Should I replace my battery?

[jeff_j1701]

I haven't had issues with my battery, other than a little corrosion, but I am wondering if I should change it.

The reason why I ask...the last time I changed the battery was about 8 years ago.

Should I have the battery tested? For a battery that old, what should I look for in terms of voltage?

I'm in southern Ontario so the winters can get cold, but hardly colder than -10C/14F.

Am I just lucky that my battery has lasted this long?

[Mark]

Am I just lucky that my battery has lasted this long?

I would say yes, but I guess it depends some on location and climate. Here 5 years is optimal, 7 is starting to really push your luck. At 8 years I would say it's likely to fail any day that that you really, really need it.

[andrewclaus]

In addition to temperature, it's also a matter of how many charge cycles and how deep. I kept a battery working for 13 years in my old Subaru. I don't drive it much, it's a manual transmission and I usually park on a hill, so I seldom use the starter motor.

If you have a security system or keyless entry, parasitic load will be higher.

What kind of reliability do you need? What would be the cost of being late to work, for instance? Does someone's health depend on the car?

Monitor the resting voltage on some cold mornings. If it stays above 12.5, it's in good shape.

[tpollauf]

On almost all of our new cars that we bought in the past 20+ years, we got 10-12 years out of the original battery before replacing it! The most recent being my 2014 Silverado (purchased in fall 2013) it is still going strong on the original battery. Replaced the wife's original battery two years ago in her 2009 G8Gt. Guess I've been pretty lucky!

[jeff_j1701]

In addition to temperature, it's also a matter of how many charge cycles and how deep. I kept a battery working for 13 years in my old Subaru. I don't drive it much, it's a manual transmission and I usually park on a hill, so I seldom use the starter motor.

If you have a security system or keyless entry, parasitic load will be higher.

What kind of reliability do you need? What would be the cost of being late to work, for instance? Does someone's health depend on the car?

Monitor the resting voltage on some cold mornings. If it stays above 12.5, it's in good shape.

no security system or and no one's health depends on the car. Being late for work isn't really a problem as I can adjust my hours or work from home instead of going into the office.

I'm near Toronto ON so it isn't brutally cold in the winter, but it does fall below freezing in the winter quite often.

I'll check my battery.

I just thought getting this long out of a battery is unusual.