After getting my 8-year-old original battery tested (it had 515 amps), I decided to go for this X2 Power Premium AGM BCI battery. At Batteries+ it has a free 5-year non-prorated warranty. Based on the research that I did, this battery doesn't use recycled lead like a lot of the other batteries, is American-made, and is super-heavy--59.5 pounds. It is about twice as heavy as other batteries. It also has more cold crank amps than any other battery that I could find, at 840.

https://www.batteriesplus.com/productdetails/sli24agmdp

If you order online, you get a 10% discount right off the top. I can't believe how much brighter my headlights appear and how the dashlights are brighter. I would be interested to know if anybody else has had experience with this battery.

 

So, this is a good example of what I mean by the $$ comfort for peace of mind. There is no right or wrong answer, but it's important for people to have awareness and make a decision based on their own situation, location, and need for protection. So let's compare...

I just looked up the X2 Power Premium AGM Battery. This is a $309 battery minus $30 discount, so we'll call it $279, and we'll leave out taxes, core fees, labor (if any) for this example. BTW, this is a Good price for an AGM battery, but follow me...

X2: $279 / 5 years = $55.8 per year of warranty value, 840 CCA, full replacement no proration
Duralast Gold: $159/3yr = $53yr for 1-3yrs and prorated 4-5, 700 CCA

if Both batteries fail within 3yr, then either customer gets full replacement and X2 customer paid a 75% premium. if both fail at 4yr, then X2 gets full replacement and D-Gold gets a 50% prorated ($159 / 24 =$6.625 month x 12 months = $79.5), so X2 pays a 17% premium. The X2 becomes valuable if the battery dies in the sweet spot from 4yr up to 5yr. If the battery dies at 57 months, then the X2 gets full replacement and the D-Gold pays $139 for a replacement. So the D-Gold customer is out $298 and the X2 customer is seeing the benefit of his investment. On the other hand, If Both batteries die after 5 years, then both have full cost to replace and the clock restarts, only this time the margin of $$ separation in the cost of the batteries widens. Assuming the customer buys the same battery, then X2 is out $558 (assumes 10% discount comes back around) and D-Gold is out $318. That's $240 D-Gold savings over two batteries compared to X2. The D-Gold customer could buy a 3rd battery and still have saved money over the lifetime value.

So provided the CCA is sufficient with both batteries and this is simply a cost model, then D-Gold has the financial advantage in years 1-3 and post 5yr. The X2 only has the advantage at year 4 up to 5yr.

That said, like I commented in my previous post, a lot of batteries fail somewhere in that 4yr timeline. My battery suppliers know this and are trying to sell people that "insurance" of buying the higher rated battery and justifying the premium on the protection. It's a 1:5 dice roll and In my corporate technical experience, it's not worth it over the long term.

So it's like buying an insurance policy related to peace of mind and becomes a buyer's decision based on their situation, location, and need for protection. Everyone has their own needs and opinions, but it's best to know the math and make the decisions eyes wide open.

Good Luck...

 

Hi pvsmith, Is your car AWD? Did it fit just nice or you need some adjustment? Any special precautions before changing the batteries? Hoping not to lose all the presets, etc...

 

Sadly, I don't believe Sears sells the rebranded Odyssey batteries under the Diehard Platinum name any more.

 

I had to reset the radio presets and seat memory.

 

Mainly because they are going out of business and won't be selling any batteries anymore

 

Looks like the new toyota true start brand batteries are not an option. Since no group 34 size. But do have 35 size

https://www.toyota.com/toyota-owners...nal%5B1%5D.pdf