There are many threads with the topic of the battery imbedded in them..I thought maybe we could consolidate here with our impressions of brands and what we used in our XF's..and for easy searching for questions about our batteries..

I had my dealer replace my battery this past weekend as it was 4 years old (original) and the car's warranty that covers the battery was coming to an end this June (this month)...

They installed an "Interstate" Mega-Tron Plus 49/H8. With 30-month free replacement and six-year pro-rated performance warranty, 730 CCA / 100 Ah. perfect fit and maintenance free..not an AGM..as I was advised that since the OE was not AGM..Jaguar recommends staying with the type that was original....Right or wrong..I got the battery for free, so no complaints.

 

I would say wrong on the AGM advice. There is no downside to replacing a non-AGM battery with an AGM. Plenty of people have done this on many cars with no issue. In fact, when my Mercedes non-AGM battery was replaced by the MB dealer under warranty, they put in an AGM battery. I've had my Autozone AGM battery in my XF for over a year and a half, and it's much better than the original Jaguar battery and the two Jaguar-branded batteries that the dealer installed under warranty (the last one only lasted 5 months).

 

How can you tell the AGM is much better?...Just curious....As far a what my dealer said is pretty much the same thing, that Jaguar batteries don't hold up very well and so they are installing the INTERSTATE brand for that reason...

I was told that the AGM charges by design at a lower rate, to not gas off the H2O..whereas with the flooded cell type, as was what my car was set up for per the calibration of the battery charging monitoring system, is at a higher charge rate...this could be BS, I don't know or care, but like I said, I got a really good battery for free, and I wasn't going to argue for an AGM type.

 

Well if nothing else, you got a battery with a really badass name!! That's definitely worth something.

 

The difference I've noticed with AGM is they seem to hold a charge longer when not used and every time I use the starter, it fires immediately. No lag. And that's with the XFR, my Infiniti G35 and my motorcycle.

I had regular lead acid in all 3 before replacing and noticed it each time the swap was made. The effects seem to be long lasting as well. The battery in my G35 is over 5 years old and it's still working perfectly. So I'll use nothing else from this point forward unless lithium becomes a better choice.

 

From the LR forums the feeling was that AGM made the truculent ECMs play nicer because of the voltage supply profile - less dips and fades over time so more characteristic of a lithium where all the volts all the time until it fell off a cliff exhausted. In both my LR3 and XFR I am running AGM batteries and no negatives for sure. As to one brand over another, I think I read somewhere there are only about two or three battery makers anyway regardless of the sticky label on the top. Both of mine came from NAPA and are their top tier - I figure it a false economy to save a few bucks at the risk of being stranded or inconvenienced when you need it most. Here in Texas we think we are doing well if a battery lasts three years not due to cold but due to heat....

 

Good info..thanks for the replies

 

And here's what INTERSTATE batteries has to say about it..
Interstate Batteries | Mr. Battery | AGM Advantages | Flood Lead-Acid Battery
Been using AGM batteries for the last 20 year with NO issues (Sears Die hard Platinum x2 in my truck, and 1 Die hard Gold in Higgins), especially NO corrosion anywhere.
A much better option over lead acid, with Lithium being the BEST (Braille was at the LA auto show last year) but $$$$ option.

 

With the Jaguar batteries, I often had to jump start the car for no reason, and the dealer would keep telling me there was nothing wrong with the battery or the battery charging system. With a lot of nudging, they replaced the battery twice, but the new one was just as bad as the original.

 

Long Islander:
I am not trying to pick a fight, rather I just want to understand your point. Are you saying that you had a battery problem that went away when you changed to a non Jag battery? What else might have changed? There are sure a lot of cars with Jag OEM batteries that do not need regular jumps. What was different in your case?

I mayself believe in convenience. Many purists need to feel like they have installed the "best" of anything in their car. In my case, the battery died going into a holiday weekend and the easiest battery to obtain was a Advance Auto correctly sized battery with external vent tube. In a few minutes, and out about $130.00, I was back in action. I doubt that battery will last as long as some others, but it starts the car fine and will no doubt, last nearly as long as the rest. It is good enough. It was not too much $$. It was convenient. For me, it detracts from the enjoyment of a car to worry about each component I put on it being "best". And best is usually subjective anyway.

 

You also have to consider your circumstance . You were in a pinch and in a hurry. It's not like you are going to cancel your whole weekend because you can't get your hands on the greatest battery every made for you car. Some people do have that luxury of time though and it's nice to know that you are running a great product. Batteries get no love, outa sight outa mind. Until it quits, LOL!!!