Battery Replacement

drmanny3

drmanny3

Experienced Member
Joined
17 November 2002
Messages
1,654
Location
Santa Barbara, CA, USA
:smile: I had about a year ago replaced the factory battery with a yellow top. It worked well for a while then began to fail once it had been discharged a number of times. It is made to handle discharge but never-the-less it finally failed. I had keep my oem battery (Panasonic) and so just put it back in. Having kept it charged insured that it worked. But my concern was that it is over 4 years old. So I began a search for a new battery. There is a lot of info on the Prime. I kind of decided to go with the Excide battery that is similar to the optima. At $139 and about 40 lbs. I was a little unsure. Everytime I go to Costco (which is a lot-the're in my 401K) I look at their batteries. Well I looked up the NSX and they recommended their specific battery. The Positive post is on the right hand side and it was very close in size to the oem. For $39 I was unsure? it was too cheap. But with a three year free replacement and an 84 month warranty I thought who cares. Well, I did get it and it works just perfectly. It weights about 37 lbs. and is a standard lead acid battery. The price cannot be beat, neither can the warranty. Just wanted to share my good fortune.

Manny
 
Nice tip, you should post the model number and specs if possible. Even if it goes out after the 3 year free replacment, you've only paid $13 per year.

I have that Exide battery BTW and it's still holding up well but I paid about $150 for it. :)
 
Good choice.

Costco's house brand car batteries (sold under their Kirkland brand, I think) are made by Johnson Controls, which is a high-quality manufacturer of such products. They did reasonably well in a recent Consumer Reports article on automotive batteries.

When I recently shopped for a new battery for my other car, I found that it would have cost anywhere from $60 to $110 to get it from a dealer or mechanic, including installation. Sam's Club had an Interstate battery for $54, and Costco had their house brand battery for $37 - quite a difference in price! I bought the Costco battery and installed it myself, and it's been fine.
 
Malibu Rapper said:
you should post the model number and specs if possible.
Click to expand...
According to the battery selector on this website, it's designated by Costco as model 3 in the States, and model 8 in Canada; they have their own model numbers corresponding to battery group sizes. But wherever you get a battery - Costco or elsewhere - just look for group size 35 for the NSX. The batteries that come with 84 to 100 month warranties usually have CCA in the 600-700 range, which is more than enough for the NSX.
 
Your correct, it was a Costco #3. As I mentioned I was worried that it was too cheap. However, Costco tends to have very low markups so perhaps this battery would have sold for up to twice as much else where. Bottom line is that it performs well. Again if you want the lowest weight then look elsewhere. I have found that with running lights and XM, and Radar that I pull a bit of juice especially when in traffic at night with the brakes on (stop light). The radar shows the voltage going from about 13.7 down to about 12.2 on the new battery. My oem at four years of age was reading about 11.7 (night, running lights, xm, radar, brake on).

Manny
 
When you buy a battery from the dealer or from a shop they dispose of the old one. What do you do with the old battery? Does Costco take the old one for disposal? Or are you stuck finding a hazardous waste site? TIA
 
ss_md said:
When you buy a battery from the dealer or from a shop they dispose of the old one. What do you do with the old battery? Does Costco take the old one for disposal? Or are you stuck finding a hazardous waste site? TIA
Click to expand...
You must give the old one to the seller, called a "core" exchange. If you don't you get charged extra.
 
ss_md said:
When you buy a battery from the dealer or from a shop they dispose of the old one. What do you do with the old battery? Does Costco take the old one for disposal? Or are you stuck finding a hazardous waste site? TIA
Click to expand...
My local Costco stores don't do battery installations and don't accept the used batteries back. If there are other Costco locations that install batteries, maybe they accept used batteries too; I don't know.

As NSXmas notes, some shops and auto parts stores have a "core exchange", where you can give the used battery back to them and they give you a few bucks back for it. I was told that they also are often happy to take back used batteries and recycle them, even if you didn't buy the battery there, but they don't give you any money in return. Sure enough, I took my old battery to the local Autozone store and dropped it off, and they were happy to take it, no questions asked.
 
I have a costco battery. $39 cannot be beat. I havent had any problems with it. but I only had it for about 14 months.

I was originally going to get an optima but @ $39 for a regular battery! I cannot justify the added cost for optima.

I just took 2 old battery to Kragen.. They were happy to take them. Also recycled about 20 qt of used motor oil too. :biggrin:
 
I am surprised that you were charged for the old battery. I don't recall paying any deposit. Did you purchase through the store or from the tire department? They have no provision for taking an old battery.

Manny
 
drmanny3 said:
I am surprised that you were charged for the old battery. I don't recall paying any deposit. Did you purchase through the store or from the tire department? They have no provision for taking an old battery.

Manny
Click to expand...
On my CostCo receipt at the store, there is a line item for "disposal fee", $5.

When I took back my old battery, they accepted it at the return counter, and handed me a $5.
 
i have a 94 nsx...i went to costco and purchased their battery model 3, group 35...however...when i went to install it...i noticed that my negative and positvie terminals were on opposite sides...i went back and exchanged for a model 6, group 25....they are exactly the same except for model number and group number.....it works fine so far....anybody else run into this problem??
 
mister nsx said:
i have a 94 nsx...i went to costco and purchased their battery model 3, group 35...however...when i went to install it...i noticed that my negative and positvie terminals were on opposite sides...i went back and exchanged for a model 6, group 25....they are exactly the same except for model number and group number.....it works fine so far....anybody else run into this problem??
Click to expand...
That's actually how the OEM battery is orientated as well, like the model 3.
 
Which of these 2 models to buy?

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=400 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left colSpan=2>Available at COSTCO:</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>Part Number:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>3</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>CCA:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>640</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>Model Name:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>100 Month</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>Battery Group Size:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>35</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=400 colSpan=2><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>Part Number:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>3</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>CCA:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>700</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>Model Name:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>100 Month</TD></TR><TR><TD class=boldtext vAlign=top align=right width=200>Battery Group Size:</TD><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left width=200>35</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width=400 colSpan=2><HR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
I would recommend that you check the date stamp on the battery. Get the most current battery. As far as which one to choose, if they are of the same group and same size, they should be egual. Perhaps there is a mistake in one of them. Look at the most current and see if you still find some with 640 and some with 700 cca rating. Either way with a 3 year replacement warranty you can not go wrong and at $39.00 it is a steal.

Manny
 
Put in the Costco battery as per Manny - no big deal. Except, I can't seem to get the negative terminal cable tight enough on the battery posts. It's snug, but I can still grab it and move it even after I've tightened it as far as possible.

Is there such a thing as a battery post "shim" that would just slightly increase the diameter of the post allowing a tighter fit of the termnal cable?

TIA

DaveG
 
Yes, I had the same issue with my DieHard. Use lead shims. Insert between the post and clamp. Sears did it for me...
 

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