Battery - when to replace?

[matthurley]

My car is now 5.5 years old. It's still on the original battery
Will i have a warning light when it gets low?
How much is a new OEM one?

Thanks in advance

[DR-Z]

If you use the car regularly and have no battery problems, just stick with it. If you're not using it much over winter (like me), buy a battery charger/conditioner (CTek) and leave it on for any prolonged period of non-use. Cheaper than a new battery.

[thepits]

If it ain't broke, then don't fix it

[Ewazix]

My 2003 is still on the original which is amazing, I think keeping it on a Ctek conditioner when it's garaged for more than a few days helps.

[Smartbear]

I replaced mine at 8 years old, it started sounding a little slower to spin over in the morning & I didn't want to get caught out with it dying

[Angie4m]

As for how much for a OEM, when I enquired for a OEM battery for my E88 they wanted £285! Needless to say I found a battery made by the same supplier for £100 which fitted a treat. I always found that the Bosch batteries frok Europarts are always too small to fit the clamps.

[ronk]

My old E85, sold to a pal, still has the original battery and it was registered March 2004.

Over the years I've had various battery failures though. Some deteriorated while others have just died overnight without a warning.

[TitanTim]

The original BMW battery on my Z3 died a couple of weeks ago so it was just over 13 years old. It worked perfectly then without warning just died. When I had it tested it wasn't holding charge in one of the cells. If you're a member of the RAC/AA etc I wouldn't worry, the RAC replaced mine within an hour of it failing, great service.

Tim.

[Citation 650]

I just replaced mine after 11 years. As the saying goes: "They work great - until they don't." Very little heads up warning.

[ronk]

I used Europarts for the replacement in her A4.
Bosch and it seems ok - it should be cos its identical to the original battery .

[Maniac]

I know that mines a bit 50/50 as I occasionally get odd electrical gremlins which never happened before. Dim AC lights etc. Very rare though. Also when operating the roof without the engine running the boot closes a bit jerkily which didn't used to happen. No way I'm spending hundreds on an OEM battery yet though. It could be like this for years more before it gives up.

[ronk]

A good cold winter normally sorts the wheat from the chaff !