How Often To Change Your Battery

 

If you have average driving habits around Rockville Centre and Garden City, experts say you should replace your battery about every 4-5 years. Get more details and nuances about car batteries at Land Rover Freeport and reach out to your local authorized Land Rover service center!

How to Know If Your Car Battery Needs to Be Replaced

It’s always smart to be on the looking for warning signs from your vehicle. Here are some indications to pay attention to that your battery is failing:

  • Headlights are dimmer than normal
  • An increased need for engine revving or jump starts
  • Starting the engine takes longer
  • Unusual power fluctuations in the electrical systems

What Causes Car Battery Deterioration?

There are some factors that may cause your car’s battery life to be shorter than the average estimated time. Be sure to consult your owner’s manual for more specific details.

  • Heat: If you live in a hot climate, the heat can cause car battery liquids to evaporate faster.
  • Vibrations: If your battery wasn’t installed tightly enough or you drive frequently on bumpy roads, vibrations of the battery can cause battery parts to break down.
  • Needing a Jump: If your vehicle has to be jump-started, this can shrink battery life significantly.
  • Time: Just like a laptop battery, a car battery has a finite number of charge cycles before it dies.

How to Test a Car Battery

If you aren’t sure how much life your battery has, try some of these battery testing methods at home:

The Headlight Test:

  1. Turn on the engine and make sure the car is in park.
  2. Turn on the headlights, and rev the engine.
  3. If the headlights brighten when the engine revs, this indicates a weak battery–if the battery was in optimal conditions the headlights would be at full brightness even when the engine is not revving.
  4. Bring your vehicle in for a battery inspection at your service center and possible battery replacement if you notice this, to avoid being stranded with a dead battery on Massapequa roads.

Using a Digital Multimeter:

  1. Make sure the voltmeter is set to 20 DC volts.
  2. Open your vehicle’s hood and locate the battery terminals.
  3. Touch the negative meter probe to the negative battery terminal.
  4. Touch the positive meter probe to the positive battery terminal.
  5. While the meter probes are still touching their respective terminals, have someone else turn the headlights on and check the voltmeter reading.
  6. At 80℉, 12.5 volts or higher means your battery is fully charged.
  7. 12.3 volts means it’s at about 75% charged.
  8. 11.8 volts or lower means you have 25% or less charge.

How Much is a Replacement Car Battery?

  • Normal car batteries: usually between $75 and $120
  • Performance-focused or luxury vehicle premium batteries: up to $200
  • Hybrid car batteries: anywhere between $1000 and $6000

Batteries for hybrid cars are much more expensive because they are a much larger power source for their vehicles.

Rely on Land Rover Freeport for Your Service Needs

If it’s time for you to replace your battery in Freeport, be sure to schedule service at Land Rover Freeport!

 

Land Rover Freeport 40.656671, -73.588915.