How Long Does a Car Battery in a New Car Last?

Though battery problems are often associated with cold weather, Consumer Reports magazine says heat is a bigger enemy of car batteries and will take a bigger toll on performance and reserve capacity. The magazine recommends that vehicle owners in hotter parts of the country have their car battery tested after two years of ownership and then every year after. Those who live in colder areas can wait four years to test performance and capacity, and then every year after.

"Heat kills batteries," according to John Banta, a Consumer Reports project leader and part of the team that tests batteries for the magazine. "Many times in cold climates your battery fails to start your car on a below-freezing day. The reason this happens is that the heat of the past summers has weakened your battery. When you use it in the cold, the starter requires more electrical current to turn over the cold engine with its thickened oil."

Testing a battery's performance and reserve (or amp-hour) capacity is not just a matter of seeing whether it will hold a charge (or checking the electric eye found on some batteries to see if it is green), so testing is best done by an auto technician.

Does My Car Need Synthetic Oil?

If your car's owner's manual says it does, you do.

For many consumers, whether to spend extra money for synthetic oil for an oil change is a difficult question to answer.

Manufacturers of synthetic oil promise more miles and better performance when compared with conventional motor oil, but it comes at a higher cost — sometimes twice as much per oil change. Is it worth the extra money?

Typically, high-performance vehicles will be more likely to require synthetic oil, as will vehicles that have a turbocharged or supercharged engine. However, if your vehicle does not require synthetic oil, the choice is trickier - and there is no clear answer.

Synthetic oil generally resists breaking down for longer than conventional motor oil (typically 7,500 miles to 10,000 miles, sometimes up to 15,000 miles, as opposed to 3,000 miles to 7,500 miles for conventional oil). That makes the extra cost a wash, if you have half the number of oil changes, but each one costs you twice as much. Other touted benefits include cleaner engines, better flow in cold temperatures, better protection when it's hot outside and better performance with turbocharged engines.

There are also synthetic blends. As the name implies, these are blends of synthetic and conventional oils. They straddle a middle ground — they cost more than conventional oils but less than full synthetics, and are said to last longer than conventional oils but not quite as long as synthetics — but again, that's a hard number to pin down since manufacturers are vague with their claims. An independent testing lab we spoke with said that synthetics often didn't perform much better than conventional oils do.

Still, older engines may benefit from synthetics because it is less likely to form sludge.

If your car doesn't require synthetic oil you should perform a cost/benefit analysis, but that can be difficult to do due to vague claims made by manufacturers. There may be no reason to spend more on synthetic oil, except for peace of mind.

2016 Chevrolet Colorado DURAMAX

This great 2016 Chevrolet Colorado DURAMAX 4WD Z71 is waiting for you! Features include: remote start, heated seats, leather seats, Trailer tow package, Reverse Camera, and 4 wheel drive. Learn more here.

Stunning!

640 hp Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500

Body Style     Pickup - Full Size
Year     2011
Make     Chevrolet
Model     Silverado 1500
Package     LT
Mileage     35,548
Engine     5.3L V8
Fuel     GAS
Transmission     AUTOMATIC
Drive Type     4 WHEEL
Color     BLUE
Interior     BLACK
VIN     1GCRKSE3XBZ201936
Stock Number     14379

2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT

If you like variety in your full-size pickup, the Chevy 2013 Silverado is a virtual quick-change artist. Numerous bed lengths, body configurations, axles and cabs are available from the Silverado options list, as are many interior upgrades and E85-compatible engines.