We Should All Be Speeding
 

I was shocked this week when I took my relatively new 2019 car in for it's 15,000 mile maintenance checkup. The tests showed my battery was just about dead. It registered a "1" on the "1 to 10" scale. The technician told me that the constant short low-speed trips we all take in the Villages combined with the heat kills our car batteries.

I also found a bunch of information that said cars need to go over 40 mph to heat up enough to burn up contaminants and clean out our engine and keep all systems running optimally.

We are killing our cars and let's face it, 35 mph is artificially slow for the major through roads like Buena Vista. 40 mph makes much more sense and will save us money and aggravation. A car needs exercise too and now that the Villages are so big you can travel long distances under 40 mph every day of the week.

So $280 later I say tell the nice officer that you are "speeding" for the health of your car. He will understand.

I guess every once in a while we need to evacuate the bubble, get on I-75 or the Turnpike, and let her fly for an exit or two.
Sounds like a good excuse to find some good restaurants.

OP, what is the make and model of your car?

This is true for all cars. Driving them for only short distances means that the engine and moving parts rarely get up to full operating temperature, which can be harder on cars than not driving them at all. And it's not just the battery. It is the entire vehicle.

We use the golf cart for everything in The Villages and fire up the Rav4 for a trip to Orlando and back about every two weeks.

I have a diesel BMW that will start to run a little rough if I don't give it a run on I75 occasionally. One time I almost caught up to an 18 wheeler.

Not the car speed, it's the engine RPM.

4 years is not an untypical life expectancy for a flooded lead acid car battery in hot climates. It sounds like your battery went south a bit prematurely. You may do better with an AGM battery. I have averaged about 7 years for my car with an AGM battery. If you are doing a lot of short trips then change your oil more frequently - use the "severe driving condition" recommendation in your owner's manual. If your car has a maintenance minder then it will consider your driving conditions when it alerts you to do maintenance.

So the plan should be to red line it on Morse?????:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

At least our golf carts don’t suffer from underuse or not going at their designed speeds.

Get out on 441 once and a while..

Sorry that you car battery failed after only two years but may I add to your mechanic's reply.

First, if you car is under 36 months, you "may" be still covered under your new car's warranty, as other factors may of killed your newish battery, such as an alternator going out, loose defective belts or relay switches.

GENERALLY speaking, many car batteries used in new factory cars, such as in your situation are not necessarily of the highest quality nor fitted with a battery with the highest stored amperage hours. To save weight and cost, many new car batteries are as small as possible to conserve weight which contain minimal amperage hours.

Additionally, the combination of the Florida's sun and the constant use of the A/C will quickly drain any battery. I hope you spent a few extra dollars and replaced your dead battery will an efficient one.

A suggestion. As you car battery begins to age and your mechanic states that your battery will need to be replaced soon, start shopping for a good quality battery on sale. Then buy the battery and store it until needed. Rarely does a battery die and immediately need replacement when the new batteries go on sale. It's also very simple to replace a car battery.

Also, Walmart batteries are identical to the large brand name batteries costing almost double and Walmart will install the battery for free.

Just a FACT I drive a 2013 Toyota Prius on a recent service visit I questioned my Auxiliary 12volt power system this runs the engine. Hybrids have a drive system battery along with a separate 12volt battery. With 8 years and 125,000 miles on the vehicle.
The Auxiliary battery has a 10 year/100,000 warranty it’s not a Lithium battery.
The Hybrid drive batteries are have a 10 year/100,000 warranty my Brother in law is pushing over 200,000 miles with hybrid 2008 Prius batteries. Guess we are on borrowed time.

We have a 2017 Nissan Murano bought new that we brought with us when we moved here in 2018, still have the original battery. You could have had a defective battery but something smells wrong. I don't know what the 1-10 rating is but I would think if it was that low on the scale the car wouldn't have started. Were you having problems with it? What car do you have?

And if you have a Sam's Club membership is another reasonable place for battery
replacement.

I had mine replaced free install at Sam's somewhere around $100.00.

A friend of ours went to a Buick dealership and paid $500.00 plus installation.

This just tells me you are not using your golf cart enough. Only use your car when you leave the reservation.