Have a 2005 Accord with a 4-Cyl, 52,000 Highway miles,and live in the south. The battery is the original battery. The "charge window that indicates the condition of the battery has not shown green for the past few months, yet the car starts and runs fine. The car is 2.5 years old. Should I replace the battery to be safe?

Mine did not have the window and crapped out almost three years on the dot. If the battery is sealed replace it with a better battery. Almost all aftermarket batteries are a step up from the original. Do some research and learn how to read a battery then step up to a better one.

If you want to be really sure, the best way is to take the battery to PepBoy, AutoZone, etc. to do a load test on their battery machine, it will tell you the state of the battery, if it's holding charge etc.

I'd be less worried if you live in a warm climate location such as California or Arizona, battery will last longer as they are not stressed as much as those in the cold climate.

That said the OEM battery in my 96' Integra lasted almost 8 years in pretty cold climate before I decided to change it, it was still cranking fine but would slow down a bit if I hadn't driven the car for a couple of days in the late fall, it was time as that battery didn't owe me anything at that point!

Actually warm climates can destroy a battery faster than a cold climate. Heat can kill a battery (physically), cold just reduces its effectiveness/efficiency. That's why many manufacturers have two versions of batteries they sell. One made for the north, one for the south. The northern ones have more plates (that are thinner) for increased CCAs, while the southern ones have less plates (that are thicker) for longevity.

I know DieHard (Sears) does this, and so does DuraLast (Autozone). Pretty sure there's a few others out there. According to Consumer Reports, the best models usually come from DieHard, Interstate, and EverStart.

(Not a full list -- requires subscription -- but it helps)
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/tires/auto-parts/car-batteries/car-batteries-sub/ratings/latest-ratings/auto-batteries-rate.htm

Hmmmm, didn't know that, learn something new everyday.

Thanks

The average is 3 years for most batteries, & yep, heat kills!!:yes:

The average is 3 years for most batteries, & yep, heat kills!!:yes:

oh no. i might need a new one soon :paranoid:

I still have the original in mine.... it's now been 4.5 years. But 3 IS the norm. I have no clue why mine is lasting longer.... I guess I'll blame global warming for our cooler Summers....:dunno:

Mine lasted 5.5 years. As mentioned above, get AutoZone or similar to test on their VAT. Also, the green dot is only looking at one cell - the other cells could be toast. That is why the green dot is worse than worthless.

Never trust that little window if you read it closely it will state its condition for testing purposes only on most of those with these windows.
The Honda battery is a good one, but like any other battery its affected by temperature, how often the car is driven how it gets charged under the hood, many little variables, on average a battery in an accord will last about 2 to 3 years, i found the honda batterys last as long if not longer than most others, also NAPA's 84 series battery has the highest reliability rateing of all batterys as of 2007 i got one in my truck a nd it works great oh yeas its made by exide, like many other batterys out there, just because it says DieHard, PepBoys, Auto zone Etc dosnt mean they make it infact Exide makes a great majority of batterys in vehicles today, trick is to ask the sales person who really makes the battery, a japan or us made battery will have less problems than a mexico made battery, oh yea some are make in china now go figure. Personaly i only use Honda, or Napa's Orbital or 84 serires, yea it cost a little more but i havnt been stuck yet. I have been stuck with tose cheap ass battery's you know the 49.99speacial yea right yopu get what yo u pay for so dont cry if you bought a cheep battery....Just my experiance.....

The battery on my wife's 2006 Accord was showing only black in the indicator window for the last few months. We noticed the engine turned over even slower than usual but the car always started. She had it checked when the oil was last changed and the dealer repaced it free of charge. The new battery says Genuine Honda on it but does not have an indicator window? It says 500 CCA and a 100 month warranty. Does anyone know if this battery is actually warrantied for 100 months or just for the remainder of the factory warranty?

Likely only the balance of the factory warranty.

You only get the full warranty on anything if you had paid for the replacement since at that point you are entitled to a reset of the clock on warranty duration calculation, otherwise the manufacturer is only obligated to the end of the original equipment warranty.

If its starting to crank slowly which is a commom sign that the battery is near the end of its servicable life, as far as a 100 month warrenty theres normaly a free replacement period like 18 to 24 to 36 months max depending on the battery and then the differance is based on proration, so as long as they can verify the instalation date you shouldnt have a problem but i would look at the battery to determine its age and just give honda a call so you can figure out the cost, alsoo note most places will want to test the battery first to make sure it is the battery not something else as bussiness's cant stay in bussiness if they just keep warrentying stuff so be prepaired for that but you shouldnt have a problem its a fast test, Oh yea battery warrenties are dated based on the Orriginal purchase of the first battery. It doesnt reset cause they gave you another battey just a word to the wise so be sure to ask them and get a clairity check so you understand the warrenty process this will save you time and hassle in the future.

I have never purchased a battery based on the those indicator windows and such. I always wait until the first time my car doesn't start before I begin to look for a new battery. Normally my factory batteries have lasted at least
5+ years. I just replaced the battery in my 01 Chevy in March of 07. I had a 90 Ford and changed the battery the first time in 95. Now let's see how long it takes before I have to change the factory battery in the accord and the f150.

Oh I am in Georgia by the way. So I am in the southern heat.

The battery in my '05 is (52K) dying, in the cold it's turning over slower & slower.

I will soon get a new battery for it, not sure from where yet. Does anyone know how to replace it without having to enter the radio security code & reset the clock & radio presets? There must be a way to do it. Do you hook a battery to the leads as you replace it?

There is NO WAY to do it without putting in the anti-theft codes unless you own a tool that a memory card just for that.

The battery in my '05 is (52K) dying, in the cold it's turning over slower & slower.

I will soon get a new battery for it, not sure from where yet. Does anyone know how to replace it without having to enter the radio security code & reset the clock & radio presets? There must be a way to do it. Do you hook a battery to the leads as you replace it?

I did it with the car running one time. Just the thought of it doesn't sound safe but it was over a year ago and so far nothing is broken.

I did it with the car running one time. Just the thought of it doesn't sound safe but it was over a year ago and so far nothing is broken.

I wouldn't recommend doing that way, as battery can absorbs any spikes in voltage.

What you could do is do same as you jump a car. 2 jumper wires, one would go from a battery - to body ground. the other from + terminal to positive battery cable just ahead of clamp.
then just remove old battery being careful not to jar jumpers an install new one. You would only need small motorcycle size battery as not much is running with key off.
They sell these things for that exact purpose, shouldn't be hard to find in tool catalog.

I personally would just reset codes, if you lost codes i believe dealer can help you.

the battery in my 05 I-4 LX went on Saturday. Drove fine earlier in the day, went to start it and nothing---no radio or horn either. Battery Indicator window went from green to clear. Replaced it with a Duralast gold from AZ at 84.88
NO NEED TO RESET RADIO CODE

FWIW checked the water level and i was DRY..... that's never happened in 38 years of drving(I started young-)

the battery in my 05 I-4 LX went on Saturday. Drove fine earlier in the day, went to start it and nothing---no radio or horn either. Battery Indicator window went from green to clear. Replaced it with a Duralast gold from AZ at 84.88
NO NEED TO RESET RADIO CODE

FWIW checked the water level and i was DRY..... that's never happened in 38 years of drving(I started young-)

LX/LP owners don't need to reset radio codes as there are none.
you can read it in the OM to .

On the cars with computers running them, changing the battery while leaving it running means you risk frying the computer or minimum the fuel relay.

Um like if it’s to difficult to reset the date and enter the five digit radio code on the card that came with the car then maybe you should take it to a profestional..Seriously! Please Never ever try to hook up two batteries at the same time if you don’t know what your doing, so use caution or you might inadvertently injure the car or worse your self, a neighbor of mine tried to do like the jump start method which is really fine if your very careful on older cars with very little electronics to damage and don’t mix up the positive and negatives, well my neighbor wasn’t so smart and did mix it up and needless to say the local fire department gave his 04 Cadillac a free exterior and interior car wash never did see that car again after that!!!!!
Another example is my friend at work got stuck in the parking lot at walmart so he was smart and got someone to jump start him which was fine but the brainiack sent in his wife to pick up a battery great, but he dicided to change it in the parking lot so he left it running and disconected the battery with the car running then hooked up the new battery great, now he tried to drive home with his wife and two kids well he didnt get far cause he fried his tranny computer cost about $1800 or so at the dealer to replace that was sad.
Please do it right id hate to see another Honda go to its grave cause of improper procedures!!!
So please unless you have totally allot of money and a good fire policy on your car id have someone a bit more mechanically inclined change the battery for you if your not sure about it, pay now or really pay later your choice!!
Oh yea those 9volt battery things they sell that plug into your cig lighter socket wont work on properly on a Honda or most any other Jap or Euro vehicle so don’t waste your time there either...their really meant for older us made (crap) cars that always have power to the cig lighter socket.

Um like if it’s to difficult to reset the date and enter the five digit radio code on the card that came with the car then maybe you should take it to a profestional..Seriously! Please Never ever try to hook up two batteries at the same time if you don’t know what your doing, so use caution or you might inadvertently injure the car or worse your self, a neighbor of mine tried to do like the jump start method which is really fine if your very careful on older cars with very little electronics to damage and don’t mix up the positive and negatives, well my neighbor wasn’t so smart and did mix it up and needless to say the local fire department gave his 04 Cadillac a free exterior and interior car wash never did see that car again after that!!!!!
Another example is my friend at work got stuck in the parking lot at walmart so he was smart and got someone to jump start him which was fine but the brainiack sent in his wife to pick up a battery great, but he dicided to change it in the parking lot so he left it running and disconected the battery with the car running then hooked up the new battery great, now he tried to drive home with his wife and two kids well he didnt get far cause he fried his tranny computer cost about $1800 or so at the dealer to replace that was sad.
Please do it right id hate to see another Honda go to its grave cause of improper procedures!!!
So please unless you have totally allot of money and a good fire policy on your car id have someone a bit more mechanically inclined change the battery for you if your not sure about it, pay now or really pay later your choice!!
Oh yea those 9volt battery things they sell that plug into your cig lighter socket wont work on properly on a Honda or most any other Jap or Euro vehicle so don’t waste your time there either...their really meant for older us made (crap) cars that always have power to the cig lighter socket.

right, the car was never meant to run off the alternator without a battery. without battery voltage will be to high an spike that can hurt components.
Also if your not familiar with battery terminals you shouldn't mess with it at all. Lets forget about car damage the sparks from incorrect hooking up can have battery explode on you which is real bad, so be careful.

Some shops have a device that maintains power to the systems while the battery's being swapped. Personally I see it as a safety hazard.

I never worried about it in my past vehicles because they all had backups built-in to the radios or the car itself that gave you about 15 minutes of time to switch the battery. I'm surprised Honda didn't do such a thing. Its a nice feature.

Actually many older 80s decade and very early 90s digital tuner radios had a back up built in on the circuit board, usually a small farad cap or a lithium cell, but the problem with these is that after a few years they would have a tendency to leak out and damage the board which would render the unit useless...The other problem was these internal batteries only got recharged up when the vehicle was running so if you decided to lets say go on a long vacation of a few weeks or longer the memory would be gone! and then guess what you would have to reset everything again anyway, where as hooked directly to the vehicles battery this would not happen.
So with the advancement of electronics to use little current, all vehicle audio manufactures OEM and aftermarket now hook up to the vehicles battery this solved the problem of having many destroyed and/or poorly opperating stereos after just a few years of operation.