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Battery Debate?

6K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  WickedGoat 
#1 ·
Hey All,

2014 Impala(new style), battery is dead. Looking to get a new battery but wondering if anyone has an opinion on what battery is best?

Interstate? Optima? AC Delco? WalMart?

Whatcha got? Experience with any of these brands and how they work? In Iowa so got cold and warm climate and fluctuates often lol as noted it's -2 this morning, and this weekend it'll be 50's, so need a battery that can handle fluctuations in temperature, and very very cold and very very hot weather year round.
 
#2 ·
I have a 2014 Impala 2LTZ - purchased new. Last year in the fall, I replaced the original battery in it, and replaced it with a new ACDelco battery (the highest rated one). I replaced it as a matter of maintenance, so my wife wouldn’t be stranded in cold weather.

I’ve been driving and owning GM vehicles for 50 years now - and have always bought ACDelco batteries. I have only had one fail (the original one in my 1999 Corvette - leaked acid from the side terminal several months after I bought the car new).

Replacing the original battery in the Impala is a little difficult - it is a very tight fit in the battery compartment, and is difficult to lift out. The replacement ACDelco batteries come with a handle strap to lower the battery into the spot (and lift it out...).

I live in the Midwest and see summer temperatures at 90 degrees + F, and winter temperatures at 10-15 below zero F. I have never bought a lower or mid-range battery - always the one with the highest CCA and reserve capacity.

I’m not with the car now - but I think the highest rated ACDelco battery now comes with a 36 month (not prorated) replacement guarantee.
 
#6 ·
Wal mart everstart maxx batteries here have been pretty reliable. On average seem to get at least 5 years out of them, don't think I have had any that have failed before the warranty period expired. Original delco battery that came in our 2012 impala that we bought new made it barely past 3 years. Not gonna pay for the delco brand with that kind of performance especially when the maxx batteries have a 3 year replacement warranty and are pro rated after that to 60 months.
 
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#4 ·
I got a Duracell AGM group 34/78 from Sam's Club... for the price, it trounced all of the parts stores, Sears, and of course, Optima. Catch it on sale for $25 off and it is a bargain.

And yes, it is kind of a pain in the ass swapping batteries in the Impala.
 
#5 ·
LOL! Even my 2002 Impala (226,000 miles now) is a bit of a pain to get the battery in and out! I just bought the Everstart MAXX 78S at Walmart this past weekend for $93 to replace my dead 7.75-year old Advance Auto "Silver" line battery (YES, almost EIGHT years old ... I was shocked, too!). I had the dead battery and the new battery side-by-side on the floor of the Auto Department for comparison reasons (like I always do as a double-check to make sure I get the right battery), and it dawned on me that the new battery did NOT come with the handy handle - which is a big help in lowering the battery into that tight kitty-corner of the passenger-side front-end! So even though I had meticulously cleaned the old battery before heading to the store (HATE to give the clerks a dirty, greasy, grimy old battery), I ended up getting my fingers dirty anyway squeezing and pinching the tabs on either end of the old handle to get it off and put it on the new battery!

So - if you have a handle on your old battery and the new one doesn't come with one ... don't forget to transfer it over (if possible). It's a big help as you drop the battery in on its short side and then slide it laterally to get it to shimmy onto the platform/tray it sits on. Then you push the handle flat down across the top of the battery, ready to grab later when you reverse the process to remove it.
 
#8 ·
I have got everybody beat two fold! The first 2004 Oldsmobile Alero, DOP 11-21-03 still has the factory delco so 16 years. The second is a AZ duralast gold, installed 4-2000 in my 1970 Cutlass still has to roll that 350 over for a while before it fires. I started last weekend at 35 degrees no issues.

Pat
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all the replies everyone. My battery died completely yesterday and being my only car at the time, I had to rush my process. Ended up going with a Super Start Platinum from O'Rielly's, with a 3 year warranty. Guess we'll find out how well she works, and how long it lasts.
 
#10 ·
I think everyone prefers to plan ahead, but when the &%#$ hits the fan, you gotta go with whatever is convenient. Been in that rush mode far too many times. Which probably says something about my capacity for planning ahead...but whatever.
 
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#11 ·
Funny thing is, is that I wanted to be proactive about my battery replacement... I told my wife it was going to crap on me any day now... had the $25 at Sam's... kept putting it off... sale ended and my battery finally failed. And to make matters worse, on the day I got over there to buy the battery, it started to thunderstorm. Talk about being pissed off... can't win some times.
 
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