Bdubblu

My battery was an 08. That means it lasted 10 years also. Hmmm... save $30 bucks and get a battery that last 4-5 years? Yeah... I'm glad I went OEM.

karpetcm

LOL all this battery talk and the one in my trunk is dated 5/10, I haven't had any issues other then the rear close trunk button not working everything else works. I didn't know there was another battery in the front.

tlambert

cetialpha5

I don't really follow what you're implying. The warranty has nothing to do with how long the battery will last. The MB one only has a 2 year warranty which is a standard parts warranty MB has on all their parts. Just because other ones have 3 or 4 year batteries doesn't mean they're only going to last 3 or 4 years. That's only how long the warranty is. The battery industry has been doing strange things lately like getting away from 7-8 year pro-rated batteries and doing shorter replacement warranties. In some hot states, the temperature tends to fry the battery early so it may last a lot longer in a cooler state. Plus OEM doesn't mean anything when it comes to batteries, MB doesn't have a battery factory, they just have some battery company slap their name on it like many of their other parts.

MBenz777

The confusion comes from the fact that people don't understand that batteries sold by MB dealers are not made by MB...they may (or may not!) be choosing better quality batteries but the batteries are manufactured by companies not related to MB.
The only thing a MB owner should do is to chose a good quality battery (within OEM specifications) and that's it.

tw2

Sometimes the easiest way to do that is just to buy one from the dealer. Of course it will cost more.

MBenz777

True, but as we all know the easiest way is not the cheapest way too....and sometimes the more expensive option is not necessarily the better option.

Bdubblu

The "OEM" batteries are still Varta batteries. The 08 battery in my car was a Varta, as was the replacement I just bought from the dealer. So when I say "OEM", I'm speaking about the batteries the dealer is installing in the car. You guys are arguing semantics. Let's lay that thought to rest now. There are plenty of parts made by other companies that are OEM parts on any car. Denso, Bosch, etc. etc. They are still considered OEM.

And I'm not sure where you got the idea that I was implying that I purchased the OEM or Varta battery because of a warranty. I never suggested that. If that was the case I would have gone aftermarket because MB only gives a 2 yr. warranty on the battery, whereas most aftermarket brands provide a 2/5 or a 3/5 year warranty. I opted for the Varta/ OEM battery because both myself and others have gotten 10 years out of them. That just doesn't happen on the aftermarket.

cetialpha5

Varta is Johnson Controls. JCI makes a lot of other batteries battery brands too. Same as the aftermarket ones. They just sold their battery division so who knows if it will still be as good as before.

MBenz777

OK...

Bdubblu

Interesting... the only brand available to the US (besides going to MB for the Varta) is the Optima brand. The other brands seem to be "branded" for other regions.
https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/batt...battery-brands

Rovel

I was told that the battery in my car is 10 years old and shat I should replace it. But when I check the voltage it shows normal voltage. The car starts just fine. Although I noticed it would start quicker in summer time. Should I change the battery? I know it is old, but it works.

hachiroku

you'll know once winter comes along and upon entry it seems like cranking your dash lights dim upon each turn of the engine. that means your battery is getting to the point where its on its way out.

cetialpha5

I think yours is more than 10 years old if it's a 2007. Mine is 11 years old and it's a 2008, but was made in 11/2007. What's the voltage display on the dash? Mine used to show around 11.5-11.6 but when my alternator died not too long ago, I charged up the battery and it mostly shows 11.8-11.9 volts even in this current cold temperature. You can get it load tested and see what they say. Mine still starts the normal way. Mostly I just use my keyless go so all it takes is one quick press of the button and the car cranks it the normal amount til it starts. You will get battery low voltage warnings once it drops below 11 volts.

I would charge up the battery and see what voltage you get after it's fully charged. Then get it load tested. Even if the battery isn't up to 100%, it's a big battery, 800cca and 80 amp hours means that it'll probably still start the car fine even if it's only 80-90% of new. There are reports that people get 12-14 years out of these AGM batteries.

tw2

As above, have it tested. I bought the solar BA5 battery tester and check the CCA capacity once a year on both batteries.

Rovel

cetialpha5

When my alternator died, I threw mine on a charger like this one which you can get for $18:


After about 6 hours, it was up to about 12.7 volts which is a full charge, after about a couple of hours, it dropped to around 12.5. Once I hooked it up to the car, it drop down to about 12.1.

StarvingArtist

Replace it. It turns into a big resister and puts extra load on the charging system continuously. !0 years is a pretty good run, it doesn't owe you anything.

cetialpha5

I'm an electrical engineer. That's an interesting theory. I suppose the field could be stronger if it needs to charge a battery. But the reason the alternator dies is typically the voltage regulator which wears out and the bearings which are mechanical. I think having a bigger load load won't really affect the charging system, wear and failure is more due to mechanical reasons.

Also JCI does over half the batteries sold. At Pepboys, the Bosch is an Exide and the Champion is a JCI. Walmart might swap between Exide and JCI. Not sure about Autozone and Advance, could be JCI or Exide, just have to google search for them. JCI makes good batteries along with bad batteries on the same line as there's a range of 1 year, 2 year and 3 year batteries that they all sell. Usually the AGM batteries are considered more top line so they'll probably last longer as you can see from this thread.

MBenz777

Considering that the battery is pretty big/heavy and located under the passenger seat (not easy to replace) is probably worth $50-70 more to get a a battery lasting extra 3-5 years...but question is: who knows which one is the one who lasts the longest?!?

Rovel

I checked the battery voltage in the dash today. It showed 11.5 when the car wasn't running. As soon as I started it started showing 13.5 -4 V.

Great to get a feedback from the electrical engineer that battery shouldn't affect alternator life. Also batteries on E63s are in trunk. Maybe they were under the seat on E55?

tw2

They aren't. The small SBC one is under the bonnet and large main one is in the trunk.

Jckissin

cetialpha5

Interstate battery is a battery distributor, not a maker. They distribute batteries made by Johnson Controls, Exide and others, probably East Penn too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Batteries

Just google Varta and you'll see that it's one of the brands that JCI sells.

https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/batt...battery-brands

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnso...ower_Solutions

As for the theory that an extra $50-$70 might get you a battery that will last an extra 3-5 years, I'm not sure where that theory comes from. Basically the OEM Mercedes battery is a Varta battery which is made by Johnson Controls. They slap their names on a lot of other battery brands. If you look up Champion, that's also a Johnson Controls battery and it's sold by Pepboys. Not sure about Autozone and Advance Auto, they may switch back and forth as I think I saw one site say one thing and another say something else, but they have multiple lines of batteries. But for their AGM batteries, I think they are also both Johnson Controls. The case and specs of both batteries looks to be the same and they're 900 CCA. The Bosch AGM battery that Pepboys also sells is Excide, it's only 850 CCA and weighs in at 52 pounds, the other ones are at 60-61 pounds. For longevity, I'd go with the heavier battery, but the extra weight will slow you down...

MBenz777

The idea was the other way around: apparently the batteries mentioned here to be better quality and last longer are a bit more expensive and I said that is worth the extra expense, if we know for sure which are the better, long lasting one.

You're kidding, right!?! 8-9 lbs extra weight won't make any notifiable difference to a car.