Best replacement battery for Civic?

martindtjr

Senior Member
First Name
Martin
Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Threads
2
Messages
189
Reaction score
103
Location
San Diego
Website
www.flickr.com
Vehicle(s)
TYPE R 19, Sienna XLE15, Xa 06, Camry 92
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Not the Honda but when I replace the battery on my Elantra a after market battery didn’t fit good yeah I know an Elantra which there’s millions on the road. So I got the oem for that car and it fit perfect
Go with costco. 51R interstate battery.
 

ExVTEC

Senior Member
First Name
Elliot
Joined
Mar 5, 2019
Threads
42
Messages
806
Reaction score
605
Location
Ohio
Vehicle(s)
2019 CTR
Country flag
I had a 2013 veloster turbo and when the battery died I stuffed the biggest AGM battery that fit. I went from 440CCA to 760CCA. Big improvement especially here in Ohio. I would touch the start button and it would turn over very fast. Never hesitated.
 

Jimmyson27

Senior Member
First Name
Jimmy
Joined
Jan 5, 2019
Threads
31
Messages
134
Reaction score
18
Location
Milpitas
Vehicle(s)
Honda Civic Sedan 2019 Sprot
Country flag
Does the battery get used up more if electronic parking brake is used frequently?
 

LucidObscurity

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
California
Vehicle(s)
2016 Honda Civic Touring; 2018 Mazda CX-5 Touring
Country flag
In the market now for a new one for a 2016 Civic. Not too bad life for OEM considering I probably deep discharged it a few times messing w/the head unit ([cough] hondahack). Definitely go with Costco. It's $45 - $60 more anywhere else (Autozone, Walmart, etc.). If you don't have a costco membership ($60) well, maybe now's the time to get one since you can get a battery and membership at Costco for the same price as just a battery at Autozone. I will say, with these small batteries, you really can't monkey around in the car w/out the engine running for very long w/out discharging them...which they never fully recover from.
 


LucidObscurity

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2019
Threads
0
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
California
Vehicle(s)
2016 Honda Civic Touring; 2018 Mazda CX-5 Touring
Country flag
Does the battery get used up more if electronic parking brake is used frequently?
No, it doesn't require a charge to keep the parking brake on, but does use a bit to engage/disengage. Key thing with lead acid batteries, is they need to be kept "full" to have a long life. It's not like your phone where you can "kill" it and charge it back up to full...you have to keep them full.
 

FK7 Civic Pilot

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
229
Reaction score
169
Location
San Diego, Ca.
Vehicle(s)
2017 Civic Hatchback
Country flag
Costco Kirkland batteries were very good, and had a good warranty. Their batteries now are Interstate, which are rebranded Johnson Control batteries. Reason why they dropped the Kirkland branded ones was Interstate didn't want to honor the warranty period that came with the Kirkland batteries. Johnson Controls also provide rebranded batteries to BMW, Toyota, Walmart, as well as Costco. A lot of Johnson Controls batteries are made in Mexico, take it for what it's worth. My opinion is Interstate battery quality has been going downhill for the last 3 years, YMMV.
If you want a battery with better than OEM CCA, and an insane amount of reserve capacity, take a look at the Stinger SPV35. Average lifespan I've had with them in other cars has been about 9 years. Not the cheapest, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything that will outperform it:

Honda Civic 10th gen Best replacement battery for Civic? stinger SPV35
 

Gruber

Senior Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Threads
2
Messages
2,309
Reaction score
1,521
Location
TN
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring; 2009 Honda CR-V EX-L
Country flag
Costco Kirkland batteries were very good, and had a good warranty. Their batteries now are Interstate, which are rebranded Johnson Control batteries. Reason why they dropped the Kirkland branded ones was Interstate didn't want to honor the warranty period that came with the Kirkland batteries. Johnson Controls also provide rebranded batteries to BMW, Toyota, Walmart, as well as Costco. A lot of Johnson Controls batteries are made in Mexico, take it for what it's worth. My opinion is Interstate battery quality has been going downhill for the last 3 years, YMMV.
If you want a battery with better than OEM CCA, and an insane amount of reserve capacity, take a look at the Stinger SPV35. Average lifespan I've had with them in other cars has been about 9 years. Not the cheapest, but you'll be hard pressed to find anything that will outperform it:

stinger SPV35.jpg
It's hard to be convinced on the superiority of this Stinger battery by looking at the specs. It may last longer....maybe. But... Stinger specifies CCA at 438 and CA at 525. Insane as its reserve capacity might be, the Stinger website doesn't specify it.

A significantly cheaper Duracell battery sold by Sam's Club is offered for $104.54, guaranteed for 3 years, and it promises 500 CCA, 615 CA, and 75 minutes RC. It's a 51R, which means you just drop it in a civicx, while the Stinger SPV35 being 51, needs adapting for reverse polarity.

The internet seller you show apparently offers free shipping. But shipping a 30+ pound car battery ain't free, which means the battery really is sold for less than $140. So this battery turns out to be quite inexpensive, and not greatly specified, but somehow still much better than major brands.

I'm skeptical.
 
Last edited:

mvela

Senior Member
First Name
Mike
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Threads
17
Messages
1,178
Reaction score
630
Location
Orange, Tx
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic sedan lx 6mt and 2018 Honda Civic hatchback ex auto
Country flag
I have an opinion on this and it could be false but hear me out. I have the factory battery still in my civic going on two years. I use my battery a lot. I even got a 1000 watt sound system installed that pulls a bit on it. It hasn’t failed me yet. Now I was thinking about upgrading to stronger battery to see if I could minimize my headlights dimming at high volumes when my subs are hitting. But I have read that a new battery alone will not cure this because the halogen bulbs will always show any voltage fluctuation a bit. So I left it alone. But that got me thinking the main reason the battery is there is for starting the car. So the proper cranking amps is needed for your starter. Maybe giving it too much could cause the starter to fail prematurely. Think about it, most electronic devices fail from being overdriven with too much power. So if you ask me I think the oem battery is the best route to go.
 

Gruber

Senior Member
First Name
Mark
Joined
Jan 27, 2018
Threads
2
Messages
2,309
Reaction score
1,521
Location
TN
Vehicle(s)
2018 Honda Civic Sport Touring; 2009 Honda CR-V EX-L
Country flag
I have an opinion on this and it could be false but hear me out. I have the factory battery still in my civic going on two years. I use my battery a lot. I even got a 1000 watt sound system installed that pulls a bit on it. It hasn’t failed me yet. Now I was thinking about upgrading to stronger battery to see if I could minimize my headlights dimming at high volumes when my subs are hitting. But I have read that a new battery alone will not cure this because the halogen bulbs will always show any voltage fluctuation a bit. So I left it alone. But that got me thinking the main reason the battery is there is for starting the car. So the proper cranking amps is needed for your starter. Maybe giving it too much could cause the starter to fail prematurely. Think about it, most electronic devices fail from being overdriven with too much power. So if you ask me I think the oem battery is the best route to go.
As far as the ampere rating, no, it can't be too high. You can connect a nuclear power plant rated at five million amperes to the civic's starter and it won't blow as long as the voltage is 12 V or so. But if you put in the civic a battery that has too large capacity and then you only drive short trips or drive too few miles per month, the civic may not be able to charge it fully and it might have a shorter life. But if you drive enough, I don't see a problem with putting in a huge battery, except for the weight and space issues.

Regarding the dimming lights under load when you play a big amplifier, what would help is either a huge battery or a modest battery with an exceptionally low internal resistance. Stinger advertises this, but I'm afraid they might be really better than others only for their red series, which seems to be much more expensive. Every battery manufacturer is trying to minimize the internal resistance, because this is the number one parameter that separates the battery men from the battery boys. But it costs money.
 


FC3L15B7

I'm a machine.
First Name
Daniel
Joined
Nov 22, 2019
Threads
15
Messages
557
Reaction score
312
Location
Toronto
Website
www.youtube.com
Vehicle(s)
2020 Honda Civic 2 Door Coupe Si / 1993 Chrysler Intrepid 3.5L
Country flag
So I'm considering just abandoning the Genuine Honda Battery for a better battery with more reserve power for when I'm not driving it for a few days. Any suggestions from those who have upgraded their battery?
You don't need to. The genuine battery has 550 Cold Cranking Amps for a tiny 1.5L engine. 550CCA is enough to start a large V6 in -20°C weather after sitting for 2 weeks..or more.

You're better off investing in a trickle charger - in fact, Honda has one. I got it with my Winter Protection Package. I use it on my other car and it works very well.

Honda Civic 10th gen Best replacement battery for Civic? Honda-Charger
 
Last edited:

TypeSiR

Senior Member
Joined
May 15, 2017
Threads
67
Messages
2,091
Reaction score
1,689
Location
On a Twisty Road
Vehicle(s)
1.5T Civic, Fit, MX-5, CTR
Vehicle Showcase
3
Country flag
Pep Boys in the US is having a 25% off and can combine with rebates on some batteries. Just FYI.

Honda Civic 10th gen Best replacement battery for Civic? upload_2020-2-11_22-4-37
 

eee.ccc

Senior Member
First Name
Vale
Joined
Feb 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
107
Reaction score
17
Location
Canada
Vehicle(s)
2005 DC5, 2019 Si Sedan
Country flag
which battery did you get?

Looking under the hood it looks like my 2019 Si has the same battery size as the type R (oem) LN2 = H5 = group 47 ... is this true if I want to keep the dimensions the same?
Sponsored

 


 


Top