It’s that time again for me. Already familiar with the 151R/51R issue - just looking for recent good deals on Fit compatible batteries. Anyone?

DaveGee

 

I recently got a EverStart Maxx 151R from Walmart. Napa sells a cheap one too.

Oreilly and Autozone carry them too, but more expensive.

 

Bought my last one from Costco which was slightly cheaper than Wal Mart where i usually buy. This was a few years ago though and pricing has probably changed a lot.

 

Just be warned, the GK is awful for draining batteries. I had a Yellowtop 51R AGM and that would last a couple of days longer than my Costco lead acid 51R.

 

I got a 51R from Costco 2 months ago $124 after the core charge.
I trimmed my tray years ago so it dropped right in.

 

Noco has some new lithium batteries called the NLX series. The NLXU1 is rated at 40 Ah. The Walmart 151R has ~ 23Ah I think.

It's expensive though, and it was out of stock last time I checked.

 

There's no reason whatsoever to buy a fancy battery for the Fit. I've had both the OEM 151R battery and later a 51R battery from Costco and both ran perfectly fine. I had no problems whatsoever with battery draining problems with my 2018 Fit, and it often sits for days, even weeks in my garage untouched. Starts fine every time.

 

I have not found that to be so. My 2017 LX CVT OEM battery lasted 5 years. New battery was purchased 8/8/2022 at 108,859 miles. Now, the ODO reads 154,938 miles

 

Bought a 51R at Costco today. $124.

The same battery from Costco in 2020 was $79 - just for reference.

DaveGee

 

changed my original 2015 battery last year as a precaution....costco.

 

I bought a MegaLiFe MV-19L (Group 151R) during the Memorial Day sale (15% Off) in 2024. It cost me $382.
It's been fine for me, but I'm not going to go out of my way to recommend it to anyone, because it's not for everyone.
It's expensive, but light weight and has built-in jump-start capability.
It's obviously not your typical lead-acid battery. It's Lithium Iron Phosphate.

Factory battery was little over 5 years old, kept on Battery Tender at home, and it was still working, but when I swapped the battery, the start up crank sound went up by an octave (LOL). Basically, even when well cared for, the factory battery was on its way out in 5 years. I expect MegaLiFe battery to last at least 10 years or I'd be disappointed.

 

That's a big selling point - lead-acid batteries die every 5 years give or take. When 10+ year lithium replacements get close to the price point of two lead-acid batteries, they should take off. That's ignoring their other benefits - you mentioned peak current. They're also much lighter and have superior cold-temperature performance. Lead-acid still has the recyclability advantage due to simplicity of construction.

 

My local Walmart no longer sells the 151R for about a couple of years now so I'm surprised they are available apparently at other Walmarts. No matter, as I did the 51R upgrade.

 

The mini 151R battery was primarily used by the Fit and a few other small cars. Most of those cars are discontinued in North America and are slowly disappearing from the road. No surprise that the 151R is harder to find now. On the other hand the larger 51R is much more common especially on the very popular Honda Civic and it will be more readily available for a long time to come. Frankly anyone who has to install a battery should be going to the larger 51R now.

 

They're popular on hybrid vehicles where the 12V battery acts as a stabilizing device for the 12V power system and as a backup power source.

 

I'd be surprised if that's the case. I glanced at a few recent Prius models and they used a much larger battery. Yes, there's other hybrids but the fact that some dealer stores in the like Costco and Walmart chains no longer carry the 151R battery indicates demand for this is very low.

 

I bought this Interstate battery on February 26, 2022, at NAPA Auto Parts. It cost $166.06 without tax. Looks like they've gone up in price however.

NAPA now has this battery for $139.99. One of the smart people here could probably tell you who makes this battery for the NAPA brand.

 

Batteries are heavy enough that shipping becomes a non-trivial part of the price. You'll find batteries from regional manufacturers on the low end of the price spectrum. That is, the same NAPA part may come from different factories if you buy one in California or Texas or Pennsylvania.

 

I bought a 151R at Napa recently. With 20% online coupon, it was $110 out of the door. It was the cheapest I could find. Arnold Motor Supply was slightly more expensive.

The chain stores like Autozone were much more expensive.

 

@hyperfit https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...w-battery.html


My local NAPA store gives a discount to AAA members.