Well count me as a disappointed Optima Red Top Owner. I bought my 2000 coupe in October of 2005. Stored it for the winter with no battery tender and the original Delco Battery. Would start the car every couple weeks and let it run till the engine was warm. It never even gave a hint of not wanting to start. Spring of last year when the car came out of storage checked the battery and found it beginning to leak at the posts. Went out and got a red top as many said it was the best. Car ran fine all summer and put it back in storage in November. I have been doing the same thing I did last winter as far as starting the car every couple weeks. This afternoon I went out to start it and there was not enough juice in the Red Top to start the car. Looks like I payed a premium price for an inferior product . If anyone asks me for battery advice I would not recommend Optima Red Tops!!

 

I replaced my OEM battery Dec 2005 with a Red Top. Just recently I started having trouble starting after 4 days. Turned out it had a bad cell, had it replaced this morning at no cost. Had 36 month free replacement. No trouble other than that.....

 

Guess its time to dig out the warranty card..

 

I had a Red Top ,,,,junk,, brought it back for a full refund. For every 1 good story about the Red Top there are 10 bad ones,,

 

Interesting... I was just standing there at Costco today, looking at the last #15 size type Red Top and wondering if I should throw it in the cart. Guess I shouldn't be in any big hurry to replace my AC Delco. It's still doing the job.

Guess I'll cross that bridge when I have to.

 

Seems like either they're great or junk!

 

They're great junk!!

 

Well, I'll post up a good story about the Optima Red Top. Bought mine in October 2001 and it is still working just fine. Keep a battery tender on it when the car sits for a while. Optima has had its share of problems according to the forum lately, but mine has served me very well. Some forum members have made the switch to the Exide Orbital.

 

Have to say I've been watching this theme for a while and I've had just about every experience possible.

My original AC Delco lasted only 6 months and died without warning. Luckily that happened in the garage so I just changed the battery. I've had an AC Delco (in the Camaro) that lasted 6 years but then leaked. If that had been the Vette I would probably have been suffering from damage to the PCM/wiring by now. That put me off AC Delcos for ever so I switched to Red Top.

The Vette Red Top was 3 years old. When I was using the Vert as a DD the Red Top worked flawlessly even in the heat of the vegas summer (110 degrees plus). I managed to drain it once when I was working on the headlights but it recharged fine. However, it sat dormant for 2 months on a ship when the Vert was in transit to England and that killed it. The Vert is now a weekend warrior so I replaced it with a Yellow Top which should be more suitable for what I need. My sons Camaro also has a Red Top and that survived the journey without problems and is still going strong, although its a newer battery. That suggests to me that it may be that the Vette is more battery hungry.

Don't forget that a big plus for the Red Top is the 36 month warranty. You can change it at any time if you hit snags. 3 years for a battery is not too bad in my book. Of interest Optima only offer a 2 year warranty in England. Now why is that????????

The Vette seems to have a need for power even when dormant so leaving it for long periods with the battery hooked up or not connected to a battery tender seems to be asking for trouble.

For what its worth my view is:

The older AC Delcos are a big problem. They are prone to leaking and you need to replace it at the earliest sign of failure. The later ones seem better but still seem prone to just quitting without warning.

The Red Top is a good battery but needs to be driven. If you have a weekend warrior it may not be the best choice for you unless you buy a trickle charger suitable for an AGM battery. The yellow top is designed for "deep cycle" and seems to react better to being discharged and recharged.

Exide gets a good press.

I've just bumped the battery poll which gives a good idea how each battery performs so vote away.

 

First, check all your grounds, then get one of these...

http://www.customcorvetteaccessories...rycharger.html

Peace
Chip

 

My red top came w/the Vette and I dont know how old it is.
Its not holding a charge to well, if I work on the Vette for a wile w/the hood and inside lights on it kills it in a hour or so. Maybe an hour is ok, but I was think its low.

Im going to try and trade it in someware The date Is not marked

Paul G.

 

I just got a used red top from a friend for free. But I have no idea how old it is. It looks to be in good condition though. But since I dont have a receipt for it I can't trade it in.

Anyone know how i can get a replacement without the receipt??

I've had it in for about a mnth now and no problems. But I would love a new one.

 

I'm not sure that's quite the idea of a manufacturer's warranty

 

You already got one for free. What makes you think that you're entitled to getting another new battery for free? It's guys like you that caused Costco to ammend their return policy on computers.

 

I had an Optima die with a bad cell after one season. Was replaced, no questions asked. Working fine now. I'd be curious on what the failure rate per thousands sold is.

 

i left mine in the garage for over a month when i broke my leg and went to start it up and it was fine....a little weak, but still fine. Sorry to hear about your bad experience.

 

But 5 years ago... it was more like 100 stories good for 1 bad. Something must of happened in the manufacturing process 3 to 4 years ago; because they're not holding up like they use to.

I was ready to buy an Optima - just as the bad stories started to surface. Still wanting to get the spiral-wound technology, I found another player in the field... Exide. They make an Orbital battery using the same exact technology as the Optima. AND--- it was $15 cheaper than the Optima. Been almost 3 years now and it is holding a charge just fine.

 

So you mean if someone gave you a new car - you wouldn't use the warranty??

 

I'm now wild about the red top batteries. Sooooooo what is the prefered brand to buy? Sams Club used to carry the Exide batteries, but they no longer do.

 

I have had mine for going on 3 years and it has performed flawlessly.

As a matter of fact, I do the same thing as you when I don't drive the car much in the winter. Every couple weeks, start it up, let it get up to temp and sometimes a short drive if weather conditions permit.

It has never failed to crank right up