My battery is 7 years old and still going strong, sort of hard to believe. Is this unusal? Its also subject to upstate NY winters.

lucky you!

i replaced mine when i purchased it a year ago cuz it didnt have much "ummpffff".. $99 battery

Are there any signs that a battery needs to be replaced? Or do you just replace it when it dies?

I was told through the "grapevine" batteries only last 5 years. Mine went a full 7 but the car only had 63k miles on it. When mine went, my headlights started to blink on and off when the car was ideling parked. No other problems starting/running...seemed to be going strong...just that darned blinkety blink. Once the new battery was installed, no more blinkety blink.

Make sure you buy the specified battery for our year 2000+ ....being placed under the rear seat, you have to buy the more expensive batteries with the side vents to let out the gases. Around here, they were priced out for $120 retail... I got one through a relative who works at a car parts place...$80.

My car went 8 years on the battery that came with the car. It was replaced as a precaution when winter was on its way and my mom was driving the car. Now 3 years later my car struggles to start on chilly days after sitting for a week due to the battery being weak.

IMO, not really uncommon at all.

mine will last about 20 minutes with the radio on to get to 8volts...yeah its original and needs to be replaced. $132 at napa. I'm checking the other parts places..

Mine is about 4 years old I believe. Its just a standard Interstate. It was getting sluggish this summer so I refilled the cells and booyah, shes back. I've started her at -10*F so far this winter. No hesitation. No leaks. And I can listen to the radio for hours on end. Always starts right up. I've killed it 3 times since I've owned the car, all because I left lights on.

I highly recommend Interstate batteries. They have a really nice warranty and man do they perform well. I think this one just came out of the 60 month warranty Time for it to go bad

It'* not unusual to get 5-7 years life expectancy from a battery, normal useage. After 7 years of service though, it owes you nothing. : )

What brand battery did you put in? Is it being charged enough on long enough drives after it sat for a week? I'm wondering if it'* staying only partly charged...

I've got a 2003 and keep watching my battery and wondering what brand to replace the underseat battery with.

My battery is original from GM. 68K on it and still going strong.