Figuring out the right replacement schedule for your car battery is a matter of playing the odds. Modern batteries have a variety of warrantied life expectancy ratings, but that only tells you how long they should last under the most trying conditions, because it reflects the time to failure based on tests that thoroughly exhaust batteries in a variety of ways. Most of the time, car battery life is between three and five years, but judging when in that window to replace your Ford Mustang’s battery can mean saving a few hundred dollars, or it can cost you. Replace too early and you wind up increasing your costs by throwing out good batteries, but do it too late and you’ll be facing a towing charge and sidelined plans that could cost you even more if you wind up missing work or other financial commitments.
The Five Year Limit
Regardless of the battery’s warrantied lifespan, it’s a good idea to replace them after five years. A solid performance battery might even have a warranty that long. The reason is simple, and that’s because after five years, the battery could spontaneously fail at any time and without warning, leaving you stranded. While there’s no guarantee it will, it’s a real possibility. Some performance battery brands attempt to rate their products for use for longer than five years, and that should be viewed with healthy skepticism. Current technology makes that claim difficult to back with confidence, and many warranties that long wind up being pro-rated. There are certainly many performance batteries that can last that long, but whether you should try to make them do it is another question.
Picking Your Battery
If you use a VIN lookup free fitment can show you the battery options for your vehicle with no clutter, it’s just a matter of finding the parts store that can accommodate you. If you’re trying to find the best Ford Mustang batteries for your buck, here are a few things to keep in mind as you shop.
- Some pricier performance batteries have a larger capacity for better cold weather performance
- Check your warranty information to see how long your battery’s full replacement coverage lasts
- Compare performance part prices to OEM options
- Consider whether replacing after three years with an OEM battery is more cost effective than a performance battery every five
Not every OEM battery will need to be replaced after three years, but it’s a good idea to estimate they have a better chance of failing before five years than the other options, because OEM batteries are built to be cost-effective, not to maximize power or battery life. Sometimes, with the right sale or a large differential between battery prices, you can save enough to make the OEM the most cost-effective option. The older a vehicle gets, though, the more likely it is that performance battery prices will have come down to a point that makes investing in a better battery well worth the extra cost. Figuring that out for yourself and your Mustang means checking out your options and prices today, when you need the new battery, because sales come and go frequently and that can change your best option.
