GS Yuasa explains how motorists can avoid the expense of a replacement car battery as the cost of living rises.
Battery replacement has always been stressful, but as the cost-of- living crisis continues, the cold weather perpetuates this further. Therefore, GS Yuasa is highlighting a few simple things you can do to minimise the inconvenience and costs associated with battery failure as winter approaches.
The best way to help customers avoid the cost of a new battery is to advise them to look after the one they already have. For most, a vehicle’s battery is a fit and forget product that is only thought about once it has failed.
However, just like a brake pad or windscreen wiper, it is a consumable item. Taking care of it is key to getting the maximum service life and avoiding the distress of a vehicle not starting.
This can be as simple as:
Ensuring frequent journeys
Batteries fitted to vehicles used for infrequent or short journeys fail at a much higher rate than those fitted to vehicles in regular use. This is because vehicle batteries are designed to provide enough power to start a car before it is then replaced through regular driving. If a vehicle is used infrequently, or for repeated short journeys, the battery may not receive sufficient charge to deliver reliable starting power.
For most people who use their car to commute, or whose journeys regularly include at least five or six miles of continuous driving, the battery should receive sufficient charge to replace what’s used to start the car. However, for those who use their car less frequently, or for shorter journeys, GS Yuasa recommend a journey of at least 30 minutes every so often, so make sure to pass this on to your customers.
Winter battery checks
Battery check services can be completed in just a few minutes and the results provide an insight into a battery’s state of health and can even identify a failing battery before a nonstart situation. Armed with the information you provde them, motorists can employ the necessary tweaks to extend service life, whether changing the route they take to work or using a smart charger.
Smart charger
Using a battery charger is an easy way of prolonging a battery’s service life and reducing the risk of battery failure. The Yuasa YCX range of smart chargers has been designed to replenish a battery’s ability to provide reliable starting power.
As the name suggests, a smart battery charger can be used to extend battery life, maintain peak performance and minimise failure. The Yuasa YCX range includes a patented rejuvenation phase to break down sulphation – the primary cause of premature battery failure. Their maintenance mode ensures charge is maintained over extended periods of reduced usage or battery storage.
Ensure fitment of the right battery
As modern vehicles become ever more complex, their batteries become more integral and more expensive. EFB (enhanced flooded battery) and AGM (absorbent glass mat) batteries have increased in popularity with vehicle manufacturers over the past decade.
These batteries must be replaced like for like. In applications where an AGM battery is fitted, its replacement must be of the same technology. The same applies to EFB battery types. Although not always immediately, fitting the wrong battery will always result in reduced service life and very often battery failure.
Understandably, this isn’t covered by a manufacturer’s warranty and typically results in the need for a battery of the correct specification to be purchased. This is on top of the outlay for the original, incorrectly fitted battery.
