Mine is also the original, and so far I haven't had any problems. I'll likely be replacing it before long simply because it is reaching the end of its life expectancy and I like to replace things before problems crop up.

I use to think batteries could tell when it was an inconvenient time to die. I now realize that they don’t know when it’* an inconvenient time but that there'* simply never a convenient time for your car not to start. Anyone ever have a battery die while they were parked in front of a store with a sale on car batteries?

Unfortunately batteries don’t always give you a warning when they’re nearing the end of their life. If I had a 7 year old battery I would have been looking for a sale back in October or November. Friday morning it was 8 degrees in western New York & the local AAA had over 600 calls for cars that wouldn’t start.

I remember that! Didn't we discover that when you were leaving ONBF in the fall? Good info Tracy on what to watch out for. I was wondering this myself since I'm going on 7 years with the original battery! Can you adopt me for the day so I can get that deal from your relative too?

Perhaps being located in the car under the rear seat gives these batteries some extended life???

The only way to go is an OPTIMA red or yellow. I went with yellow, more of a deep cycle. Hella strong, i can leave my car off with the stereo bangin for 1/2 hour...hop in and start right up. Worth the extra buckaroo

howd you get an optima to fit under the seat?

That'* the truth!
I don't think I've ever owned a car (new or used) for 7 years.
I've never replaced a battery in anticipation.... if it starts and runs, it'* good to go.
Of course, I never go anywhere without my $10 jumper cables.

Years ago the average life expentency of a battery was 5 years. Now that the cold cranking amps have increased dramatically it not uncommon to get up to 9 years. My wifes car'* battery is on it'* 8 year and it was purchased from Costo. A good sign that the battery is starting to go is when it won't hold much of a charge.

I actually just bought my 2002 SLE and twice now it failed to start. After the first time I charged it with my battery charger and it lasted another couple of days. Sunday morning it wouldn't start again so I removed it and hooked it up to the charger. The nice thing about the battery being under the rear seat is no corrosion anywhere.

What I found was that it would not accept much of a charge so I replaced it this morning. Yes, $100 is more than I have ever paid for a battery. At least at Autozone the DuraLast battery has an 8 yr guarantee. As bad as some Autozone aftermarket parts can be, there is nothing like free brake pads, fuel pumps and batteries when they wear out.

Just out of curiousity, is that 8 year warranty free replacement or pro-rated?

For the Optima, it just fit... its tight...but i got in there. Then again tight things are better than being loose