My XF is a 2006 with 24,000 miles on the original Varta battery. How long can I expect this battery to last?

I will have it tested once it is out of winter storage.

 

Varies. But the average seems to be 6 yrs. some get more. I would be ready to replace that battery.

 

My battery has been in the car since '03. Still working, First sign of slow cranking I will go get a new one. Until then... I wait...

 

My car was built 08/04, original battery, no problems. If the car sits for a couple weeks or more I will throw a charger on it for a bit to top it back up to full charge but other than that, no problems as of yet.
My old car had an OEM battery that lasted 10 years before giving up the ghost. A year and a half to go....

 

I still have the OEM in my 07' and 96,000 miles on it.

 

Yes Beaner but you leave your wing in the up position, generally a malfunctioning wing is an early warning sign..............slow cranking will be no cranking and an expensive tow.

 

LOL
I learned my lesson when a battery that had coughed once before and then suddenly died around midnight on a cold snowy Saturday. I never let my batteries get past five years these days, it was three or four years once but the batteries are much better now.

My '04 made Varta sits on the garage shelf all charged up and nowhere to go.

With the age of some of these batteries I would open the six caps on the top of them and refill with distilled water up to the bottom of the hole, batteries don't like the plates exposed.

 

I check mine every so often. Never had to add any in the year I have had the car. Never had a moment of hesitation out of it either. Kept from temperature extremes and kept fully charged there is no reason a battery can't last a long time. After all they are simply lead and acid reacting with each other.

 

83,000+ miles, 6th winter I've had the car, still have the Varta. I'll probably replace it before next winter though.

 

The life span of the OEM batteries seems to vary greatly. I suspect the worst thing is long term storage of the car.

My '06 was on a parking lot for almost two years. It certainly went dead. I had it go dead from non use two other times.They really don't like that.

My wife's '05 is a daily driver. Always has been. OEM battery is still good.

Guys who drive daily,,,,, seem to have less issues with the battery.

 

I'm still on my original battery (09/2003 build date) at 21K miles. Rarely sits for more than a week, never more than 2. Then again, I still have the original tires. I may actually break down and buy new tires and battery later this year.

 

Interesting reading in the service manual about the battery. The parasitic losses with the energized systems they say the battery could go south if sitting more than a month (south meaning not enough to start the car). They recommend a charge or tender if longer. Makes sense to me so don't let it sit for long periods and charge/tender it if you do then battery should last a while longer. Anyway, lots of good info on variety of service life, if in doubt, swap it out!

 

Hi my 06 limited has only 10 k on the clock and the original battery. Since I have decided not to drive it in the winter, I go out and start it every week end,
And let it warm fully. But last time it doged and the wing came up. It did start and I gave it some extra time running. To me this says that a new battery is in my future.
Cheers
Mongoose57

 

Canadian Tire has a nice #48 series battery that fits in with no spacer required on top. They have a great warranty on them as well. It is just like the original except black.
They have the AGM types as well.

 

I just installed a Braille B2015 in the coupe. The shurikyn's have died. They didn't like the cold garage even with the tenders. Learned my lesson. So they went to the farm and heated storage. The tenders are back on. The bike, lawn mower, and the 2 cars. Life support at the max. This Braille is a bit wider and a little shorter but works well with my set up. Weighs in at 15lbs.
The varta's lost their cranking power, but still functioned as batteries. 1 is still powering a hydraulic cylinder on a dump trailer, the other is waiting to take it's place...

 

What makes you think this will be any better?
Remember weight = power and the ability to store power.

Nothing has changed in lead acid batteries since they came out, they have got better but you still need that weight.

I think in colder climates these batteries are a waste of money.

 

its not about better Dave. It's about weight.. I don't expect these little batteries to last more than a season. I got 2 seasons out of the shurikyns... I do think the braille line is better in the small battery arena. They will never be up there with the full size batteries. I do have an interstate 48 in the roadster...these aren't daily drivers and the cold did take it's toll in the shurikyns...

 

How much time did you save with those batteries? Then figure out the cost of that time savings in dollars per second. LOL

 

When you race Dave 30lbs could be a 1/10 of a second. The battery is the cheapest investment I have made searching for those 1/10th's as others addicted to drag racing will tell you. Why would they even make these batteries Dave. There must be a demand for them. lol. They now have lithium racing batteries. There cost is 4 figures. Used in all kinds of racing machines. They have a 4 lb battery. Does the same thing. So a guy like you Dave probably will never understand. Always looking for that next mod. Always looking to cut a 1/10th off at a time.
I will do you one better Dave. Add up those mods listed in my sig times two. You could own another SRT 6 Dave. Do you really think buying a battery is a big cost to me? And even with all that it will run with cars that bring 6 figures. So it's worth it to me regardless of what others think.

 

Yours succumbed to the cold; mine succumbed to the heat....... I think. Maybe my tender faulted and overcharged it? Not sure. What do you guys think? I removed it a couple of weeks ago to do some other work and discovered this. Here are a couple of pic.'s of it. Sorry for the crappy shots, but what it's showing is significant bulging on both sides of the long walls. It's been on the shelf for this couple of weeks and still has a full charge, but I'm afraid of it now. I'll be wrapping the next batt. in a heat reflecting material kit I got from DEI.