How Often to Replace a Car Battery

According to many professionals, your battery should be replaced every 4-5 years, although battery life varies greatly depending on several conditions. Tower Honda of Longview shares more on how to know if your car battery needs to be replaced and answers, “How much is a car battery replacement?” below! Review our guide, and then if you have any questions, contact your local Marshall service center!

How to Know If Your Car Battery Needs to Be Replaced

Are you wondering how to know if your car battery needs to be replaced? To tell when your battery is running out, keep an eye out for the following warning indications:

• Dimming headlights
• More frequent need for engine revving or jump starts
• Takes longer to start the engine when you turn the key/push the button
• Unusual power fluctuations

What Are the Main Causes of Car Battery Life Expiration?

• Heat: If the temperature rises, the liquid inside your car battery evaporates. As a result, if you reside in a more consistently hot environment, your battery life will be shorter.
• Vibrations: If your battery’s hold-down clamps are loose, or you drive over harsh roads frequently, internal battery components will degrade faster as a result of vibrations.
• Needing a Jump: If your battery has been sitting for a long time, or if you’ve done something like leave your lights on all night or let your car’s engine idle for too long, it can significantly reduce its lifespan.
• Time: The life of your car battery is limited, therefore needing to replace your car battery is unavoidable, but proper treatment can help prevent it from dying on you early.

If you’re wondering how often to replace your car battery, consult your owner’s manual for the life expectancy of your vehicle’s battery under ideal circumstances.

How to Test a Car Battery

You can have your car battery tested at your local Gladewater service center twice a year as part of routine maintenance. Additionally, many stores provide free checks, or you may test the battery at home with a few simple techniques if you choose.

The Headlight Test: 

1. Turn on the engine, making sure to keep the car in park. Turn the headlights on.
2. Rev the engine and watch for a change in the headlight brightness changes.
3. If the headlights get brighter, that means the current is not strong enough to keep the lights at normal brightness while the car is idling. 
4. For further assessment, take your car to a service center.

Using a Digital Multimeter:

1. Set the voltmeter to 20 DC volts.
2. Touch the negative terminal (black) with the negative meter probe (also black).
3. Touch the positive terminal (red) with the positive meter probe (also red)
4. Have someone turn on the headlights and check the voltmeter reading.
5. At 80℉, 12.5 volts or higher means your battery is fully charged. 12.3 volts means it’s at about 75% charged. 11.8 volts or lower means you have 25% or less charge. 

How Much is a Replacement Car Battery in Longview? 

How much is a replacement car battery in Longview? The average cost of a car battery is $75 to $120, and if you have a high-quality battery, it might be as much as $200. Because hybrid automobile batteries need to handle more work, they are considerably more expensive and can cost anything from $1000 to $6000, although this is usually offset by the reduced gasoline usage.

Keep Your Car in Great Running Condition at Tower Honda of Longview

Visit the Tower Honda of Longview parts center ahead of time to get our parts and service coupons so you don’t miss out on a fantastic deal when it’s time to replace your battery in Longview.