement battery and the model they had in stock was Exide Matrix FMT0-MT35LBH with CCA IEC of 270 and CCA SEC of 332. Apparently, cost of dealer is 1000 to 1500 more than online dealers.

Online dealers are providing following battery Exide Mileage FMI0-MI40LBH with CCA IEC of 305 and CCA SEC of 380

I could not get specification of Amaron FLO 40B20L battery.

From the specs, it appears Exide Mileage is the best bet. I have also asked few of my friends to check what battery is installed in their i10 by Hyundai.

Anyone in forum aware of battery model used in their i10?

CCA is important when you live in colder climes. So don't worry, our toasty warm Pune will not impact your battery too much even during the all too brief winter. :)

The Amaron FLO 40B20L battery is 35AH. See here:

http://www.batterybhai.com/battery-l.../1/94/1/1.html

Check out the Exide Matrix 45AH the MR45L for fitment in your current battery tray. And for the size of the clamps as I mentioned earlier.

My Toyota had a MA45L (45AH) now renamed to MT45L probably because of a new label on the battery case ;). It gave me good service but I've been running an Amaron since Aug 2013 and it's a wonderful battery. Already 2.5 years old and it performs without a single hitch. The car was once idle for 5 months (yes five) and it cranked the engine without hesitating. Now that's what I call reliability. As an Exide buyer/owner for >20 years I can tell you any Exide would have self discharged to the point it would require a bench charge if left idle for several months. Yep, I am a convert. From now it's going to be Amaron for me. My 2nd car has a Matrix DIN55 which has run without problems for 5 years now. It will be replaced by an Amaron when the time comes. Best feature of Amaron? The caps can be removed to top up with water. The Matrix is sealed and the only way to get water into that case is thru the magic eye. In other words you can top up just 1 cell. Not very smart in a hot tropical country like India.

Thanks Simhi, I received your PM. I'm replying on the open forum so that other members with the same query can also read this.

Yes, we have an i10 1.1 iRDE (a 2009 Era variant), and we've had the battery replaced twice. The OEM Exide (don't remember its specifications) only lasted ~ 2.5 years. I had it replaced with an Amaron Flo AAM-FL-0BH40B20L.

The Amaron was far better than the Exide as it lasted ~ 4 years. Also, unlike the Exide which went kaput one fine day (all of a sudden, without previous warning), the Amaron gave enough warning during its final days (cranking got progressively longer, lights became dimmer etc.)

Along with the longer life of the Amaron, both my dad and I agreed that its "progressive dying" characteristic was better than the "sudden death" exhibited by the Exide, so I eventually had the Amaron replaced by another of the same specifications (Amaron Flo AAM-FL-0BH40B20L). The first one was purchased from the local Amaron Pit-Stop, the second from batterybhai.

One thing that's very important to note while purchasing a battery for the i10 is its shape. The i10 has a different kind of clamp at the bottom to firmly hold the battery in place. A perfectly rectangular battery as in other cars cannot be held in place by this clamp. The battery needs to have a protrusion along its length at the bottom for the clamp to hold it firmly.

With a perfectly rectangular battery, one must fabricate a different clamp to hold it in place (correct method), or do some kind of jugaad with the existing clamp (as with any jugaad, the result may not be ideal).

Otherwise, it's just better to buy a battery that's designed for the i10 (with a long protrusion at the bottom). The Amaron Flo does have this, as do other batteries designed for the i10.

As for the Ah rating, I don't remember now but I believe our OEM battery was a 35 Ah one (I could be wrong, though). Again, our i10 has the 1.1 iRDE1 engine, so I don't know if the 1.2 Kappa/1.2 Kappa2 VTVT came with a 40 Ah battery.

Thanks R2D2, RSR and BlackAsta.

Both Exide and Amaron dealers (as well as their online site) did not have any mention of 45AH battery for i10. Exide had one 45AH battery but the size was different. Both Exide and Amaron had only 1 model for i10 and both 35AH.

Based on inputs from all 3 of you, I decided to try Amaron for the first time (had been loyal to Exide till now for all my vehicles). After checking out batterybhai and batterywala as well as talking to Amaron pitstop, ordered the battery today with batterywala at 2pm.

The whole process was well coordinated by batterywala and team from Amaron pitstop replaced the battery with Amaron Flo AAM-FL-0BH40B20L at 4pm.

My Wagon R VXI Battery OEM battery (Exide) lasted exactly 5years: Jan 06 to Jan 11.
Replaced it with Amaron -48 month warranty. It has lasted 5 years now, but I think it is time for to change it. if I don't use it for a week, cranking the engine takes a few seconds more then normal. I will replace it with an Amaron this week. The Wagon R has covered 46,000km over 10 years
I replaced my Father in Law's Figo Battery in October2015. Don't recollect OEM brand but went in for Amaron. The Figo (Diesel) Battery lasted 6 years approx. (Odo reading : 23,000km)
My Ford Fiesta 1.6SXI : The OEM Battery is now 5years old. In the last service , SC Ford advised replacing it , but they were giving only 18month warranty. I would prefer to stick with Amaron with 48month warranty for the same price. But the battery is still going strong, but since the Ford is the one I use for long runs, I will change it this month . Better safe than sorry.
All three cars purchased Brand New. Wagon R & Fiesta, driven by me exclusively. The Diesel Figo is driven by the driver.

All my car batteries have lasted more than 5 years expect for Audi . Basically I replace the batteries once my vehicle completes 5 years just to avoid any unwanted situation

Did some one try replacing Audi A4 1.8 tfsi oem battery. This one is a 2012 model hardly run for 12000 kms.

As we use only during weekends , I do get low battery error and sometimes it never starts. Then I jump start using Ritz battery ,but if it is run for 5 kms I can avoid the issue for another 2-3 days . Even if Audi allows us to disable daytime running lights it would have done wonders during low battery condition. Now I have disabled side mirrors auto folding .

Audi service told us total expense to replace battery is Rs.44000 ( Rs. 35000 for battery + sales tax and service charges around 5-7k ) They will source only once we place an order with them .

Neither me nor my family intend to drive her daily, replacing new battery at this cost does not make sense as we might again face the same issue in a year or so

I tried to find out the make of battery , it is located at the rear with no stickers and none of sites like batterywala or car battery expert could help me source oem standard agm batteries. Initially some vendors informed me they have other options and will cost only Rs.12000 but on further discussion the suggested ones on their sites are not proper

My Dad contacted Amaron regional sales officer, he told us, Amaron does supply AGM batteries to some ODM's but its not available in local market and not for Audi.

Decoding the oem battery numbers directed us to Johnson controls. Even Varta and Bosch have similar batteries in Germany and US. I could not find any one in Mumbai who deals with these or can help me source these batteries . I dont mind spending money for battery but I've no intention to spend 5-7k on Audi service just for replacing battery

Other option we thought is to recharge them instead of replacing with unknown batteries and avoid electrical damage . I don't intend to keep my car at battery service center for 8 -10 hours to get the battery charged ( 100mAhm / 10 Amp = 10 hours ).

Do you know where can I find 10Amp charger kit in Mumbai or any particular make which I can order ?

Please let me know if you know someone who can help me in sourcing .