KHE Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 The POS Autozone Duralast Gold battery in my STS failed last week - nothing but solenoid chatter. I put my battery charger on it and it was charging at 15 amps. Ten minutes later, the "Fully Charged" light on the battery charger was illuminated. I attempted to start the car and the starter rolled over very slowly and the engine started. I shut the engine off and tried again and nothing but solenoid chatter. This was the second Autozone battery in that car - the first one was new (purchased by the seller) the day before I picked it up in North Carolina almost seven years ago. That one failed in three years and they honored the warranty (that's another story...). The current one has just under four years on it - and it is an 8-year battery. I charged it and took it into Autozone and they said it tested fine. When I told the clerk what was going on, she began blaming my starter, alternator and even the battery charger... I told her that it could be her TESTER, and walked out with the battery. I drove over to the local AC Delco distributor and bought an AC Delco 78-7YR battery for $86.00. Autozone's price on their Duralast Gold was $120.00!...... Even if they would have admitted the battery was bad, I would have had to pay $60.00 prorated price. With the two Autozone batteries, I should have been good for 15 years, not 7! By the way, the car has been starting just fine for the past week with the AC Delco battery. I don't remember when the last time I heard the starter spin so fast on that car. My advice is to stay away from Autozone batteries. They are junk AND expensive. They love to tout that they are made by Johnson Controls but a battery manufacturer will produce a battery to any quality level specified by its customer. Instead of "Duralast" they should be called "Don't last"... Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I've had my best luck with Delco batteries recommended for my car (1997 ETC). Most others never last to warranty date, and my experience in battery warranties is that if a battery lasts a year or less, you can expect its warranty replacement to go in about the same time. I've had good luck with 1,000 CCA 8-year aftermarket batteries, which I have bought because it's hard to find Delco batteries around here for some reason. -- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data -- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I only run ac delco batteries. 78n to be exact in all of my vehicles. No problems at all. No starter, alternator, or battery issues. I get the best I can because bad battery can mess up the alternator, starter, and can mess with electronics. I figure if It came with ac delco battery it should be better to stay with it. I personally do not shop at autozone. I have hard time with them on several occasions GM FAN FOREVER Nice, clean, luxury= fine automobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I think the last time I was in an Autozone was about 4 or 5 years ago... I needed a front turn signal bulb for my truck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I normally do not shop at Autozone - their parts are of poor quality. The only reason I had an Autozone battery is the previous owner of the STS replaced it the day before I picked the car up as the one in it was shot. That battery failed within the free replacement period so I got another one at no charge. Their batteries have almost doubled in price in the last 3-4 years. They are almost the same cost as an Interstate battery but the quality nowhere in comparison to an Interstate. All three cars have Delco batteries in them now. My '05 Deville still has the original Delco battery but I'm betting it will need replacing soon. While I was at the AC Delco distributor, I asked them on the price of the group 79 battery and it was $106.95. That's cheaper than Sams Club's Duracell (East Penn) which had a price of $109.28. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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