REVIEW – Kirkland Battery from CostCo group 35
12-03-2013, 11:44 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
REVIEW – Kirkland Battery from CostCo group 35
This is a summary review of a battery used in my 2009 RDX for 8 months & 10K miles: Kirkland Signature p/n 12865 group 35, 640cca, purchased from CostCo in March 2013, price of $72 plus refundable core charge of $9. For more detail, see the following link:
HOW TO BUY A GOOD BATTERY:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14546038#post14546038@ 23 June 2013
MY CONCLUSIONS:
The price of the CostCo battery, versus the quality, is a good value in my opinion. And the warranty cannot be beat. And there is a CostCo store in almost every city of any size in the USA, so exchanging a defective battery should not be a problem.
However, if you want to purchase a battery and install and forget it for 3-years, I do not think that the CostCo Kirkland battery is a good choice. If you drive many short trips, the battery will require consistent trickle charging, to prevent slow discharge, sulfation, and eventual failure. And the battery will also require yearly water top-up. Otherwise, the battery is likely to fail before 3 years of use.
CONSUMER REPORTS RATING of COSTCO KIRKLAND BATTERY GROUP 35:
The Group 35 battery that I purchased from CostCo, for my 2009 RDX, was rated as a BEST BUY in the Nov 2012 issue of Consumer Reports, and fourth in quality, out of 9 recommended batteries. The July 2013 issue of Consumer Reports did *not* rate this same battery as a recommended-to-buy, and certainly not a best buy. So, in only 6 months, this particular battery went from *best-buy* to *not-recommended* status. There should be a current Nov 2013 Consumer Reports battery comparison, but I have not seen it.
In other words, unless a battery is consistently rated highly by Consumer Reports, over a significant period of time (years?), then the consumer should take special care in using the Consumer Report rating, when deciding which battery to purchase.
QUALITY CONTROL of COSTCO KIRKLAND BATTERY GROUP 35:
The first new CostCo battery that I purchased, in January 2013, was weak, and would not accept a full charge, even after daily driving and overnight (every-night) charging for a period of about 1-month. The battery was returned and exchanged for a second battery, which has been OK for the past 8 months.
The problem appears to be that retailers routinely change manufacturers, which can also mean a change in quality of the product (battery). So, maybe this year CostCo Kirkland batteries are made by Johnson Controls, but next year, who knows?
Also, the same manufacturer can alter the quality of the battery that is made for a given retailer. So again, maybe this year Johnson Controls makes the highest quality batteries for CostCo, but next year? Who knows?
Finally, determining the manufacturer of a retailer’s battery can be difficult. The OEM Acura battery delivered in my own RDX, had Johnson Controls printed on the battery. The CostCo battery referenced in this post, does not indicate the manufacturer. I have no idea who actually made the CostCo battery.
HOW WELL DOES THE COSTCO BATTERY HOLD A CHARGE?
My RDX is driven daily, but sometimes only for very short trips, sometimes only one mile one way: grocery store, exercise mall, CostCo, etc. Under these conditions, the CostCo battery requires charging overnight once weekly, to prevent sulfation from discharge. When driven on longer city trips, and especially during highway trips of 2K miles, there is no problem with the CostCo battery holding a charge.
By comparison, the OEM Acura RDX battery, manufactured by Johnson Controls, was used under similar conditions to the above. The OEM battery did not require consistent charging, until the fourth year of use. The OEM battery was replaced after 4-years of use.
The SOC (state of charge) of a battery is easily checked with a voltmeter. The SOC will indicate whether or not the battery is sulfating. As the battery voltage drops below the full SOC, indicating discharge, the battery begins to sulfate, which will eventually cause the battery to fail.
WATER USE of the COSTCO BATTERY:
After 8-months of use, the CostCo battery required 5-7 teaspoons (25-35ml) (1oz) of water to be added to each cell, or almost 6 ounces total. That is a lot of water. However, the amount of water above the top level of the cell plates would have allowed more water evaporation before the cells would have shorted.
By comparison, the OEM Acura Johnson Controls group 35 battery never required more than 5-10ml of water per cell, per year. And some cells required no water at all, in a given year. And the AC Delco low maintenance battery in my Chevy never required *any* water in the four years it was in use.
1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters
1 ounce = 30 milliliters = 6 teaspoons
**********************************
DANGER:
You should be wearing safety glasses or goggles when checking and connecting any charger to the battery, or doing anything with the battery. Remember, battery acid can cause blindness within a few seconds.
There are two basic problems that you face in purchasing a new battery.
Ø READ THE BATTERY DATE CODE: that new battery may be as much as one year old already, partially sulfated, and very unlikely to last the full warranty period. Unless you read the date code(s) on the battery, there is no way to know how long the battery has been sitting on the shelf.
Ø CHECK THE BATTERY FOR DEFECTS BEFORE INSTALLATION: that new battery may be one that was not caught by the manufacturer’s Quality Control check. Is the current SOC of the *new* battery the maximum, and can the battery accept a full charge?
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
LINK: how to care for your battery, plus trickle charger (and battery de-sulfate) review
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=775689
LINK: how to [read] battery date codes
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=775691
VOLTAGE TEST: how well does the RDX charging system work?
It’s the “smart” (dumb?) electronically-controlled small output 100amp alternator, the myriad of electronic gadgets in the car, as well as the ELD (electrical load detection) device – which limits alternator output to *save-gas*, while allowing the battery to run-down.
Look for a later thread on the ELD device, if you have no idea of what it is, or did not know there is one in your RDX. I was unaware of its existence, until after a discussion with the service manager at my local Acura dealer.
According to multiple posted complaints on this forum, the RDX does not keep its battery charged. This is normally blamed on the OEM battery. But really, if the RDX cannot keep a 440 cca OEM battery at full charge, what hope is there to keep a replacement 640 cca battery fully charged? True, the higher-amp battery will hold enough charge to start your car, for a longer period than the OEM battery, useful when parking at the airport lot.
But really, this is not rocket science. If the RDX alternator cannot fully charge a low amp-hour battery, how can it possibly fully charge a battery that is *50-percent-larger*. If the vehicle is driven on many short trips, any battery is simply going to slowly discharge, sulfate, and fail.
-----eof
HOW TO BUY A GOOD BATTERY:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14546038#post14546038@ 23 June 2013
MY CONCLUSIONS:
The price of the CostCo battery, versus the quality, is a good value in my opinion. And the warranty cannot be beat. And there is a CostCo store in almost every city of any size in the USA, so exchanging a defective battery should not be a problem.
However, if you want to purchase a battery and install and forget it for 3-years, I do not think that the CostCo Kirkland battery is a good choice. If you drive many short trips, the battery will require consistent trickle charging, to prevent slow discharge, sulfation, and eventual failure. And the battery will also require yearly water top-up. Otherwise, the battery is likely to fail before 3 years of use.
CONSUMER REPORTS RATING of COSTCO KIRKLAND BATTERY GROUP 35:
The Group 35 battery that I purchased from CostCo, for my 2009 RDX, was rated as a BEST BUY in the Nov 2012 issue of Consumer Reports, and fourth in quality, out of 9 recommended batteries. The July 2013 issue of Consumer Reports did *not* rate this same battery as a recommended-to-buy, and certainly not a best buy. So, in only 6 months, this particular battery went from *best-buy* to *not-recommended* status. There should be a current Nov 2013 Consumer Reports battery comparison, but I have not seen it.
In other words, unless a battery is consistently rated highly by Consumer Reports, over a significant period of time (years?), then the consumer should take special care in using the Consumer Report rating, when deciding which battery to purchase.
QUALITY CONTROL of COSTCO KIRKLAND BATTERY GROUP 35:
The first new CostCo battery that I purchased, in January 2013, was weak, and would not accept a full charge, even after daily driving and overnight (every-night) charging for a period of about 1-month. The battery was returned and exchanged for a second battery, which has been OK for the past 8 months.
The problem appears to be that retailers routinely change manufacturers, which can also mean a change in quality of the product (battery). So, maybe this year CostCo Kirkland batteries are made by Johnson Controls, but next year, who knows?
Also, the same manufacturer can alter the quality of the battery that is made for a given retailer. So again, maybe this year Johnson Controls makes the highest quality batteries for CostCo, but next year? Who knows?
Finally, determining the manufacturer of a retailer’s battery can be difficult. The OEM Acura battery delivered in my own RDX, had Johnson Controls printed on the battery. The CostCo battery referenced in this post, does not indicate the manufacturer. I have no idea who actually made the CostCo battery.
HOW WELL DOES THE COSTCO BATTERY HOLD A CHARGE?
My RDX is driven daily, but sometimes only for very short trips, sometimes only one mile one way: grocery store, exercise mall, CostCo, etc. Under these conditions, the CostCo battery requires charging overnight once weekly, to prevent sulfation from discharge. When driven on longer city trips, and especially during highway trips of 2K miles, there is no problem with the CostCo battery holding a charge.
By comparison, the OEM Acura RDX battery, manufactured by Johnson Controls, was used under similar conditions to the above. The OEM battery did not require consistent charging, until the fourth year of use. The OEM battery was replaced after 4-years of use.
The SOC (state of charge) of a battery is easily checked with a voltmeter. The SOC will indicate whether or not the battery is sulfating. As the battery voltage drops below the full SOC, indicating discharge, the battery begins to sulfate, which will eventually cause the battery to fail.
WATER USE of the COSTCO BATTERY:
After 8-months of use, the CostCo battery required 5-7 teaspoons (25-35ml) (1oz) of water to be added to each cell, or almost 6 ounces total. That is a lot of water. However, the amount of water above the top level of the cell plates would have allowed more water evaporation before the cells would have shorted.
By comparison, the OEM Acura Johnson Controls group 35 battery never required more than 5-10ml of water per cell, per year. And some cells required no water at all, in a given year. And the AC Delco low maintenance battery in my Chevy never required *any* water in the four years it was in use.
1 teaspoon = 5 milliliters
1 ounce = 30 milliliters = 6 teaspoons
**********************************
DANGER:
You should be wearing safety glasses or goggles when checking and connecting any charger to the battery, or doing anything with the battery. Remember, battery acid can cause blindness within a few seconds.
There are two basic problems that you face in purchasing a new battery.
Ø READ THE BATTERY DATE CODE: that new battery may be as much as one year old already, partially sulfated, and very unlikely to last the full warranty period. Unless you read the date code(s) on the battery, there is no way to know how long the battery has been sitting on the shelf.
Ø CHECK THE BATTERY FOR DEFECTS BEFORE INSTALLATION: that new battery may be one that was not caught by the manufacturer’s Quality Control check. Is the current SOC of the *new* battery the maximum, and can the battery accept a full charge?
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
LINK: how to care for your battery, plus trickle charger (and battery de-sulfate) review
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=775689
LINK: how to [read] battery date codes
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=775691
VOLTAGE TEST: how well does the RDX charging system work?
It’s the “smart” (dumb?) electronically-controlled small output 100amp alternator, the myriad of electronic gadgets in the car, as well as the ELD (electrical load detection) device – which limits alternator output to *save-gas*, while allowing the battery to run-down.
Look for a later thread on the ELD device, if you have no idea of what it is, or did not know there is one in your RDX. I was unaware of its existence, until after a discussion with the service manager at my local Acura dealer.
According to multiple posted complaints on this forum, the RDX does not keep its battery charged. This is normally blamed on the OEM battery. But really, if the RDX cannot keep a 440 cca OEM battery at full charge, what hope is there to keep a replacement 640 cca battery fully charged? True, the higher-amp battery will hold enough charge to start your car, for a longer period than the OEM battery, useful when parking at the airport lot.
But really, this is not rocket science. If the RDX alternator cannot fully charge a low amp-hour battery, how can it possibly fully charge a battery that is *50-percent-larger*. If the vehicle is driven on many short trips, any battery is simply going to slowly discharge, sulfate, and fail.
-----eof
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