My wife's Infiniti wouldn't start after work yesterday so I went to her office and jumped the battery and got her going. The 13 month old Walmart battery would not charge fully so I took it to the store for an exchange. The replacement 24F battery is made a little differently and had a "made in china" sticker on it. If it wasn't a free replacement I wouldn't have taken it.

 

I've had problem with these Everstart Walmart batteries.

I prefer Deka batteries. I run Deka AGM batteries.

 

That's why we call them Neverstart.

When the OEM battery died in my truck, I bought a Duralast Gold at Autozone. 3 years later, it died just before the free replacement warranty expired and I replaced it. Last month when the cold snap hit it was struggling to turn over, it lasted 8 years. I bought the same thing.

 

i have been using the Walmart Everstart MAXX in our Infiniti. About 3 years ago the battery went dead at work. Walmart asked no questions, just gave me a new one. It happened again about 6 months later. Same deal, into Walmart with the dead battery left with a new battery.

This time I told my wife to stop using the AUTO switch on her headlights. We are using the switch as an on/off now. Haven't had an issue since.
I can't find it now, but somewhere in an Infiniti forum I found a complaint about the switches malfunctioning every now and then and leaving the headlights on instead of turning them off automatically (especially if you park in a parking deck early in the morning).
I had auto headlights on my old F150 also equipped with a Walmart Everstart MAXX. It was over three years old and working fine when I sold the truck.

 

Thanks for the response serotta. I think she quit using the auto light feature. Yeah, I just asked her and she doesn't use that feature any more. That battery was so dead the door wouldn't unlock and there wasn't even a click when I tried to start it. I'm thinking of getting an amp clamp so I can check for unusual amp usage.

 

Yeah, sorry it wasn't something as simple as not using the Auto feature.

You know, it could have just been a bad battery.

I just talked to my wife and she said she's been using the auto feature again despite my warnings. Of course she's been working from home for the past year, so no early morning parking decks either.
I don't know if I solved the problem or not, now you have me thinking of checking for an unusually high draw at the battery also.

 

After doing extensive research on the EverStart batteries, branded for Walmart, I switched to them and haven't looked back. With AAA road side assistance, I am covered for those in frequent, almost never, dead battery situations. Of course lights can be left on, etc. Most batteries give you indication they are failing, if you stay vigilant. EverStart battery with a 3 year free replacement is hard to beat for $100 battery (My F150 and the wife's Jeep patriot). They are made here in the USA by Johnson Controls and test very well in the battery tests/comparisons I reviewed and Walmart is right around the corner from almost every interstate exit coast to coast (yes some exceptions in fly over country, but they are readily accessible).

One consideration, generic 12V cellular phone chargers, particularly the cheap gas station and Amazon ones are known to create a current draw even when a device isn't plugged into it. Some even generate FM frequency (FM radio) interference. Is it possible, a charger was replace around the time of the battery replacement?

Just my $0.02

 

Don't know what to tell you, boys and girls. Only two primary car battery manufacturers in the world. Johnson Controls and Exide. Pick a common brand name and it came from one of them. Different case or label, same guts. The Everstart from Walmart came from either Exide or Johnson Controls. You can pay extra for an Interstate battery, but guess what? Came from Johnson Controls. Buy what's on sale.

 

I'm thinking that with all the electronics on the late model vehicles the best you can hope for is 3 years on a battery. I just traded my 2013 F150 and in 7 years I replaced the battery twice. I stayed with the Motorcraft which I purchased at Autozone for a pretty good price for the 850ccc....could always tell when the battery was six months out from failure....it started to "stumble" when the ignition switch was turned. Oh, and the made in china issue. If it's made in china it ain't worth the poison they make their junk with!! This is the china plan for the Yankee Dog...sell him inferior products manufactured with lead paint and other poisons (probably radio active waste...lol)

 

Then why did the Everstart Roadie just got as a warranty replacement have a Made in China sticker on it?

 

Well, I sympathize with you on the China thing because I got put on the street when Stanley Black & Decker bought the US company were I worked for 40 years and shut it down. Sent all the manufacturing to China, ya know. Anyway, sorry to say that Motorcraft battery is this a repackaged version of the same battery as Walmart. Manufacturer was Johnson Controls. If it makes you feel any better, same as Interstate and Diehard brands. I agree with you the chances are a battery is not likely to last 3 or 4years. That they rate them for more years than even the least warranty is just BS.

 

I'm not complaining that my Autozone battery lasted 8 years.

 

The OE battery in my 95 Mark VIII Lincoln lasted 11 years. I replaced the OE battery in the Mark's replacement, 2005 Dodge Magnum RT after 10 years for preventive maintenance. Those were the longest lasting batterys I've ever owned. I've had a couple fail after one year.

 

Most good retailers honor their warranties without asking questions. Walmart, Costco, InterState, Sears Auto Center.....even the places like O-Reilly's and Pep Boys. They usually hook up a tester to make sure that your alternator is charging and that the battery is bad. Then that's it. Whatever the warranty is, they honor it. Usually the top of the battery is marked off by the seller or installer, so the month and year it went into your vehicle is known. Not every battery warranty will replace your battery, period. Some warranties are only prorated, so if you only have 1 month left on a 36 month warranty, you might get $5 off the next battery.
I always thought that even if it's the same factories producing the batteries, each brand has a different production specification.
Most of those chargers are 5V, and maybe between 0.5 - 3.1 amp. Some car's power ports are only on with the ignition on. Hard to say how much parasitic draw there could be without your phone plugged into it. But it could still happen. Car stereos using less than 20 watts can drain a battery in a few hours. I have a bad habit of leaving lights on.
Worst case scenario is that you turn off the car's engine, you stay in the car to play the radio, and the battery drains. I used to see that at drive-in movies when they replaced those speakers with a radio signal...... But never to the point where someone was locked in their car because the door wouldn't unlock.

 

had a honda CRV callout today arrived and did a voltage check battery was at 8.3 volts put it on my Noco charger and within 5 minutes it said fault with the battery it was was a walmart "N"everstart with a datecode of 5/20 took it in and the machien that checked it took about the same time to fail the battery and it was like brand new no dirt not swolen the owner always parked it in his heated garage and has no added accessories...
i would run away from those batteries.. i would rather spend $320 again on my truck battery from Ford that has a 10year then $120 from one from walmart for with a 3 year
Napa batteries are just as bad bought one for my focus it died at 1 day before 13 months and even with the receipt and warranty form they accused me of freezing the battery even tho the car sat most of the time in my shop and refused to replace it only after a 1 month battle there headoffice finally relented and had them replace it.. i sold that battery on Kijiji the next day not dealing with that crap again