Optima Battery Bites the Dust

[Sy777]

Last august (2008) I bought a optima yellow top battery for my wifes car. Well this thing just ate it after a year and I paid alot more for it. We had better luck with the factory battery that came with the car. Now the advanced auto says that there is only a 1yr warranty on the battery. What really sucks is if I go to optima's website and go to warranty it says that If the battery was purchased after 2/1/09 there is 36 month free replacement...if battery was purchased prior to that there is a 12 month free replacement 24 month prorated warrranty. I had a optima back in 2000 and it was in my s10 when I sold it 6yrs later and still going strong. Now this one craps out right after that 12 month free replacement runs out.

All I can say is autozoe (with all the hate I have for that place) has a battery that is more than 50% less money and it has a 36 month free replacement and 8yr proreated warranty. Go figure. If they give me another optima I'll take it but I will not spend another dime on one.

 

[gkrcr882]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

Hmm. I haven't had a problem with mine (red top), and it's seen blazing heat and extreme cold. I've also had good luck with other Interstate batteries (Interstate & Optima are one in the same, both owned by Johnson Controls).

 

[BoostedSUV]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

Optima batteries are terrible! I've gone through so many in my racecars and street cars. Once they lose their charge they're done! I will never buy another one

 

[sharkbait]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

ive been moving the same red top for 4 years. i swear. it was in a 1992 maxima that threw a belt and ran with no ps ac water pump or alternator. i drove it from work on the batt alone. the motor smelled like a mess and a block before my house the batt died. i charged it on my batt tender for 2days...........bam, right backing into another car. still got it.

 

[neo71665]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

Once interstate took them over they went to crap. They have cheapened out and started using inferior supplies. More and more companies are producing batteries out of the states with red lead thats not worth a crap for fishing weights much alone battery components.

 

[warmpancakes]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

call optima they will swap it for ya, or worse case its prorated so a new one will cost 20.00 FYI yellow tops are not for starting

 

[1madgumby]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

LOL. ok, IM on my 3rd. one & only paied 1 time & got mine from Advanced. Now if you tell them you want Another Battery of the same style ( yours is A yellow top ) You just pay A pro rate chage for it. My last 2 only cost me A total of $3.00 ( $1.50 Ea. ) Because of the pro rate, & they were both over A year old. I would take it to A different Advanced auto, I save my Reciepts witch helps also. just my ,02

 

[sy1907]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

my optima red's have sucked. Gone through quite a few while chasing voltage issues. Changed to a new brand and no troubles.

 

[BoostedSUV]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

I've had 3 go bad in my El Camino that just sits in the garage... The radio memory will drain it down after a month and it's done! I've even tried keeping it on an automatic trickle charger and I still couldn't keep them up! Maybe it's because the car sits more than it drives but I just can't keep a charge in them for long. Like I stated before, once they're dead they never come back and hold a charge for more a week or so! I've had 3 warrantied but I would never pay for another.

 

[warmpancakes]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

if you have a optima thats dead you need to charge it in series, IE hook a charger to it then use jumper cables off a charged battery to trick the optima, works perfect and has saved alot of "junk" batteries

 

[gaugeprower]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

I bought a red-top from sams club and it crapped out in 2 days.. dont know why... swapped in a yllow top and never looked back, and i've beat the crap out of it with the audio equipment i have installed...

 

[Flyin Ryan]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

I've been through six redtops over the last seven years.. I've come to realize that if you let them fully discharge even one time it's trash. If in a truck stored use the correct trickle charger recommended by them and you won't have a problem.

They did at one point have an issue with a patch of them as well... it was from one date to another don't remember but you could prob google it. If yours falls with in that date it would be replaced on them so might be worth checking out although I think that just applied to redtops

 

[alwayscode390]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

Dont use a red top in a car thats NOT a daily driver.

It makes me feel better that all of you are saying the same thing. I have had battery after battery become trash after letting the vehicle drain them one time from sitting too long. I have had 3 die in 3 different cars. I guess its MY fault for not starting the cars to recharge the battery , but read my first sentence again, lol.

Bummer stuff ---

 

[AXXE]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

I was about to buy and Optima. F*** that now. Thanks for the info.

 

[Lowsonoma03]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

I bought a Red Top a lil over a year ago. It crapped out on me recently. Then when i was charging it, i forgot about it on the charger and cooked it! (35-40 minutes @ 40A) My fault for over charging it, but it shouldnt have died that quick. So now i'm out a $150 battery

 

[Sy777]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

UPDATE! After advanced let it charge for 24 hrs the verdict is that the battery is bad. This thing is a little more than 1 month out of the free replacement warranty and advanced will not help me with the prorated stuff. Guess I'll be talking to optima next. I only bought the yellow top because that what was available for that style battery in the car. Note: THis battery has never been completetly discharged due to leaving on the lights ect. It just quit!

 

[TYTILIDIE]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

That sucks man, I was there with mine about 4 months ago but luckily I am loved at my local Auto zone and they swapped it out with a Duralast.

 

[JSM]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

Been through a few optima's lately myself, all within warranty. Won't be spending anymore money on them. 1st one I got lasted 7 years, now I am feeling good if they last 7 months.

 

[gaugeprower]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

so I'm guessing ive had no problems with the yellow top due to it being a "deep cycle" battery? Everyone seems to be having a problem with the red-tops due to a complete discharge...

also, whats with the blue top? I've seen them in a couple trucks before too...i know that its a marine battery, but why blue in a truck over yellow?

 

[gstacky]

Re: Optima Battery Bites the Dust

Blue Tops are deep cycle, supposed to be great for R.V.'s and boats, anything that has accessories that run on batteries, but they too are crap. If they die once they are done, like all optima batteries. Save your money and never buy an optima battery. Even Interstates aren't what they used to be. Find a delco or anything other than an optima.