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Thread: Will factory battery last > 4 years?

  1. #11
    That's like asking how long is a rope.


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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


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    fc321 (02-05-2019)

  3. #12
    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Sounds like there is nothing wrong with your battery. That YouTube video has you worrying about nothing.

    My advice is to keep driving it and at the first sign of the starter hesitating to turn, then replace the battery. That’s what I do and I’ve never been stranded due to a battery issue. B

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    fc321 (02-05-2019)

  5. #13
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    If you really want the longest life possible from your battery you should keep it connected to a maintainer if not using the the car daily. I keep my truck on a maintainer always, same toys I have.

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    fc321 (02-05-2019)

  7. #14
    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    I decided to change the battery after all. I decided to take a gamble and buy the cheapest battery from Walmart which has only a 1 year warranty (zero proration, only a 1 time exchange) for $49. So I am "taking one for the team" here and will report back my results. Here is how the Group 35 battery compares to the stock battery:




    Here is the completed install. I stuffed an Amazon bubble envelope (just 1 folded in half) to demonstrate to you how much of a gap exists when you shove the battery completely over to the right hand side (near fuse box)



    I happened to notice that the battery named Group 24F costs the exact same price and provides 585 cca (compared to the paltry 490 cca that Group 35 provides). But it is a wider battery, maybe 1.5 or 2 inches wider, I took a photo to demonstrate)



    I recall another member of this forum had successfully installed a Group 24F battery (And that is a better value for the same price and will probably last a full year or 2 more because of the added cca) But I dont recall if he had to actually cut the plastic of the "cage" that is the baseplate platform. But that is certainly doable if you dont mind a little extra work.

    All that was needed is a 10mm wrench and you would be wise to spray some battery terminal spray or grease to prevent the terminals from building up the corrosion. Someone said spray WD-40 on it and it will do the same job but I dont know if this is just folklore. I wonder if 80W-90 gearbox oil would accomplish the same good results? Its a hell of a good rust inhibitor and I use it on my motorcycle and bicycle chains.

    Im not sure what Mitsubishi uses to treat the terminal posts when they make the car but I did not see even a speck of corrosion on my posts after 4 years.

    update: I posted this before reading the replies from you guys. But I made a decision to change the battery because my dashcam (hard-wired with a fuse-tap) has started to reset the date on itself back to January 1st and also I am paranoid because I installed a fancy touch-screen after market stereo and alpine amplifier and I was worried that the extra draw may put too much strain on the wimpy factory battery which has less than 400 cca when BRAND NEW.

    I figured "better safe then sorry" and am planning to drive up to North Caroline (a long voyage) do it is just too much risk for me to try to squeeze an extra month or 2 out of this battery.

    I am known as a penny-pincher but some risks are not worth taking.

    Darn, I made a bad choice in choosing Group 35. As per the thread below I could have fit the 24F without any cutting at all. Maybe the mods can place a sticky in the diy section to only recommend Group 24F to people from now on. Because both batteries are the same price.

    https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...ry-replacement

    Now I feel dumb. Maybe I will go back to Walmart and change the battery after all. I make a bad decision. But in the other thread the guy says "remove the heat-shield" but I dont know what he is talking about, I didnt see any shield when I did mine.

    Oh,well. Im just going to leave it with the Group 35. Cant waste anymore time on this, I have work to do. But dont make same mistake as me, choose Group 24F
    Last edited by fc321; 02-04-2019 at 07:04 PM.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


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    MetroMPG (04-16-2019)

  9. #15
    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    That's a dirt cheap battery. Even if it fails in a year or 18 months... it's still a good value. Good move.
    Simplify and add lightness.

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  11. #16
    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    My OCD would not allow me to relax so I went to Walmart again to exchange the Group 35 battery for a 24F.

    I had a tremendous amount of grief and drama over there but I will give the short version:

    First they didnt want to allow the exchange because the Group 35 battery had terminal grease on it that I had applied. Finally they agreed to relent and let me exchange it for Group 24F but the lady rang it up on the receipt in the "wrong way" and the policy is that they only allow 1 exchange (when speaking of a defective battery) so I got screwed in that I now have a 24F battery with ZERO WARRANTY. I mean if it dies in less than 1 year I am out my money 100%, no proration and no more exchanges.

    Now when I was in the parking lot afterwards trying to install the larger 24F battery I discovered that the heat-shield people are talking about is the plastic tray that is a platform that the battery sits on. Unfortunately the battery is too wide to sit on the plastic-tray of a platform (aka heat-shield). So i had to install it in the parking lot of Walmart without the heat-shield at all in order to drive the car home.



    So now I have to modify the heat shield, i am planning to use tin-snips (and/or a hacksaw) to cut the plastic on the right side and then I have to also cut off the devil horns on the bottom and I plan to use JB-Weld to glue the modified heat-shield to the bare metal (actually its a metal rack that is a platform for the heat-shield to sit upon) of the car.

    DOes this sound like the best way to proceed? Here are some photos of the heat-shield (placed in front of the battery for comparison of width, its about an inch too wide) that must be chopped in order to fit



    Here is the heat-shield flipped upside down, I need to saw off those devil horns and then will use JB Weld to glue the plastic-platform-tray to the bare metal (actually its a metal rack)

    Last edited by fc321; 02-04-2019 at 11:30 PM.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


  12. #17
    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    I seriously doubt your dash cam issue was due to a car battery being 2% out of spec. I’ve had several sub $100 dash cams fail on me over the years simply because they are cheaply made. The solution was to cough up the money and spend $230 on a Vantru N2 Pro with GPS module.

    While I am not an advocate of this, someone on this forum actually ditched his full size battery for a scooter battery. The thing has less than 50% capacity of the correct size battery yet he is doing fine. I’m still having trouble understanding why you would replace a battery that isn’t having any problems, but to each his own.

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  14. #18
    Senior Member klroger's Avatar
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    If you have to modify the box to make it fit, it's not the right battery.. Go back & get the 1st one you had & put the battery box back the way it was supposed to be, don't start hacking things... Just my 2 cents...

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2018 Mirage GT 1.2 automatic: 37.3 mpg (US) ... 15.9 km/L ... 6.3 L/100 km ... 44.8 mpg (Imp)


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  16. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by klroger View Post
    If you have to modify the box to make it fit, it's not the right battery.. Go back & get the 1st one you had & put the battery box back the way it was supposed to be, don't start hacking things... Just my 2 cents...
    I totally agree! You've made a bigger deal out of this than necessary. There isn't anything unusual about a Mirage battery (group size 35). You can buy group size 35 batteries that vary from 450 CCA to 720 CCA (maybe even higher), & the Mirage is a really small engine to turn over. The factory 356 CCA battery does just fine. Any quality battery is going to do the job. My Subaru Forester (2.5 L engine) takes the same group size 35 battery. The Mirage engine turns over much easier than the boxer engine on my Forester, even though the Mirage still has the wimpy factory battery.

    I wouldn't replace a battery before it needs to be replaced, & you can usually tell when they are about to go. I have seen them have a sudden death, however. Extreme cold is a good test of a battery, but a couple hours on a charger can get you past those few cold days, too.

    The Mirage & other cars take a group size 35 battery. Unlike 165/65-14 tires, there is nothing unusual about the Mirage's battery size.

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    fc321 (02-05-2019)

  18. #20
    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by klroger View Post
    If you have to modify the box to make it fit, it's not the right battery.. Go back & get the 1st one you had & put the battery box back the way it was supposed to be, don't start hacking things... Just my 2 cents...
    I wonder if he is going to panic and get a new battery when his oversized battery is down to 78 % capacity.

    If it’s cold outside and your battery starts the car every time, then there is nothing wrong with it.



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