Just over a year ago, the dealer finally replaced my original battery under warranty after my repeated complaints. Well, that battery lasted barely 4 months and was replaced under the battery warranty since my vehicle battery had run out. But then, they ripped me off for 1/2 hr labor ($70) because they said labor wasn't covered (typical poor Jaguar dealer service). Had I known that, I would have just taken out the battery and brought it in using another car.

Anyway, last Monday, the car wouldn't start after sitting idle since Friday morning. Tired of the lousy Jaguar-branded batteries, and expecting to be told that my battery warranty had run out (very hard to get a straight answer our of the service advisor on any question since he knows less about cars than my 12-year-old daughter), I went to Autozone.

I bought a Duralast Platinum H8 AGM battery, which I recommend to anyone who needs a new battery. Specs are 850 CCA and 170 minutes of reserve capacity -- the highest reserve capacity I could find in this size battery, which I think is the most important factor in this car. I paid $180 with a trade in of the Jaguar piece-of-junk battery ($5 more otherwise), less 20% off with a coupon I had ($144 net).

This battery is made by Johnson Controls and is the same as the Diehard Gold H8 AGM, so if that's more convenient for you or a better price, you can get it there. Advance Auto has a similar battery (Autokraft) also by Johnson Controls but it has 900 CCA and 160 minutes of reserve.

The size is exactly the same as the Jaguar battery, but getting it back in is not that easy because it's a tight fit and it weighs 58 pounds. I suggest removing the spare to give yourself more room to maneuver. The battery vent does have to be reinstalled, so don't forget to do that. One more note -- the battery has two vent holes, and you'll only be using one of them. So I plugged the unused one so that battery gases don't escape into the trunk.

The only other thing I had to do was to reset the clock and the windows (hold each button up for two seconds after the window is all the way up).

Hopefully, this is the end of my battery problems.

 

Duralast batteries have always been outstanding for me. I don't ever use anything else.

The funny thing is the Gold has a better warranty and costs less than the Platinum for similar specs. I often get the Gold because of that, and because they don't have as many selections for Platinum at my stores, so sometimes you don't have a choice.

 

I got the Platinum mainly because it has the highest reserve capacity of any group H8 battery (170 minutes). You're right about the warranty, Gold has 5 year warranty vs. 3 year and costs less. Since I drive short distances, I need a high reserve capacity.