Good Day! So last night at work I go out to grab a burrito from the Jimmy-and no power any where in the car,so I try starting it-nope! Then got the dreaded can't remove key or shift out of park issue(thanks to this forum I knew what to do,even though this has never happened to me before) So I jump started it,drove it 2 miles to another job site and put a 10 amp charge on the Battery for an hour and no more issues. This morning did a load test on the battery and it seems,well,marginal. I know the alternator is good as I replaced it with a new one(not re-man) 2 years ago. No starting issues today,but it wasn't super hot either,I know batteries fail as often in hot as they do in cold so I am thinking of putting in a new one.The battery thats in it is 4 years old and came with the car(Wal-Mart of course)and I have an Interstate & Delco jobber 1/2 mile from the house. I suppose I should do it now rather than risk this unit stranding me or my wife,but as I have other vehicles that could use the $75...Anything else I should be looking for besides the obvious that caused this to happen? As always input is appreciated!

 

Unfortunately batteries built today are junk. There are only about 3 big companies making them now and the quality has disappeared. If you got 4 years out of a Walmart special then consider yourself lucky. I only got 4 years out of my last high end Exide battery in my F150 so I spent huge money on an Odyssey AGM battery this time. Hopefully it will last a little longer at least it has a 4 year full replacement warranty.

 

average life of a battery is 5 yrs anymore , be happy
I got 10 yrs out of the factory one in my Honda and it was still working but figured I was living on borrowed time

To properly test IMHO, the battery should be tested with a carbon pile tester
Everyone uses compact digital testers now that measure resistance, simulate load BLAH BLAH BLAH
I don't trust them LOL
I have seen a digital pass and a carbon pile fail

Most places like Napa will bench test your battery no charge , just pull it out and take it in