How Often to Replace a Car Battery
Wondering how often you should replace your car battery in Pearland or nearby? Automotive experts recommend replacing a car battery every 4 or 5 years, depending on a variety of factors. Learn more about these factors below with Central Houston Nissan, in addition to how much a replacement car battery is and how to know if your car battery needs to be replaced. If you find yourself having questions along the way, just contact us!
What Causes a Car Battery to Lose Charge?
- Time: Car batteries can only go through a certain number of charge cycles before they start to wear out, just like other batteries. The death of your car battery is inevitable sooner or later, but most batteries have been built to last 4-5 years.
- Heat: Excessive heat makes the liquids inside a car battery evaporate faster. Living in a hot climate, your car battery will most likely last less than if you were to live in a more temperate climate.
- Vibrations: Vibrations can cause the internal components of a car battery to break down more quickly.
- Always needing a jump: If you are always needing a jump start, that can actually drain the useful life of your battery!
How long should your car battery last with proper care? Refer to your vehicle owner’s manual or maintenance schedule to learn more, or just get in touch with our service experts!
How to Know If Your Car Battery Needs to Be Replaced
Here are some important signs that may mean your car battery needs to be replaced:
- More frequent need for jump starts
- Dimming headlights
- Takes longer to start the engine when you turn the key/push the button
- Unusual power fluctuations
How to Test a Car Battery
What kind of car service tips can we offer Houston and Bellaire drivers like you? Well, for starters, it’s a good idea to know how to test a car battery. It’s also equally wise to get your battery tested twice annually at the Central Houston Nissan service center to ensure it’s working optimally. Here are two ways you can perform a battery test on your own in-between battery checks:
The Headlight Test:
- Turn on your car’s engine, keep it in park, and turn on the headlights.
- Rev the engine to see if the headlights get darker or brighter.
- If the headlights do get brighter, there’s something wrong with them that requires further diagnostic tests. In that case, schedule service now!
Using a Digital Multimeter:
- Set the voltmeter or multimeter to 20 DC volts.
- Pop the car hood and find the battery terminals.
- Touch the negative terminal of your car battery (black) with the negative meter probe (also black).
- Touch the positive terminal of your car battery (red) with the positive meter probe (also red)
- Get someone else to turn on the headlights and check the meter reading.
- At 80℉, 12.5 volts or higher means your battery is fully charged. 12.3 volts means it’s at about 75% charged.11.8 volts or lower means you have 25% or less charge.
How Much is a Replacement Car Battery?
Most car batteries cost anywhere from $75 to $120, but some premium batteries can run you as much as $200! Hybrid batteries, on the other hand, typically cost between $1000 and $6000. Keep in mind though, this high cost is offset by much higher MPG ratings. Hybrid batteries also don’t need to be replaced nearly as often as standard car batteries.
Car Battery Service: Available Today at Central Houston Nissan
We hope we’ve helped answer all your battery questions from “how much is a replacement car battery?” to “how often should I replace my car battery?”. If you still have more battery concerns, just give us a call or reach out to our service pros online! Ready to get your car battery replaced or checked? Schedule service now or visit Central Houston Nissan in Houston! Either way we’re here to help.
