I work part time (retired) at an airport parking garage. We do jump starts, air up tires, and help people find their cars. We jump start more Honda's than any other make. Does anyone know why? Our customers ask why but I don't know what to tell them.
Any idea if the Hondas are disproportionately more likely to have dead batteries, or if there just happen to be relatively more Hondas than other makes at the garage?
In reply to eastsidemav: Just seems to be a higher percentage of Honda's that have dead batteries.
In reply to Mustang50:
Some of them do use pretty small batteries, that could have something to do with it. My Civic's sat for a month at a time and started no problem though, so I'm not sure. It won't automatically turn off all the lights for me if I leave them on, so that could be it?
My fit battery was good for about theee years. I live in a crazy cold area and when it gets cold I make sure the cables are in the hatch. Brand new battery solves it. The problem I see is that the Honda Fit battery is expensive and only made by one company.
Maybe Hondas are super reliable, so they never go to the garage, so the battery never gets load tested and replaced.
Or, Hondas are driven by people who like to rice them out with stereos and weird lights, and they do it wrong.
Or, Hondas are driven by people who drank the koolaid and don't think they need to maintain them since they are so darn reliable.
How many were Odysseys with power sliding doors? I've replaced the battery in my Mazda MPV every 3 years. Lots of different brands of battery, none lasts more than 3 years. Other than the doors, they live a pretty easy life. Car is garaged and never has to cold start below about 50 degrees.
In reply to 1988RedT2: Most were cars, Civics, etc.
Streetwiseguy wrote: Maybe Hondas are super reliable, so they never go to the garage, so the battery never gets load tested and replaced. Or, Hondas are driven by people who like to rice them out with stereos and weird lights, and they do it wrong. Or, Hondas are driven by people who drank the koolaid and don't think they need to maintain them since they are so darn reliable.
No.1 and No.3 were my first thoughts
Tiny tiny little batteries.
The Group 51 used in most of them is 2/3 the size of the batteries used in American cars. The Group 151 that they're moving to for Fits and Civics is 2/3 the size of that.
Trackmouse wrote: My fit battery was good for about theee years. I live in a crazy cold area and when it gets cold I make sure the cables are in the hatch. Brand new battery solves it. The problem I see is that the Honda Fit battery is expensive and only made by one company.
Our Honda Fit's battery died about 4 years in too. It was pretty darn small compared to others I've seen and was indeed only available from one manufacturer, and very pricey. We swapped in a bigger 51R battery, only had to remove the battery bracket and strap it down. It was a bit snug but secure and absolutely no problems cranking even in the coldest temps since that time. I think we paid about $70 at Costco.
My Accord has a small, riding lawnmower style battery. No problems except my manhood being challenged by its small size. Weenie battery.
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