My 12V battery is 6 years old & working fine=Should I replace it before 3000 mile trip?

My experience with jump packs is that it requires maintenance ( i.e. always needs to be checked / charged) and that my wife would not be the best person to use it. Whereas, the supercapacitors are maintenance free and reduce the strain on the battery, and as i clumsily mentionned before saved us the day already.

Cheers to all.




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This is actually a good example of why your approach can be counter-productive sometimes.
IF you let the pads go too long and they wear down farther than you think, they can get SO thin that the rotors are damaged.
That means new rotors for $$$$.
I would NEVER change the pads on just one wheel, unless maybe a caliper stuck and damaged just that one set.

 

Or lighter? I've got an amp that weighs in at 50 pounds. That's about the only stat I understand though, no clue what's in there. I'd be fine with blocks of lead.

 

Repair maintenance is maintenance performed on a piece of equipment after it has failed.

Preventative maintenance is maintenance that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment that is still working so that it does not break down unexpectedly.

 

I'm not cut out for teaching.

My household has long had a spare vehicle. When we were still working, a dead battery / flat tire / any mechanical problem / service appointment meant simply switching cars to get to work on time, then deal with the problem after work. No work time lost at all, unless two were down at the same time. Which did happen in 1988, when a new problem on one overlapped time consuming repairs on another. But not since.

Costco doesn't do coupons.

That's them, not me. Please allow each to adjust accordingly.

You still don't understand. Here is an illustration ---

I purchased the spouse's daily driver a little over 30 years ago. If following the calendar replacement schedule that various members here promote, every 3 to 5 years, I'd have performed 6 to 10 battery replacements on it. But under my personal preference plan, in line with this milder climate zone, I've actually needed only 3 such replacements, a savings of the expense of 3 to 7 replacements. That is a lot more than mere "pennies".

Except for my first Prius (upgraded to the current unit), every car I've purchased has been keep at least 13 years, average over 20 years. Those represent more than a dozen avoided battery replacements. That savings will pay for several hypothetical emergency calls, should they ever occur. (The spouse did call me once, not a tow truck, for a 'dead battery', but it was a multi-issue problem precipitated by intermittent charging system failure. Early battery replacement might have delayed the dead battery, but not have prevented it.)

All the other maintenance issues you try to pull into this battery-specific issue are straw-man fallacies.

 

I would venture to guess that the majority of us who would go ahead and change the battery at 6 years have been driving a bit longer than those who say its ok to wait a little longer. Over the decades, I have had too many "dead battery" situations to ever want it to happen again. My last (and really last!!) dead battery happened when I knew my battery was 7 years old and the wife and I went out to dinner on our anniversary. You can guess how the rest of the night went.
Also, all the other dead batteries cost a lot more due to what time of day it died, the location and having to pay the "only one available" price.

 

Been driving since -- what 1972. When I was young and a bit dumb -- had a couple of dead batteries. But, at the time I was buying $14.95 Pep Boy Cadet batteries -- which were the cheapest I could find (not really sure about the price, but it was around there).

I believe even cheap batteries are better now. I have NEVER had a battery strand me anywhere, as said earlier in this thread, mine always gave some warning -- even my GEN II Prius battery gave me warning.

I replace them when they need it. Not before. this thread is sort of reminding me of:

 

So your time/angst/cost saving solution to replacing an old battery is to frequently manually test it, hook it up to a good trickle charger every night and buy a second car for the day it finally quits ??!? You obviosly don't live in the city. LOLROF !

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But I thought you were a proponent of regular maintenance, not a dissident?

Battery voltage is now very readily available on a ScanGauge-II or any other OBDII-port engine monitor. Real real simple to give it a glance to see when a charge is not holding up.

reductio ad absurdum fallacy.

Already had it, for other reasons. So rolled it into the car maintenance strategy, which includes dropping off cars for service the night before the appointment, picking them up after the next work day.

There are plenty of multi-car garages in the neighborhood, and it seems that virtually all the new construction (mixture of infill and teardown/replace) comes with at least three-car garages. We have only a single garage space, but do actually park a car in it.

Depends on your personal definition of 'city'. Compared to where I grew up, this part of PugetSoundOpolis is a huge city. But since it isn't downtown Seattle, some will turn up their noses at its suburban character.

 

Erm, just fyi, this is illegal in some EU countries for the reason that the left and right side wheels of a same axle must brake with the same amount. Any differential braking above x % jeopardises your safety in an emergency braking. No drawing needed why. There is a reason why lawful technical control tests are strict on this. Brake pads, discs or drums must be replaced at the same time on a same axle. Be safe.

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Yeah when doing brakes, I'll do the fronts in the spring, then the backs in the fall. Just need to raise one end of the car, and you tend to do a more thorough job when you're just doing one end. But I would never do just one side.

 

Do it once, do it right.

 

The same amount of pressure is applied to the thicker/thinner pads.

Really curious and fascinated with some of the EU regulations. But couldn't find anything on this. Any particular countries? A friend of mine sent me a thing on the new laws pertaining to what she could legally feed her pet pig. (not kidding. Hymie Swinestien was not happy!)

 

When the one needing replacing, it's 20 minute job. No damage to rotors. Very easy to hear when it's time.

The real reason to replace in pairs and I would is that if your paying someone and it's already on a lift, way cheaper. But for something so simple, I wouldn't pay but certainly see why it would be advantageous when having it done.

I put 'em in before work and was kind of a nice way to start the day. Cup of coffee and in the driveway. Had an interesting podcast drama thing playing. Was nice and a really pleasant morning.

 

Absolutely agree on the pressure in the brake oil system / pistons. But the surface contact pads-disks is not the same on an old and new pad. This is geometrical factors of wear and tear. How do you guarantee the new pad is the same exact material as the old pad? Or the old one is not Degraded by so many heat variations if it s the same brand... etc... Also New pads need some time to be fully adapted to the shape of a worn disk, be it light or not.
The difference between braking in a straight like or turning and loosing control is slim... Particularly on wet surfaces.
Safety first.

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Did you ever wonder why your pads are wearing unevenly at each location? Could it be because you are replacing them one at a time?

 

It equalizes.
----------------

First pad replacement.
=============================================

What did you decide, Ski?

 

What equalizes ??
If you think that the pad wear equalizes between the wheels because of the system design.......you are SADLY mistaken.

 

Weird observation. I’ve been a part of many car forums over the years, and it seems like PriusChat contains the most arguments than I’ve ever seen anywhere else.

Anyone else notice the same thing or am I off base here?

Perhaps we’re all just more passionate about things on this forum lol.

 

Not weird ! Nuthing to do with your other friendly car forums. Or your many "years". Or your visions elsewhere ... How dare you compain about complainers !!!

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