What Happened to Interstate Batteries?!

Larry receives a call from Mike. Mike asks about why interstate batteries are no longer recommended by Larry. Larry says that interstate batteries quality back in the day was great however, they shifted to mass producing cheaper batteries at Costco and has lost the initial quality that made them so great.

This a clip from the full Magic Mechanic Show #24

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[jonnytorch-erig]

My Costco interstate battery has lasted 3.5 years so far and just survived the latest northern cold snap.

[kuei]

I bought an Interstate battery from an Interstate dealer. Within 1 year, 2 cores burned out. I got a free replacement, and within 8 months a core burned out. Like you said, they used to be great. Now, they are junk. Walmart sells much better batteries than Interstate.

[MrMattDat]

Great to hear the voice of experience on this. I have to agree that the Interstate BATs are not what they used to be. BUT, I've had the same experience with AC Delco batteries (have not used a NAPA BAT in many years). The best thing I've learned is to 1) Mark the battery with its install & warranty end date on the top with permanent marker and 2) scan the receipt into my computer and save it in a "Warranty" folder.

[Texmotodad]

Interstate got Costo-i-tis and Walmart-i-tis chasing sales. A shame. NAPA & AC - agreed!! Thx for the video!

[tayninh]

My RV house batteries are NAPA brand AGM. The RV is a 2018 class b Winnebago. We put the rig into storage in Oct. 2023 and just have taken it out Apr. 2024. Like a dummy I forgot to put a battery tender on them so they sat all winter. When we went to bring the rig home my wife turned on the house battery switch and attempted to start the generator. It fired right up, Those are some good batteries.

[dennynguyen]

That’s sad, thank you for the information!

[saulpedraza]

There is a big difference in quality of batteries made years ago compared to now. I have a napa legend AGM group 65 it's 9 years old still going strong, had it tested at a shop guy didn't believe how long it's lasted

[Suchayoutuber]

As much as I hate to say it it used to be made here in USA but I've noticed they're now labeled Mexico, and I have noticed a considerable change in reliability, earlier ones lasted me around 7 to 8 years The newer ones I'm lucky to get around a little over two

[tombaily]

Well if costco replaces them for free then I don't really care how long it lasts. I'll just swap for a new one within warranty...

[jimdodge]

About 18 months is all I can get out of a ac Delco. AUTO zone $180.00

[timoneal]

Thank you! I was just commenting to a friend that I've been having horrible luck with batteries. I have way too many vehicles and seems like I'm constantly diddling with battery issues to the point where I just buy a new one since charging doesn't seem to "take". I have been buying these at the cheapest possible retailers like Costco and Sam's so this explains why I'm having such an issue. Guess I'm going to need those 2x $$$ batteries from reputable outlets. Stinks that I have two trucks with dual batteries (both dead right now) but at least there is a better, if not expensive, path forward.

[kevinwiley]

"It's just a label"...yes! Deka's are best. How can you spot a Deka?
Look at the handle.

[davidcappaert]

I don't buy batteries from discount stores. In the last year I replaced 2 Interstate batteries. One was 9 years old and the other was 13.

[KMaN]

I knew I wasn't the only one who noticed the life of my Interstate batteries going down hill over the years.

[asdasdsadasdasddsff]

Ty for this insight, im in the process of buying a replacement for my car. Now that costco changed their warranty to pro rated im avoiding them completely

[MrGran]

I just bought an Interstate Battery MTX 49/H8 from Amazon. How do I tell if I got the "good" quality kind or the Costco quality kind?

[davidpowell]

I had an Interstate top of the line group 65 that did several years, then two replacements in a row that each started slo crank after a couple years of use, charging them to the hilt didn't help. "Duralast Platinum" started slowing down at almost 5 years, replaced it but found that it was low on charge and it seems to have recovered upon absorbing, I guess, about 30 amp hours of charge. Do have issues of short trip, vehicle sits. So may need to get a new battery charger that can be ran unattended without fear of voltage going over 14.7 which is the maximum voltage that some of these newer AGM batteries are supposed to be able to take without damage.
The vehicle has a significent power consumption when parked, the "Duralast" was going down in charge in the vehicle after a week of sitting but it does not lose hardly any charge at all in a month while living in the basement.

[MikeDavis-kbvo]

I've worked in the oil field twenty years in the frozen waste lands of williston, north dakota.

[danny]

Here's a tidbit. As far as lithium.
There are many lithium cells on the market. Generally they are focused on the aftermarket car audio market.
But, for one example, the lifePO lithium cells, which are very popular due to lower pricing, can be built in rather large banks.
I currently run a bank of lifePo lithium as an add on to my stock electrical system in my Kia soul. I have installed many I other stock electrical systems as well.

They are compatible with stock 12v charging systems and alternators.

Now, they are sensitive to cold, to a degree. I live in Chicago, so I see drops in resting voltage under about 30 degrees F.
Nonetheless, I have never had an issue with starting, or powering, in any situation or temp, over the 7 or so years that I have been building and installing these lithium banks.

Outside of replacing 1 or 2 individual cells over years, all the banks I've installed- probably totaling 4 dozen or so - are still operating rather well.

[ryanhodges]

In 2002 I bought an Interstate Megatron for my 1965 F250. That battery lasted 8 years. My pickup sat most of the time.

The new batteries they make are not a shadow of what they used to be. Just compare the quality of the materials. Even the battery case was different.

They have all cheaped out.