Walmart EverStart AGM Battery

[K Frame]

Thoughts?

So, I'm looking for a new battery for my Forester as the old one is, well, old, and didn't test out particularly well. I'd rather replace it now rather than later and have it crap out on me at some inopportune moment.

I've had Walmart batteries before and have had good service from them, but it's been about 30 years since I had one.

In looking around I came across the EverStart AGM. I've heard lots of good things about AGM batteries, but they tend to be a lot more expensive than lead acid batteries.

What made me stop and think, though, was that the EverStart has not the common 3-year replacement warranty of just about every other battery I've found -- it's a 4 year replacement warranty.

And, it's cheaper ($180) than a good number of the lead acid batteries.

Given that it's got a 4-year warranty I'm tempted to give it a try. FAFO and all that.

Anyone have recent experience with a car battery from Walmart, especially one of the AGM EverStarts?

[HankB]

I put one of these in my Nissan Pathfinder - it was still working fine when I sold the vehicle 3 months later.

A friend put one in her Toyota C-HR about a year ago and so far she's had no issues.

So no first hand info on longevity. At the time I found online reviews were - as for most batteries - all over the place, ranging from "One of the best on the market" to "They should call it NeverStart."

[WLJ]

I hadn't kept up so I need to read up on these.

[Brad Johnson]

If memory serves, Everstart AGM batteries are a Johnson Controls product so they're likely decent.

Brad

[zahc]

Walmart stuff in general is usually a safe bet. They have a good return policy so if the batteries were junk they wouldn't carry them.

[230RN]

My battery story.

May be of interest, but not specific to the OP inquiry.

There are two reconditioned battery stores around here which sell their batteries for $45 each.

"Reconditioned ! ? ! ?  Why, that's like marrying a street whore!"

Nooo, not necessarily.  I don't know what they do to recondition them, but I've had good luck with them over several cars/years when the issue battery died.

I have a tendency to empty out batteries because I have a tendency to leave the ignition key in the car and on.  Often not even a starter solenoid click when I get back after a couple of days or a week.

So last time around, I bought two of them totaling $90, installed one.

The other one I leave in the back of the station wagon hooked up to the cigarette lighter with a charge limiter to 800 mA.  Keeps it topped off.  Make sure the cigarette lighter plug does not have an indicator light which draws down the battery anyhow.

The charge limiter is a 10 watt automotive ceiling light "bulb."  Figure it out.  10 watts, 12 volts, equals 800 milliAmps tops.

For my car, 1997, there are no goodies in it to draw current when the ignition is off.

I am told that modern whizbang "isn't that nice, dear, I can unlock it while I'm still across the parking lot, oooh, I think I had an orgasm" cars can have a substantial draw even when they are "shut off."  For household power thieves that really stay on when you shut them off, I think the term is "power vampires."

And that's my battery story, take it or leave it.

Terry, 230RN

Added:  The reason I keep emptying my battery while parked is I park it, start to get out, realize I left a window open, put the key back in, close the window, and forget I left the ignition on.  Stupidity costs.

Rocky Mountain Battery
7975 W 44th Ave
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
+1 303 423 7142|

[Kingcreek]

I have no experience with Walmart batteries of any kind because a local one man shop sells interstate batteries at a discount. They are conventional lead acid but I’ve always had good service from them.
I give him my business and his price is always a few bucks less than Walmart.

[K Frame]

Well, reconditioning a lead-acid battery would likely involve cracking the case open and putting in new plates and matrix, resealing, and adding fresh acid.

There's apparently a whole industry for doing exactly that in the outlying regions of India and Pakistan.

[RocketMan]

Well, reconditioning a lead-acid battery would likely involve cracking the case open and putting in new plates and matrix, resealing, and adding fresh acid.

From what I've read, that is pretty much how LA batteries are reconditioned.  About the only thing that remains of the original battery is the case, and maybe the top and the terminals.  As long as quality materials are used it should turn out a decent battery.

[K Frame]

From what I've read, that is pretty much how LA batteries are reconditioned.  As long as quality materials are used it should turn out a decent quality battery.

Yeah, it's not rocket science, really. In fact, it's really old science. You just need the proper materials.

The battery case itself, unless it's cracked, is just a thick plastic box.

[zxcvbob]

I have a tendency to empty out batteries because I have a tendency to leave the ignition key in the car and on.  Often not even a starter solenoid click when I get back after a couple of days or a week.

Added:  The reason I keep emptying my battery while parked is I park it, start to get out, realize I left a window open, put the key back in, close the window, and forget I left the ignition on.  Stupidity costs.

I do the same thing.  Not all that often, but way too often.  I get in the car and no dome light or anything.  And I can't even unlock the trunk (electric lock with no key, and the emergency release is on the inside)  to get my jumper cables.  I thinks to myself, "why did I leave the key on?", and I remember went out at night or when it started raining just to roll up the windows.

[K Frame]

OK, here's a question for the hive mind...

I mentioned below that the battery case is just a plastic box.

What the hell were automobile lead acid batteries contained in before plastics became pervasive in the 1950s/1960s?

Did they use metal cases coated with asphalt or something like that?

Did they use natural rubber? Gutta percha?

Anyone know?

[bedlamite]

Wood/glass, then rubber.

https://toolsweek.com/why-cant-you-put-a-car-battery-on-concrete/

[Bogie]

The "reconditioned batteries" around here are pretty much junkyard pulls, then they put 'em on a charger and throw a load test if they seem to take a charge. I see a LOT of "Riverside" batteries, and they usually are not working all that well.
 
At the store, we call the Walmart batteries "neverstart." It could be related to the people who buy them, and then abuse them, but...

[K Frame]

Wood/glass, then rubber.

https://toolsweek.com/why-cant-you-put-a-car-battery-on-concrete/

Neat article, Bedlamite! Thanks!

I did a bunch of google searching and came up with a lot of pictures, including wood and metal boxes (but no real description of the battery, and I think the metal boxes were actually just holders for a battery, not part of the battery itself).

I also came across some photos of 1940s/1950s batteries that did look like hard rubber, but again, no description.

I was wondering if they had ever used bakelite for battery cases, but it gets REALLY brittle in the cold, and isn't the most durable material at the best of times. NordMax makes batteries for classic cars with bakelite cases, but I can't figure out if it's historically accurate or not.

Oddly enough, I suspect that the old glass case batteries would have been more durable than a bakelite case battery...

[K Frame]

I've heard the NeverStart.

A friend of mine's Father called Exide batteries Executed, because they were always dead. He wasn't a fan. 

I'm probably going to give it a try and see if I get lucky. It's the 4 year full replacement that's leading me in that direction. Yes, price is lower, but if they're confident enough to put a 4 year warranty on it, I'm betting there's something to back up its durability.

[Bogie]

I do keep having customers who have problems with Walmart's battery warranty stuff... Make sure you save all your paperwork, etc. And save it indoors so that it doesn't get blanked by heat or something.

[K Frame]

Always do!

File in my desk for stuff like that.

[HankB]

Just as a data point - around 20 or so years ago, I had an Interstate battery in my Explorer explode when I turned the key. No damage to the vehicle, but I was more than startled.

The kicker was that when I called Interstate and - finally - got past their automated system to an actual person, I was told their batteries weren't warranted against blowing up. 

Funny thing is, about a year or two later I was coming out of a Walgreens when someone else's Interstate battery blew up in the parking lot. Again, no damage to the car (this time it was a Mercedes) but that made 2 explosive Interstates I'm aware of.

[WLJ]

I do keep having customers who have problems with Walmart's battery warranty stuff... Make sure you save all your paperwork, etc. And save it indoors so that it doesn't get blanked by heat or something.

If the receipt is printed on thermal paper I always make copy a of it and staple the thermal paper original to it. Have seen far too many thermal paper receipts fade into oblivion

[HankB]

If the receipt is printed on thermal paper I always make copy a of it and staple the thermal paper original to it. Have seen far too many thermal paper receipts fade into oblivion

Ditto. Been doing that for years.

[JTHunter]

K Frame - that '08 Ranger had the battery replaced with a Walfart battery about 4 years ago.  About 11 months later, that battery had to be replaced under warranty.  Then, about 3 months later, THAT battery had to be replaced as well !!   
These were not AGM batteries, just your regular "car batteries".

[Cliffh]

I actually bought one of the Walmart AGM batteries last year, put it in DW's Towncar.  It lasted about 2 weeks.  It wouldn't hold a charge.  Had the battery tested at the local O'Reilly, they said it needed to be replaced.  Drove the car to Walmart, one of the oil change monkeys tried to blame it on the alternator.  Nope.  Give me another battery.  They hadn't replaced the one they sold us, so we went with their LA battery.  It's been working just fine.

I'm glad the AGM didn't last another week or we'd have been stuck in San Antonio (~300mi from home) or on the road with a dying battery.

Edit to add:  The Walmart LA battery I put in the last truck was still going strong at ~5 years when the radiator & a head gasket let go.  The one in my current truck is over 2 years old now & still holds a charge.  I listen to the radio for about 1 1/2 hours a day with the engine off and it'll still crank the engine at the end of the day.

[K Frame]

" They hadn't replaced the one they sold us, so we went with their LA battery. "

You should have gone with the San Francisco version, not the LA version.

I've heard from a couple of people who have gotten excellent service out of their AGM batteries from Walmart.

This article seems to only talk about the flooded lead acid batteries, not the AGMs.

https://mechanicbase.com/battery/everstart/

[Brad Johnson]

The factory battery in my F150 was an AGM. Lasted five years almost to the day, a far cry from the usually three-ish we get around these parts. Replaced with AGM from O'Reilly's. So far, so good. Didn't think about looking at WalMart, but also didn't have a lot of time to think about it. Noticed a slow crank at lunch, slower crank after work, and darn near no crank when I fired it up to head to the store that evening. O'Reilly's is only a few blocks away so it's my default "automotive stuff" place.

Brad