This is my first Subaru, so I can't comment on its batterry life, but for all my other vehicles, I wait until the batteries died refore replacing.

I do carry around one of those portable power units which allows me to jump the car (and help stranded folks) if/when the battery go kaput. Very usful item. Saves time and aggravation.

 

All I can say is, it depends. I've seen some go as early as a year for some reason and others last for years and years. My F-XT seemed to have problems during cold snaps so I went and swapped out for a Optima:

http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4405

Other reasons like no battery acid to deal with made me want to change.

 

My 2000 Forester battery here in Florida lasted 4 years and was diying but not dead when I replaced it. The oem battery was a Panasonic. I think possible the reason for some bad oem batteries is the jerks who drop them during the install & dealers who leave them sit in a discharged state on the lot. JMO

 

Here in the desert, 2 years on the stock battery is about standard. If you do replace, go with a premium battery, Red/Yellow Top Optima or equivalent.

 

The stock battery in my '96 Impreza was still good in '03 when it was replaced with a Optima redtop that was moved to the trunk. The car had been in a variety of climates during it's life, Utah, Florida and Chicago.

 

Battery life depends on climate. Hotter areas have shorter battery life. I have batteries lasted between 3 (most likely defective) to 8 years. Even for maitenance free batteries, if there're openings on them, add distilled water yearly up to level will help.

 

Next time you bring your car in for service, ask them to put a load test on the battery. They will tell you how the battery is.

 

Seems like once a starting battery has accidentally been run flat as few as 2-3 times (leaving the lights on, etc.), the overall life is also shortened considerably.

A big thumbs-up to Subaru for idiot-proofing the ignition switch so that all external lights go off when the key is removed, otherwise I'd be replacing the battery already, too...(and no, I nevarrrrgh use the 'parking light' switch, or I'd be forgetting that, too!)

 

x2 on the climate being a factor.
My '96 Saturn SC2 (which I traded in for the FXT) went through a battery every 2 years like clockwork.
I'm just a month past the FXT's first birthday, so I've no current data to provide yet.

 

Interesting question for the Forester is new to me as of February plus being an '06.. In my prior 59 yrs of cars & trucks basically they lasted 6 or 10 yrs. My motorcycles seem to have a 8 or 10 yrs life.

I got to thinking of all the lights on a stock X2500, the overhead lamps, the alarm system in action each time to lock up your car plus the clock & all of those are draining the battery.

So twice since I have lifed up the hood & put the small 1.25amp Battery Tender into use showing it was charging & around 2 hrs later on the battery is up to snuff. Think I will keep on doing that.

 

my stock RS battery lasted till ~90,000 mi (only 3.5 yrs), I replaced it with an Autozone Duralast that just quit after another 3.5 yrs but only 26,000 mi. I do run an underdriven crank pulley and that may explain the shorter life but damn, 90k out of the OE unit is pretty impressive.

 

I simply replace them every 3 yrs. and don't have to worry. Optima Red Top is best.

 

9 years ; 92 K miles on my Forester L. The OEM (panasonic) started dying last week so have replaced with a Everstart Maxx. Guess it had a good innings.

 

Optima Red Top here that is 8 yrs old 144,700kms in the Forester plus about another 80,000 in the previous Subaru Liberty, I ditched the factory matchbox battery it was going to wear out the starter before it died.

:catfight: when the Minister for War & Finance found out what I paid for it though.

:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

 

What is an Optima Red Top worth?

I'm still on the original battery as it is only 2 years old but if it is like all the other batteries I've had in my 37 years of car ownership I'm only confident of having it for 1 more year. Usually I go to start the car one day and there is nothing - no warning that failure was about to occur. Then it's a call to the RACQ and no real chioce of what to put in as a replacement.

 

My OEM battery died this past winter. '04 XT with roughly 80K on the clock when it went south.

-Brian

 

I have found it is usually time, not distance, that sets the life of an auto battery. I have found that in the cheaper end of the market that offers a 2 year warranty that anything more than 3 years is a bonus. Once I never owned a car long enough to see the 3 years out but now I'm a bit more sensible about the value and rewards of long term ownership I'm seeing how that assumption is true. I have had the Camry V6 for almost 12 years and 292000 km and this was its 4th replacement battery.
( Its first cam belt replacement last month is almost freakish too - bet no one has ever left a cam belt go that long:icon_question

 

Why is red top better than yellow top? IIRC, another car forum, I frequent, prefers (collectively) the yellow top.

 

They had the Yellow Top too and it was more than $100 cheaper. Does price=quality? I have always worked on the assumption that you get what you pay.