Seeking AGM battery recommendations. What's good in 2024? Edit - got another Odyssey

[outback97]

Hey guys. I'm in need of a battery for my 2009. I bought it with an Odyssey Extreme 34R AGM that lasted ten years. Replaced it with a Duracell 34R from Batteries Plus, and after treating it the same way I treated the Odyssey battery, the Duracell died in about 13 months. Batteries Plus is doing nothing for me, and not honoring the "warranty" that was supposedly good to 2027, so I won't be buying anything from them.

The obvious answer is to get another Odyssey 34R because it was awesome for a decade, but the $400 price tag and some negative comments I've read online about declining quality over the last couple of years are holding me back.

The 2009 has a winch (which I never use, but may need some day) and we take it to more out of the way places, and on longer trips, so the slightly higher capacity of the 34R is appealing over the 24F size. Not sure I really need the 34R though, so I'm open to a 24F. I really wish Costco sold AGM's in sizes useful to us, because I love their generous replacement policies, but they seem to have abandoned AGM's.

What would you go with?

Edit: to bring this up to date, I ended up buying an Odyssey 34R AGM. Should be picking it up in a few days.

 

[ThatGuy]

Hey guys. I'm in need of a battery for my 2009. I bought it with an Odyssey Extreme 34R AGM that lasted ten years. Replaced it with a Duracell 34R from Batteries Plus, and after treating it the same way I treated the Odyssey battery, the Duracell died in about 13 months. Batteries Plus is doing nothing for me, and not honoring the "warranty" that was supposedly good to 2027, so I won't be buying anything from them.

The obvious answer is to get another Odyssey 34R because it was awesome for a decade, but the $400 price tag and some negative comments I've read online about declining quality over the last couple of years are holding me back.

The 2009 has a winch (which I never use, but may need some day) and we take it to more out of the way places, and on longer trips, so the slightly higher capacity of the 34R is appealing over the 24F size. Not sure I really need the 34R though, so I'm open to a 24F. I really wish Costco sold AGM's in sizes useful to us, because I love their generous replacement policies, but they seem to have abandoned AGM's.

What would you go with?

I have a 2 year old Odessy performance 34 that I love. Couldn’t find the extreme here and batteries are tough to get on the island. Accidently left my headlights on for 10 hours at work a few weeks ago. Still measured 12.8 v and cranked right up. I will never go back to the lead acid batteries

 

[xyoverland]

I would have suggested the one I have, but it’s the Batteries Plus brand (X2 Power). It’s approaching the year 4 mark with a 5 year warranty but I suppose the warranty doesn’t mean anything if they won’t honor it.

Is it the manufacturer warranty that they aren’t honoring? Or an extended thing they sell?

 

[Zack.]

I have interstate agm from Costco in my Subaru, and whatever the walmart branded agm in the Xterra because costco told me interstate discontinued the 24f size.

 

[outback97]

I would have suggested the one I have, but it’s the Batteries Plus brand (X2 Power). It’s approaching the year 4 mark with a 5 year warranty but I suppose the warranty doesn’t mean anything if they won’t honor it.

Is it the manufacturer warranty that they aren’t honoring? Or an extended thing they sell?

Thanks for the reply. Those X2's look nice.

It's the manufacturer warranty. Here's a summary of my experience with Batteries Plus.

I needed to get some tools from the 2009, but the remote wouldn't unlock the truck. Checked the battery and it was sitting around 2.5V. Way too low to even take a charge. I called BP to ask about their warranty, and was told if the battery is under 10V it must be neglect, and there's no coverage in that case. I brought it into the store and they attempted to charge it but it wouldn't take a charge. I later spoke with an employee at the store that said they've had several customers with similar batteries fail, and he said this wasn't a good battery unless you drove the vehicle every day.

In subsequent conversations with the store owner I explained nothing has been changed about the vehicle nor my process of periodically charging the battery. Nothing electrical or mechanical has been modified recently that would cause a parasitic drain. I hooked up to 12V power to verify that no interior lights were left on, they weren't. This truck does sit for weeks at a time and is only really used for road and camping trips, hence the periodic charging being necessary. But the situation has been like this since I bought it in 2018, the only real variable is the newer, now dead starting battery.

Basically they are sticking to the "neglect, warranty void" line. Add in the general shiatty customer service and inconsistent statements from BP employees, and it's made me not want to do business with them again.

 

[outback97]

I have interstate agm from Costco in my Subaru, and whatever the walmart branded agm in the Xterra because costco told me interstate discontinued the 24f size.

We also have Interstate (Costco) batteries in our Subarus, not AGM though. I've had good experiences with them.

I have had no luck finding 24F AGM's at the local Costco's I've looked at. Store employees don't seem to be able to do a special order for one, at least I've had no luck when I've asked. The Costco / Interstate battery site still lists them. I just looked online, and it looks like you can order online and have it shipped to you for $20 more than the listed in store price:

https://costco.interstatebatteries.com/home/results?key=auto&ZipCode=84107&l=84107&Program=100500&choice1=2366143&choice2=2367575&choice3=2367618&choice4=2367619&choice5=2367620&Country=US

I have no idea how the core charge works if ordering online, nor is there anything that says when this would ship. And if stores don't stock these, it's not very convenient if you need to do a warranty claim. I might try to contact Costco and see if they have more info.

 

[xyoverland]

That sucks about Batteries Plus. Definitely BS. I’d definitely reach out to Costco. When I was looking for that exact battery the guy at our store said they could order it to the store, and even looked up where I could get one in person, but it was two states away at the time.

 

[outback97]

Kind of an unexpected update. I called Batteries Plus to verify they had my dead battery so I could fetch it and at least use it for a core charge on the next from somewhere else. Kid at the store can't find it but takes my info down and will have the owner call me. He does and explains that he had just picked it up from the East Penn distribution center. They were able to force charge it back up to 12.6V. After load testing it dropped to 12.5V. The BP store owner told me that he wouldn't expect long term greatness from the battery since it was so far depleted, but it appeared to be somewhat working again.

I installed it last night, and drove to work this morning without issue. I don't trust this battery for extended off grid trips but for in town I'll drive it for a while and see what happens.

 

[xterrapnw]

For my 2012, I bought the group 35 Interstate AGM from Costco online. Works great. Returned my old battery in-store for the core charge, no problem.

 

[Kira]

The "charging profile" of a vehicle is a real thing and changeable.
It's good if Xterras are programmed for AGMs.

 

[dpow]

The "charging profile" of a vehicle is a real thing and changeable.
It's good if Xterras are programmed for AGMs.

I don't know if profile is the right word, but yeah you're not supposed to just drop an AGM into any ol car. AGMs charge at a lower voltage so they can pump in the amps. So more current and faster charging. You'll prob see something like 14.8a while charging then it'll read 13-13.5a at rest. 12a is "dead". But to your point, many cars should be modified for AGM if desrired. For my Taco, that meant adding a boost chip wired to the alternator to force it to keep the AGM charged up in the peoper 14a range. Otherwise you'll slowly kill your battery as the alternator only supplies voltage for the lead-acid it thinks you have. If anyone cares, I had to order mine from Australia at the time but I'm sure there's better and/or easier options out there now.

Thanks for the reply. Those X2's look nice.

The "charging profile" of a vehicle is a real thing and changeable.
It's good if Xterras are programmed for AGMs.

It's the manufacturer warranty. Here's a summary of my experience with Batteries Plus.

I needed to get some tools from the 2009, but the remote wouldn't unlock the truck. Checked the battery and it was sitting around 2.5V. Way too low to even take a charge. I called BP to ask about their warranty, and was told if the battery is under 10V it must be neglect, and there's no coverage in that case. I brought it into the store and they attempted to charge it but it wouldn't take a charge. I later spoke with an employee at the store that said they've had several customers with similar batteries fail, and he said this wasn't a good battery unless you drove the vehicle every day.

In subsequent conversations with the store owner I explained nothing has been changed about the vehicle nor my process of periodically charging the battery. Nothing electrical or mechanical has been modified recently that would cause a parasitic drain. I hooked up to 12V power to verify that no interior lights were left on, they weren't. This truck does sit for weeks at a time and is only really used for road and camping trips, hence the periodic charging being necessary. But the situation has been like this since I bought it in 2018, the only real variable is the newer, now dead starting battery.

Basically they are sticking to the "neglect, warranty void" line. Add in the general shiatty customer service and inconsistent statements from BP employees, and it's made me not want to do business with them again.

Dawg I don't even have a nissan and I made an account cus this is absurd. My Batteries+ replaced a 6yr old Duracell AGM that only had a 5yr warranty on the spot. Whoever you talked to at Duracell is a moron. That falls under a manufacturing defect. They cannot legally claim "misuse/neglect" in your case. Call the FCC tomorrow and tell them what happened. Don't worry if the warranty is now expired. Even if you've moved on and don't care, call and get your $$$ back at least.

Also +1 for Odyssey, I recently replaced my YellowTop (which I had to replace multiple times in a few years...not great) with an Odyssey Extreme 1500A/850CCA 4-Terminal and it's damn awesome. (despite the fact that my truck wants a 27F, I wanted to utilize the top/front terminal setup.)

If you stay with the bettery the manager recharged, pickup a Noco Genius (less than $50) so next time when it dies, and it will, you can just do it yourself. You can revive a normal 12v/6v or AGM with it, plus use it as a trickle if you want as well. I've saved friend's stuck in my driveway with battteries that dropped under 3v (!!!) with the Force feature.. Mounted it to a mechanics cart in my garge so I can just wheel it out to their dead car. Hell buy a GeniusX portable boost box too, everyone should have one in their vehicle imo. Thank me later when you're the last one to leave the event and not a souls around to give you a boost with cables. Ask me how I know.

 

[outback97]

Dawg I don't even have a nissan and I made an account cus this is absurd. My Batteries+ replaced a 6yr old Duracell AGM that only had a 5yr warranty on the spot. Whoever you talked to at Duracell is a moron. That falls under a manufacturing defect. They cannot legally claim "misuse/neglect" in your case. Call the FCC tomorrow and tell them what happened. Don't worry if the warranty is now expired. Even if you've moved on and don't care, call and get your $$$ back at least.

Also +1 for Odyssey, I recently replaced my YellowTop (which I had to replace multiple times in a few years...not great) with an Odyssey Extreme 1500A/850CCA 4-Terminal and it's damn awesome. (despite the fact that my truck wants a 27F, I wanted to utilize the top/front terminal setup.)

If you stay with the bettery the manager recharged, pickup a Noco Genius (less than $50) so next time when it dies, and it will, you can just do it yourself. You can revive a normal 12v/6v or AGM with it, plus use it as a trickle if you want as well. I've saved friend's stuck in my driveway with battteries that dropped under 3v (!!!) with the Force feature.. Mounted it to a mechanics cart in my garge so I can just wheel it out to their dead car. Hell buy a GeniusX portable boost box too, everyone should have one in their vehicle imo. Thank me later when you're the last one to leave the event and not a souls around to give you a boost with cables. Ask me how I know.

Thanks for your post, I appreciate it. Sounds like your store is better than mine. WhiIe I agree that my local B+'s handling of this was bullshiat, how am I going to get around this kind of exclusion to the "warranty"?

A battery with an open circuit voltage (OCV) of equal to or less than 10.0V for 12.0V rated batteries, equal to or less than 6.8V for 8.0V rated batteries, and equal to or less than 5.0V for6.0V rated batteries will be deemed as over discharged and void warranty due to improper maintenance of the battery.

I don't think I can just call up the FTC and get money back. But I might be willing to revisit this now that it's nearly winter and life is moving at a slower pace than the summer was.

I've got a few NOCO products... a Genius 3500 charger, a Genius 2D installed in one of our Subaru's, and a GB40 booster that we take with us when we head out of town.

I've been maintenance charging the battery every few weeks since this summer, and so far so good, but I know I don't trust it as much because of its history. Most of the "events" we attend are ones we invent, and there's no other people there by design, so I agree it's best to be self sufficient.

 

[outback97]

Bumping this yet again for an update. Since I don't trust the Batteries Plus Duracell I've been posting about, I figured I'd do what I probably should have done before and just get another Odyssey.

NAPA has a 20% off Black Friday sale that includes Odyssey batteries, so I opted to get one of the 34R Performance for around $260.

I couldn't really justify the extra $60 for the Extreme, but I am going to be investing in a maintainer / charger that is recommended by Odyssey for their AGM's. Thinking about the Schauer CM6A, or maybe an Odyssey branded CTEK. I like the fact that the Odyssey branded one can also do LiFePO4 batteries, since I don't currently have a charger that does those.

 

[Xterrorista]

I shopped around and went with this Duracell 24f agm cranking. Got it in cart and went down to store to purchase and of course they were sold out. Manager was swamped so I'll need to see about other options although I really want to p/u in person.

Duracell AGM Automotive Battery, Group Size 24F - Sam's Club

Buy Duracell AGM Automotive Battery, Group Size 24F : Automotive Batteries at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

 

[outback97]

I shopped around and went with this Duracell 24f agm cranking. Got it in cart and went down to store to purchase and of course they were sold out. Manager was swamped so I'll need to see about other options although I really want to p/u in person.

Duracell AGM Automotive Battery, Group Size 24F - Sam's Club

Buy Duracell AGM Automotive Battery, Group Size 24F : Automotive Batteries at SamsClub.com

www.samsclub.com

That's too bad, looks like a good deal.

My '06 has a Duralast Platinum AGM 24F I got from Advance Auto, but it looks like they're exluded from the 20% off sale that Advance is having.

 

[Xterrorista]

So, I saw this on a site with good reviews and it linked me to Amazon.
What say yous guys? I don't know anything about Lithium..

Limited-time deal: LiTime 12V 100Ah BCI Group 24 LiFePO4 Battery, 100A BMS Rechargeable Lithium Battery with Up to 15000 Cycles, 1.28kWh -Higher Energy Density, Perfect for RVs, Van, Trailer, MotorHome and Boats https://a.co/d/8cmNsaq

 

[xyoverland]

So, I saw this on a site with good reviews and it linked me to Amazon.
What say yous guys? I don't know anything about Lithium..

Limited-time deal: LiTime 12V 100Ah BCI Group 24 LiFePO4 Battery, 100A BMS Rechargeable Lithium Battery with Up to 15000 Cycles, 1.28kWh -Higher Energy Density, Perfect for RVs, Van, Trailer, MotorHome and Boats https://a.co/d/8cmNsaq

For what purpose? That can’t be used as a starting battery. If as a secondary battery, I have their 230ah in mine and it’s performed flawlessly so far.

 

[Xterrorista]

Ah, ok. I wondered. I don't need an additional battery yet, just a starting.

Question: if I just purchased a 240a alternator and get the battery from Sams I posted a cpl posts back that was out of stock, would I still need to periodically charge it with a stand alone charger? I'll be daily driving the X..

 

[IM1RU]

Steve, try these guys.

Continental Battery Systems of Salt Lake City1760 W Redwood Depot Ln Ste 6 Bldg DSalt Lake City UT 84104-3698

Phone: 360-946-7496

 

[outback97]

Ah, ok. I wondered. I don't need an additional battery yet, just a starting.

Question: if I just purchased a 240a alternator and get the battery from Sams I posted a cpl posts back that was out of stock, would I still need to periodically charge it with a stand alone charger? I'll be daily driving the X..

IMO you shouldn't need to charge it if you're daily driving, as long as you're driving enough for your alternator to keep it charged up. Keeping in mind that I know little about what I'm talking about, I'll share my experience with AGM batteries below.

'09 with Odyssey AGM: Never had any problems, even without daily or even weekly driving, though I did put a charger on it about monthly if sitting for long periods of time. The battery lasted about a decade and still wasn't completely dead at that point.

'09 with Duracell AGM: It only lasted about a year and then pretty much flatlined, though it was sort of brought back by forcing a charge at a local service center. I think it was faulty... this battery and the lousy service from Batteries Plus is what this thread has been mostly about.

'06 with Exide 24F AGM: This lasted 8 years without any supplemental charging, at least by me. It was installed by the previous owner.

'06 with current Die Hard 24F AGM: 2.5 years so far and doing great, haven't needed to charge it.

So IME no, you shouldn't need to charge it. Just buy from somewhere that will actually step up if you need warranty service.

Steve, try these guys.

Continental Battery Systems of Salt Lake City1760 W Redwood Depot Ln Ste 6 Bldg DSalt Lake City UT 84104-3698

Phone: 360-946-7496

Thanks, good reference for the future, as I hadn't heard of them. I edited the thread title to reflect that this weekend I bought another Odyssey from NAPA since they had a sale on them. Should be able to pick it up from them this week.

 

[xyoverland]

IMO you shouldn't need to charge it if you're daily driving, as long as you're driving enough for your alternator to keep it charged up. Keeping in mind that I know little about what I'm talking about, I'll share my experience with AGM batteries below.

'09 with Odyssey AGM: Never had any problems, even without daily or even weekly driving, though I did put a charger on it about monthly if sitting for long periods of time. The battery lasted about a decade and still wasn't completely dead at that point.

'09 with Duracell AGM: It only lasted about a year and then pretty much flatlined, though it was sort of brought back by forcing a charge at a local service center. I think it was faulty... this battery and the lousy service from Batteries Plus is what this thread has been mostly about.

'06 with Exide 24F AGM: This lasted 8 years without any supplemental charging, at least by me. It was installed by the previous owner.

'06 with current Die Hard 24F AGM: 2.5 years so far and doing great, haven't needed to charge it.

So IME no, you shouldn't need to charge it. Just buy from somewhere that will actually step up if you need warranty service.


Thanks, good reference for the future, as I hadn't heard of them. I edited the thread title to reflect that this weekend I bought another Odyssey from NAPA since they had a sale on them. Should be able to pick it up from them this week.

I’d agree with this. With my new alternator I see voltage around 14.4v so the AGM should be getting topped up without a charge

 

[Xterrorista]

I’d agree with this. With my new alternator I see voltage around 14.4v so the AGM should be getting topped up without a charge

I know Google doesn't know everything, but when searching I've come up with several posts from reputable sites stating we should still be charging our AGMs periodically..

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

I've been going through exactly this as well. My Yellow Top 34/78 decided to give me a hard time last week and tested it to be borderline weak and bad. It's sadly 6 months outside of warranty. I know what people have been saying for decades but I've never had issues with their batteries in like 20 years and typically lasted several before needing to be replaced. This is the first that failed early, but maybe it didn't like sitting between the Xterra and the R51, maybe it's working too hard for the VK, maybe it doesn't like the MPPT I installed this summer. Too many variables and excuses.

Anyway, I've wanted to try Odyssey batteries forever but it never did, usually need to replace it in a pinch and Yellow Tops can be had locally, Odysseys need to be ordered online or when I did look for them locally, had a $200 markup. This will is still ok but doesn't like the cold and sitting for over a day or two. As I'm leaving for my parents Sunday, I ordered an Odessey yesterday (with 3 days of shipping) and will get shipped. The Optima will get me there, especially as the temps warm up from Quebec to Ontario. The Odessey has extra aH which is nice but the extra 100CCA will definitely be good for the V8. I'm also running Group 34 batteries as they work to fit my dual battery setup.

 

[outback97]

I know Google doesn't know everything, but when searching I've come up with several posts from reputable sites stating we should still be charging our AGMs periodically..

Yeah I've seen the same, and I definitely don't know as much as google. But in my personal experience, no problems as long as you're driving enough and frequently enough to give the alternator time to charge it. Of course there's probably not much downside to occasionally topping it off.

My commute is about 13 miles one way and takes ~25 to 30 minutes. That seems like it does a decent job of charging. My wife's commute however is like three miles and ten minutes at best, and she does a lot of short errand trips, so we occasionally charge the (non AGM) battery in the car she usually drives.

I've been going through exactly this as well. My Yellow Top 34/78 decided to give me a hard time last week and tested it to be borderline weak and bad. It's sadly 6 months outside of warranty. I know what people have been saying for decades but I've never had issues with their batteries in like 20 years and typically lasted several before needing to be replaced. This is the first that failed early, but maybe it didn't like sitting between the Xterra and the R51, maybe it's working too hard for the VK, maybe it doesn't like the MPPT I installed this summer. Too many variables and excuses.

Anyway, I've wanted to try Odyssey batteries forever but it never did, usually need to replace it in a pinch and Yellow Tops can be had locally, Odysseys need to be ordered online or when I did look for them locally, had a $200 markup. This will is still ok but doesn't like the cold and sitting for over a day or two. As I'm leaving for my parents Sunday, I ordered an Odessey yesterday (with 3 days of shipping) and will get shipped. The Optima will get me there, especially as the temps warm up from Quebec to Ontario. The Odessey has extra aH which is nice but the extra 100CCA will definitely be good for the V8. I'm also running Group 34 batteries as they work to fit my dual battery setup.

Nice, I hope you have good results with the Odyssey. Got mine installed and charged up and so far it's holding steady on the voltage, unlike the faulty Duracell it replaced.

I've been working through reading some of your Frontrailer thread, good stuff!

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

For a follow up, I installed the Odessey over the holidays. I needed to modify my dual battery rack as it's about a 1/4 wider at the base. On the plus side is that the truck loves it. It never started to good, and were in the winter and also had some pretty deep cold spells. Unsure if there was something wrong with that Optima from the day that I installed it into the truck, but the difference is huge.