Wow. I'll have to check with my son - he has a 2016 GT and still has the original battery. And you've had yours replaced once already? His sits quite a bit too as he works from home.

No I told them I know its out of warranty.  They said they had too many batteries come back so they sell them installed, so they control the parameters. 

I haven't yet figured out if this is a new dealer thing, or if its a just that dealer thing. 

I did figure out if I have my heart set on a Motorcraft, O'Reilly's can get it for me in a couple of days.

96r batteries are a tad hard to find around here right now.

Its been on the charger all day.  I'm fixing to go out and see if it will start and what kind of voltage its showing.



The ultimate problem is probably lack of driving it enough.

Edit:  I just went out and piddled with it.  After sitting on the charger all day its got 1.64 volts.  Time to hunt a new battery. 

Last edited by Greg B (10/11/2023 4:17 PM)

It shouldn't go dead in a month.  My '67 sits all winter with no tender and the battery isn't so low it won't start come spring.  My WRX can sit for months between drives and still always starts.  Regular old lead/acid batteries from NAPA in both.  Typically I've found OEM batteries (excepting my Diesel truck) have gone 7-10 years without issue.  If yours is toast in 5 I'd say either its defective, or like everything else Ford is just buying cheaply made batteries nowadays. 

My advice would be buy an AGM battery.  The issue I hear with a lot of lead/acid batteries now is the overuse of recycled lead.  The impurities in it lead to shorter life.  I put a pair of AGMs in my Diesel and though it was an investment it was well worth it.  I'll spare you the saga of the batteries in that truck. 
 

Remember, as it is a 2016 model, it likely has power going to the car's computer as well as the radio pre-sets and clock.  While these are small current draws, if it is an old battery, the impact would be greater.

I had to replace the battery in my daily driver last year w/o haven't to bring it to the dealer for replacement. 

6sally6 wrote:

Does it have the "automatic shut-off" when stopped at traffic lights and such?
The constant start/stop of the engine HAS TO take a toll on batteries AND starters.
6sal6

AND the ENGINE!  I was always told the worst thing you can do to an engine is start it.  I know everything runs a rollerized valve train and synthetic oil now, but most engine wear still occurs at start up.  .  So long as the engine makes it past the warranty period the manufacturer could care less how long it lives.  Their goal is meet emissions and get it out of warranty without having to do any work to it. 

My understanding is that a lead acid battery starts sulfating at 80% charge.  This means sulfur crystals start forming on the lead plates from the battery acid.  This is why you want to keep your battery above 80%.  Cars that have anything that has a "memory", like stereos with clocks and presets or ECUs, are always drawing energy from the battery.  This is why these cars need a trickle charger if they are not being driven regularly.  This is probably what killed your battery.  Keep the new battery above 80% charge to keep it free of the sulfur crystals..