I have an 06 EX L v6 with navi. I had my oil changed today and they tested the battery. They said I needed a new battery. I bought the car new in Dec 05 and have 78k on the car. I have maintained it according to the book and everything is stock as far as electronics go. Should the battery need replacement this soon?

It depends.
I've seen some batteries last 10 years or more, and some die in 2.

How did they "test" it. Using a tester that loads the battery with half of it's cold cranking amps, depending on outside temperature, can show it weak when its not. It all depends on who's reading the voltage at the end of the test. Or if they overloaded during the test the voltage can read too low. Many people (my boss included) have NO clue as to how to properly test a battery or alternator.

If a newer electronic tester was used, some work better than others.

Does your battery have one of those "eyes" on it. If so, what color(s) do you see?

It *could* be, as the temperature gets colder recently, are you noticing the engine cranking slower? Or if the headlights dim when the turn-signals are being used?

If so then it would collabrate with the testing the shop performed.

However my question would be why did the shop do a load test on the battery as part of oil change? Did you ask them to? It just sounded suspecious to me if you hadn't asked them to do so ..........

And if they did do a load test, then it means they likely would have disconnected the battery from the car, if so did they ask you for the radio code afterwards since the code would have been lost when the battery was disconnected, unless you were in a Honda dealership that had your radio code on file or can get it easily.

I am just skeptical given what you have described.

However my question would be why did the shop do a load test on the battery as part of oil change? Did you ask them to? It just sounded suspecious to me if you hadn't asked them to do so ..........

Every dealer I've ever used does this as a part of their oil/filter change...

I say replace it. 3 years and 78k can easily be the death of a 7th gen battery.

I recently had to replace my battery in my '06 EX-L V6, at 41K-ish miles. My AV6 was delivered new in March/April 2006. So I'd say you got more miles/time than I did.

On the plus side the replacement battery the Honda dealer sells is now warranted for 100 months, and I was told by the dealer (FWIW) that it was step up in quality from the original battery.

Another bonus is that it was as affordable as just about any other brand/place I checked. Something like $79 at my local dealer. An added bonus (to me) is retention of the OEM factor, which many people couldn't care less about. I kind of like to keep things original (this being said by someone who bolted a set of TL-S anti-sway bars & 6MT tower brace onto his car). :dunno:

I have an 06 EX L v6 with navi. I had my oil changed today and they tested the battery. They said I needed a new battery. I bought the car new in Dec 05 and have 78k on the car. I have maintained it according to the book and everything is stock as far as electronics go. Should the battery need replacement this soon?

Yes.

well, the battery died today and I had to call AAA battery replacement out to the house to replace it. My advice is that if you experience slow starting or anything else unusual on startup, check the battery. It was 15 degrees and a 20mph wind in the driveway. Fortunately for me, AAA did all the work.

LOL, you had AAA and you were worried about your battery? I would have taken my chances if I had AAA. I just carry jumper cables in the trunk. Last battery I got a jump and went to Autozone and changed it in the parking lot.

well, the battery died today and I had to call AAA battery replacement out to the house to replace it. My advice is that if you experience slow starting or anything else unusual on startup, check the battery. It was 15 degrees and a 20mph wind in the driveway. Fortunately for me, AAA did all the work.

I recently had to replace my battery in my '06 EX-L V6, at 41K-ish miles.....On the plus side the replacement battery the Honda dealer sells is now warranted for 100 months, and I was told by the dealer (FWIW) that it was step up in quality from the original battery.

Another bonus is that it was as affordable as just about any other brand/place I checked. Something like $79 at my local dealer.

Great info for my Accord's 2009 maintenance budget............

I hope they put it in for free (in other words circa $79 OTD)

thanks, ez....

Succinct, the warranty on the battery is 3 years-no mileage limitation. That was a freebee..right?
http://automobiles.honda.com/news/press-releases-article.aspx?Article=2006031670437

It's obvious these cars use up batteries pretty fast. My battery started causing problems at 4 years. I got a new one from Sam's for $45, and installed it myself (easy). It has more CCA than the original battery, but still probably will not last very long. I'm thinking Optima, for my next battery. Our alternators probably don't put out like they should. I certainly would not pay the dealership $100 for another weak battery.

Succinct, the warranty on the battery is 3 years-no mileage limitation. That was a freebee..right?
http://automobiles.honda.com/news/press-releases-article.aspx?Article=2006031670437
What your link shows is the new car warranty. My battery was a freebie for me b/c I had a certified used Honda (purchased at 14K in 12/2006), and I didn't know about your link. I left this out of my story previously so I could be 'succinct', but my local dealer denied my claim, saying my warranty on my battery was only good for the first 12/12. WTF, right?

So I appealed to American Honda Customer Care (1-800-xxx), and they sided with me (Certified extends the B2B warranty to 48K if car is purchased prior to 36K). They offered to either send a letter to my clueless dealer (Williamsburg Honda in Virginia), or just reimburse me for an OTC purchase upon my faxing them my receipt. I chose the latter. Had a check from Honda within 2 weeks, and it covered the core charge too. :thmsup:

The new Honda battery has a "100-month" label on it, which of course would apply only to the new battery purchased over the counter. The way I did it, I kept THAT warranty intact.

If you have a Costco membership, you may want to check out Kirkland's battery. The one I got for my '06 I-4 was only $60 with a 100-month warranty and 500CCA. That's pretty good, IMO.

I just put a new one in my wife's 2005 CR-V a couple weeks ago. Duralast Gold Top. $79 at Autozone. Much better CCA's and a decent warranty. (Wife runs her heated seats CONSTANTLY, not nice to a battery).

I recently had to replace my battery in my '06 EX-L V6, at 41K-ish miles. My AV6 was delivered new in March/April 2006. So I'd say you got more miles/time than I did.

On the plus side the replacement battery the Honda dealer sells is now warranted for 100 months, and I was told by the dealer (FWIW) that it was step up in quality from the original battery.

Another bonus is that it was as affordable as just about any other brand/place I checked. Something like $79 at my local dealer. An added bonus (to me) is retention of the OEM factor, which many people couldn't care less about. I kind of like to keep things original (this being said by someone who bolted a set of TL-S anti-sway bars & 6MT tower brace onto his car). :dunno:

Correct! My battery died after a few years and replaced by Honda. Then the battery died 13 months later (very slow cranking after sitting for 5 days), and Honda replaced it for free, noting a defective battery. They showed me the print-out confirming the weak voltage. Best to have Honda replace the battery.