My 2003 Escape is going on 8 years old. Have the original battery in the vehicle. Starts fine, the "eye" is green.

Winter coming up here in Northwest Jersey, can get pretty cold up here. Wondering if I should swap out the battery now before the cold weather comes or just let it go and see what happens?
In other words, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Years ago it was unheard of a battery lasting 8 years.

 

I just replaced my 6 year old battery in my 04 a couple days ago. Eye was green also, volts were good but cranking voltage was only 8.8 volts. The eye is not a true indicator of battery status. If you have any doubts have it checked. By the way I put another motorcraft back in it.

 

Well, you know what's going to happen with an 8 year old battery in winter. It will probably leave you stranded, at the worst possible time. Why gamble on an old old battery?

When I lived in the midwest, I would change batteries out at the 5 year mark. Still got bit by a 4 1/2 year old OEM battery that was stone dead at -20 F. You know you're in trouble when you get in, and the dome light doesn't even come on!

Last week I decided to check my records and see how old the batteries in my trucks were. They were 6 and 7 years old. Never meant to let them go that long! So I swapped both of them out. I have been using so-called 8 year batteries.

Back in the '70's a battery that lasted 4 years was a real trooper! And in the '60's, I think you could get a good 24 month battery if you were willing to pay for it.

 

I have the BXT-40R battery in my Escape, OEM battery I presume. It is a 100 month battery which is about 8 years and a few months. Saying that I am right on the money with this battery still performing. The vehicle was purchased in November of 2002 so I am coming up on the 8 year mark on this battery.

Not so sure I want to purchase another BXT-40R battery, they are pretty expensive at about $140, but think if I shop around can get one somewhat cheaper. Reason is even though the vehicle running great now, I don't it will be in another 8 years! I can probably pick up an aftermarket battery for less than half the price of a BXT-40R.

 

I got exactly five years from the time of purchase on the 12V OEM battery in my '05. My '06 is over five years now and still working fine. They are both 60 month batteries.

I bought my '97 F250 in August 2004. The seller didn't mention a new battery but it is still going strong. No intention to change it until I get stranded this winter....

 

Update on BXT-40R cost. A Ford dealership near me has them for $109 which is not bad. He can get me the another Motorcraft battery for the Escape BX something else for $89. For $20 I will go with what I have in the vehicle now.

Now just to decide to wait until it dies or change it before the snow and ice flies...

 

Really just depends on weather or not you want to sit in a cold vehicle while you wait for a jump.

 

do yourself a favor & take the damned thing out! Put it on KIJIJI for $25.00, some kid will buy it for his first car & you'll both be happy!

 

Did you replace your battery, and with what? I've got a 2003 Escape with 80k on it and just replaced tires, and the tire shop said I should put in a new battery. I didn't even realize it, but it's the original battery! I'm wondering it I should replace it, and with what... another motorcraft or a different battery. It's 9 years old, but seems to work fine. I'm in so cal, so we don't have winters. I use my escape to get to work at a trade fair displays company where I need to ALWAYS be on time, so I need my car to be reliable, but I hate to replace something if it doesn't need to be replaced... at least yet. And should I go with the stock motorcraft, or a cheaper off-brand...

 

If you live in a warm climate you may not have the BXT-40R battery. You may have one with less cold cranking amps since you don't need all those amps to start your vehicle like if you lived in a cold climate. Ford (Motorcraft) makes about 3 batteries that fit the the Escape. Find out which one you have in your vehicle. The battery id is on the battery itself. If you plan on keeping the vehicle and have no plans of replacing the vehicle in the near future, I would just replace it with what is in it now. If you are not keeping it, go to Wal Mart, find the size of the battery that fits and get the cheapest one they make or better yet, just keep the battery you have now in the vehicle and purchase a set of jumper cables (cheaper than a new battery) and wait until it won't start the vehicle anymore (not completely dead, a completely dead battery cannot be jump started), and get someone to jump start you, then get the new battery or just buy the new car you want to buy.

No, haven't changed my old battery yet, going to have the cranking amps checked very soon though. Not sure if I am keeping the Escape either, looking at the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4-Door with its new engine. Much more vehicle for the money than a comparable Ford Escape. Need to test drive one also.

 

Short drives kill a battery. My '09 grocery getter only has 6,100 miles on it!

It's a 590CCA battery and I had been watching/checking it at only 370CCA. I had a series of multiple dealer visits for warranty work and all of a sudden the CCA jumped to over 590CCA.

I thought that there had been a loose cable but I later found that the dealer must have noticed the low CCA and dropped a new one in. My paperwork never showed that because of the repeated visits for the same problem but the Ford Oasis System did.

 

My 03 OEM Escape LTD battery just gave up the ghost this summer. (8 years is pretty darned good.) I bought the Escape used with 120K on the clock and don't plan on having it another 120K so I put in a Costco 590 CCA battery. They rated pretty well in Consumer Reports and the new Kirkland battery was only $72.00. It has a 36 mo warranty.

I also bought a Costco Kirkland battery for my Suburban in 09 no probs so far. The previous Delco bat I purchased only went 2 yrs in that vehicle - which was very disappointing as it was OEM and much more expensive.