Replace original 2 year old battery as a precaution?

[mis3]

Is battery covered in the warranty? Extended warranty?

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[djasonw]

The battery on my 16 Touring lasted 2.5 years in the South Florida heat.

 

[ebhaynz]

To the OP MichaelC: I think it's great you're considering replacing the battery before you turn your EX-T over to your daughter. I guess if I was in your situation I'd make sure all the fluids are topped off, rotate the tires, replace the battery, detail and then turn over the keys. Nice to keep the Honda in the family!

 

[zroger73]

Is battery covered in the warranty? Extended warranty?

In the US, the 12-volt battery is covered for 3 years or 36,000 miles.

In Canada, the 12-volt battery is covered for 3 years with no distance limit.

The extended warranty (Honda Care in the US or Honda Plus in Canada) does not cover the 12-volt battery.

Replacement Honda-branded batteries come with a 100-month warranty with free replacement for the first 36 months and prorated replacement for months 37-100.

 

[mis3]

In the US, the 12-volt battery is covered for 3 years or 36,000m miles.
In Canada, the 12-volt battery is covered for 3 years with no distance limit.
The extended warranty (Honda Care in the US or Honda Plus in Canada) does not cover the 12-volt battery.

Thanks. I am hoping that the extended warranty covers the battery. BTW. Where did you get this information? I tried Honda Canada site but did not find the information.

Are our batteries AGM, gel or wet-cell?

 

[zroger73]

Thanks. I am hoping that the extended warranty covers the battery. BTW. Where did you get this information? I tried Honda Canada site but did not find the information.

Are our batteries AGM, gel or wet-cell?

Re-read my post. Honda's extended warranty does not cover the 12-volt battery.

I was mistaken about Honda Canada's battery warranty - I didn't read the fine print...

"Battery****
3 years / No Distance Limit

****100% -2 years with no distance limit. 50% - 3rd year with no distance limit excluding labour."

https://www.honda.ca/owners/warranty/standard-warranty

So, your new vehicle limited warranty in Canada covers 100% of the battery and labor for the first two years. For the third year, the battery is covered at 50%, but the labour is not covered.

The Civic uses a conventional, FLA (Flooded Lead Acid) "wet cell" battery.

 

[mis3]

Thanks again, Zroger73.

When the time comes, is there a problem to use AGM as a replacement? AGM is supposed to be superior to operate in areas with vast variances in temperatures between seasons.

 

[charleswrivers]

Thanks again, Zroger73.

When the time comes, is there a problem to use AGM as a replacement? AGM is supposed to be superior to operate in areas with vast variances in temperatures between seasons.

I'd still take Flooded over AGM personally 9 times out of 10 for a car... for cost/performance/longevity... so long as I was using it for it's automotive starting purpose primarily. The reserve capacity if you *really * need some juice on AGMs is usually a lot lower because it holds a much smaller volume of electrolyte... though it does come back better from deep cycles than flooded. If you let it sit on the charge and it pops it's reliefs and you lose some gas/electrolyte... you've lost what limited capacity you had and there's no way to replenish because it's sealed... using the O2 recombination cycle to keep going. Flooded just gas out when charging... making top offs with DI a possible necessity.

A good read for general battery info. I linked up the AGM page specifically but there's worlds of knowledge (and opinions, on the forums... some right... many wrong and a lot of folks talking about buying this product or that. A battery needs very little actual maintenance or stuff added. You can get those desulfating pulse chargers... but it's a mixed bag whether they help. I *do* have one though. I use it for deep cycle batteries.).

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/absorbent_glass_mat_agm

If you start with a good battery and don't deep cycle it or short trip it to death... where it is never able to reach a full state of charge following start... they should last through their entire warranty period generally before they have issues. Living in a hot climate *will* kill them quicker. We see every +20F ambient half a battery's service life. It's just the way it is. Flooded are actually *better* in that regard... because when they gas... they can reject their heat slightly better. In the sealed battery, they don't gas, so the heat is more trapped.

 

[mis3]

Zroger73:

I checked the link https://www.honda.ca/owners/warranty/standard-warranty and I am clear on the battery.

I am interested in what extended warranty covers. Is there a site for this? For instance, I want to see if water pump is covered in the extended warranty.

 

[zroger73]

Zroger73:

I checked the link https://www.honda.ca/owners/warranty/standard-warranty and I am clear on the battery.

I am interested in what extended warranty covers. Is there a site for this? For instance, I want to see if water pump is covered in the extended warranty.

The water pump is covered by the standard, 5 year, 100,000 km powertrain warranty and is also covered by the Honda Plus extended warranty.

The Canadian Honda Plus extended warranty is a "stated component" warranty which means that only what is listed is covered (brochure attached).

The US Honda Care warranty provides "exclusionary coverage" which means everything except what is specifically listed as excluded is covered.

Interestingly, the Canadian Honda Plus warranty does not cover the audio system or any LCD displays (such as the instrument cluster or display audio screen), satellite radio, or inputs jacks. It also doesn't cover mechanical components of the moonroof and LED lighting is only covered for 1 year or 20,000 km in Canada (that must suck for 9th gen Accord owners with LED DRL failures!) The US Honda Care warranty covers all this.

 

[mis3]

Interestingly, the Canadian Honda Plus warranty does not cover the audio system or any LCD displays (such as the instrument cluster or display audio screen), satellite radio, or inputs jacks. It also doesn't cover mechanical components of the moonroof and LED lighting is only covered for 1 year or 20,000 km in Canada (that must suck for 9th gen Accord owners with LED DRL failures!) The US Honda Care warranty covers all this.

According to this site https://www.honda.ca/owners/warranty/honda-plus/extended-warranty, electrical is covered by the extended warranty? Infotainment is part of electrical, right?

 

[Schmullis]

Definitely replace the battery before she goes off to school. Otherwise, it will probably die in the winter when she's heading out for a class or exam. 3 years is the average life span of these batteries. Since you own this car, don't get a Honda battery, get one with more CCAs.

 

[mis3]

I would not change the battery until the 1st sign of weakness.

My previous car was a Mercedes and it was my daily commute for 14 years. The first time I changed it was just for preventive maintenance. There was no sign of weakness but I changed it anyway after 5 years.

Another 5 years went by, one day I waxed my car and left the radio on, I could not start my car after an hour. This was a definite sign of weak battery so I changed it soon after.

BTW. The battery of my MB (CLK350) was located in the front engine bay.

 

[MichaelC]

I tested the battery with the load tester over the weekend, and it's still strong... I'm going to test again before she leaves in August, and if it's marginal, I'll replace it. Otherwise, she'll be back home every few months to visit, so I'll test then as well. Worst case, she does have Honda's roadside assistance.

 

[mis3]

I tested the battery with the load tester over the weekend, and it's still strong... I'm going to test again before she leaves in August, and if it's marginal, I'll replace it. Otherwise, she'll be back home every few months to visit, so I'll test then as well. Worst case, she does have Honda's roadside assistance.

Makes sense. No point to change the battery if it is still going strong.

For my previous car, the MB dealership quoted me almost $300CAN for OE battery. Based on a recommendation of a MB technician, I went to a local battery shop and I paid $80CAN for a new battery. That battery lasted me 5 years. BTW. That battery store is a dump and they must have a few hundred batteries inside. Funny thing was the battery had no brand label on it, the guy actually asked me what label I wanted. Kinda shady but the battery did last me 5 years.

I went to the same store for the 2nd battery and they gave me an AGM which costed only $30 more. This one lasted me 4 years, up to the day I sold my car. Needless to say, I would go to the same store when it’s time to change battery for my Civic.

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