Bye Bye Optima

[Grit dog]

Personally I think Optima has been resting on it's "reputation" for quite a long time now. Certainly since well before they moved manufacturing.

Like 20 years! First Optima I bought after being bought out by Johnson Controls in the early 2000s was junk. As was the half dozen others or so I got replaced under warranty, until the last one, it lasted about 8 years. All red tops.
Tried yellow tops twice in the boat. Both were junk before they were even too old for Costco to refund the money.

I’m sure my experience is somehow worse than average but the consistency of poor quality was amazing. Heck I got a remanufactured fla battery in the 86 GMC 3 years ago and it still works!

 

[Grit dog]

Odyssey on the other hand, on my second set of those.
First set was in our boat for about 7 years and then in a diesel pickup for 3 more before they died.
Second set (Die hard re-branded Odyssey at the time) was new in 2014. Still working in the boat as of last month. I was going to flip them into our diesel truck OE batteries from 2016 just died. But they wouldn’t fit.
They are very good quality IMo.

 

[Grit dog]

Looks clean under the hood!
I’ve always used OE batteries, Honda, Mopar or Delco in this case, just seems proper. I have motorcycles and the last thing you want is a defective battery

I’ve had good luck almost across the board with OE branded batteries as well.
Just replaced the original batteries in our 2015 built 2016 Ram last month.
Found a screamin deal on 94R size ACDelco gold batteries.
Then found out they were cheap because they’re 3 years old new in box! Oops. Will see how they do.

 

[Grit dog]

I have an optima in my C10, been in there since 07! It's definitely one from before the buyout/move. I can't really complain about it but anyone I've known with one since about 2010-2012 hasn't gotten anywhere near the life out of one like I have. I haven't done anything special with it to keep it going either.

Now that I've bragged about it, it will fail next week I bet

The last warranty one I got was around 07-08 and it’s the one that lasted a long time in my (seldom driven) Jeep. And for several years I didn’t maintain it at all figured it would just die an early death like the rest. I only put it in there because the old Jeep battery died and the boat was layed up for the winter so it was convenient.

 

[SirRobyn0]

Like 20 years! First Optima I bought after being bought out by Johnson Controls in the early 2000s was junk. As was the half dozen others or so I got replaced under warranty, until the last one, it lasted about 8 years. All red tops.
Tried yellow tops twice in the boat. Both were junk before they were even too old for Costco to refund the money.

I’m sure my experience is somehow worse than average but the consistency of poor quality was amazing. Heck I got a remanufactured fla battery in the 86 GMC 3 years ago and it still works!

I agree with this, about 20 years, BTW wasn't Johnson Controls the same company that ran Excide into the ground?

 

[WFarm]

So the new Optima battery made the old battery cables look bad, so got a new set from Standard. Looked great, Red for positive, Black for negative. I installed them, but struggled to get the cable bolts started in the battery.

After that struggle I went to start the truck and it sounded like it was struggling. Put my tester on the cable bolt ends and it said 463 CCA, versus the almost 1000 before the new cables. Removed the battery cables and screwed in the lead charging posts and retested. 965 CCA.

After studying the cables and battery, it became clear that the cable ends could not pull up flush with the battery and make solid contact, so I rectified that with a box cutter. From the outside the cables look fine and now make great contact. Back to around 1000 CCA when tested from cable bolts!

 

[justhorns]

I have the second Optima in my wife's honda. The first lasted 10 years. She wanted me to put the same battery in, and I did, but, I have my concerns it won't last. Will report failure when it does.

 

[andybflo]

I've honestly not had any issues with Optima batteries.

Years ago, though, I burned two of them up in my antiques. While I was at SEMA, I spoke to the reps at their booth, and they asked what I was using for a trickle charger. I was using Battery Tender brand chargers; and they mentioned that was the cause. They apply a higher voltage that burns out the fiberglass in the battery.

They recommended switching the CTek chargers, and since then they've been flawless. Pricey when you need to buy seven of them, but cheaper than finding out your toy doesn't want to start. Including on an old Corvette that had a wicked parasitic draw that took me a year to get around to figuring out (literally lived on it's CTek when I wasn't driving it, it'd nuke a battery in two to three days), a '63 Impala 409 Ragtop that gets driven once a year (and run three or four times a year) with a 10-yo battery in it, my square, an old Citroen, a Porsche, a 61 Caddy, and everything that leaves the shop as my side hustle restoring/modifying/repairing old cars.

JCI is only one of three big battery manufacturers in the US. And they're the largest. Clarios, and Exide (East Penn) are the other two. Clarios has actually been making Optimas for the past few years, I believe. Even my Mercedes daily driver has a very euro-looking, MB branded, six hundred dollar OE battery in it. Made by... Johnson Controls Int'l in either Mississippi or Alabama (can't remember) and shipped to Austria for installation. (They're replace by Interstates)

I don't see higher failure rates in Optima than anyone else (I've probably bought/bolted in a hundred in the past decade.) They're all sketchy if handled improperly before you get them, and or if your charging systems toast them.

I've actually had higher failure rates with Interstate Deep-Cycle batteries on my sailboat than any Optima I've used; but I have a good Interstate dealer here who takes care of me. Boat is too old (too much ripple from the alternator/voltage regulator) to happily charge an Optima, and I'm not about to rebuild it's electrical system....

 

[Backfoot100]

I've honestly not had any issues with Optima batteries.

Years ago, though, I burned two of them up in my antiques. While I was at SEMA, I spoke to the reps at their booth, and they asked what I was using for a trickle charger. I was using Battery Tender brand chargers; and they mentioned that was the cause. They apply a higher voltage that burns out the fiberglass in the battery.

They recommended switching the CTek chargers, and since then they've been flawless. Pricey when you need to buy seven of them, but cheaper than finding out your toy doesn't want to start. Including on an old Corvette that had a wicked parasitic draw that took me a year to get around to figuring out (literally lived on it's CTek when I wasn't driving it, it'd nuke a battery in two to three days), a '63 Impala 409 Ragtop that gets driven once a year (and run three or four times a year) with a 10-yo battery in it, my square, an old Citroen, a Porsche, a 61 Caddy, and everything that leaves the shop as my side hustle restoring/modifying/repairing old cars.

JCI is only one of three big battery manufacturers in the US. And they're the largest. Clarios, and Exide (East Penn) are the other two. Clarios has actually been making Optimas for the past few years, I believe. Even my Mercedes daily driver has a very euro-looking, MB branded, six hundred dollar OE battery in it. Made by... Johnson Controls Int'l in either Mississippi or Alabama (can't remember) and shipped to Austria for installation. (They're replace by Interstates)

I don't see higher failure rates in Optima than anyone else (I've probably bought/bolted in a hundred in the past decade.) They're all sketchy if handled improperly before you get them, and or if your charging systems toast them.

I've actually had higher failure rates with Interstate Deep-Cycle batteries on my sailboat than any Optima I've used; but I have a good Interstate dealer here who takes care of me. Boat is too old (too much ripple from the alternator/voltage regulator) to happily charge an Optima, and I'm not about to rebuild it's electrical system....

Gotta agree with you. I got my first Optima red top for my boat. Years later I thought the battery was going bad so I swapped it with my truck battery and turned out to be the starter. Swapped it back (after replacing the starter) until my truck battery died. Then put it in the truck and ordered a new Optima for the boat.
That original Optima lasted 19 years. The second one is now 10 years old and still works perfect.
The only thing I make sure I use is a battery tender on it while the boat is not being used. I know its not a Battery Tender brand. I'd have to look at it to see what brand it is.

 

[MikeB]

WFarm -- That's a beautiful engine compartment you have there! Probably 1 in 50 that still looks stock like that.

I've never understood the Optima craze. I've been using batteries from Sam's Club and Costco since the 1990s. I'd estimate the average lifespan has been around 6-8 years in the Texas heat. And, believe it or not, one of the Sam's batteries lasted around 10 years. I think it was a Champion.

When I bought an 82 C10 years ago, this 12-month Budget Battery had already been in the truck for around 3 years. Have to say I was embarrassed to open the hood around other people, and I thought it would be one of the first things I'd need to replace. Well, 4 years later it finally died, but it never left me stranded. It just wouldn't hold a charge for more than a day or so. I replaced it with a 800CCA Interstate battery from Costco, which I expect to last at 6-8 years. Turns out I installed another 800CCA Interstate in my 69 C10 just last year. Man, that sucker will spin the engine over rapido, especially with my truck's new permanent magnet mini-starter.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[andybflo]

WFarm -- That's a beautiful engine compartment you have there! Probably 1 in 50 still looks stock like that.

I've never understood the Optima craze. I've been using batteries from Sam's Club and Costco since the 1990s. I'd estimate the average lifespan has been around 6-8 years in the Texas heat. And, believe it or not, one of the Sam's batteries lasted around 10 years. I think it was a Champion.

If your car is driven somewhat regularly I don't think there's too much difference (other than higher reserve capacity, and a few extra years longevity.) In the Buffalo area, my cars go to sleep in mid/late November, and don't come out until we've had a few good spring rains to wash the salt. That four/five month rest tends to kill a lead acid submersion battery quicker than AGM.

I'm sure some folks will disagree with me, it's just my experience with my toys and those I build. Your mileage may vary.

I truly wish they made a 6V unit for the two older GM products I have. But, I get that the market is miniscule, at best.

 

[MikeB]

If your car is driven somewhat regularly I don't think there's too much difference (other than higher reserve capacity, and a few extra years longevity.) In the Buffalo area, my cars go to sleep in mid/late November, and don't come out until we've had a few good spring rains to wash the salt. That four/five month rest tends to kill a lead acid submersion battery quicker than AGM.

You may be on to something there. But both of the trucks I mentioned along with a 55 Chevy car were not daily drivers. In fact, sometimes they didn't go out to play for weeks or months on end while I had one down for new mods, etc. But still, they never spent an entire winter sleeping like yours.

 

[WFarm]

WFarm -- That's a beautiful engine compartment you have there! Probably 1 in 50 that still looks stock like that.

I've never understood the Optima craze. I've been using batteries from Sam's Club and Costco since the 1990s. I'd estimate the average lifespan has been around 6-8 years in the Texas heat. And, believe it or not, one of the Sam's batteries lasted around 10 years. I think it was a Champion.

When I bought an 82 C10 years ago, this 12-month Budget Battery had already been in the truck for around 3 years. Have to say I was embarrassed to open the hood around other people, and I thought it would be one of the first things I'd need to replace. Well, 4 years later it finally died, but it never left me stranded. It just wouldn't hold a charge for more than a day or so. I replaced it with a 800CCA Interstate battery from Costco, which I expect to last at 6-8 years. Turns out I installed another 800CCA Interstate in my 69 C10 just last year. Man, that sucker will spin the engine over rapido, especially with my truck's new permanent magnet mini-starter.

You must be registered for see images attach

Thanks MikeB. Funny thing was when I brought the truck home to examine it before buying I wasn’t, at first, really interested in the engine as I was planning to drop a big block in it. But the more I looked the more I realized this truck is a bone stock survivor, right down to the emissions equipment. Somebody obviously treasured it and took great care of it and I didn’t have the heart to go messing with it other than a *lot* of cleanup and detailing. Plus it drives beautifully.

Did have the wife make me the air cleaner decal though. A mans GOT to have an air cleaner decal............lol

 

[REVINKEVIN]

Hey. I currently own 5 Optima batteries. They are junk. Ever since they fired all of their American workers and moved south, they have turned to trash. I even had to buy the $300 Optima battery charger. They should change the Optima Challenge from a car event to an event to see whose car will start in the morning. Optima, you are everything that is wrong with America.

 

[Doppleganger]

I've honestly not had any issues with Optima batteries.

Years ago, though, I burned two of them up in my antiques. While I was at SEMA, I spoke to the reps at their booth, and they asked what I was using for a trickle charger. I was using Battery Tender brand chargers; and they mentioned that was the cause. They apply a higher voltage that burns out the fiberglass in the battery.

They recommended switching the CTek chargers, and since then they've been flawless. Pricey when you need to buy seven of them, but cheaper than finding out your toy doesn't want to start. Including on an old Corvette that had a wicked parasitic draw that took me a year to get around to figuring out (literally lived on it's CTek when I wasn't driving it, it'd nuke a battery in two to three days), a '63 Impala 409 Ragtop that gets driven once a year (and run three or four times a year) with a 10-yo battery in it, my square, an old Citroen, a Porsche, a 61 Caddy, and everything that leaves the shop as my side hustle restoring/modifying/repairing old cars.

JCI is only one of three big battery manufacturers in the US. And they're the largest. Clarios, and Exide (East Penn) are the other two. Clarios has actually been making Optimas for the past few years, I believe. Even my Mercedes daily driver has a very euro-looking, MB branded, six hundred dollar OE battery in it. Made by... Johnson Controls Int'l in either Mississippi or Alabama (can't remember) and shipped to Austria for installation. (They're replace by Interstates)

I don't see higher failure rates in Optima than anyone else (I've probably bought/bolted in a hundred in the past decade.) They're all sketchy if handled improperly before you get them, and or if your charging systems toast them.

I've actually had higher failure rates with Interstate Deep-Cycle batteries on my sailboat than any Optima I've used; but I have a good Interstate dealer here who takes care of me. Boat is too old (too much ripple from the alternator/voltage regulator) to happily charge an Optima, and I'm not about to rebuild it's electrical system....

What model Citroen?