Picked up my new GLK at the Mercedes factory/HQ in Stuttgart, Germany 11 years ago yesterday (although the GLKs were never built in Stuttgart). Time flies... still on the original main battery and rear hatch struts. No problems, however, once it cools off I'll change the battery and struts. I bought new replacements a few years ago and they've been sitting in my garage as I waited for a failure. Now the new parts are getting "old" so I'm just going to proceed 🙂

 

We have a 2014 350 Base with 92,685 miles now. Also original hatch struts and original battery.
(I have replaced the Aux battery in the spare tire area).

I assume yours is a 2013 ?
How many miles ?

 

Mine is also a 2014 (4Matic). I tried to order a 2013 but they told me it was too late. I think I ordered it with everything except the radar distance whatyoumacallit. Didn't want that. Unfortunately the interior lighting package, headlamp washers and puddle lamps got "lost in translation" going from 2013 to 2014... was REALLY unhappy about that when I realized it was built without those.

Other than oil changes I also replaced the Aux. battery. I don't have many miles... A bit over 40,000, I think. Best decision was getting the HIDs/Intelligent Lighting Package. In retrospect, the 4Matic was probably unnecessary and may cause issues down the road. The Keyless Go is nice/convenient but the technology would turn out to be a security issue for so many vehicles.

And... wish I had gotten the darker gray paint instead of the light gray (looks silver).

 

It would be interesting to know how the 11 yr old battery now tests for voltage , Cca , and a load test. Just out of curiosity. I changed mine at 7 out of fear . You don’t want to let it start to die as low voltage , amps, can ruin certain components . Like computers.

 

Low battery voltage can cause damage to electronic components/circuits but I would say it is not common. Much more likely is that it can cause erratic behavior of electronic components/circuits to include error codes, rather than permanent problems/damage. Automobiles have gone from what we would now consider having extremely basic electrical systems to ridiculously complicated and sophisticated electronic systems. Designers of such systems, that can be negatively affected by low voltage, provide safeguards to shut down circuits that could be compromised by a low voltage scenario.

Automotive engineers are well aware of the fact that the vehicles may be sold in any region of the world which can result in, among other things, extreme temperature variations which can lead to low voltage situations. This is taken into consideration. In addition, it's hardly uncommon for people to not replace a battery until it starts becoming a slow crank or no start issue (low voltage) not to mention neglected maintenance such as corroded battery terminals or ground points (again, resulting in low voltage).

"Routine" over-voltage/voltage spikes are a bigger concern.

 

Awesome post !! I agree wholeheartedly !

As a published author of five computer-related books (way too long ago) , this is a great explanation and very factual. Appreciate it.

Every two weeks, I put the trickle charger on the 2001 Jeep and 2014 GLK ... maintenance is always required ! Have done this for years. The charger always reports, "good" when hooked up.

The moment the 2014 GLK's orig battery coughs, I'll replace it.

 

Your original main battery at 92K+ miles is a lot more impressive than mine at 40K+ miles since yours has probably done a lot more cranking than the battery in my GLK.

 

​​​​​As I've mentioned, once a month, I put the trickle charger on the Jeep, GLK, and zero turn. Yesterday, I put the charger on the GLK. Just before, I probed with the multimeter and it showed 12.2 volts.

About three hours ago, I removed the charger. I just now went into the garage with the multimeter and it shows 12.61 volts. I'll check again tomorrow late morning before going to grocery.

I might investigate if I can check for a CA reading. I used to have a load tester, but Hurricane Harvey took that away. A CCA doesn't make sense for us in south central Texas 👍

 

I imagine your regular use of the trickle charger helped with the longevity of the Jeep and GLK batteries - certainly did no harm. I had my GLK battery on a charger, set for AGM, for more than two years (26 months) when I was out of country. The GLK was never started or touched during that period. Probably helped my cause too. Other than that I never put it on a charger.

In your location car batteries should probably have a HCA rating 🙂

 

No kidding !! Yesterday, it was 101°F (38 C). Today, it's only 98°F, with a "feels like" temperature of 120.

An HCA is a good idea ... our heat and humidity does tend to degrade a battery's lifespan. Our Summer lasts about nine months

 

Well, not exactly 24 hours later, but I probed the battery and it's now at 12.52, so lost a little bit

Wish our GLK had your low mileage !

 

I'll try to do a test of my old battery vs. the new one after putting each on a charger for 24 hours. Can't imagine I won't see some noticeable difference between the two.

 

I suspect the very long (!) battery life is due to MB's intelligent charging system. Some cars just ramp up the system voltage to 14.5 volts any time the engine's running. That's fine for getting a dead(ish) battery up to speed quickly, but generally unnecessary for much of the driving that most of us do most of the time. But it appears that MB is a lot more refined with their charging systems.

My previous car (a 2006 BMW 530xi Touring) had a similar (to the MB) system, and I was shocked when I replaced the ~10 year old battery (which was still working well, but showing those first signs of slowing down in its old age). And keep in mind, this is in Arizona, where 2-3 years is a typical lifespan for a new (quality) battery.

I got to keep a close eye on my system voltage over the last few thousand miles, by installing a clever device that I was evaluating. I've done similar things with a spare smartphone, OBD dongle and the Torque Pro app, but thought this "heads up display speedometer, etc." would do the job simpler and cleaner (and it did)...


Since I had little else to do while holding the steering wheel for thousands of miles during my recent road trip, I was able to really discern what the MB charging system does. As you can see in the photo (with the engine idling after sitting still for a day or so), the voltage ramped right up to what you'd expect it to. OTOH, in the middle of those LONG days on the road (basically, 1,000 mile driving days) the system voltage would drop down to 12.5 to 12.7 volts and stay there, which is plenty to keep the battery happy and ready to go next time you twist that key (or push that button for you Keyless Go folks).

I'll try to see if I can work out any more of the logic of the system next time I do a drive like the one(s) I just completed, but I'm impressed and I'm sure that this is the reason you are getting near-decade long life out of your main batteries.

And FWIW, I really did enjoy having the "poor man's heads up display" - I would never leave this thing installed for grocery-getting, but it really does make road-tripping just a bit easier, and it's got a LOT of options for what it can display, including things like vacuum (or boost), altitude, air / fuel ratio, etc. IIRC, the thing was under $40, too.

 

What gadget is this again? Looks tempting.

 

Yeah, what is it?

Doesn't explain why I'm on battery #3, and my Volvo had the same sort of logic, and it seemed to have a voracious appetite for batteries. I lost count...

 

. I continue to be fairly impressed with it. It's VERY configurable, to the point of being a bit tedious... but for a road trip, it's really a nice thing to have. I don't plan on leaving it on the dash when I'm using the car in "grocery getter mode" but it's a lot nicer than the (low) price point might lead you to believe.

 

I've really enjoyed being able to easily monitor the battery voltage under different conditions. It seems that some modes are pretty repeatable...
1) Start-up tends to produce just 12.5 volts, give or take. With the first blip of the throttle, it's up to 14.something. Old school alternators used to work that way, but for what I'd guess was a very different reason.
2) The system will go to "fast charge" at 14.something volts until some (fairly quick, based on my recent experience) random point, then reduces the charging voltage to 12.5 or so volts.
3) The battery always seems to have plenty of umph in the morning, with just over 12 volts available, so it seems the "gentle charging mode" works.

There are other things that will kill a battery though - running it down flat is the worst (no matter how good the charging system is). The other is intense heat, which is something those of us who reside in Arizona (well, the lower altitudes thereof...) know about. It's typical for batteries here to die in only 2-3 years (the local Walmart does a lot of free replacements as a result - I'm betting that's not the case in Hawaii). ;-)

 

That's the same for us in south central Texas ... right now, it's 101°F with 90% humidity (almost 12 noon now). I'd say, folks that I talk with around here, the average battery lifespan is three years.

Which is why I'm confused, somewhat - why our original battery (2014 GLK) is still with us. (I did replace the Aux battery a year ago).

 

Yes cheap lead acid fail faster in high heat, AGM do take the heat better and last longer
AGM also do not off gas , incase if an accident they don’t corrode if they break, and they do not corrode terminals. Regular batteries ruin terminals in 2-3 years requiring cleaning. There are many more benefits to AGM in low voltage tolerance and longevity.

 

AGM batteries are lead-acid batteries.

 

No they are not “lead acid” as in liquid acid . They are a different class of battery in all characteristics. They don’t have liquid that will spill out if tipped or cracked open. They outperform traditional batteries in most all respects .

 

Rwong.

They have the same fluid content, but the "absorbent" (hint: the A in 'A'GM) material is used to absorb the fluid into fiberglass mats instead of sitting as a free-flowing liquid. So actually the same battery liquid content, but with the mats.

 

I think the term you are looking for is "flooded cell." AGM batteries are not flooded cell batteries.

 

I picked up mine at the factory in Stuttgart in June, 2013. 62,000 miles on the clock now. Nary a problem of any sort. Car sits for days at a time and this past Spring I noticed slow cranking at cold start. Decided over 10 years on a battery and tires was enough, so I replaced all. I've not had a single issue with the car other than the emission system recall, and payment. I suspect I may be buried in this car. Never even a minor problem of any sort, except it tends to drive over the speed limits and occasionally gets stopped by Highway Patrol. Only one citation out of several stops. On longer trips here in the west it has gotten as much 41mpg but it consistently achieves 37+mpg on trips. Averages about 31mpg in short hauls in town. It's a keeper!