The Optima battery in my '46 Ford is 5 years old and when I have tried to start my car recently it almost sounds like the battery is going south. If it was a conventional acid cell battery I wouldn't question it and get a new one, but I thought Optima batteries lasted longer. Anybody have one fail at 5 years old.
5 years is the expected life of almost any battery regardless of what the advertised life is. I've had OEM Delco batteries go for 9 years. If yours dropped dead before the warranty was up, take it back and they'll most likely pro-rate it towards a replacement. I now buy my batteries from NAPA or other parts houses, the biggest one that fits in the tray for the best price.
The search is your friend. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search/6962144/?q=Optima&o=relevance&c[title_only]=1 Been discussed 1000 times and this one will be no different.
I went thru 2 in two years. I found out that I had a bad starter and a loose connection in the wiring, the battery was not getting a full charge and would get to a point were it would not start the car and would not take a charge. Ive since went to a sealed lead acid.
I replaced the Optima in my convertible last summer. I instlled that one in 2002, I was happy with the life on that battery. I do use a battery tender, so i am sure that helped a lot
Older ones from several years back were fine. Newer ones, in my experience, are a POS. I went through two and both expired right at the end of their warranty. Like Bobss396 I buy the best lead acid for the buck.
I have had a red top optima in my GTX for about six years. Car can sit for a couple months between starts during the winter and has always cranked right over. I remain a fan until it proves otherwise.
A year old one I had lost connection to the top positive post. The side post still worked. Go figure.....
I bought a red top 4 years ago. It was never used or even installed because I was really ill shortly afterwards and the battery got "lost" for various reasons. It was stone dead when I found a few days ago and decided to try out my CTEK smart battery charger on it. After 12 hours it started to take a charge and the CTEK worked its way through the various reconditioning stages. It is now holding its charge and seems (touch wood) to have been brought back from the dead. Just as well because they are £200 or $310 over here.
In the winter it stays below freezing in my garage. My banger hadn't been fired in almost 2 months. Yesterday I went out to crank it over and it fired right up on a 6 year old Optima. Made a believer out of me. Soon as I can free up the money, I'm gonna put one in my truck.
I bought my Optima battery from Denver Specialty in 1995 and I'm still using it in my 48 Chevy truck. I'm not praising the new Optima Co. ,I doubt it's the same company. But I've been using this battery for going on twenty years. It's been a hell of a good battery. Bill
I was a dealer for the optima batteries through interstate batterys. They used to be great and I personaly used a lot of them, but the last 5 or so years every one I had out failed usualy right after the warranty period. I do not sell them anymore. Gary
Replace the above post's 'GTX' with Comet and you have my story. I love my Optima and would buy another one in a second.
We sell batteries at work and they are a crapshoot, sometimes they last a year and sometimes they go 7 or 8 years. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why some last and some don't. It does seem that the ones that are cared for a little more last longer, as in keeping them clean, charged all the time, and water topped off occasionally (for wet batteries). Don
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