[rdugar]

The alternator on our 2010 Odyssey went bad, and the car stopped while driving. We were advised that the alternator and likely the battery needs replacement.
The battery is a Autocraft Gold 750 CCA about 19 months old with a 3 year replacement warranty. I asked Advance Auto Parts and they said they would replace it if bad or charge it.

Also have a AAA membership that allows them to come and replace the battery for free or charge it. They said they will install an Exide battery.

Don't have any idea of how good the Exide will be compared to the Autocraft. Of course it depends on the type, and I have no way of knowing that.

So what should I do - take the trouble to take the Autocraft to AAP and get a replacement, or as AAA to replace my battery? How does Exide compare to Autocraft as a brand?

 

[WiiMaster]

No clue on the battery, but make sure your new alternator is a Denso alternator. Don't waste your time and money on anything else.

 

[rdugar]

No clue on the battery, but make sure your new alternator is a Denso alternator. Don't waste your time and money on anything else.

Thanks. Planning on getting a remanufactured Denso from a local repair shop.
Just don't want to pay for a battery when I have options to replace it under warranty.

 

[dvpatel]

AAA won't give you the battery for free. You still have to pay for the battery. They will simply install it for free. You get the alternator replaced, if the battery is shot, get the shop to jump it and then head on over to Advance to get them to test and replace it. Not sure why you're overthinking this.

Exide is also good. Most batteries made by Johnson Controls or Exide. Sams has Exide and Walmart has EverStart Maxx and Advance has Autocraft Gold, Costco, Autozone are all made by Johnson Controls if my memory serves me right.

** Edit **

What to Look for in a Battery

When choosing among replacement batteries, the freshest battery with the largest reserve capacity is the better choice. Also, of course, the battery must have the correct physical dimensions and have a cold cranking capacity that meets the needs of your climate.

www.cartechbooks.com

 

[jiantao]

The alternator on our 2010 Odyssey went bad, and the car stopped while driving. We were advised that the alternator and likely the battery needs replacement.
The battery is a Autocraft Gold 750 CCA about 19 months old with a 3 year replacement warranty. I asked Advance Auto Parts and they said they would replace it if bad or charge it.

Also have a AAA membership that allows them to come and replace the battery for free or charge it. They said they will install an Exide battery.

Don't have any idea of how good the Exide will be compared to the Autocraft. Of course it depends on the type, and I have no way of knowing that.

So what should I do - take the trouble to take the Autocraft to AAP and get a replacement, or as AAA to replace my battery? How does Exide compare to Autocraft as a brand?

Curious how many miles were on the van when the alternator died?

 

[geotek]

The alternator on our 2010 Odyssey went bad, and the car stopped while driving. We were advised that the alternator and likely the battery needs replacement.
The battery is a Autocraft Gold 750 CCA about 19 months old with a 3 year replacement warranty. I asked Advance Auto Parts and they said they would replace it if bad or charge it.

Also have a AAA membership that allows them to come and replace the battery for free or charge it. They said they will install an Exide battery.

Don't have any idea of how good the Exide will be compared to the Autocraft. Of course it depends on the type, and I have no way of knowing that.

So what should I do - take the trouble to take the Autocraft to AAP and get a replacement, or as AAA to replace my battery? How does Exide compare to Autocraft as a brand?

Most batteries in the USA are made by Johnson controls or exide. They both have some plants in America, but also have sites all over the world. Brand names switch between them. Autocraft is made by Johnson controls now. If this autocraft fails in 19 months, I think I would go with the exide. I would rather not deal with a dead battery, than save on warranty.

 

[jiantao]

It's likely that the alternator killed the battery. I'd just get it warrantied. All batteries are more or less just okay, there's no spectacular brand really.

 

[thscott]

It's likely that the alternator killed the battery. I'd just get it warrantied. All batteries are more or less just okay, there's no spectacular brand really.

I totally agree. Batteries are commodities. Sort of like buying a banana. Look for the freshest at a good price. Brands or warranties don’t matter.

 

[marvinstockman]

Unless your battery discharged many, many times because of the bad alternator, it is probably perfectly fine. Replace the alternator and drive on.

 

[WiiMaster]

Bad alternator can lead to a bad battery and a bad battery can lead to a bad alternator.

Bad alternator means the battery isn't being charged so it gets repeatedly discharged, which is never good for a battery.

Bad battery means the alternator is always having to charge up the battery, which isn't good for the alternator.

 

[jiantao]

^ yes, this - batteries are not designed to be fully discharged and even discharging it once can reduce its overall lifespan.

The previous owner of my Odyssey had the dealer install a new battery in January 2018 (battery mfg sticker says November 2017). It's an OEM Honda battery that I think is manufactured by Interstate?

The original alternator in the van needed replacement sometime in 2019, so the battery survived the alternator replacement, apparently, and hasn't given me any issues since I bought the van a year and a half ago.

Anyways, it's coming up on 4 years old, so even though it had no signs of any problems, I thought it might be a good idea to swap it out soon. Just happens so that I have a 2011 Mazda CX-9 that I'm selling that has the same exact battery size, that has an Exide battery with a sticker that says "shipped May 2020". So I swapped the two batteries last week. Since the Exide battery is only about a year old, it'll probably last me another 2 or 3 years.

I just hope nobody asks me why my Mazda has a Honda branded battery...

 

[btatbui2017]

I would get the free replacement battery from Advance Auto if you can. Advance Auto old Autocraft Gold battery is very resilient. Unless, that battery has been completely drained 4-6 times, Advance Auto will recharge that old battery and will test good. If the battery is completely drained for an extended period of time, then it will fail. My brother donated his beat up car with a drained battery of nine months. He did get a free replacement battery from Advance Auto for that car. By the way, Advance Auto changed from Autocraft to Diehard battery ever since they bought Diehard a few years ago. Good luck.