[Steeveedee]

Not daily, but my truck is as reliable as a call from your insurance agent. The wife had battery trouble with her DD econobox (warning light about a discharged battery), so she left it home and took my econobox to work yesterday. Took her car up to the parts store for a battery check, low on charge but OK. Took it home and charged the battery, all good. Drove the truck for a bit. I'll be keeping an eye on her car (KIA Soul). I was told by the dealer's service manager that the factory batteries last about 2 years. I'm pretty certain that that has to do with the fact that the electronics can draw power for up to 1/2 hour after you shut the car off (like 10 Amps!), and they don't immediately start charging when you fire the car up and go. I can attest to that, because when I drove the thing to the parts store, the alternator was still cold, and the battery tested at 12.3 Volts- close to dead. I may just buy a new battery out of spite, since the last thing I want is for my wife to be stranded because I was too cheap. It's certainly put a tight focus on the kind of new vehicle we'll be buying next time...or, won't be buying, really. We bought that car because of the great warranty. If I have to sit around thinking that the battery might fail any day because of some weird glitch in that car, it's off the list for next purchase!