Will factory battery last > 4 years?

[2of9]

Those in the warmer states, does the "extreme" heat damage the battery?

I know there a lot of factors to batteries degrading but I do know that the cold (polar vortex cold) states, batteries seem to degrade like crazy. I use to work at Sam's Club Tires & Battery and we'd have maybe 3-5 people come back to replace the battery they bought before winter and replace it during winter. Not sure if it was the battery brand or the person just poorly maintaining the car but those batteries were just replaced under warranty. 1st year I was there I was super surprised how many people came to replace a 2 or 3 year old battery because of the cold.

So far, my battery is pretty solid. I haven't tested it yet to see where it's at though.

[Pryme]

Heat kills batteries faster than cold, all else being equal.

[Car Nut]

It's a shame you didn't see my post from a week or two ago. It's below for everyone's future reference.

I replaced the battery in my 14 ES yesterday. Noticed it cranking slower since it turned cold. Cranked real slow in the 10 deg F temps. Drove to Wal-Mart and got one of their $49 one year value batteries. Changed it outside in the parking lot. Quick and easy swap. I wanted to install a 24 series battery for the extra capacity, but I didn't want to remove the plastic battery box that the battery sits in. That box has a built in drain that safely channels away any acid ect, that might cause corrosion problems if not used. I settled on a 26 R series battery. It's actually a little bit shorter in length, and fit right in without any mods. More powerful than the 35 series that's stock.

[Mark]

Since the Mirage comes stock with a wimpy 356CCA battery, I really believe any decent battery will start it just fine. It's a small engine with very lightweight oil. We've had numerous days of well below 0F recently, and my car starts perfect fine with a lame factory battery.

I don't think 490 (35) vs. 540 (26R) vs 585 (24F) dictates which battery is best. If these value batteries last just as long as Walmart's $75 batteries of the same size, that is worth taking note of in my mind.

[Pryme]

Since the Mirage comes stock with a wimpy 356CCA battery, I really believe any decent battery will start it just fine. It's a small engine with very lightweight oil. We've had numerous days of well below 0F recently, and my car starts perfect fine with a lame factory battery.

I don't think 490 (35) vs. 540 (26R) vs 585 (24F) dictates which battery is best. If these value batteries last just as long as Walmart's $75 batteries of the same size, that is worth taking note of in my mind.

Everyone looks at CCA but reserve capacity is equally important.

[Mark]

It's a shame you didn't see my post from a week or two ago. It's below for everyone's future reference.

I replaced the battery in my 14 ES yesterday. Noticed it cranking slower since it turned cold. Cranked real slow in the 10 deg F temps. Drove to Wal-Mart and got one of their $49 one year value batteries. Changed it outside in the parking lot. Quick and easy swap. I wanted to install a 24 series battery for the extra capacity, but I didn't want to remove the plastic battery box that the battery sits in. That box has a built in drain that safely channels away any acid ect, that might cause corrosion problems if not used. I settled on a 26 R series battery. It's actually a little bit shorter in length, and fit right in without any mods. More powerful than the 35 series that's stock.

Adam shared some maintenance/repair guides in another new thread. Looking at the battery replacement section, the group 26R & 35 are both listed.

https://www.paulstravelpictures.com/...ide/index.html

[fc321]

I am working today on chopping up the original plastic box. I will document the steps and pictures in a seperate thread on the How-To section.

But I wanted to add that a Group 96 battery (Like the Ford Fiesta uses) will also fit in the box as you can see in this picture. I have already chopped the box but the group 96 would have fit without any chopping required:

[A-Aron]

thats really funny,, i was just wondering that last weekend as i pulled a old escape battery out of the garage to give to my father..
when i got my mirage i gave him my escape.. he needed the "extra" batter for it and that is what it was... as i was carrying it from the garage to the house i was thinking... hmmm i wonder if the contacts are oriented right cause it looked appropriately sized to fit...
snowy and blowing like a mad man out i was not too inclined to check,,,
lol,, thanks for the info...

[fc321]

I have completed the tutorial for chopping the old battery box:

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...attery-(Large)

[Pryme]

I have completed the tutorial for chopping the old battery box:

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...attery-(Large)

Why would anyone destroy the box when there are plenty of much more powerful batteries available that fit in the box?