I'm wondering if it is typical and normal to have batteries last on average about 2.5 years for Honda CRV's or is there perhaps some undetected problem causing shorter battery lives.

It depends on a number of factors: average use per week, driving long enough that the charging system actually tops up the battery to a fair degree, weather, weather, weather, and ... routine checks and maintenance of a battery. note: not all batteries are actually really maintenance free.

There is a reason almost the entire battery industry now warrants batteries for only 3 years (full replacement). Modern vehicles are just harder on batteries, mostly due to the normal parasitic drain of all the modern electronics driving the battery in a constant state of under charge (which is where plate sulfation becomes the path to death).

Worse, if you drive mostly short trips, even if daily, your battery falls into an slow creeping discharge since the battery never gets fully topped up by the charging system, then you park and normal parasitic drains starts bleeding battery charge, rinse and repeat.

All the major brands now days, when asked how long to expect the 12v battery to last... will respond with "3 years, but results vary by driver".

I have a fairly extensive set of stickied guides in the battery sub-forum that will explain a lot of the nuance about batteries.. here.

 

Modern vehicles are just harder on batteries, mostly due to the normal parasitic drain of all the modern electronics driving the battery in a constant state of under charge (which is where plate sulfation becomes the path to death).

Modern vehicles also manage charge load for environmental reasons so your battery may never reach fully charged state. This kills a few good years off the lifetime.

 

In 2016, I purchased a new 2016 CRV Touring. After 2 years, 2 months and 35,000 miles, I had to replace the battery. 2 years, 5 months and 28,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery. 2 years, 9 months and 38,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery. Each time the repair shop said they had fully tested the car and found no issues that would shorten the life of the battery. I don't know what the life of the original battery was warranted to be but the first battery that I purchased and which lasted 2 years, 9 months was warranted for 3 years. The Interstate battery that I just purchased is warranted for 4 years so I'm hoping to get a longer life from it. Anyway, I'm wondering if it is typical and normal to have batteries last on average about 2.5 years for Honda CRV's or is there perhaps some undetected problem causing shorter battery lives.

Do you live in a southern climate? Here in Florida....count on getting maybe 3 years - if you're lucky - before a battery needs replaced.
Batteries hate 90+ degree weather everyday.

 

Curious, just wondering, ...
In the engine bay, was there any sort of separation or cover on the battery or between the engine heat and the battery??

 

Honda wraps the battery in a foam thermal sleeve, as well as the plastic tray walls.

Thing is, I bet that is more for extreme cold insulation rather than heat insulation since heat under the hood literally saturates everything present on any long drive. Cold will too if it is cold enough.

Someday, I think I will check the actual electrolyte temperature in one of my batteries on a really hot day after a long hot drive and see what it reads.

 

There is a closed plastic casing on my 2013, on the engine side that would provide some shielding from heat.

If you read the stickies referenced in the above post, they provide a very good explanation of the factors involved in battery life.

IMHO, the battery in the CR V, original spec 51R, was under speced for the vehicle, it was barely adequate. It should have had a larger CCA and reserve capacity from the factory , lots of posts about this from vehicles starting at 3 months old in the Gen 4. And the newer your vehicle, the more electronics that have been added.

I just purchased my 2013 a couple of months ago, the battery was weak and after reading here, I purchased a group 24 lead acid. I’d recommend buying a larger CCA/reserve capacity, whether lead acid or AGM, etc. We never see posts from a premature battery failure from those CRV owners who installed a larger battery, many were doing so 10 years ago in newish CRV’s.

 

I have a 2017, still on the original battery. I live in Ontario, where it is very cold and sometimes leave the car in the garage for 2 months at a time, without even starting it up. The rest of the time I'm usually doing very short around town trips. Never had any battery problems yet!

 

For folks wishing to upgrade to the bigger 24F battery. https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/2016-crv-se-battery-upgrade-to-24f-trouble.236505/

 

I documented my experience with our '13 EX and putting a Group 24F in it back in '16 here: https://www.crvownersclub.com/threads/got-lucky.239343/

 

On my past two CRV's, the 51R batteries lasted 7 years each. I replaced one of the batteries at 5 year mark because I was going to be out of state for over a year and I didn't want my wife to worry. I put the 5 year old battery in our diesel farm tractor and it lasted another 2.5 years! The other CRV 51R battery was starting just fine at the 7 year mark, but it started to leak acid from around the one post. So I changed it out for that reason.

I've never had a problem with the 51R batteries

 

wow... interesting info from all posters. My battery died just less than 3 years, but under warranty so Honda replaced it. 2 yrs since replacement and Honda cked battery at last maintenance and said all still looked real good. I live in FL and don't do many short drives. I keep my vehicle parked in a garage when not in use.
so who really can know the rhyme or reason.

 

Climate obviously plays a big role on battery life. However, I found out that here in Virginia my battery on the CRV lasted 5 years and 9 months. This is not much considering that I have a 10 year old battery on another car and I replaced one last year that was 9 years old in a third car just as preventative maintenance.

 

My battery life is short. I've put in four batteries in my 2018. I live in FL, but the car is garage parked. The first was warranty replaced, the second I bought from Honda, which went in about nine months, so they replaced it for free under the battery warranty, the next one went about a year later. Honda dealer checked the car for any electricity "leaks," but none. I guess is just "is."

wow... interesting info from all posters. My battery died just less than 3 years, but under warranty so Honda replaced it. 2 yrs since replacement and Honda cked battery at last maintenance and said all still looked real good. I live in FL and don't do many short drives. I keep my vehicle parked in a garage when not in use.
so who really can know the rhyme or reason.

Same issue here. Four batteries in five years for no apparent reason.

 

We live in Florida, and I just replaced the OEM battery in our 2019 Honda CR V several months ago, not because it died but because I didn't want my wife stranded somewhere.

 

2010 CRV EXL with 4wd here. This car is very low mileage. The original battery lasted 11 years. The replacement (Costco Interstate) is still going strong. I am a believer in battery maintainers and use them on our cars whenever I know they are going to sit around for a bit.

I have installed the simple plug-in adapter to the battery posts so it is very simple to attach and remove the maintainer. When the battery maintainer is connected, I leave the hood open at least slightly so as to avoid driving away with it still attached. This gets the battery topped off reasonably often and generally keeps it from discharging fully.

The CRV is my wife's car, and she knows how to attach and detach the device (although if I am around, it is usually delegated to me).

 

I have 2015 CRV with the same issue, it the driver side door lock. If you disconnect that cable it will go away but you will have to use the key to open the door.

 

In 2016, I purchased a new 2016 CRV Touring. After 2 years, 2 months and 35,000 miles, I had to replace the battery. 2 years, 5 months and 28,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery.

2 years, 9 months and 38,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery. Each time the repair shop said they had fully tested the car and found no issues that would shorten the life of the battery.

I don't know what the life of the original battery was warranted to be but the first battery that I purchased and which lasted 2 years, 9 months was warranted for 3 years. The Interstate battery that I just purchased is warranted for 4 years so I'm hoping to get a longer life from it.

Anyway, I'm wondering if it is typical and normal to have batteries last on average about 2.5 years for Honda CRV's or is there perhaps some undetected problem causing shorter battery lives.

Use an AGM battery for best life, plus no more corrosion

 

2018 EX with 41K miles in Webster, NY. I replaced the original battery after five plus years only because of all the comments about the CR-V batteries failing without warning around three years. I was not willing to take a chance of failure in winter or on a drive.

 

I'm using the Honda 51R battery in my 2014 CRV LX. I just bought a new one Dec 19, 2023. Before that, I replaced it in 2019. The original one lasted almost 5 years. I am in North Central Texas.
Just wanted to add some data to the pile

 

Something Imlearned working at a service station back in the 60’s. Battery cables and posts must be cleaned regularly. Even if you don’t see the crud building up, oxidation can affect the charging over time. I clean mine every six months or more and my batteriies always outlive the warranty by 3-4 years.
My 2016 CRV oe battery lasted 4 years and I replaced it with an Interstate 24F that is now 4 years old.

 

It depends on a number of factors: average use per week, driving long enough that the charging system actually tops up the battery to a fair degree, weather, weather, weather, and ... routine checks and maintenance of a battery. note: not all batteries are actually really maintenance free.

There is a reason almost the entire battery industry now warrants batteries for only 3 years (full replacement). Modern vehicles are just harder on batteries, mostly due to the normal parasitic drain of all the modern electronics driving the battery in a constant state of under charge (which is where plate sulfation becomes the path to death).

Worse, if you drive mostly short trips, even if daily, your battery falls into an slow creeping discharge since the battery never gets fully topped up by the charging system, then you park and normal parasitic drains starts bleeding battery charge, rinse and repeat.

All the major brands now days, when asked how long to expect the 12v battery to last... will respond with "3 years, but results vary by driver".

I have a fairly extensive set of stickied guides in the battery sub-forum that will explain a lot of the nuance about batteries.. here.

Thank you for all the helpful information. Like you, my mechanic also said that if you mostly drive short trips it will shorten the battery life. While we do take long trips occasionally, short trips are what we typically do each day so I think that explains my experience with the batteries. I'm relieved it isn't some other electrical problem. Thanks again.

 

To the original poster. No one has really answered you question, so I'll try.
After start-up, when you battery reaches a fully charged level, the computer will switch charge voltage to 12.8 volts. That lower voltage will NOT desulfate the battery plates and your battery will have a shorter life. Honda does this for better fuel mileage. Thus you pay the price.

Richard

 

How does making a battery in such a way that it will not last as long as it could have anything to do with better fuel mileage? Please explain if you would.

 

On our 2012 CR-V pressing the Green economy mode button reduces the charge rate as mentioned for better fuel economy. Even in normal mode, alternator daytime voltage is only around 12 something while 14 volts is necessary (depending on battery temp) for the most effective charge. A trick is turning on the headlights which tells the computer to increase the charge voltage to 14 volts, so for short runs around town I use the headlights. I have an old red/yellow/green voltage indicator, and it moves from yellow to green about three seconds after turning on the lights. Turn them off, voltage drops and color goes back to yellow.

 

That's really interesting snd smart of you. I used to use the economy button until I read what it was for and figured it wasn't helping me while driving short distances. I didn't know it affected the battery too but my brain is getting old

 

In 2016, I purchased a new 2016 CRV Touring. After 2 years, 2 months and 35,000 miles, I had to replace the battery. 2 years, 5 months and 28,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery.

2 years, 9 months and 38,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery. Each time the repair shop said they had fully tested the car and found no issues that would shorten the life of the battery.

I don't know what the life of the original battery was warranted to be but the first battery that I purchased and which lasted 2 years, 9 months was warranted for 3 years. The Interstate battery that I just purchased is warranted for 4 years so I'm hoping to get a longer life from it.

Anyway, I'm wondering if it is typical and normal to have batteries last on average about 2.5 years for Honda CRV's or is there perhaps some undetected problem causing shorter battery lives.

Have you regularly checked the electrolyte level in the battery? I have owned 7 Hondas, 5 of them CRVs, and every one has been low on electrolyte when I bought the vehicle. so get out a screwdriver, pop the caps off, and add distilled water up to the indicator. The plates need to be completely covered or else the battery will sulfate and die prematurely. Check it once a month in the hotter climates. I have only replaced the battery once in my 2015 CRV, twice in the 2009 CRV.
Also, get an OEM Honda battery. They have a 100-month warranty with direct replacement, not prorated, for the first 3 years. They are made by Interstate. And yes, the replacement batteries I have bought were all low on electrolyte, too.

 

I didn't know I could check the battery and add water if needed. But I will now. I was under the ASSumption it was 'maintenance free'. Thanks for the tip, Fish!

 

I am not surprised to see a battery on that year Honda would only last about 3 years. With all thelight on the vehicle and they way lights stay on the vehicle when you shut it down you are giving the battery a good work out every timy you drive your Honda. I have had good experiences with Interstate batteries have 3 year warranty batteries lasting 7 years. would think that an interstate with a 4 year warrenty would last for at least 5 years. The numerous interstate batteries I have owned have all lasted at leas 2 years longer than their warranty.

 

Have you regularly checked the electrolyte level in the battery? I have owned 7 Hondas, 5 of them CRVs, and every one has been low on electrolyte when I bought the vehicle. so get out a screwdriver, pop the caps off, and add distilled water up to the indicator. The plates need to be completely covered or else the battery will sulfate and die prematurely. Check it once a month in the hotter climates. I have only replaced the battery once in my 2015 CRV, twice in the 2009 CRV.
Also, get an OEM Honda battery. They have a 100-month warranty with direct replacement, not prorated, for the first 3 years. They are made by Interstate. And yes, the replacement batteries I have bought were all low on electrolyte, too.

In 2016, I purchased a new 2016 CRV Touring. After 2 years, 2 months and 35,000 miles, I had to replace the battery. 2 years, 5 months and 28,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery.

2 years, 9 months and 38,000 miles later I had to again replace the battery. Each time the repair shop said they had fully tested the car and found no issues that would shorten the life of the battery.

I don't know what the life of the original battery was warranted to be but the first battery that I purchased and which lasted 2 years, 9 months was warranted for 3 years. The Interstate battery that I just purchased is warranted for 4 years so I'm hoping to get a longer life from it.

Anyway, I'm wondering if it is typical and normal to have batteries last on average about 2.5 years for Honda CRV's or is there perhaps some undetected problem causing shorter battery lives.

Great topic!
Now and then late evening with car off, I can hear some small aquarium type air pump running. I understand this is some diagnostic thing, but it along with the other parasitic draws can not be good for long battery life.

Just voltage tested our 2020 Touring that was sitting for more than 12 hours and it was 12.1 vdc. Hooked up charger with Maintainer and it now showing 13 vdc.

Plan is to disconnect terminals, clean and check electrolyte levels.

Is there any way to know battery code indicating if this model battery is openable to checking cell levels?

 

Great topic!
Now and then late evening with car off, I can hear some small aquarium type air pump running. I understand this is some diagnostic thing, but it along with the other parasitic draws can not be good for long battery life.

Just voltage tested our 2020 Touring that was sitting for more than 12 hours and it was 12.1 vdc. Hooked up charger with Maintainer and it now showing 13 vdc.

Plan is to disconnect terminals, clean and check electrolyte levels.

Is there any way to know battery code indicating if this model battery is openable to checking cell levels?

I have the same model (except hybrid) you can pop the two rectangular caps and check the levels. Kind of a pain getting them off with the cables attached.

 

Have you regularly checked the electrolyte level in the battery? I have owned 7 Hondas, 5 of them CRVs, and every one has been low on electrolyte when I bought the vehicle. so get out a screwdriver, pop the caps off, and add distilled water up to the indicator. The plates need to be completely covered or else the battery will sulfate and die prematurely. Check it once a month in the hotter climates. I have only replaced the battery once in my 2015 CRV, twice in the 2009 CRV.
Also, get an OEM Honda battery. They have a 100-month warranty with direct replacement, not prorated, for the first 3 years. They are made by Interstate. And yes, the replacement batteries I have bought were all low on electrolyte, too.

Just bought my third battery for my 2017 CRV, dealer sent me out with a battery with low water level. Pointed it out to the dealer and they said it is maintenance free...I now check the water level monthly!

Great topic!
Now and then late evening with car off, I can hear some small aquarium type air pump running. I understand this is some diagnostic thing, but it along with the other parasitic draws can not be good for long battery life.

Just voltage tested our 2020 Touring that was sitting for more than 12 hours and it was 12.1 vdc. Hooked up charger with Maintainer and it now showing 13 vdc.

Plan is to disconnect terminals, clean and check electrolyte levels.

Is there any way to know battery code indicating if this model battery is openable to checking cell levels?

 

Technically it is "maintenance free" due to the fact that both anode and cathode plates are lead/calcium alloy. But there are "maintenance free sealed" and "maintenance free accessible" flooded lead acid batteries. The accessible one's provide a means to inspect and add water if need. The sealed don't give you that option.
In the olden days before lead/calcium plates, batteries used water like a dog on a hot day. You can thank Ma Bell for coming up with the lead calcium plates.
BTW I have found checking them every 6 months to a year is usually more than adequate.