I was replacing the spark plugs in my 2015 Toyota Sienna. The engine sits sideways so the plugs in the front are easy to see and consequently easy to replace. The plugs in the back facing the firewall are more difficult to access and require removing part of the intake and other items like windshield wipers, the tray under the wipers, etc. Needless to say, replacing the ones in back is more difficult since they can not be seen and everything must be done by feel.

I had one last spark plug to replace and kept trying to start it by hand, but it did not seem to start threading. What in the world? I tried again and had the same result. I showed the plug to a friend of mine, and he asked if the car was running OK before. Yes, it was. He looked at it and said there must be something down there blocking the hole. So, I got an inspection mirror to get a better view. There was something down there! The original spark plug! So, I learned to always make sure the old part is out before trying to put a new one in.

David in Washington

Fuel injected engines that are quick to start make a failing battery hard to detect. The starter usually only needs to draw current for a couple of seconds. Tired batteries used to help show their age with corrosion powder building up on battery terminals and an overall appearance of leaky, crusty decrepitude.

Today's absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries do not leak acid nor emit as much corrosive hydrogen gas. The eight-year-old AGM battery in my wife's Kia Soul finally died a few days ago. A quick wipe with a rag, and it looked like new on the outside. I removed the six caps labeled "do not open" on top of the battery. The battery was still pristine inside too; just orderly folds of glass mat.

The battery was still pristine inside

Luckily, my wife's Soul (the car) died in our garage. Winter will not arrive for a few more weeks so there are plenty of new batteries in stock. RockAuto has a selection of seven battery brands for her car (found under "Electrical" in the RockAuto.com catalog). FedEx delivered a fresh new AGM battery to our house in a couple of days.

Of course my wife was pleased by our relative good luck, but she grew up in northern Minnesota where overreliance on good luck might mean they do not find your body until the spring thaw. My wife asked questions such as, "What if the battery had died on a night when I was driving most of the (elderly) alto section to church choir practice?" and, "Eight years? Exactly how long were we hoping to keep using that old battery?"

Nobody wants to waste money and resources by prematurely throwing out a good battery. However, people also do not want to be stranded or have to overpay in a panic for the nearest available one-size-fits-most car battery. Here are two battery replacement strategies that might give you more control:

1. Automatically replace the battery as preventative maintenance after X many years. Pick your "X" based on how long other batteries have lasted in your cars or cars in similar circumstances (parked inside/outside, cold/hot weather, short/long trips, stop/start system...). Reduce "X" by at least six months if the battery is accidentally completely drained for some reason (alternator fails, lights left on...). Be realistic about the dollar cost of replacing a battery a year or two before it is completely dead. If a new Soul battery costs about $180 then that equals $22.50 per year for eight years or $25.71 per year for seven years. That eighth year I wrung out of the Soul's battery saved me a paltry $3.21 in annual battery expenses ($25.71-$22.50=$3.21) compared to seven years. I can't imagine telling a loved one, "Honey, I know you were stranded, but we saved $3.21 per year!"


2. Regularly load test your battery. I load test the batteries in my old cars with carburetors nearly every time I start them cold because it takes at least two or three cranks of the starter to get the engines going. Turn a fuel-injected engine on and off three times in a row and listen if the starter is turning slower each time and/or use an electrical multi-tester to see if the battery's voltage is dropping after every engine start and close to falling below 12 volts. A battery load tester tool or a power-hungry accessory like an electric cooler (for food) is another way to check and see if your battery voltage recovers after a heavy current draw (with the engine/alternator off).

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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