Wondering How Often Should a Car Battery be Replaced?

Wondering how often should a car battery be replaced?  If you are, more than likely you have started to experience starting issues and it’s time to consider a car battery replacement.  When a battery fails it’s generally not at a convenient time or place.  Did you know that dead batteries are one of the top reasons for roadside assistance calls?  

So, how often should a car battery be replaced?  Batteries will become worn down and inefficient within 3 years of everyday use in usual conditions. Just like your computer or smart-phone battery becomes less efficient with every charge, so your car battery gradually deteriorates every time it’s charged up by the vehicle’s engine. 

After 4 or 5 years, most car batteries will be almost completely unreliable and can present a number of safety and reliability problems.  Consider the following problems:

• Auto electrical system --  Although your car can still start with a battery that is failing, features that have significant power demands, like headlights, may not function as well as they should.
• Battery drain -- Many new cars have powerful computers that are operating all the time, even when the car is parked and switched off.  These computers can draw energy from your car’s battery at a slow, stable rate, wearing it down over time. 
• Stop-start technology -- Cars with engines that are designed to automatically switch off when at a standstill place a greater straining on their batteries than normal cars, and often want a special battery.

Before you get stranded with a dead battery, be proactive and ask your mechanic to check your battery periodically.  It could go from 90% performance to 20% over a short period of time.   Your mechanic can tell you if yours is getting close to the end.  The small price of a car battery replacement is worth it to avoid the stress of a roadside breakdown.

Wondering how often should a car battery be replaced?  Call our ASE Certified Technicians at Clausen Automotive, The Hybrid Shop, for more information about car battery replacement and to make an appointment. Since 1975, our family-owned auto repair shop has proudly served car owners in Madison, WI, and the surrounding communities.