Originally Posted by OKC-XFR
Environmental conditions have a lot to do with it - extreme temperatures tend to shorten a battery's lifespan - heat seems to be harder on batteries than cold. Also, a battery that is left to go completely flat regularly or is overcharged often will not last as long. My experience is that a battery should easily last 4-5 years with proper maintenance. But then again, there is always the faulty one that dies early...
I bought my '05 last year and the dealer had just put a new battery in it because the original died. My car had never been sold to a private party - was either sitting in parking lots or driven occasionally by dealers.
We don't have heat in the UK! No seriously we do not experience temperatures like other places, probably from minus 5C up to 25C is the most we need to handle over here.
In over 30 years of car ownership, and I had a few old wrecks in the early days, this is the first time I have ever had a battery die on me with no warning whatsoever. The car has always started first time and never been one to turn over a few times before coughing an spluttering into life. There was no inkling that any problem existed when I used the car on Sunday.
I'm really fed up about this happening.
Jean