How many years does a car battery last?

A battery is a consumable — sooner or later it needs replacing. The question is: when? Average life is 4–6 years, but the real time depends heavily on how and where you drive.

What shortens a battery’s life

• Short city trips — the battery doesn’t manage to recharge
• Frequent, deep discharges (e.g. stops with loads on)
• High summer temperatures that speed up ageing
• Start-stop systems that heavily load the battery
• Parasitic drain — power draw while parked

Why heat harms more than frost

Contrary to intuition, it’s summer, not winter, that wears the battery most. High temperature speeds up the chemical processes and electrolyte evaporation. Winter merely reveals the effects of that wear, because that’s when the battery has its hardest task.

How to extend its life

• From time to time cover a longer route to recharge the battery
• Don’t leave loads switched on while parked
• Keep the terminals clean and tight
• React to the first signs of wear

Cars with start-stop wear the battery faster and require a special type of battery — that’s a separate, important topic.

A battery has no fixed expiry date — you write its life yourself by the way you drive.

If your battery is a few years old and shows signs of wear, we’ll select and replace it with call-out.