These days, batteries sometimes have a sticker applied over the covers. I have needed to slit the stickers to access the fillers on several of them. "Maintenance-Free" is the hope.


If it seems to have two large covers, these need to be pried off. If it has 6 small covers, those usually need to be unscrewed.

12.4VDC is 80% charged.
.

 

No photo, no can help, that simple. show the Battery!

 

In reading many past posts on battery maintenance, I have seen recommendations to on occasion, trickle charge the battery to full capacity every few months, and to maintain the electrolyte levels.
I examined the battery, removed the top bracket, and can not see any way to loosen the top cover(s) to check the electrolyte level. Battery voltage is consistently 12.4 - 12.5 volts from overnight sitting. No issues with battery / car performance.
This battery is different from the the 2018 CRV EX-L model I had. It had cell caps that were easily removable. I am suspecting the 2021 battery is a heavy duty model for the auto start / stop feature. It appears to have 2 solid caps on the top.
I am unable to upload a picture of the battery.
Any thoughts?
Thank You.

It might be easier to answer if you could give us the actual Honda Part Number on that battery. Honda is constantly fiddling with battery part numbers and "quiet" upgrades to existing part numbers.

Honda moved to a larger battery on 1.5T engine powered Hondas beginning when they released the new generation Accords in 2018. Looks like they did so on the CRV during the midlife refresh for 2020. It is likely that the battery in your vehicle is one of these larger batteries.

Below is the battery currently in my wife's Accord, and I do believe it is an AGM battery, as I can find side ports (round) on both ends of the top cap, but can find no obvious way to pop the cap open. Note: this battery is rated for 550CCA but I have also heard that Honda is now replacing this battery with a 650 CCA variant (31500-TGG-100M). When I look up a replacement online... it comes back with this battery code H5/LN2 and is an AGM for sure. This battery carries a DIN classification of H5, and a BCI grouping of Group 47.

There are two possibilities here.... 1) the new battery could be an AGM rather than flooded cell, in which case there is no liquid electrolyte. 2) the big long top cap present can be removed, but you have to find grooves where you can pry them off with a screw driver (carefully, so as not to damage the lid).

If you have the same battery as I have in our Accord.. then it IS an AGM.

 

My battery part number is: 31500-TLA-A11. Group appears to be: 4A.

 

Is this what you have? This is my 2020 CRV battery

 

Is this what you have? This is my 2020 CRV battery View attachment 144927 View attachment 144928

Is yours a hybrid or a 1.5T?

I ask because I thought that that particular 4A battery was for the hybrids.... which need less CCA, but need robust plate design and more reserve power due to all the engine cycling, and the fact that it is charged off the EPU in hybrids ... and it is essentially a commercial tractor battery re-labeled with a Honda part number.

Maybe they are putting it in all CRVs now.. given they all have auto start stop. This particular battery is lower CCA but higher reserve capacity and much more robust plate design. It specs sort of like a marine battery, but is listed as a commercial grade tractor battery (4A)

These sorts of discussions would be a lot simpler if Honda would stop proliferating battery part numbers all over the place in their vehicles. tip: How Honda Part Numbers Work

 

yours is likely identical to mine which also has start stop. Mine has one cap on right side of the photo that looks like it can be pried up. There is a smaller cap on the left side but access
is probably under the single cap on right that runs the length of the battery. I have only driven 12,000 km in just over one year so have not bothered to check this yet.
Most important for you to use a proper battery maintainer from time to time if not driving much (these larger batteries are expensive); note that a battery maintainer is not the same as a trickle charger and can often recover battery damage as well as be left connected indefinitely.

 

Thank you By the look of that, the battery may have a "glued" cover" and that sure looks like one. Our advice is you are under warranty, anything goes wrong, Honda will take care of you, that said. Are you going to Pry off the top cover?

 

When it warms up this summer I will try to gently pry to see whether it is glued. I don’t see low fluid issues in my batteries in our colder climate.

 

All you, I not get involved tampering with the sealed battery.

 

If it is AGM due to start-stop, don't mess with it.

 

understood; have not been able to determin whether Honda uses agm in CRV’s with start stop. No indication of this that I can interpret on the battery sticker. On the plus side, an agm battery should last at least twice as long as conventional esp if maintained.

 

an agm battery should last at least twice as long as conventional esp if maintained

Do you any links to back that statement up?

I'm not being confrontational, but our European car model has had AGM batteries since 2013 and battery replacement seems quite common...

 

Waiting for someone to start using these

 

If that is Lithium-Ion, its been done by a couple folks in our Euro-car forums. (Mostly, to save weight)

those things are REALLY expensive...

 

Not to mention.. fire and explosive hazards with Li-Ion batteries. They also do NOT like heat.. so I question their life expectancy under the hood of an ICE vehicle.

 

capacitor

 

When my mom was having issues and didn't drive I thought I should trickle charge her agm battery. Never figured out how to do it with "smart chargers".

 

Hello Everyone,
As an update I spoke with the dealer. They advised it is a sealed battery. It is an EFB type that is more durable in the application of the start and stop feature. As long as there is adequate driving done on a frequent/ semi frequent basis, there is no need to trickle charge the battery every so many weeks/months to top off the battery. Thank you for everyone's input.

 

A dealer that understands what they are talking about with respect to batteries.

That makes sense, as Enhanced Flooded Batteries (EFBs) are designed to recover faster from a start drain, and are more robust for lots of starts in short succession. They achieve this by adding carbon compounds into the design of the plates. As a result, they are more robust and responsive to the needs of start/stop systems. I'll have to do some searching to see if EFBs are a better match for the challenge of modern normal parasitic drains too.

So it appears we are beginning to see a trend in battery use with auto start/stop systems... moving away from classic flooded cell batteries. My guess is Enhanced Flooded Batteries are probably going to be more dominant than the use of AGMs.... simply for cost reasons. An EFB is more complex and therefore more costly than a regular flooded cell battery, but simpler and lower cost than an AGM.

Personally, I would still do a periodic overnight saturation charge on an EFB. It will help maintain the plate quality and I'm positive that EFBs will still be discharged by parking for long periods, but being as these are also bigger batteries Honda (Group 47 it appears, and is used across a range of new Hondas models) is using now, it will be less of an issue than with the old 51Rs. I have monitored the battery in my wife's Accord and it appears to have a very similar discharge curve sitting parked as my CRV does with it's 51R. It's just a bigger battery so the discharge curve is less steep.

 

@williamnj lets ask you this ever see these go up in smoke

they weight 118 lbs a piece, measure about 8wX12HX20D, they range from -12v to -48V
that is what is called a 12 string made to -48v just one type of set up

Ever see them go up?