Bah, crap Optima battery..
 

Last night, my Red Top started leaking acid out the bottom (it appears to have over-heated and cracked). This is the second Optima to go south on me in three years. This one was a free replacement for my old Yellow Top that cracked on the top cover and started belching acid almost three years ago (but they had stopped selling yellow tops.. so gave me a red top as replacement... what a gyp!).

Anyone have a recommendation? I won't touch Optima now.

don't buy the ones from Costco/Canadian tire..... They are not the same as the ones you buy from an actual interstate dealer. They say they're the same, but they're not the same......

Damn that sounded like an old Rosanne episode...:speechless:

Can you warranty it still and get a different battery?

Optima are garbage.
My yellow top died in about a year and half.

Just stick to interstate.. if you wanna get a dry cell battery, go for Odyssey
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And I didn't know that optimas leak...I thought they're dry cell too.
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Can't find the receipt now. It was either November or December 2010 that I bought it.

Bought it from Walmart.. figured it would be ok, but I guess not.

ive had my optima yellow top for maybe 4-5 years running solid as fuck, and i deep cycle the shit outta the battery

A lot of the more recent reviews of optima have said that they are junk. Wouldn't touch one with a ten foot pole now.
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I used to swear by Optimas in my Jeeps years ago but I tend to agree that their quality has gone to shit. I've been pretty happy with the Interstate MTP's lately as a starting battery, I've run them in my B3k and T4R.

I'm currently running this one in my 4Runner.

my yellow top has been flawless for the past 5 years

Kirkland batteries from Costco.

Sure Start battery from Canadian Tire lol.

OEM battery from Honda is hella cheap for a 00 ish Civic.

Yes, past five years... We are saying their quality has gone to shit recently in the last couple years.
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I've had my share of auto battery issues as long as the replacement warranty is good I would go with whatever. In my experience batteries tend to take a dump well within the replacement period though I have had no troubles at all with Interstate, AC Delco, and Canadian Tire branded units. The Red Top (circa '04-05ish) I have in my other car has been fine but I had to exchange it twice initially since it couldn't hold a charge; perhaps QC issues.

Optima is crap. When Johnson Controls bought the line they turned to crap. I have heard of a lot of horror stories in the car audio world. Stay away from Optima.

There's no such thing as a dry cell car battery you lump.

They're AGM. That means it's ACID absorbed into a glass mat. If you soak up water with a sponge, is the sponge dry? No. Yes, they can still leak.

wow i was under the impression that optima were still the bees knees bought one three years ago so far so good hopefully it stays that way

I personally haven't had any problems with optimas, and the only ones I had come into my old work with problems were victims of abuse.

It doesn't matter how expensive your battery is, letting it sit discharged will ruin it
Overcharging it will ruin it
Hooking up the cables backwards will likely ruin it
Allowing it to freeze while discharged will ruin it

Those aren't failings of Optima, those are failings of lead-acid batteries period. You can't get around chemistry with technology.

https://www.boundless.com/chemistry/...-cell-battery/

What Is a Dry Cell Battery? (with pictures)

when I had my civic, I ran the yellow top for almost 4 years before selling the car... never had a problem...

Yes, and they don't use zinc batteries in cars. Car batteries are lead acid. Idiot.

Do you even have a car? Or are you basing your information from the AA batteries you put in your real-flashing-light action rescue crew junior playset?

bought my optima in ~'09 and its been okay

otherwise, I usually just get kirkland brand batteries. Return policy isn't bad, and they usually have way more cold cranking amps than necessary for a decent price (big SUV's are ~$95)

Sorry for the old bump but -_- mine just conked out -_-

i rarely use my celica these days (bout once a week) but still -_- bah pita

Whenever I need an AGM battery like an Optima or Odyssey I always go for the latter. Die Hard (of Sears) makes a good AGM as well the one I have is actually identical in performance ratings and case construction to an Odyssey with case color being the only difference. I got it cheap and figured I'd try it and so far am very happy. This is it DieHard Platinum Battery : Buy High-Performance Battery at Sears

Oh and Splinter just cus Timpos generally annoying doesnt mean you gotta come off as an arrogant dick lots of people call AGM's dry cells or gell cells

This.

At the beginning of this spring I finally had to replace the 7 year old Red-top in my Mustang. It was a Costco optima. The key is to keep them charged, discharging them destroys them.