Motoring Discussion > Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life.	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bigtee	Replies: 25

Sat 8 Nov 14 22:46   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Bigtee

Car is coming up to 6 years old orginal battery & seems in good order, Battery light shows green. Do you think to be on the safe side to change the battery now or wait till it's click click and no go? Car done 45k of stop start driving a diesel vectra. Price is around £70+ for a decent 80 amp battery etc. Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 8 Nov 14 23:06   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Robin O'Reliant

If it ain't broke..... Reply to this message | Report message

Sat 8 Nov 14 23:09   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - No FM2R

+1 Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 08:11   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - matt a

+2 Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 09:24   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Slidingpillar

For some reason, the original battery often lasts better than any replacement. Not helped by the fact that Halfords (probably others too) list what they have that physically fits and can be a lesser capacity. I would not replace it just for age, but at the slightest sign it wasn't up to it as diesel cranking currents are higher than most petrol engines. Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 10:59   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - madf

I would expect a Vauxhall battery to have a longer life than the car. Reply to this message | Report message       1

Sun 9 Nov 14 15:04   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - spamcan61

>> I would expect a Vauxhall battery to have a longer life than the car. >> I tend to buy my bangernomics Vauxhalls at about 8-9 years old, and they're usually on what appears to be the original battery; I do generally need to replace the battery at some point during my usual 2-3 year / 60-80,000 mile period of ownership before the scrapyard beckons I know that's not what you meant ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 16:37   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - madf

>> >> I tend to buy my bangernomics Vauxhalls at about 8-9 years old, and they're usually >> on what appears to be the original battery; I do generally need to replace the >> battery at some point during my usual 2-3 year / 60-80,000 mile period of ownership >> before the scrapyard beckons >> >> I know that's not what you meant ;-) >> :-) Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 11:22   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - ....

I'd leave it until it shows signs of not coping. My last Volvo S60 I got rid of at 9 years with the original battery still coping fine. That was turning a 2.4 litre 5 cylinder over with no problems. I think WdB changed his at 12 or 13 years so should be plenty of life left in it just now. Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 11:53   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Falkirk Bairn

1998 Xedos battery gave in Sept 2013 - so a full 15 years and despite being used everyday that week it expired on the Saturday afternoon- would not take a charge. Bought a Halfords battery, it was supposed to fit - i.e. the posts were in the right place but it was narrower & taller - absolute pig to get the battery stable on the battery mounts. Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 12:01   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - sherlock47

Roll eyes.... in disbelief. Surely he is winding us up, does he not read other posts? Or maybe he comes from Manchester and there is really some sort of battery Bermuda triangle up there. On second thoughts maybe these are the people who are paying full price for everything, and helping the economy to recover, allowing the more canny the opportunity to get discounted products. Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 12:58   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Clk Sec

>> I'd leave it until it shows signs of not coping. >> +1 >> +2 But they rarely show signs of not coping. Lively as you like one minute, flat as a pancake the next. -1 Reply to this message | Report message       1

Sun 9 Nov 14 13:01   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - ....

>> But they rarely show signs of not coping. Lively as you like one minute, flat >> as a pancake the next. >> >> -1 >> In 28 years of motoring I've replaced one battery and that was partly down to a worn out alternator on an 8 year old FIAT with >120,000 miles on the clock. My cars are always garaged though, maybe that helps the life of the car in general. Reply to this message | Report message

Sun 9 Nov 14 13:28   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Clk Sec

>> In 28 years of motoring I've replaced one battery In an effort to avoid being left high and dry at traffic lights on a busy junction because the battery had died, as was my wife's experience some years ago, I routinely change mine every 5 years. It's not a foolproof system though, as my last battery didn't quite make the end of it's 3 year guarantee! Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 01:39   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - VxFan

>> Car is coming up to 6 years old orginal battery & seems in good order, >> Battery light shows green. My Vectra-C battery started getting tired at approx 7½ years old. Cold mornings it was the most noticeable. >> Do you think to be on the safe side to change the battery now or wait till it's click click and no go? As mine is an auto, I changed it as I don't have the luxury of getting it bump started if it went flat. Something like £69 fitted (with my 25% masterfit service club discount) for a genuine GM one with a 3 yr warranty. As to whether to change yours, it's probably on borrowed time with approx. 1 yrs life left in it. Ultimately it will fail when you are miles from nowhere ;) Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 14:41   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Bigtee

Well thanks all for the replies and yes I think 6 years is good, But it's having a new one Christmas present to myself (sad sod). So which makes like the Bosch & Exide don't want a cheap thing.? Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 21:27   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - VxFan

>> So which makes like the Bosch & Exide don't want a cheap thing.? Vauxhall's "own" brand is a good as any, and on par price wise. Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 13:43   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Victorbox

I've owned 6 Vauxhall original fit batteries (Delco Freedom) and except for the Zafira at 8 years the rest have all done at least 14 years before needing to be changed. Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 14:02   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - VxFan

You're lucky Vic. Mine seem to give up the ghost, or show early warning signs of failure after 6 or 7 years. Never tried it, but someone told me to feel around the label on top of the battery for a "# removable" cover to refil the small reservoir with distilled water of these maintenance free batteries to make them last a few years more. # screw driver and brute force ;) Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 14:27   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - WillDeBeest

So VB is at least 92 years old? };---) Reply to this message | Report message

Mon 10 Nov 14 15:26   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - madf

>> So VB is at least 92 years old? >> };---) >> Maybe he's owned them all at once... thus ensuring he has one working car at any one time:-) Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 11 Nov 14 12:49   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Victorbox

That is actually quite funny. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 11 Nov 14 13:31   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Zero

>> You're lucky Vic. Mine seem to give up the ghost, or show early warning signs >> of failure after 6 or 7 years. >> >> Never tried it, but someone told me to feel around the label on top of >> the battery for a "# removable" cover to refil the small reservoir with distilled water >> of these maintenance free batteries to make them last a few years more. >> >> # screw driver and brute force ;) Funnily enough mine has little screw stoppers that you unscrew, check, and refill if required. Brute force not required. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 11 Nov 14 14:01   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - VxFan

>> Funnily enough mine has little screw stoppers that you unscrew, check, and refill if required. >> >> Brute force not required. Obviously not classed as a maintenance free battery then. Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 11 Nov 14 14:20   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - Zero

>> >> Funnily enough mine has little screw stoppers that you unscrew, check, and refill if >> required. >> >> >> >> Brute force not required. >> >> Obviously not classed as a maintenance free battery then. And chiselling off the caps is? Reply to this message | Report message

Tue 11 Nov 14 16:53   Vauxhall Vectra C - Battery life. - VxFan

>> And chiselling off the caps is? Everything is servicable to a point. "Sealed for life" and "maintenance free" are only that if they aren't impregnable. If however there is a hidden cover or security screws holding it together then I'm usually quite keen to open it up and try and save some money. However, replacing a 7 yr old battery for £70 isn't really expensive when it works out at £10 a year. Is it really worth faffing about with the old one - specially if it's starting to show its age on cold winter mornings. Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 11 Nov 14 at 16:55 Reply to this message | Report message       2