[Traylaw]

How do you check the water level on a maintenance free battery? Are there still covers to remove?

The OEM battery is not maintenance free, you won't see maintenance free anywhere on the battery. It has two removable caps for checking the electrolyte level and adding distilled water.

 

[Traylaw]

The 51R battery comes in two versions, 410 and 500 CCA ratings. Interstate, Advance Auto, Walmart batteries are exactly the same battery made by Clarios aka Johnson Control. Interstate does comes with a green top which is kind of cool if you like green. So get a 500 CCA at the cheapest store. Which in your case is Costco.

 

[Traylaw]

If you garage your vehicle and they sit for several days at a time it's a no brainer. Buy a smart charger and plug your car into the charger when not in use. Lead acid flooded batteries love to be kept at 100%. If they sit at a partial charge they will slowly sulfate and shorten their life. CTEK and NOCO chargers will do a great job at keeping your battery at a full charge.

 

[Traylaw]

The Advanced Auto battery is a diehard gold that I was looking at for $169. The specs look the same as the Costco battery which is actually $76.99 and is an Interstate battery. Just didn’t know if diehard is better than interstate or not. Would like to get something that’s going to last a few years.

When I said Costco "Interstate", Advance Auto "Diehard", Walmart "Everstart" are all the same, I meant there is no difference other than cost and the label. As the batteries roll down the Clarios production lines they just stick a Costco, Walmart or Advanced Auto label on it, with the exception of Interstate where they make a special run to slap a green top on the battery. But they will put any color you want for an addition fee. Clarios make 1/3 of the automotive battery in the world and they are sold under many private labels.

 

[Traylaw]

If you buy one from Advance Auto, order it online for pick and you can apply a 20% discount for the online purchase.