How Often to Replace a Car Battery

Your battery is crucial in keeping your car on the road safely in Matthews. It’s what keeps your spark plugs firing, allowing your engine to start smoothly. How often to replace a car battery is a question a lot of people ask us at Hendrick Chevrolet Monroe, and our answer is that you may need to replace your battery if it’s been four to five years since your last change. Hendrick Chevrolet Monroe will show you how to test a car battery and give you an easy way to schedule service with us.

How to Know If Your Car Battery Needs to Be Replaced

A car battery that’s losing its luster will show itself through the following signs:

• A struggle to smoothly start after turning the key or pushing the push-start button
• Headlights that are dimmer than they normally are
• Unusual changes in power from your interior lights
• A continual need to rev the engine or jump start your car more than once in the past few months

What Causes Batteries To Break Down?

• Climate: The fluctuations in temperature in Waxhaw will cause adverse effects to your battery, such as evaporation caused by immense heat or power loss from sustained cold.
• Road conditions: Driving on roads that have lots of potholes or bumps can lead to subtle vibrations that wear down your car battery’s internal components.
• Jump starts: While a jump start will cause your battery to come back to life, it will also chip away at the long term health of the battery.
• Passage of time: The process of aging impacts your car battery too, with each charge cycle taking a little bit off your battery’s life

How to Test a Car Battery

Our service professionals are here to service your vehicle just a short distance from Weddington. We’ll gladly test your battery at our facility, but here’s how you can do it at home, too:

1. Turn your car and the headlights on.
2. Rev the engine and see if the brightness of your lights changes as you do so.
3. If your headlights get brighter as you rev the engine, it means you don’t have enough current to maintain your lights on an idling engine.

If this scenario happens to you, come talk to our service team and get your battery inspected!

How Much is a Replacement Car Battery?

The answer to “how much is a replacement car battery?” depends on whether you’ve got a standard ICE car or a hybrid. An internal combustion engine’s battery is between $75 and $200 with the option of going for a premium battery on the more expensive side. However, a hybrid battery is much more expensive, in the several thousand range, because a hybrid is much more dependent on the battery for optimal operation.

Smart Auto Maintenance Comes from Hendrick Chevrolet Monroe

Trust in the experts at Hendrick Chevrolet Monroe to get your car maintained with the utmost professionalism. With us in your corner, you’ll have Chevrolet certified specialists looking at your car from every angle to diagnose and fix whatever ails it. Contact us to learn more.