Should I replace my battery? I have a 2000 Lariat 4x4 that iI rarley drive. I had the battery tested a few months ago and it was fine. The green dot also still shows in the window. This December I have to make my long trip from New Orleans to Chicago and do not want to get stranded on the way. My battery will be 60 months old. Should I replace it just in case, or keep truckin along?

 

I think it would be a good investment worth $45.00.

 

If it's still good, why change it?
It's not like you will be driving across the Sahara Desert or anything so you should be able to replace it on the trip if needed.

 

I've read many posts of the factory battery lasting much longer than this.

 

The Original Battery in my old Ford Tempo lasted just 2 weeks short of 10 years. One morning, It Would'nt start, coasted out of the driveway, Poped the clutch, went to a battery shop, tested the battery, it was kaput, $55 and 15 minutes I was on the road again.

When I sold my Windstar that was 8 years Old, it also had the Original Battery.

Dpostman

 

Tim.. just to add one caveat - if your battery has been fully depleted numerous times, it may not hold a charge that well anymore... the original battery on my 02 Supercrew went dead after 3 years and would not hold a charge.. but this was due to the fact it went dead a few dozen times due to my aftermarket underbody lights being left on, etc.... I just bought an Optima Red Top this weekend (pricey but supposedly lasts for years)

Personally, I'd be more worried about snow tires with your upcoming trip...

 

My 97 is working on its third motorcraft silverseries battery. Both batteries that went out on me went out completely without notice; no sluggish starting or anything, just wouldn't start both times. I would wait till it went out to replace it, but just to let you know a motorcraft battery will do this to you. Its kind of funny, though, my grandpa just sold his 94 last year with the original motorcraft still on it, and I can't get one to last over 2 1/2 - 3 years!

 

I started wondering when the battery in my 2000 Lariat would go kaput recently and sure enough, last week it went REALLY dead all of a sudden; no slow cranking, no real warning. (Personally, the I think the voltmeters with these trucks are a copmlete waste of dash space, as it never budges from brand new battery to old battery, from just started to run all day).
I went straight to the Ford dealership and replaced it with the same motorcraft for about $70 bucks. That's a bit steep as far as batteries go, but it has a 3-year replacement and 100-month pro rata warranty. Worth it to me! If it lasts another 5 years, I'll be happy as a lark.

 

Can you add water to our Ford Batteries? Some I hear, that you can, but can ours?

 

I bought my 2000 F-150 Off Road in Dec. of 1999. The battery would barely turn over the engine about a month ago. Before that there was no indication of the battery getting bad. Needless to say it was time for a new battery. Five years not bad!

Warren