How Often to Replace a Car Battery

Curious about how often to replace a car battery? The service team at BMW of Mamaroneck can help you learn more about replacing batteries. When the time comes to change your battery, you’ll want to use genuine BMW parts. At our parts center, we have the battery replacement you need. In the meantime, find out how to know if your car battery needs to be replaced and learn how to test a car battery by reading on.

How to Know If Your Car Battery Needs to Be Replaced

The most common time drivers think about their vehicle’s battery is when there’s an issue. As you drive around Harrison, if you notice any of these problems, it could mean it’s time for a new battery:

• Headlights aren’t as bright as they should be
• You’ve needed more than one jump start in recent memory
• Your vehicle has trouble starting up on cue
• You experience unusual power fluctuations, or have trouble charging devices

What Causes Car Battery Deterioration?

No matter if you’ve just replaced a battery of you’re trying to keep your battery from reaching its end prematurely, here are a few stressors to avoid in order to keep your vehicle’s battery running smoothly longer:

• Hot weather will wear out a battery more quickly since the fluids inside are vulnerable to evaporation!
• Vibrations and vehicle shake will loosen your terminals and cause the battery’s internal parts to break down more quickly.
• A jump start can help you get going when you’re in a pinch, but powering up with help from another vehicle really isn’t good for your battery. A few jump starts will significantly shorten its life.

How to Test a Car Battery

Need to know how to test a car battery? We can help with that. Testing your battery in New Rochelle is a great way to tell if your car battery is nearing the end of its life. Here’s how to perform the headlight test:

1. Turn on the engine and leave the car in park.
2. Turn the headlights on and rev the engine.
3. If the headlights get brighter when you rev, your battery is low on power.
4. Your alternator may be able to keep you going for a time, but you should schedule service and have your battery replaced as soon as possible.

While the headlight test is great in a pinch, it’s better to get a more precise readout. Check out our parts inventory to find a digital multimeter and use the following steps to get a more accurate reading:

1. Make sure that the multimeter is set to 20 DC volts.
2. Touch the negative terminal to the negative meter probe. Both will be black!
3. Next, do the same thing with the positive terminal and positive probe, both red.
4. Have a friend turn the headlights on while the voltmeter is in place.
5. Although the outside temperature could affect reading, you should see 12.5 volts on a fully-charged battery. A reading of 12.3 volts indicates a 75% charge, and 11.8 volts indicates a 25% charge.

How Much is a Replacement Car Battery?

While you might be able to find a replacement battery for somewhere between $75 and $120, your vehicle’s performance will do better with high-quality parts. We recommend checking out our parts department for the genuine BMW parts you need, then checking our service specials online to see how much you can save to have our professionals change your vehicle’s battery for you in Mamaroneck.

Choose BMW of Mamaroneck For Parts and Installation!

Once you’re ready to schedule service with BMW of Mamaroneck, contact our team! We have what you need to get your vehicle up and running smoothly in no time. We also have online service tips to help you learn about BMW roadside assistance, how to rotate tires, how to check coolant levels, and more!