A New Cell.

Last Sunday I noticed something weird with my truck – the windows seemed to roll up and down a little slower than before. I thought nothing of it until Monday morning when I got into my truck to go to work and… nothing. No cranking sound, no lights in the instrument cluster. I already knew what it was – battery time. I’ve been on the original battery since I bought the truck in 2014, so it was about time for a new one. I spent the day (at work, heh) researching what was immediately available. First I called a local Nissan dealership just to get a quote for an OEM battery – and they wanted $280, no thanks. I looked into AGM batteries but the only immediately available brand was Autozone’s Duralast line, but I’ve had mixed results with Duralast in the past. Then I remembered that my parents’ SUV has had the same battery in it (and still working just fine) for the last 5 years, so the next day I brought my dead OEM Nissan battery to… Costco!

Costco carries Interstate batteries, and I’ve always heard nothing but good experiences with the brand. Getting the new battery was fast and easy, I just gave them my dead battery (so no core charge) and walked out with a brand new group 35 Interstate battery (after paying, of course). The new Interstate battery is rated at 640-CCA (OEM is 550) with a reserve capacity of 100 minutes at 25-amps. Also, I was expecting a 3-year warranty, but apparently the new models now come with a 42-month (3 1/2 year) warranty. And the best part: it only cost me $70.

Since I already took the day off, I decided to do some routine maintenance as well. After cleaning the battery terminals and installing the new Interstate battery, I went out to pick up a few things: new oil filter, 6 quarts of Mobil 1 5W-30, new OEM air filter and OEM cabin filter. I also checked and topped up the other fluids under the hood, checked my tire pressures, and greased up my UCA bushings.