Hi Scotty,
My 5 year warranty car battery for my 2004 Matrix has just passed the 6 year mark and it still has a cold 12.5 V, and passes all of the checks on my battery tester. My car is garaged in Seattle, WA, so it rarely sees high temperatures.
If I checked my battery every month or so would I likely catch performance issues before it went dead on me? Would you recommend replacing the battery as a preventative measure?
To know for sure, take it to any major parts store and have it LOAD TESTED for free. That will tell you the condition. And you can decide from there.
I'd definitely have it load tested. My old 1994 BMW 540i in 2013 had a battery that was from 2006. It seemed fine until I put the load from the security system on it for 8 hours, once. It almost killed the battery and barely started that day. The new battery didn't care that the alarm system was activated for a work shift.
The load tests say it is fine.
You're in a relatively stable climate area, and it's in the garage, so it'll probably last a bit longer. Longer drives are better than short ones. I'd check it at least every season or so to be safe.
I would keep using it as long as it works. I've had them last up to 8 years or so. You will get some advanced warning of failure.
The moment you have trouble starting in the morning, or un-explainable extended cranking, then start thinking about a new battery.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
12.5v... good enough which is about 75% charge left and keep checking is like every 6 months. if it touch 12v which is dead battery
my car have lead acid motorcraft battery and is 4 years old which needing be replaced. I ordered xs power agm battery. Been told that XS Power is very reliable and can last up to 10 years or more before needing be replace
Don't believe everything you're told.