You guys are gonna think I am crazy....

[BigDawg148]

So a few weeks ago my truck started shifting strange. Not hard or bad just different than normal. I really don't know how to explain it. Then not long after that when I would start up in the morning it would drag like my battery was dying. So I got in my truck last week and nothing. Battery was completely dead. Replaced it and now the shifting is perfect again. Is it placebo or can the battery cause issue with the trans? Weird.

 

[TXCOMT]

Nope, not crazy...it's well known that today's vehicles, with the hundreds of microprocessors they contain, need good, strong voltage to operate correctly. That's why buying the best batteries and replacing them as soon as they start to go (if not a little before) is a great idea if you want your rig to run its best.

TXCOMT

 

[JB1]

With these modern vehicles I don’t wait till the battery dies any more, after 4 years max I just replace it because it’s just a matter of time until what you describe happens.

 

[Hootbro]

Pretty much what TXCOMT said. My theory is the adaptive learn memory for your transmission was taking a dump each time you shut off and the battery going low. So each time you restart and take off again, the default programing strategy for the transmission would kick in and the relearn for the adaptive memory would attempt again until the next shut off with the weak battery.

 

[mohemipar]

With these modern vehicles I don’t wait till the battery dies any more, after 4 years max I just replace it because it’s just a matter of time until what you describe happens.

I agree. 4/5 years is kind of my rule of thumb. Over 5 it can go at literally any time in my experience. And strange gremlins are a sign for sure. Longest I had a factory battery last was a GM battery in a Cadillac, for 7 years lol. I wasn't DD-ing the car, so I left it in to see how long it would go. Finally one morning it was dead as a door nail.

 

[BigDawg148]

This battery was less than 4 years old. Funny thing is one of the guys at work that also has a 2015 had his battery die the same way the week before.

 

[Gary's Hemi]

Yea the batteries dont last long in these trucks. I guess all the electronics on them takes its toll on the batteries. The vehicles stay "active" a few mins after you cut it off & if the key is around the vehicle. There is alot more drain on the batteries when the vehicle is off then there used to be. The battery died on my 2016 a month or so ago. It started having some "quirks" a week or so before the battery went out.

 

[JB1]

This battery was less than 4 years old. Funny thing is one of the guys at work that also has a 2015 had his battery die the same way the week before.

Damn that sucks it didn’t even make 4 years. I changed the battery in my wife’s 2014 Hemi Charger RT at about 50 months and it was fine. Guess on my truck it’ll be 40 months (fingers crossed)

 

[GIJoe2010]

I bought my truck in January 2014 so I'm just shy of 5 years on the OEM battery. Looks like it's about time for a fresh one.

Any recommendations for brand???

 

[Burla]

It's not years that determines a battery so much but how it is driving and where it is driving as in 4 good seasons will lower that life span. Mine lasted 8 years. If mine failed at 3 years, I would try and get a warranty on it, and at a minimum I might opt to recharge the cell and see if I could extend it a little. Use epson salts recondition a battery.

 

[Hootbro]

I bought my truck in January 2014 so I'm just shy of 5 years on the OEM battery. Looks like it's about time for a fresh one.

Any recommendations for brand???

In the USA, there is about three parent companies that make the overwhelming majority of vehicle batteries sold in the USA through various private and relabel branding.

That being said, does not matter the brand or make, somebody is going to say it is the best or worst. So you are 75% ahead of the game shopping for the freshest battery manufacture date than focusing on brands.

Lastly, they all make a "good, better and best" line of battery. My recommendation would be to seek out the best line with the freshest manufacture date and best warranty you can find/afford.

 

[MikeG]

I bought my truck in January 2014 so I'm just shy of 5 years on the OEM battery. Looks like it's about time for a fresh one.

Any recommendations for brand???

XS POWER d3400r

I put one in mine 2 days after I got the truck. It’s now 6 years old with 185k miles and still going strong. When this one goes I will be put a XS POWER lithium battery in.