Battery finally died on 2016

[jmrtsus]

I have been expecting it for 2 years but like all things FiST for me it lasted longer than I thought it would. Brakes and tires @ 50 K miles, battery died at Dentist office with 67K miles, got a jump and next day off to AutoZone. Picked up the Duralast Gold. Will see if I get 6 years from it. Pretty painless......

 

[slopoke]

Good deal, I'm assuming that you got that amount of life because you kept the water topped off and when not in use for a prolonged period of time, had a smart charger hooked up.

 

[Ford ST]

Good deal, I'm assuming that you got that amount of life because you kept the water topped off and when not in use for a prolonged period of time, had a smart charger hooked up.

My dad's 2014 Hyundai sonata about a 130000 miles still has the original battery. Zero maintenance

Sent from my SM-A526U using Tapatalk

 

[M-Sport fan]

My factory battery would have lasted MUCH longer than it did (3 years) IF I did not hasten it's demise by listening to the sound system with the engine off, and then probably over-charging it with an external charger.

 

[Mikey456]

I have been expecting it for 2 years but like all things FiST for me it lasted longer than I thought it would. Brakes and tires @ 50 K miles, battery died at Dentist office with 67K miles, got a jump and next day off to AutoZone. Picked up the Duralast Gold. Will see if I get 6 years from it. Pretty painless......

My OEM battery tested low at 40k miles (2017)One silly question. Do you loose all of your settings when u replace the battery? What size battery did you get and was it easy to install? Thanks

 

[jmrtsus]

My OEM battery tested low at 40k miles (2017)One silly question. Do you loose all of your settings when u replace the battery? What size battery did you get and was it easy to install? Thanks

96R...Autozone installed in 5 minutes free. No data lost. MP215 tune was fine.

 

[jmrtsus]

Good deal, I'm assuming that you got that amount of life because you kept the water topped off and when not in use for a prolonged period of time, had a smart charger hooked up.

No top offs needed, stayed green last checked 1 month ago. DD so no lay-ups but sometimes not driven for several weeks. Got no special treatment.

 

[FiSTMorg]

Interesting yours died as well! I have a 2016 and mine died from the cold weather here in southern Washington! it was the motorcraft battery too.

 

[Capri to ST]

My OEM battery tested low at 40k miles (2017)One silly question. Do you loose all of your settings when u replace the battery? What size battery did you get and was it easy to install? Thanks

I didn't lose any settings when my battery was replaced. I replaced it at four years so I wouldn't have to deal with a dead battery. The group size for our car is a 96R, and I got this battery-
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p...ery-group-size-96r-590-cca-96r-agm/12102917-P

A shop installed it for me, I'm not sure how difficult it was.

 

[Intuit]

My factory battery would have lasted MUCH longer than it did (3 years) IF I did not hasten it's demise by listening to the sound system with the engine off, and then probably over-charging it with an external charger.

I think you'll agree with me in saying, "I'm glad it didn't last any longer and might've liked it failing much sooner."

Battery sits high up in the engine bay and is subject to a lot of the turning G-Forces. Result is, that thing pukes all over the battery tray... which wouldn't be so bad if FORD HADN'T PUT THE ENGINE/TRANSMISSION GROUND BENEATH IT.. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️😒

Vented battery replaced with an AGM sealed one.

 

[jmrtsus]

My battery tray shows no signs of leaking.

 

[Capri to ST]

My battery tray shows no signs of leaking.

In reality most people's batteries probably won't leak. However, some will, and as said above if the battery does leak it can cause a lot of problems because there are some sensitive electronics nearby. Besides the engine / transmission ground mentioned above by @Intuit, I believe that an ECU is also nearby.
I wanted to be on the safe side and eliminate the possibility of leaking, so it was worth the small extra cost of an AGM battery to me.

 

[Mycooking]

New motorcraft battery from the dealership when I got my FiST last year. My last car a 2004 Scion I didn't replace the original battery until 2015 when it started having problems starting in the cold winter but it never went dead.

 

[M-Sport fan]

In reality most people's batteries probably won't leak. However, some will, and as said above if the battery does leak it can cause a lot of problems because there are some sensitive electronics nearby. Besides the engine / transmission ground mentioned above by @Intuit, I believe that an ECU is also nearby.
I wanted to be on the safe side and eliminate the possibility of leaking, so it was worth the small extra cost of an AGM battery to me.

Likewise.

Some may claim that the AGMs do not last as long as the flooded lead acid ones do (even though most of their manufacturers state that generally, they last longer), or that the cold has an even MORE negative effect on them (I don't know how true this is ).

One thing that I know FOR SURE though (from EXPERIENCE) is that they do NOT leak at all/whatsoever, and they do NOT ever corrode the expensive/sensitive/fused terminal cable ends on most modern car battery systems.

 

[jmrtsus]

From what I have read most car batteries use a 2 stage filter on the vent, one is the gas permeable membrane to release the Hydrogen and Sulphur Dioxide gases and block fluids. The membrane also provides a one time over pressure liquid release by the bursting of the membrane. So a leak of fluids would mean a defective filter due to over heating caused by excessive charging temps expanding the liquid acid or factory defective filter. My car has never had a charger on it so all charging was using OEM system.

 

[Intuit]

Taking the caps off shows water and the plates. With my driving there's undoubtedly a lot of sloshing so over time, some of the water is likely making it out the vent on the cap or/and making it's way out from underneath the cap. As seen below, I literally bagged the battery in the prior car... 😁



I never actually see/hear it happening or even seen anything wet. All I ever see is the "evidence". Also interesting and maybe to @Capri to ST 's point, the clear coat oddly disappeared beginning with a patch right over the battery going from the edge of the hood at the windshield. Vapors? Fortunately the ECU and wire harnesses should be very well shielded.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^I believe that some of the terminal corrosion is due to the sulfuric acid getting right through the seals of the lead battery posts after age and vibration deteriorate them on flooded lead acid type batteries.

This does not ever happen with AGMs (and also lithium ion batteries?).

 

[Mikey456]

I finally replaced my original battery from my 2017 FiST. I went with a Diehard battery from Advanced Auto which they installed. At first I thought the Gold tiered battery is a gel battery but it turns out that the Platinum tier is and is only 30$ more. I noticed these cars are battery intensive (like other modern cars) Just unlocking the doors turns on all the lights/infotainment system. My battery was low for awhile and I was getting a little under 30mpg. Now I’m getting slightly over. In the past I wanted to upgrade to a lighter battery. It is more cost/weight effective than carbon hood. But as a daily driver and my only car it does not make sense for me anymore.

 

[rallytaff]

Just had to replace the battery on my wife's Fiesta SE. They are now EXPENSIVE! $239! Duralast from AutoZone but they installed it and it was a pain!

 

[Capri to ST]

Just had to replace the battery on my wife's Fiesta SE. They are now EXPENSIVE! $239! Duralast from AutoZone but they installed it and it was a pain!

Batteries have gotten significantly more expensive lately, like many other things. The Advance Auto Platinum AGM battery that I mention above was $170 when I bought it in the summer of 2020, now it's $240.