Car battery failure is the most common roadside recovery call out, with 60,000 calls a year.
Many factors can cause a car batteries to fail. For instance, leaving your car on for long periods of time, the age of the battery, extreme weather and, of course, leaving your vehicles lights on.
When you buy a car battery, is is always important to make sure you are getting exactly the right battery for the make and model of your car. Buying the wrong battery for your car, such as a battery with lower capacity, may result in poor vehicle performance. Buying the wrong size may mean it doesn’t match up with your vehicles terminal locations.
At Kirby’s Auto Centre, we offer a FREE battery health check. Our team of highly trained technicians will provide you a quote for the right battery to fit your make of model car.
How long does a car battery last?
The average car battery has a life span of between five and seven years. However, this is dependent on a number of different factors. For example, how old your car is or how often you use your vehicle. The number of additional features that run off your battery, such as alarms and sensors, can also effect your battery, especially if they are active when your car is not being used.
How do I make my car battery last longer?
- Avoid short journeys as this doesn’t allow the battery to re-charge fully.
- If your car is not used for long periods of time, invest in a trickle charger to keep the battery charge topped up.
- Make sure when you leave your car, the interior and exterior lights are off and all electrical accessories are off where possible.
How do I know if my battery needs replacing?
The obvious way that you will know if your battery needs replacing is if the battery is flat. Your vehicles engine will have trouble starting and sometimes you’ll hear a clicking noise coming from the starter motor. Also, the electric components in your vehicle (the radio, lights, air conditioning, etc) may be struggling to work correctly.
How does temperature affect the battery?
Extreme weather conditions, such as severe cold or heatwave, can effect the life of your battery. Cold weather can effectively kill the battery, while extreme heat can cause oxidisation within the battery meaning that it will age faster.
Cold weather can slow down the chemical reaction which is needed to make the battery work. This may result in you having trouble starting your car on a cold morning. Combined with a lack of vehicle usage, this often results in the high number of call-outs to breakdown services.
Warm weather, on the other hand, makes it harder to start your vehicle due to the warm weather reducing the charge of your battery.
Battery storage
If your planning a holiday and need to leave your car for a long time at a hotel or long-stay car park, the immobilser, alarm, computer and clock can all take a demand on the battery. Upon return, you may be greeted by a flat battery. You can either, after consulting your vehicles manual, remove the battery or simply disconnect. Alternatively, there are products available that you can connect to the battery which will charge at a very low rate.
